TVD volume 3

[jedi_of_urth]

So through “The Fury” TVD book volume 3 (I think I may finally be able to settle on sing the volume numbers, but this maybe/maybe not two volumes in a book thing is confusing).


I think I may have...liked it. I can’t decide if it’s still bad but I’m starting to enjoy it or if it really did improve substantially up to this point. Because this certainly FELT a lot better, maybe something approaching having actual literary value.

I think my early stance that the show took book Meredith to make Elena and shifted book Elena to Caroline is all the more true now. More than the coincidental fact that their looks were shifted that way. Book Elena becomes a vampire whereas that’s show Care. Book Meredith has crazy vampire related family history whereas that’s closer to show Elena.

Then there’s the fact that book Meredith has inappropriate chemistry with Alaric and shifting the personalities validates at least one of my ships. Somehow I’m sure it does.

Also, sort of like happened with show Caroline, becoming a vampire seemed like the best thing to happen to book Elena’s characterization. This time around Elena was almost a likable character. Once she’s on the outside, having to confront her life and choices she’s a lot more human actually. And like show Care she deals with becoming a vampire pretty damn well all things considered.

Not that the book was anywhere close to perfect. I pretty much hated the first 30-50 pages and was close to throwing up my hands and not bothering any more. Because baby-vamp-Elena’s sudden defection to Damon’s side MADE NO SENSE. Once Elena was actually her own character again she actually got some decent development but the beginning was not good.

Book Damon remains a useless character and book Stefan is still pretty meh (although I kind of dug the Stefan/Elena in this book a lot more than I have been and also WAY more than I am on the show right now). Actually I do have one caveat to my Damon is useless statement, that in the ONE scene we get from his POV he almost becomes an actual character for a second. I guess it’s like she show, Damon fighting for his brother I can get behind, Damon around Elena less so. But Damon not being the bad guy makes him EVEN MORE USELESS.

I’m not going to completely hold it against the book as part of the reason it was so obvious to me was from the show, but it seemed REALLY FREAKING OBVIOUS to me that Katherine was the big bad. And then she got a case of JKR expositoryism at the end where she had to explain everything she had done up to that point. And dear lord book Kat, I still want to throw show Kat at you and teach you a thing or two about owning your inner psychotic bitch, because trying to make the buys love each other is not a valid reason to fake your death; it’s like she’s so close yet so far away from her potential..

And really I hate how both Katherine and Elena were in the end used to bookend the brothers’ relationship WHEN THE BOOK WASN’T EVEN ABOUT IT. On the show at least Stefan and Damon’s relationship is this huge thing that, yes, is wrapped around the women in their lives, but in the book it’s basically an afterthought of ‘oh yeah they’re brothers aren’t they?’ But then the relationship between a ball of useless and a ball of meh isn’t going to be that interesting is it?

Okay, that was a lot of complaining, but I really did...almost like it. The biggest strengths of this book:
-Elena was actually on a character journey that wasn’t entirely wrapped up in the boys.
-The ensemble cast got plenty to do.
-Stefan wasn’t AS lifeless as he was in the first two volumes.
-Kinda sorta Founders Council.
-Decently done action to finish the book.

I do wonder where the series goes from here, so I guess I could keep going...but I think structurally the first three volumes feel like one story. Kind of like a season of the show (a short one maybe) that now is going to have to clean up its finale mess before it can move forward with a new plot. While the show is pretty good at that, I have less expectations when it comes to the books. They haven’t earned me having faith in them.

Comments

[threerings.livejournal.com]

The fourth book, which was added on to this trilogy much later, is actually my favorite, I think. Elena isn't in it, since she's, you know, dead. And Stefan and Damon are sorta kinda trying to be friends and look out for each other, re: Elena's last wishes.

So, I think you should read that one. And then after that, I will have some things to say about the UTTER HORROR of The Return trilogy, and some of the shit that happens with characters in that one. (Still haven't bothered to read the third one. Have it illegally downloaded cause I couldn't bear to give any more $ for that crap. Maybe if I get really sick sometime I'll read it.)

[jedi_of_urth]

Well the book I have checked out from the library has the forth one right after the third so I'll probably keep going. So far the have been getting better so I hope that continues (from the sound of it, it might not). I don't know that I'd ever drop money on these books, but the library is my friend.

But I can't decide if I should continue with this or go back to the Stefan's Diaries books, which are actually about the characters I like.

[wheatear.livejournal.com]

I told you it got better! At least... I think I did, right? I forget who I've talked to about the books. But yeah, Elena actually had a character journey and she was much more likeable by the end.

[jedi_of_urth]

You did say that, and you were right, they definitely got better even if I'm still not comfortable calling any of them good. They definitely got closer to that mark as the series progressed (to this point at least).