The Forever Song

The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one fantastic end to a fantastic series.

The Blood of Eden series began with The Immortal Rules, wherein the main protagonist Allison Sekemoto becomes a vampire. This is a life she freely chooses, which is important: Immortal Rules explores Allison's journey to accept herself for what she has become. Several other characters are introduced as well; most notably they are Kanin, the master vampire who "turned" Allie, Zeke, the love interest, and Jackal, the comic relief and resident bad guy. These characters shine against a backdrop of a plague that has swept the former United States, enabling vampires to take charge and make all the rules. The basic plot follows a group of humans making their way to a haven called Eden, a protected island free from threats.

The second book, The Eternity Cure, introduces a very bad villain named Sarren. In this sequel Allie finds a new family of sorts in her vampire community. She continues to question her identity as Sarren raises a new threat - he intends to wipe out not just the humans, but everyone on the planet. New alliances are made between old enemies. The story ends on a horrific cliffhanger, and the thing about cliffhangers is simply this: that last book had better be amazing or readers are going to be disappointed, tainting their opinions of the entire series.

Kagawa has outdone herself with this conclusion. It is suspenseful, horrific, gory and unpredictable. It is at times endearing and romantic. The action really doesn't stop at all as the family of vampires hunt down Sarren, the psychopathic villain. And this guy is one bad dude, leaving an unrelenting trail of senseless, bloody massacre. Although the journey is clearly laid out, the scenes are full of unexpected action and traps set by the antagonist. The tension in the buildup to the story's climax never slackens; it builds like the foam on a glass of soda, overflowing just a bit before settling down. And along the way we are continually glimpsing into Allie's psyche and her observations of those around her.

There are no new characters introduced here; instead, we are able to watch the cast from the previous book as they change according to the events that happen. There is a lively banter between Allie and Jackal, which provides a lot of the comic relief. There are laughable moments as Kanin, the "blood father" of Allie and James, endures their childish bickering with dwindling patience. Jackal's character was never quite clear in terms of his motives, but his dry humour provided some much-needed comic relief.

All in all, things concluded perfectly. There were no loose ends, no wondering about what might happen beyond the scope of the story. This is the way a trilogy should end: hopeful, conclusive, and satisfying. Thank you Julie Kagawa - well done!



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