Ghost Town (Morganville Vampires, #9)

by Rachel Caine

[Jo]

This title includes a brand new and exclusive Morganville short story. When Claire is ordered to repair the systems that protect Morganville, it's not just cutting into her study time, it's a life-threatening problem. If there's one thing this vampire-infested town is serious about, it's security. But achieving the impossible only brings a whole new set of problems, and the upgrades have unexpected consequences: people inside the town are slowly beginning to forget who they are, even the vampires. Soon, the town's little memory problem has turned into a full-on epidemic. Now Claire needs to figure out a way to pull the plug on her experiment - before she forgets how to save Morganville... From Amazon UK

Oh my god, there are no words to describe the awesomeness that is Rachel Caine and her Morganville Vampires series. I've said it before, and I'll say it again; Rachel Caine is, quite simply, a genius. Fact. Every single time I read one of these books, I am blown away by this woman's imagination and how far it stretches. It seems there is no end to what Rachel Caine can think up to put our wonderful Claire, Eve, Shane and Michael through. It is amazing to me that these characters are still alive, let alone sane. Caine sure lands them in a lot of crazy, but, man, you've got to love the crazy that is Morganville!

In Carpe Corpus, Ada - the human turned vampire turned vampire brain controlling the computer/machine that keeps the town running - died, leaving the computer without a brain to control. The boundries that stop people leaving Morganville and the memory loss that effects people who are allowed to leave Morganville aren't working. Amelie is tired of the town being at risk, so she gets Claire and Myrnin to fix it. And they do. Sort of.

But then strange things start happening. People start to get confused and forget things. They try to go to work in places that no longer exist. They go home to houses they no longer live at. They think they're back at school. They think relatives who have died are still around. They lost three years of their lives over the course of a few days. And it's not just the humans, vampires are forgetting too. Not so great for a human when they turn up to see a vampire who now has no recollection of who they are and why they are intruding. Those who were once assistants now become snacks. And because of the machine.

What follows is the crazy I have mentioned before. Seriously, crazy crazy. If you didn't think Morganville was safe before, think again. You have vampires being the kind of vampires we would expect them to be; terrifying, fast, strong hunters who want nothing more than your blood. Which is even worse when one of those vampires happens to be Myrnin, who was never really sane to begin with. Myrnin becomes the most terrifying monster; crazy, mad scientist who likes to play with his food.

Claire has to race against time to get the machine sorted before she forgets herself. And with more and more people around you not knowing who the hell you are, it becomes much more difficult. Not to mention lonely. I can't really say much more without causing lots and lots of spoilers, but this book is quite literally... mad. But amazing. And just completely genius!

There is the amazingly awesome action that you come to expect from a Morganville Vampire novel; fast paced, seriously dangerous, and leaving you on the edge of your seat. There is also a lot of emotion flying all over from everyone; hearts break and people go almost half mad. It's just too brilliant!

This really is an amazing yet unbelievable story from Caine. My jaw was literally dropping when I read the last page, and I'm dying for the next book! The stories just get better and better. If my review isn't enough to make you want to pick this book up, the fact that Ghost Town made the Number One Children's Bestseller List in the UK should!

There is also an exclusive to the UK short story at the back of this book called Worth Living For, which happens between Fade Out and Kiss of Death. Following Shane, it's about the possibility of Michael helping a fugitive, and it's awesome. It's Shane. It's Michael. It's amazing.

And I am so, so, so glad there are three more books before the end of this series, though I would much rather it went on and on. Bring on Bite Club, which is coming out in May 2011!

From Once Upon a Bookcase - YA book blog