Customer Reviews

Ghost Town (Morganville Vampires, Book 9)

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

Every time I think Rachel Caine has written herself into a corner and can't possibly think of new ways to torture Claire and her friends, she proves me wrong. GHOST TOWN doesn't try to top the previous books by bringing in bigger and badder outside threats (really, what could be worse than Bishop?), instead she does something much scarier: she makes Claire watch helplessly as humans and vampires alike forget...everything.

At this point in the series I have certain expectations from a Morganville book: smart and snarky dialog, sweet romance, and helpless fury over the unjust treatment of humans. GHOST TOWN delivers all that and more. In a way, it's like a tabula rasa, a blank slate. We get to see Myrnin at the height of his insanity, Amelie as the formidable Founder she once was, and best/worst of all we see Shane forget and fall for Claire all over again.

Most series fizzle out long before reaching nine books. And fewer still reach that number with any kind of momentum. The Morganville Vampire series has twelve books planned so far and shows no sign of slowing down. I'll go so far as to say this series gets better with every book. KISS OF DEATH and GHOST TOWN being the best yet. I really hope that everything works out for the TV adaptation. The Morganville Vampire series already reads like it was made for television. Until then, I'll have to bear the wait like everyone else for the next book, BITE CLUB, due out in April 2011.

Sexual Content: Kissing. References to sex.

I just finished this book last night (mine arrived a day early for whatever reason) and I have to say it was better then I could have ever imagined! First of all I was thrilled to see so much of Myrnin (he is by far my favorite character) and the ending was a real shocker.... I don't want to write any spoilers, but if you are a fan of the series this is a must read <3

**anyone who hasn't read any of the books yet should start with Glass Houses

cant wait till the next book!! how long do we have to wait?? =]

Let me just begin by saying that I am a huge fan of this series and If you haven't started reading it, do so right now. I read the complete thing (books 1-9) in less than a week. It was that addicting. Anyways, like the other books, Ghost Town was beautifully written and included all of the elements that I love about this series. There is tons of mystery, excitement, romance and humor.I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical going into book 9, I mean usually by this point, a series starts to go off the deep end. Honestly, how far can you take the same set of characters? And how exactly do you follow up a villian like Bishop? But somehow Caine managed to keep things going strong, by pulling out all the stops. Tell me what is more frightening than having everyone you know and love forget you?


Claire is as feisty and determined as ever. She, once again, gets herself in an undesirable predicament. As a punishment, she is forced to fix the machine that wipes the memories of those who leave Morganville. Well, of course, something goes wrong and people (and vampires) start loosing their memories. Those who are infected are taken back mentally to three years ago. Let's just say that chaos ensues. Soon, Claire has no choice but to try and fix the machine and she is forced to make some unlikely alliances along the way.


There is plenty of excitement within the book, just like you would come to expect from this series. There are also a number of twists throughout the plot, I don't want to give too much away, but they certainly keep you on your toes. All of your favorite characters are back and ready for action, Eve, Michael, Shane, Mrynin, Amelie and Oliver are all featured throughout the book.

I think what makes this series so great is the relationships between the characters. Not only are there great romantic relationships, but there are also a number of awesome friendships. I love the fab four - Claire, Shane, Eve and Michael; I just think they mesh well together. They always have each others back and each one of them would put themselves on the line for the other three. The connection these characters have is really a focus in this book - especially when people start loosing their memories. Caine really does a beautiful job showing how they all sort of gravitate towards each other.

All in all, Ghost Town was a great addition to the series. Everything that you love about this series continues in book 9, including the sarcasm, humor, excitement, danger, romance and superb storytelling. I'll say it again, if you haven't read this series yet, you really, really, need to. It is never to late to dive into a series, in fact I prefer it because you don't have to wait as long to see what happens next!

This ninth book in the Morganville Vampire series by Rachel Caine was all that I've wanted for the last several months. I mean, come on, what could be better than sexy, vicious, homicidal creatures. Yeah, yeah, I'm sure you could think of many things better, but not me.

So you can imagine my enjoyment of this book at the prospect of more vampires. That, and more Michael and Shane. *prrrr*

Plus, the totally bipolar/homicidal Myrnin is one of my all time favorite characters. His attire never ceases to amaze me.

Technically, this series could have closed off after book 7, but what would the fun be in that. And this book proved that there was more story to tell. We get a more gracious glimpse of the shmexy Shane in all his lickable glory as we do of Michael in his high school days of yore (cool word, yore!)

Our dearest Clare is at the top of her game trying to solve the most recent dilemma of memory loss. I've always loved Clare as a character. I think it's the fact that not only is she brilliant; she is strong and not prone to whining. I cannot stand whining. Girls who fail in the face of true hardship are a discredit to the race of female.

Wow, I'm harsh lately, especially on my own race (I blame Hubby *smiles*)

Clare though is not our only lovely female, we also have the beautiful, rice powdered goth, Eve. Her jabs at Shane are classic and her brutally honest nature is covetable in an ally. Plus, her fashion sense is quite awesome!

All in all, the characters were exactly what I needed and much more. In addition the plot was entertaining and electrifying. Because there is nothing like conniving, murdering vampires, hot sexy men, scientifical machines that control space and plenty of bedazzled stakes to make anyone happy.

These books have a manic energy about them that makes them impossible to put down. I read the first eight like a person obsessed, then had to stop and wait for Ghost Town. The wait led me to wonder if time to stop and regroup would somehow sully the next book, because series are not typically this consistently good. Something had to happen. Rachel Caine would go insane and wreck her series. It had to happen. It happens to practically all series, so why not this one?

Well, weirdly enough Ghost Town is just as crazy awesome as all the other books in the series. The story keeps going at its freakishly fast pace and there's still plenty of insane things that can happen in Morganville. This time, Amelie gives Claire an ultimatum: fix the machine that controls the town, or die. No sleep, no rest, no sitting down. What results is a machine that works, but after Myrnin's tinkering the town starts to slowly slip into the Morganville of three years previous. It doesn't help that Myrnin's gone crazy and wants to eat anything that comes near the machine. With all the native residents experiencing collective amnesia, Claire only has a select few people to call on for help: Oliver, who is never too pleased to be called on pretty much ever, and Frank, who's willing to go get a few cases of beer before getting his bikers and going to war.

The world building, as always, is the part of these books I can never quite accept, but the characters, relationships, and kick ass approach to life in the Morganville series make me happy enough to get over it.

** spoiler alert **
Ghost Town had too much build up, not nearly enough action. All the vampires turned into crying heartsick wimps and the whole "omg! _____(insert name here)___ is staked!" *some1 pulls it out & said vamp is fine* is getting quite lame. At first, it was scary, but now it's nothing surprising. It's the first reaction now when a vampire is in the way: Stake 'em! Really Mrs RC, don't you have any OTHER ideas to put into this long series?

I was cheering for more books, but after finishing this one, I'm not sure it should have more than the contracted 12... If the plot has become this watered down there is obviously nowhere else to go. It's nearing the end of the road. Ghost Town is my least favorite of the series. For the next book, #10, I'm going to read before I decide on buying. So dissapointing to end up right where the last book left off from. Minus Ada, plus Frank.

I feel cheated. I feel Myrnin got thrown into the role of villan because there was no other possible bad guy. And I can't even begin to speak of all the inconsistancy! As Mrynin would say: It made my head hurt!

If anyone disagrees feel free to speak up. But this book stank worse than Claire must have after her imprisonment.

This is by far one of the best vampire series I've ever read. The characters have depth and are interesting. The only books of this genre that can combine vampire, ordinary people, quantum physics and romance. Myrnyn is by far my favorite character. These book are just plain fun!

I love how Rachel Caine put's these stories together. There's nothing better then getting lost in her world.
So much has happened along the road in this series of books. She still can find more to add with out making it bland or boring. So I will tell you, This is one of my favriot series I have read during 2011 and I am looking forward to reading more of it. I hope if you havent got the chance to start on these wonderful books, that you will.
I find this one just as lovely as the others in this series.

~~ Recommended to Vampire Lovers, who like a little twist in the world.

After reading the last book in this series I really thought they were heading downhill. That wouldn't be unusual. Look at the Sookie Stackhouse books. They aren't as good as they once were. BUT... after reading this book I'm happy to say that things are looking up again. This book was great! And even better yet, there was much more Myrnan in this book. (He's by far my favorite character.) I think I'm starting to like all of the vampire characters better than Claire! They are unique and I'd love to hear more back story on them. This is a quick read and OMG when you get to the end... there is an ending in store that I don't think anyone will say was predictable.

I don't think there would be a problem if you read this book first or as a standalone but do yourself a favor and start with the first book. It's been so much fun to watch the characters grow and follow along with them!

Started reading them because my 16 year old was reading them. I like to see what is being put in her little mind. As with the rest of the book good morales and ethicks. A little bit of touchy feely but nothing to discripive. As a mother of all girls I was god with it. Love all the kids in the Glass house, everyone should have friends like them.