Customer Reviews

The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Nightfall

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(39)
2 star:		(34)
1 star:		(74)

 

 

I've been an LJ Smith fan for such a long time. Like many others, I waited patiently through years of silence and years of fans asking me when Strange Fate would come out, as though I had any clue just because I had a website. When LJ Smith announced that her next book would be a Vampire Diaries sequel, I was disappointed - after all, weren't all those NightWorld fans waiting for Strange Fate? Shouldn't they come first? - but hopeful. More Damon? Hells yeah! I don't even LIKE NightWorld! Bring it on, this new Vampire Diaries!

Unfortunately, I returned this book the day after I got it, feeling nothing short of heartbreak. I know LJ Smith can do better than this, because she has done better before, and this is probably the lowest point in her writing career, by far. If she were a poorer author, I would expect it of her and excuse it all away, but she's not, and so I can't find any excuses in me. She's better than this. She really, truly is.

The book takes place a mere week after the original four. This was big mistake #1, because the original books DO have the dates in them, dating book 5 instantly to the summer of 1992, and yet everyone suddenly has a smart phone with video call capabilities, digital cameras, and personal computers. This is just one of the many gaping plot holes and inconsistencies in this book that shows just how much love and care the publishers gave it before throwing it out into the world. Did they even remember they'd just re-released 4 other books and should probably check for continuity when editing this one? I'm thinking no.

The remaining big problems with this book? The plot and the characterization. NOBODY escapes this book unscathed. It would seem that Damon the enigmatic bad boy, once you're actually in his head, is just a vain and simpering frat boy who smiles at nothing in particular and thinks Bonnie's breasts are disappointingly small. Furthermore, it would seem that all he really wants is to weep at Elena's feet and beg for forgiveness. Sure, redeeming the bad boy is the fantasy of many a teenage girl (and adult woman!), but I don't think that's quite what we had in mind, Ms. Smith. As for the others? Well, Matt's all right (although Damon can't seem to remember his name, leading me to believe he suffered some severe brain damage in the fight with Klaus). Everyone else, not so much. They're like tragic caricatures of themselves, especially poor Caroline. In an effort to find a segueway villain, LJ Smith destroys any and all character development from Caroline to crowbar the new villains in through her. I'll get to Elena in a moment. Let's talk about these new villains.

As others have mentioned, it seems like LJ Smith has been cooped up in the house with every season of Sailor Moon for the past 10 years. The villains are kitsune twins, who look like Pokemon and act like Team Rocket, spout stereotypical Japanese words, and seem to generally fail at being anything other than vaguely annoying and really attractive, in that Hot Topic color-scheme sort of way. There are suddenly random Japanese families in Fell's Church who, of course, randomly provide clues. If I didn't know LJ Smith better, I'd suspect her of some cultural racism because these characters border on parodies of Japanese people and folklore, but I know her better than that, and suspect that this is completely accidental on her part. Lastly, Elena's healing and flying powers (oh yeah, did I mention she has wings?) all have thematic names, which she yells out as she's executing them. Wings of Purification!

Did I forget to mention the angry sentient trees from the angry Old Wood that has suddenly appeared in Fell's Church as though it's been there all along? And giant invisible insects made of jell-o that seem to be causing a rash of possessions in Fell's Church? Because that's all I'm going to say about those.

This brings me back to Elena. The poor girl has taken a real character beating here. Firstly, she wakes up the next morning after the end of book 4 acting like a mute child. She can't talk (or apparently think), her eyes are purple, and she floats around naked like a firefly. She makes out with everybody to recognize them because prairie dogs do it (don't ask me, I don't understand either), but there's nothing sexual in it, except that everyone freaks out and distracts Stefan when she does it to Matt, which... doesn't that make it sexual? Anyway, let's not dwell too long on that. Elena can't wear any of her clothing because she sees the tragic sweat shop laborers who worked on it if she does, so they have to find her sweat shop-free clothing. This isn't the first time LJS has had a message for us, but it is the least subtle time, and it was very grating. Yes, sweat shops are bad, but can we get back to the vampires now? Elena has a similar Tinkerbell moment near the end where she hears magical spirits giving her moral advice on the nature of just combat, and everyone believes in her so that she can gain the power to fly. It's really bizarre, and all of these preachy Elena moments come off like an uncomfortable talk your parents might give you about Bad Things In The World Today.

Speaking of vampires, the vampires really take a back seat here. If you've come for the vampires, don't bother unless you'd like to stay for the kitsune, angels, and angry trees. And weeping Damon begging for forgiveness. There's maybe one vampire scene, two or three if you count vaguely vampiric displays of bloodletting.

I could keep going about the bad - no, REALLY - but I'll end on the good. There are a few scenes, and tiny little moments, in this book that made me smile, little hints of the LJ Smith I know and love. I think there were other scenes that COULD have been good, had they been placed into a different context. LJ Smith has also since released two stories on her website, one bad (Damon/Bonnie, which started out promising and then headed back into Nightfall territory) and one incredible (Matt/Elena, a prequel of sorts), which gives me hope. Maybe this is just one really bad book, one really ridiculous blip on the radar, and this too shall pass. Maybe the LJ Smith I love really is still in there, working hard to make Shadow Souls a success. I'll buy Shadow Souls when it comes out, and hopefully this time, I won't return it in disgust. I'll clap and believe in you all you want, LJ Smith, if it'll just make your writing fly again.

When all is said and done, though this book will NEVER touch my bookshelves, I have a silly little pair of Wings of Redemption for LJ Smith left in me yet. Please support this wonderful author by purchasing her other wonderful books and recommending them to all your friends. Just skip this one to avoid the disappointment it entails, and hope for the best. Better luck next time, Lisa.

This book is a bit of a train wreck: there's too much going on, and many events seem to make no sense. Another reviewer is dead-on in describing much of the book as bizarre. I have followed the series since original publication and recently bought the new paperbacks of original books, as they are falling apart.

Some folks may think it unfair to compare the fifth book to the other four in The Vampire Diaries, but what's the point in reading a series if not to find some continuity in the characters? Yes, I know a decade has passed, but there is little left from the previous books-- the amazing characters and their chemistry are gone. I feel like LJ Smith wanted to write another story, and just stuck Elena, Damon and Stefan in here for good measure. There are a few glimpses of the old magic, but they are very few and very far between.

I agree with much of the criticism in other posts about the book, and regret buying it. The book drags on for far too long, with tedious action/torment or near death scenes. Elena and her ever-changing powers, mentality, and "otherness" are too strange and almost absurd. And some scenes feel they were just added randomly and make little sense: the massage being a prime example (yes, I know he can be both brutal and tender.) It also seems like LJ Smith tried to cram every bit of existing folklore into this book: magic keys, angel wings, scary creatures.

To give praise where due, there are some good moments between Damon and Elena. And we do get to know more about the mysterious Mrs. Flowers. But, in the end, this book was a big disappointment. If the series continues, then I'll wait on the library's borrow list.

This was so different from any other L.J. Smith book I've ever read.I was so very excited, and was counting the days until this book came out. I have read all of her other books and absolutely loved them. Fans of hers won't really recognize her writing in most of this book, to be honest it sounds like weird fan fiction. Every once in a while you catch a glimmer of what made the original books so special, but it's fleeting. The dialogue was cheesy and ridiculous. I keep seeing people refer to a more "mature" writing style, but I disagree completely. I feel like her style has regressed if anything, as many parts of the book are sloppy. I'm sure I'll buy the other books, because something written by her is better than nothing. I definitely won't pay 20$ again for one though! But this book was in a word, bizarre. At some points I felt like the amazing characters she created in the first 4 books, weren't growing or changing in any way, but that they were simply unrecognizable. I also completely agree with other reviewers when they say that Damon was more or less destroyed in the book. She is still my favorite author of all time, I just didn't enjoy this nearly as much as I had hoped!

Dear Diary,

I just finished Nightfall and was so disappointed I had to vent my frustrations to you, dear friend. I can't believe my big return was so dreadful! It makes me sad to have to relate it to the original four Diaries. Those were... refreshing. Ahead of their time. Concise. Maybe even eloquent. This was... not any of those things. I feel like Nightfall has stained the Vampire Diaries' reputation (even worse than Caroline's will be!).

If I could, I would fire the editor. What a poor job! How could he or she have let a 300 page story be bloated to 500+ pages like this? It's longer than two of the original stories combined! Far too plumped up with drawn out descriptions, repetitive situations, and endless circles in the Old Wood. Or was it a snow globe? I'm really not sure. Diary, I just couldn't see the whole story for the trees. I mean that! Mostly, we all just kept running into trees- literally!- and crazy little girls. It was kind of exciting at times, but then we did the same thing so often it stopped being exciting. I don't think we got very far, in anything. By the time we hit the climax, with more trees, by the way, I was already so bored (and maybe a little confused), I just kept flipping the pages to get to the end. I tried to throw the book at the wall to dash the snow globe myself, but sadly, it didn't work. I'm still not clear on when we got out of it. If we did.

Damon was just awful the whole time. I guess I know he wasn't himself, but then was he? I used to think he was charming, dangerous and sexy, insouciant in the best possible way. I wonder if I was wrong. It seemed more like he's just immature and vain, which is not sexy at all, especially after at least a half century of time to grow up. Anyway, I know he loves me- doesn't everyone?!- and probably in future stories I'll submit to our dangerous, deep-rooted passion that I keep reading about. That would likely screw things up with Stefan though, shoot.

Poor Stefan. He was gone almost the whole time and I wonder if we'll ever get him back. It's funny... I came back from the dead for *him*- twice!- so you'd think all these other adoring guys around me wouldn't be so hard to resist. But they are. Why is that? Am I so flighty? Will our love stand these tests? Maybe Stefan is just going to turn out to be sweet but boring, which would be too bad, since a whole series was based on my getting with him. Or, because of my awesome new powers, maybe I'll do what Katherine couldn't do- get the brothers to share! Wouldn't that be fun? We could all three live happily ever after!

I didn't mean to make a bad pun by calling myself "flighty"... I mean, even I admit my new wings are kind of silly, but they're so useful! All I have to do is _believe_ in myself, and I can do all kinds of things, including save the day! Remember kids: have a little self-esteem- along with a few friends who believe in you too- and you can do _anything_! I think that's the point the wings were making, anyway. The power is in you and all that. Kind of cheesy, but whatever. I have to remind readers what's good and bad. Like sweatshops are bad. But nakedness? Probably not bad. We're born that way, you know.

You might be wondering why I haven't really mentioned my other friends yet. Well, diary, if you want to know the truth, it's because they didn't do a whole lot in this book. Oh yeah, I know they were in a lot of scenes, but mostly they just got roughed around and as confused by what was going on as the readers. Otherwise, they were pretty much exactly the same as before, and I didn't learn hardly anything about them at all, except that they'd die for me, and that they believe in me, but duh, I already knew all that. Oh, and they did all get cell phones. None of us had those before! Apparently when I came back to life I also moved time 15 years into the future. Anyway, Mrs. Flowers might end up being kind of cool, if expendable (hey, she said it, not me!), and I thought she might actually do something in this story, but then she just got lost in the shuffle. Or in the snow globe? I'm not sure.

Well, I guess that's it for now, dear friend. You'll just have to read the next few stories if you want to find out if any of these problems get fixed. That is, if you can bring yourself to buy them after this one.

--Elena

PS. I think the funny fox things are coming back, but I'm not really sure. I can't even figure out what they really wanted- besides me, of course- or what their point was.

Years ago, I was a huge fan of LJ Smith, and I still enjoy rereading her old books. When I heard she was writing again, and continuing in my favorite series, I was ecstatic. Then I read Nightfall. It took me over a month to slog through this book. I kept hoping it would get better. Not only did it fail to improve, but the story and writing continued to worsen until the very last page.

The book supposedly takes place very soon after the previous Vampire Diaries entry left off, but with amazingly bad characterization and writing that sounds like a middle schooler's first foray into fiction, the only things The Return has in common with the first four Vampire Diaries are the names of characters and places.

This work has been described as "darker" and "more adult" than the author's other publications. This could not be farther from the truth. Yes, there was more violence and sexual innuendos here than in the previous books, but instead of being treated in anything resembling a mature manner, it felt more like certain situations were included merely for the titillation and shock value than for any connection to plot or character. How "Adult" a work is is not determined solely on the situations themselves, but more importantly, how those situations are treated. In The Return, there was no deeper meaning or affect, and I felt like I was watching a little kid curse for the first time and giggle.

One of the aspects of LJ Smith's writing that I admired most in her earlier stories was her use of silence and internal monologues. There is always so much more going through a person's mind than he or she ever voices aloud. This, however, seemed to disappear from Smith's craft because characters babbled on and on, without meaning or direction, for paragraphs and sometimes even pages. I understand writing out everything you want to think about on an initial draft, but the verbal diarrhea in the published version left me cringing.

I'm also at a loss for where all the Japanese elements came from. I'm a big fan of anime and manga, but in The Return, various devices, characters, and even words seemed to be just dropped into this previously established world with neither rhyme nor reason. Instead of creating original villains and interesting interactions that made sense with her previous works, it seems like Smith copied and pasted pieces of animes or mangas that she liked and shoehorned them into what could have been a quality story.

I want to say that there were still elements I liked, and I honestly believe that a few did exist, but they were so buried amidst the drek that I cannot specifically recall them. I'm thankful that I obtained this book through my library rather than purchasing it, and I might (if enough time passes) read Smith's future books in the hope that her craft will approach her former skill. In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy the four book Vampire Diaries series.

I'm an AVID LJ fan - like, "I own all the original publications of Vampire, Nightworld, Forbidden Game, Secret Circle AND even Dark Visions" kinda avid!

This is just horrible. I wish I had never read it because it just ruins the wonderful story of the first 4. What a complete disappointment for something so many of us have been waiting for.

If you REALLY love her - don't read this book. She's re-releasing Dark Visions soon - go get that.

The plot is just ridiculously convoluted, the characters are NOTHING like who they were in the first 4, Elena is some kind of all-around super hero like figure that's just ridiculous - Mrs. Flowers is like, thrown in to save the day when she was absent for the entire first series, Damon just reaches this weird level of cruelty that none of her readers would ever want him to be, and the "bad guys" are just stupid. The whole book is just a total waste of time, and it makes me VERY nervous for what's in store for us when she finally releases the conclusion to Night World.

Never have I read a book where the author seemed so determined to eviscerate her own characters and world; it borders on sadistic. It's painfully obvious that continuing the story of Elena, Stefan, and Damon was not the story she wanted to tell because otherwise I am at a complete loss as to how Nightfall relates to the original series in any way, shape, or form. Reading this book is like being punished for loving and recommending The Vampire Diaries for nearly 20 years.

Worse yet is that it's insufferably dull. Pages and pages of scenes and conversations that go nowhere, chapters that end in odd places, changes in POV that shift for no discernible reason. And the character assassination would be impressive if the characters of the original series had bothered to show up in anything but name only. My deepest sympathies to Damon Salvatore, one of the great YA anti-heroes, for this is apparently "his" (soon-to-be) trilogy and, possession or no, he is destroyed here. Oh, right, he's "possessed" - how convenient.

As for this being a more "adult" L.J. Smith - I could not disagree more. Gratuitous violence and sophomoric sexual overtones do not an "adult" novel make. "Adult" indicates a depth and maturity that exists nowhere on these pages. Instead we are forced to endure absurd musings over lingerie while someone is dying, euphemisms for sex that are utterly juvenile, and implications about sexuality that are at best offensive and at worst irresponsible. All of it is as far removed from the very adult, very subtle themes of the original series as to be absurd.

If you hold the original series dear, buy the reissues and cherish them as much as you cherish those original copies that are now falling apart. And if you re-read them, you'll be one step ahead of the author, editor(s), and publisher, who obviously didn't bother; the inconsistencies between this book and its predecessors reflect nothing but contempt for the fans and a desperate bid to cash in on Twilight's popularity. Well, guess what? The original series has stood the test of time for nearly two decades. "The Return" is a joke.

I liked the first four books and rushed out to by this one. I stuck with it to the end, though if it had been my first from the series or author, I would never have finished it.

I don't even recognize the characters. They don't fit the design of the other books at all. If you want to change personalities so drastically, it needs to take place over several books, not just a few chapters (or pages!). The plot is twisty, leaving holes and build-ups with no resolution. It was all very confusing and thrown together. The end was a clear lead-in to the next book, but I can't say that I care to read it. I felt like this book was cut-off to force you into buying the next one.

Honestly, I wish I could un-read it. It totally changed my view of the Vampire Diaries series.

I read the authors last post. I am glad that she is happy that this controversy has stirred up sales, but I hope she realizes that people like me will not be wasting our money on future books.

I read the first four Vampire Diaries books when they were originally published, and fell in love with the characters found within. So when it was announced that a fifth book would be written, so many years later, it was cause for celebration.

Unfortunately, not only does Nightfall falls flat of expectations, it is completely tarnishes the books that came before. All character developement gained in TVD 1-4 is lost, cast aside as if it never even exists. In Nightfall, characters are flat and uninteresting. Damon, once darkly seductive, charming and dangerous, now resembles a petulant spoiled child. Elena has become a vapid 'angel' with magic powers that seem to come right out of anime. Caroline Forbes, who was finding personal redempetion towards the end of The Dark Reunion has suddenly gone back to the dark side - with the poor motivation of wanting to find a baby daddy. The other characters as weakly characterized at best.

And the bad guys in this novel seem to come out of nowhere. Kitsunes, while very interesting in theory, seem to have no place in this story. Perhaps they could have, if better intigrated, but as it stands, they are just another baffling addition to a book that seems thrown together from various places. The narrative itself is choppy, and could definitely use some fine tuning.

All in all, I was terribly disappointed to see beloved characters reduced to so little. I realize that authors writing styles change over time, but if that is the case, perhaps it is wiser to write something fresh and original rathering than toying with a series that is beloved and treasured by so many.

To those who truly love the Vampire Diaries (the original four) I would not recommend this at all. Instead, read the originals and remember how wonderful they were.

I absolutely enjoyed reading the first four books of "The Vampire Diaries". And I really WISH I could say the same for this new one.

But I can't.

This book is NOTHING at all like the previous "Diaries" books. It seemed like it was an ENTIRELY different book with new characters that happened to have the same names of characters in her last one. Everything was bizarre and unbelievable and things happened so fast that I didn't quite get what I was reading. I know the series isn't that believable to begin with since it does involve vampires but if vampires did exist, I'd imagine what happened in the first four books could happen. What happened in this one? Not so much.

Honestly, the bizarreness isn't a bad thing. I wouldn't have mind it were it a completely different book with characters I never heard of before. But Elena, Bonnie, Meredith, Matt, Stefan, Damon. These are characters I've been following since the first book. And now suddenly everything is weird.

Also, the year is supposed to be 1992. At least that's what year it was with the last book. I don't get how suddenly everyone has cell phones, and not just cell phones but phones that allow you to see who you are talking to. I know it's 2009 and technology is exploding these days but you can't just change things like that! It's such a small thing but really... some of the smallest things could be the biggest buggers.

I was also hoping something was going to happen between Bonnie and Damon (another reviewer mentioned this and I agree). Damon is not my favorite, Bonnie is, but in the fourth book I felt those two could/would get closer. And it was promising for a few pages! But it doesn't look like it's going to happen.

I'm not fond of the newest addition to "The Vampire Diaries", and I doubt I will continue to read the series... L.J. Smith should have ended it after the fourth one.