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The Fury:
The Vampire Diaries 3

L. J. Smith

First Published 1991 (this edition 2007)          245 pages

Reviewed by Ania Tyburska

Summary (from the book jacket)

Love can kill.
Elena: transformed, the golden girl became what she once feared and desired.

Stefan: tormented by losing Elena, he’s determined to end his feud with Demon once and for all- whatever the cost. But slowly he begins to realize that his brother is not his only enemy.

Demon: at last he possesses Elena. But will his thirst for revenge against Stefan poison his triumph? Or can they come together to face one final battle?

The Review

I read the first part of Vampire Diaries some time ago and was not impressed. It seemed like watered down, dissolved version of some really good stuff, which is what I have learned to expect from the Young Adult literature. I only came back to it because of TV series, which, though not perfect, had enough eye candy to give you a sugar rush. So I sped through The Struggle, which Amanda already reviewed and began The Fury.

I have to say there is some great stuff at the beginning of the book. Elena, the heroine of the previous two parts, is murdered in some mysterious circumstances and her long- suffering lover, Stefan, blames his brother, Demon. An epic fight ensues. But Elena is not dead! She had enough blood from both brothers to rise as a vampire and she rushes to help her maker, which quite accidentally is Demon, not Stefan.

There are few chapters were Elena, the baby vamp, operates on the very basic, most visceral level and they are a real pleasure to read. Unfortunately she soon regains her composure, remembers her undying love for Stefan and comes back to her vapid, beauty queen self. Also Stefan pretty quickly gets over his dark, violent period and becomes the old, tormented martyr. Demon seems mostly bored by the whole situation and you can hardly blame him, as he is the only full- blooded character in the whole novel.

The situation mostly stays the same until the end of the book which again showed that L. J. Smith has some juice in her. It makes me wonder if she would be capable of writing a decent adult book – because there is some good writing in The Vampire Diaries. Stories are interesting and finished with cliff-hangers. Characters are diverse and full of ambiguity. Throw in some more brutality, verbal abuses and graphic sex and it could be one hell of a novel. As it is it is, it stays mostly some G-rated blubbering with only pretense to greatness.

LoveVampires Review Rating:

Note: In the 2007 HarperTeen re-released edition of The Vampire Diaries the second two books in the series, The Fury and Dark Reunion, are published in one volume.