I’ve never really considered the parallels between vampirism and college life until now. On one hand, you have fevered nights of unbridled, savage consumption to satiate an all encompassing thirst and, on the other hand, you have vampirism. In the recently released novel, THRALL, writer Rebecca Mahoney explores the already fully explored but nonetheless popular vampire genre only this time, it’s set in the mountainous surroundings of a relatively remote Appalachian university.
Lucy Easting is new on campus and looking to mingle before classes begin in a week. When she awakens after a party with hazy memories and puncture marks on her neck, she quickly begins to piece together that she may have been the victim of a vampire. There are others aware of the evil stalking the school grounds and they and Lucy team up to try and stop the lurking evil before Lucy becomes a permanent member of the class of… the children of the night! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)
The vampire genre is completely saturated, hashed and rehashed to the point where there need not ever be another single word written about vampires. But need and want are often two different things and I still want more vampire content dammit! THRALL does a pretty good job of satiating that want, or thirst, if you will. The story is tight, the characters are solid and the blood is sparse but flowing. I particularly enjoyed the dynamic and interplay between a certain vampire couple–Hiro and Laurentious–who show up a little bit less than halfway through the book. They have such an endearing relationship that, while tested by the trappings of immortality, they still maintain such great affection for one another. It’s, I dunno… kinda adorable. In fact, the book has some really solid LGBTQ+ representation in spite of the relatively small cast of characters.
In my opinion, the star of this book is writer Rebecca Mahoney. Her writing voice is just a delight to read. She has such a great flow and makes fantastic descriptive choices that aren’t overwrought or needless. There’s an elegance to her writing that served to elevate this relatively simple story. Her characters were relatable and had their own distinct personalities and all without saddling them with weird, random quirks as a way for the reader to distinguish them easily. Their nature and personalities are made evident in their actions, decisions and dialog. That’s the way it should always be. I also got quite the chuckle over Lucy and her crew’s plight of figuring out how to navigate their vampire problem around their impending class schedule. Such responsible young people. I love to see it.
There’s an overarching theme about the ever present dangers of the world at large and how, if we spend our lives avoiding the potential pitfalls we concoct in our minds, we may end up missing out on actually living. Lucy’s strained relationship with her mother, Jillian, is the way in which this thesis is tested and, as a parent, I can sympathize with Jillian’s fears and anticipation of which undefined, yet potentially life-ending, threat could possibly lurk around every corner. I can also identify with Lucy’s need to set her own path and not be held back by someone else’s apprehensions about life.
Aside from that main idea, I wish the book had a bit more to say thematically. I don’t think every book needs to be a web of allegorical and thematic layering, but I was hoping for a slightly deeper read than what was provided. There were also no new ideas introduced in terms of vampire lore including all of the tried and true tips and tricks for how to deal with vampires. The big bad of the story was a bit generic in his origin and not nearly as formidable as the earlier sections of the book would imply. The ending, in particular, felt like something I’d seen and read numerous times before in other vampire stories. I wish something a bit more outside the box could have been employed to really knock this thing out of the park.
THRALL is a nice, casual read for those who can’t get enough Vampires in their lives. It doesn’t ask much of you as the reader and you shouldn’t expect much more than an enjoyable for what it is, yet superbly worded distraction. I really want to reiterate how adept Rebecca Mahoney is with her lyrical style of writing. Even though the story itself didn’t grab me by the throat, per se, the way it was written was beautiful and definitely makes me interested in seeing if her previous two books, THE MEMORY EATER and THE VALLEY AND THE FLOOD might have more of an impact on me. But THRALL, overall is a no strings attached, fun time that serves its purpose. And sometimes, that’s not so bad.
