Thursday 5 September 2013

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

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Tana woke lying in a bathtub. Her legs drawn up, her cheek pressed against the cold metal of the faucet. A slow drip had soaked the fabric on her shoulder and wetted locks of her hair. The rest of her, including her clothes, were still completely dry, which was kind of a relief.
Published by Indigo on 5th September 2013
Pages – 347
Goodreads Summary
Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.
One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.
*****
For a long time now,  I’ve felt that Holly Black’s immense talent has been underrated by readers, so I’m hoping this book will push her into the number one fantasy spot she so rightly deserves. I’ve loved everything Holly Black has ever written, but I really do think she has stepped it up a notch with this book.
If you haven’t guessed already, I loved The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, which is surprising because it’s overflowing with vampires, a fantasy breed I now usually roll my eyes with boredom at. Yet there was definitely no eye rolling at these vampires – Holly Black has stripped them of their goody two shoes Twilight enhanced image and laid bare the nastiest, most vicious vampires that have not seen the light of day since Anne Rice brought us An Interview With A Vampire. Some of these vampires are ancient, and with each passing year have grown more evil. This book isn’t frightened to detail the most goriest, bloodiest demises of innocent victims who stupidly thought that Coldtown was the coolest place to be.
Tana, the main protagonist has got her head screwed on correctly. She isn’t lured by the bright lights portrayed in the Coldtown reality show feeds. She knows first hand, what it’s like to be at the hands of a ravenous vampire. Her aim is to get in and out of Coldtown as quick as she can. Unfortunately for her, things don’t always go her way and her exit from Coldtown always seems to be just out of reach.
The growing friendship between Tana and Gavriel really heats the plot up. Most people wouldn’t want to be in the same county as Gavriel, but something attracts Tana to him, and she shows no fear in his company. She shows that she has enough fight within her to stand up to Gavriel’s worst enemies.  Gavriel has a lot of secrets, which are slowly unwrapped as the story progresses.
I loved the idea behind the Coldtown. It reminded me a little of Julie Kagawa’s new series Blood of Eden – only Julie’s vampires live on the outside of the town, where as Holly Black has contained all her vampires in glamorously illusioned cities.
This book has embraced the internet age and easily woven it into the world of fantasy. I couldn’t find fault with this book at all. It was the most refreshing vampire novel, I’ve read in a long time. When Holly Black writes, she makes it look so easy. I can’t wait for the next book to find out what happens to Tana in the future.
If you like your vampires old school style, then this is the book for you.

2 comments:

  1. When I heard vampire, I figured this wasn't for me, but so many people have raved about it, I've got to give it a try.

    ReplyDelete
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