The Society of S

This unusual novel is a highly cerebral account of what it’s like to be a twenty-first-century teenage vampire. It is written more in the spirit of Bertrand Russell – frequently quoted – than Stephenie Meyer, author of the bestselling ‘Twilight’ series. But while acknowledging the author’s brave attempts to bring the science of biology into her story, its stifling atmosphere of adolescent introspection at full throttle linked to paragraphs of uncritical parent-worship soon gets too much. Even the odd slayings that occur form a backdrop to yet more inner questioning rather than acting as crises on their own. Ariella, its 14-year-old heroine, has serious issues both with her father, who dominates her, and with her long-lost mother, who walked out on her when she was a baby. They all get together by the end, in the company of a few other shadowy characters who never come convincingly to life. Odd ruminations on what it is like to be a vampire scattered throughout the text may appeal, but on the whole finishing this novel is like leaving behind a stuffy, over-cluttered room for all the benefits of fresh air and sunshine outside.