House of Night (4) - Untamed by P.C. and Kristin Cast
And now to part four of twelve - Untamed by P. C. and Kristin Cast (in French Rebelle, in German Ungezähmt) I read it in German where it contained 511 pages. Originally published 2008.
Zoey is alone. Her friends hate her, her boyfriends broke up. And she knows she deserves this. But when a prophecy warns her that she will die if her friends aren't there for her, her little pause is over: Z has to try to win back her friends and find out about her enemy's new evil plan: Freeing the fallen angel Kalona for her war on humanity... When not even the absolute high priestess of Nyx can't keep her in check, it's Zoey's job to stop her – or to keep the damage at a minimum.
This is one of my favourite parts of the series – because of Stark. Stark has a “healthy” self-confidence, sarcastic and self-ironic humour and is overall a kind person (and, of course, he's head over heels for Zoey...). And I love his dog. But this doesn't mean that this book makes more sense then its prequel. Nohoho...
- Spoiler:
Let's start with Z's Grandma. She knew how Jack was on sight – even though Zoey never talked with her about him. And she treats Aphrodite like a second daughter, even though, after her knowledge, she's an evil tyrant who keeps her visions to herself and, through that, lets humans die. Sure, she knew that it was Aphrodite's vision that saved her, but this one occasion (which Aphrodite used to gain a favour) can not make Grandma trust her that much! But still, she acts like Aphrodite is her favourite person.
By the way, Aphrodite's visions and the way they change are very well done. I like her new wanna-be-boyfriend Darius as well – he's something for sure.
- Spoiler
Additionally, to Z's Grandma: How stupid is she? She sees that the Ravenmockers follow her and ARE a real danger, but still she goes out ALONE? She a) could have simply supplied herself via Amazon or b) could have taken a fledgeling with her? Or more than one?
- To continue: Jack makes a leap in importance (no one knows why) and has information that was kept a secret from him before it's explained to him... yeah.
- Well, as we're already talking about Z's friends. They totally worship Neferet, she's their idol and favourite adult ever. Still, they simply believe Z. Zoey has lied to them, has kept important and totally unimportant (on an apocalypse scale) information from them, she betrayed her boyfriends and... how can they trust her with that? Seriously? Why should they believe her?! This doesn't make sense! Besides, there's still the problem with Neferet's mind-reading ability. Actually, the friends still can't be trusted.
- As for Erik... Okay, this scene in class? That was sooo weird! How come that the adult Erik does something childish like this? Doesn't anyone have any professional ethics in this book? And, by the way, where are his qualifications for teaching something? Sure, this is a) not Germany, so I don't know that much about them and b) a fledgeling school, but seriously, from a judicial perspective alone the school has to take care that they have a well instructed professional teacher! If something happens in class (like, someone dies?) the parents could take this to court! Of course, this isn't a human school, but they still are citizens of the United States, aren't they? Because otherwise there'd be a hell of bureaucracy we didn't know about. But even if there is no judicial problem. There should be at least one other person in the room to make sure that Erik doesn't do something the school would regret. And... just one totally logical question: Why didn't the school simply ask one of the Sons of Erebos to be the teacher – they can take care that the murderer running amok can't get to the students, maybe even gain some intell they might need and they have to have a kind of degree: Sons of Erebos teach other members, don't they? And the education they receive in this “unit” has to take place after they left their House of Night. Meaning they have to have a degree in either music, art, poetry or acting. So, one of them has to be able to teach at least the basics for a while, right? Additionally, they have the maturity to handle a bunch of teenagers just right – all unlike Erik. Everything he has is a considerable degree, no doubt, and an ex-girlfriend who's important for the plot.
- By the way, why didn't we ever hear anything about the Sons of Erebos before this part? They are kind of important, aren't they? Like the police?
- Okay, last but not least: The Ravenmockers. They came after Prof. Nolan's death – according to Z – but this wasn't mentioned in Chosen... Yeah. Right.
But I have to admit, otherwise, the book's well done. Especially the poem and the cherokee background – and I'm so in love with the nuns! They are sooo cool!
I like the high priestess by the way – and how she stops Neferet in her tracks. Her connection to Lenobia is interesting.
Anything else? Yes! I like the warriors of Erebos. They have something.
In brief:
I give this book a star for the ideas, which were well done, half a star for style and half a star for the cherokee-background, minus one for each content and character mistakes. I'd love to give more stars, but... sorry. Just not possible.
Prequel:
Sequel: