I wanted to like this book. Sadly, there were too many reasons not to, and although I mostly enjoyed the other books in the series, this one was a real disappointment. In all fairness, maybe it's just because I picked this one up years after reading the previous one, so I was a little out of touch with the story. But if I'm honest, I think I would have disliked it whether that was the case or not.I'll start with the one bit of the book I actually liked; Johnny's trip to sancutary, and Stukeley's visit to retrieve him. It highlighted the complicated relationship between Grace and Johnny, and later, between Stukeley and Darcy - I took it, in hindsight rather foolishly, as a sign that maybe they'd come to their senses and become good again. I really liked Johnny and Stukeley; their betrayal was something of a sore point for me during this series, but I'll admit it made things a whole lot more interesting. Still, I think they had the potential to turn good again. I think that's what Somper SHOULD have done, to be honest. But by the end of this book, they were like completely different characters. Stukeley especially - I mean, yeah, he's a Vampirate now, but I don't honestly think someone who was THAT good in life, would become so evil in death. He actually fought against his old friends! That's not the Jez Stukeley I came to know. Anyway, back to the review. Johnny's trip ton sanctuary was, unfortunately, the one and only bit of the book I remember with any kind of fondness. For it being the last installment in the series, it created a lot more questions than it answered. Like what was the deal with Olivier? I know he let Johnny kidnap Evil in exchange for the dhampir book, but Johnny didn't get the book, did he? So what did he do afterward? Somehow, I can't see an egomaniac like Olivier letting Johnny off the hook that easily. And speaking of Evil, what happened with him? He was given to Grace and Lorcan, yes, but he's not even mentioned in the last chapter. Does he grow up good? Did they change his name? Does he learn about his past? Lola and her crew are going to look for him, that much is clear, but do they ever find him? And if they do, what happens? But, perhaps the biggest question of all is what happens to Connor? Okay, he's going on a 7 year voyage that will somehow rid him of his dhampir gene. But how? I know this book is hardly realistic - it's about vampire pirates for goodness sake - but that one was a huge leap. It seemed to me that by this point, the author was just so tired of writing the series that he couldn't be bothered to end it properly. So we readers are now left with tonnes of unanswered questions, and not just little ones either. I could have lived with Connor sailing off into the sunset, but leaving Lola, Stukeley and Johnny alive (and still evil) was just plain lazy. Because it's not really over if the majority of the bad guys are still able to cause trouble. Another thing I disliked about the book, aside from all the questions left hanging, was how things just seemed to happen, with no prior warning or explanation. Although it led to the one scene in the book I liked, Johnny just happened to be picked out of the ocean and mistaken for a Nocturnal? The attack was during the day! Obviously any Nocturnals were safely aboard the Alliance ship out of the day light - they hadn't participated in the raid! And that aside, he was in the ocean, burning to a crisp! The ambulance crews would have to be supremely stupid to mistake him for a Nocturnal. Then there was Jacoby flying at Connor on the ship with no warning - yeah, it was implied Jasmine told him about their little fling, but one, Jacoby didn't seem the type to be THAT upset about it, and two, he never gets a chance to explain himself. It's just assumed that's the reason. The one that irritated me most was in the final battle though, when Bart appeared and challenged Stukeley. Later we get to see Stukeley with Lola, so obviously he survived the fight, but come on! That was a battle I'd been waiting most of the series to see! Admittedly I thought it would be Connor VS Stukeley, but still! They were best friends - are you trying to tell me there was NOTHING interesting said during that battle? No understanding reached, no sorries, no nothing? I felt, and continue to feel, cheated!So to summarise, I didn't like this final Vampirate book. The story still feels unfinished, the interesting scenes - the bits that would have redeemed the story, like Stukeley's fight with Bart - were never written, and to top it all off Cheng Li died. So disappointing. Minor Spoilers ahead.what happened to this series?? It was original, so exciting with likable characters and an intriguing plot. These last two books were just awful. With the forced attraction of Cheng Li and Lorcan, the dead end plot of the cardinals, the 180 degree change of Obsidian Darke not to mention Connor's weird new super power. The ending was wishy-washy...not everyone got a happy ending but some of the roads taken were forced and not necessary. It's open-ended for the possibility of a sequel series that I will be skipping. I'm very disappointed in how this series ended.
What do You think about Immortal War (2011)?
I would give the last 3rd 4 stars. It had a good ending but he left it open for a spin-off.
—meag
The final battle was worth the wait! I wish the series hadn't ended it was really good
—woelan_aw
i never read the previous book, but i found this one to be strange and felt mediocre ...
—Jen
so it ends...so it begins...this is not the last of the vampirates ayt?
—Ace
