Well, it's always good to watch or read about Damon's devious plans :) I like how this guy enjoys doing evil stuff. I could picture Ian Somerhalder's baby blue eyes and his lovely devious smile in every single page. What drove me mad while reading the book was how it's somehow different from the show. On the show, Stefan and Damon know about Katherine and Klaus's sacrifice in our modern time, not in 1864 as the book suggests. Anyways, I enjoyed it. You can really tell these things are aiming for tv-quality, at best; that really how it reads: like cliff notes from a shitty tv series. That said, of the three of these prequels I've read so far, this has been the best; regrettably though, that's not saying much.NOTE: This is more a detailed plot summary than a review. I write these so I can remember what happened in any given book, especially those in a series. But if anyone else finds this helpful - awesome.This one starts off with Stefan carving out an existance in Central Park, having traveled from New Orleans to New York; homeless, he seeks shelter in some caves there, subsisting off squirels, pigeons, and rats. Mmmm.... But because he's in a maschochistic phase, he's not really drinking enough to thrive, just enough to survive and barely at that.One night after a successful squirrel hunt, he finds a young society miss stabbed and bleeding to death in the Park. He forces her to drink some of his blood, which saves her life; he learns her address and takes her home. Her family's so happy for her safe return, they invite him in. Since they are a very wealthy merchant family. Stefan is surprised at their level of hospitality, even insisting that he stay on with them and allow them to dress him for an upcoming ball for which they've asked him to accompanying Bridget - the youngest daughter - the one he saved. Though weary of advancing any more relationships with humans, having a family and being treated like family is so seductive, he agrees. At the ball, he meets Lydia's - the middle sister's - beau, Count LeSangue, who turns out to be none other than Stefan's brother Damon. Stefan contrives for a private word with Damon, demanding to know why he's in New York and whether his interactions with Bridget and Lydia's family is a not a coincidence. Damon delights in informing Stefan, that everything - from Stefan finding and saving Bridget to their family's warm reception of him has been compelled by Damon. Worse, he indicates that he will kill them all if Stefan doesn't agree to his plan of marrying Bridget while he marries Lydia. Why? - demands Stefan. Because in addition to torturing Stefan, it will also legitimately set up the brothers with enough cash to hopefully last them their eternity. Not wanting any harm to come of the family, Stefan agrees. Damon's powers of compulsion advance the engagements and a double wedding ceremony is planned for the next week. Damon's compulsion is so powerful, everyone general seems happy for it, save Stefan and Margaret - the oldest sister. It misses neither Stefan's nor Damon's notice that compulsion does not work on her. Margaret even asks Stefan point blank - how can this all be happening and no one question its lunacy? Stefan responds to trust him: he's trying to do as best he can by her family and to not trust Damon; she concurs.The celebrations following the wedding are overwhelming for Stefan and he escapes the festivities, only to find Damon has followed him. They return at the same time as Margaret to find their wives and parent-in-laws massacred, torn limb from limb. Stefan believes this to be the work of Damon, but Damon insists he did not do it; Margaret says she believes that they did not butcher her family, but also believes they would not have been butchered if the brothers had not entered their lives. The police having already been called, they know they will be the prime suspects, and indeed are jailed. They are just about to escape via compulsion when a guard informs them their lawyer has just appeared. Confused at first, they are soon terrified, because the lawyer is no human nor vampire, but some other more evil beast. Effortlessly he bends the jail bars and they realize, this is the thing that killed their wives and families. But why? It replies: for revenge; for killing Katherine and thus leaving the curse in place. What curse? The beast replies: you mean Katherine never told you about Klaus? No... But without any more details, the best leaves - and as is a theme in this series - promises an eternity of revenge.Both Damon and Stefan are finally about to leave the jail cell when Lexi arrives. But with her arrivial, Damon leaves on her own and Stefan and Lexi retire to a bar where Stefan tells her everything. Two things are revealed here: 1) the beast's name is Lucius and he is presumed to be a minion of Klaus; Stefan's working hypothesis is that Klaus is the vampire that created Katherine; and 2) that Lexi is some special sort of vampire that helps "good" vampires.Lexi and Stefan head back to the site of the massacre in hopes of discovering more clues; while Stefan is upstairs, Lexi is abduced by Lucius with another gloating note left behind. Stefan's instinct tells him that Lexi is being held at the church where he was married the day before but knows in his condition, he will not be able to successfully fight Lucious. So he sets off to find Damon in hopes of recruiting his help. Though he finds Damon several pubs later, Damon refuses to help. Stefan tells him, he will either save Lexi or die trying.Lexi is where Stefan believed her to be, tied to an alter about to be burnt to death by the sun. Unlike Stefan and Damon who were outfitted by Katherine and Emily with rings baring special stones that protect them from the sun, Lexi has no such protection.) Stefan slips his ring on Lexi finger and tells her to save herself. She flees, but Lucius returns capturing them both and intombing them in the church's sacophagus. There they starve for weeks, days, or months, until one day the tomb explodes. Damon helps up both Lexi and Stefan and nourishes them with a flask of blood. Margaret is behind him, holding Lucius at bay by crippling him with pain. How? Apparently she's a witch. Damon confronted her and she just told him; she also agreed to help if Damon returned her dead sister's dahlry money and never return to New York. While Margaret holds Lucious at bay, Lexi, Damon, and Stefan escape, ultimately boarding a ship bound for San Francisco. Lucius catches up with them, just in time to see them depart. And several miles out at sea, Damon says good-bye again and takes on his own, leaving Lexi and Stefan to begin the next leg of the adventure together?
What do You think about The Craving (2011)?
I't was alright, but there was some parts that were lacking. However,I really enjoyed the end more.
—Mosie
I was so happy to be halfway done with series...it was a good book.
—meg
Great book! I look forward to the Next in the series.
—Mikehole
