Vampire Academy (series)

Infobox Book
name = Vampire Academy


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author = Richelle Mead
country = United States
language = English
genre = Fantasy/Horror/Young Adult
publisher = Penguin Razorbill
release_date =
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isbn =
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"Vampire Academy" is a series of vampire/urban fantasy novels by Richelle Mead. It follows the adventures of the main character Rose Hathaway, a teenage half-vampire half-human as she finishes school and trains to fight evil vampires determined to destroy the Moroi vampire race.

The series is told from a first person perspective by Rose. Currently, there are two Vampire Academy novels out, with a third one slated for release November 13, 2008. [ [http://www.amazon.com/dp/1595141979 Amazon.com: Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy, Book 3) (Paperback)] ]

Plot

Vampire Academy

Rose Hathaway and her best friend Lissa Dragomir return to St. Vladimir's Academy after being on the run for two years. Being a dhampir, Rose must re-enter the world of vigorous training to catch up to her classmates in her goal of being an official guardian to Lissa, a royal Moroi, after she graduates. Being desperately behind her training, she is required to train extra sessions with Lissa's other guardian, Dimitri, a powerful guardian with whom Rose forms a special bond with. Not long after their return, Lissa begins receiving threats in the form of dead animals around her, sending her into a panic and threatening to damage her already fragile state of mind, where the spirit power in her has been making her depressed and also because her family were killed several years earlier in a car accident. Deeply troubled by this and wondering who could be behind it, Rose attempts to keep Lissa safe through a psychic bond they share in which she can feel and see what Lissa is. Through this bond, she is able to see through Lissa when she is kidnapped by guardians working under her uncle Prince Viktor, and help rescue her in the end.

Frostbite

Rose and Dimitri discover a family of Moroi and their guardians massacred by Strigoi when they travel to their home for Rose's Qualifier exam, which puts St. Vladimir's on high alert and to protect the students, a ski lodge is let open for the students and their families during Christmas vacation. The place is packed with more guardians, including Rose's long absent mother, Janine Hathaway. Even at the lodge, relaxation is cut short at news of another Strigoi attack, and the community becomes frightened and unsure of what is happening. Rose discovers that three of her classmates have run away from the lodge to hunt down the Strigoi responsible. Rose and Christian go to save them, but not before the Strigoi kill one of her classmates.

Shadow Kiss

It's springtime at St. Vladimir's Academy, and Rose Hathaway is this close to graduation. Since making her first Strigoi kills, Rose hasn't been feeling quite right. She's having dark thoughts, behaving erratically, and worst of all...might be seeing ghosts. As Rose questions her sanity, new complications arise. Lissa has begun experimenting with her magic once more, their enemy Victor Dashkov might be set free, and Rose's forbidden relationship with Dimitri is starting to heat up again. But when a deadly threat no one saw coming changes their entire world, Rose must put her own life on the line--and choose between the two people she loves most.

Main characters

Rosemarie Hathaway

A Dhampir, and Lissa's unofficial Guardian, daughter of a Scottish dhampir and a Turkish Moroi. She is very sassy and has a sarcastic sense of humor, but is witty and dedicated to her guardian training. She cares more about Lissa than for herself, and spends most of the novel defending her from other students and threats. She is also "shadow-kissed," which means she died and was brought back to life by Lissa's healing technique, initially giving the two a powerful psychic bond. She is described as being very beautiful, having long dark hair and eyes, and is a huge flirt due to the vast amounts of attention she receives from the guys at the Academy. She also has romantic attraction to her mentor, Dimitri Belikov.

Vasilisa Dragomir

A Moroi princess of a rare bloodline and the last of the Dragomirs. Her personality is opposite of Rose's: she is calm and polite, and thinks things through before taking action. Lissa seems to have powers no one else has: she can heal people and animals and can use compulsion very easily on humans as well as Moroi and Dhampirs. Her family died in a car accident that both she and Rose were in (where unbeknown to her, she uses her spirit power to heal Rose and bring her back to life). Lissa becomes depressed as a result of her powers and resorts to cutting herself. She is described as very pretty, with blond hair and light-jade eyes.

Dimitri Belikov

A 24 year old Dhampir of Russian decent, and one of the youngest and best of the Guardians. When he brings Rose and Lissa back to the Academy, he becomes Lissa's first official Guardian as well as Rose's mentor and trainer. He is described as being very handsome and very tall, around 6'7" with a lean, muscular body and dark eyes and hair. Like other Guardians, he has "molnija" marks tattooed on the back of his neck, representing how many Strigoi he killed. He has feelings for Rose, which are complicated because they will both be Lissa's guardians.

Christian Ozera

A Moroi royal, his parents became Strigoi and were killed by guardians when he was young, therefore making him feared and ostracized by his fellow students and others who are afraid he will became Strigoi like his parents. Almost everyone avoids him except Lissa, who becomes his good friend, and later his girlfriend.

Mia Rinaldi

A non-royal Moroi, who tries to climb up the school's social ladder in order to be popular. She briefly dates Aaron, Lissa's ex-boyfriend, and is very hostile to her and Rose. Her parents are servants to a royal family, something she is embarrassed of. She tries to ruin Lissa and Rose's reputation by sleeping with Ralf and Jesse to have them say scandalous things about her. She hates Lissa because of her brief affair with Lissa's brother, Andre, who did not really love her, and treated her terribly.

Victor Dashkov

A prince of the Dashkov family, father of Natalie. He has the rare Sandovsky's Syndrome, a genetic disease. He is the one behind the threats to Lissa, and forces her to heal him to get rid of the disease. She will need to give him constant healing sessions though in order for him to stay rid of the disease, as it is a chronic syndrome. He does not appear to care much for Natalie, whom he has do his dirty work, and even asks her to turn Strigoi to help him escape.

Natalie Dashkov

A royal Moroi, daughter of Prince Victor, and is like a cousin to Lissa, with whom she is roommates with at St. Vlad's. Rose describes her as being extremely dull, but she proves herself to be more cleverer than thought, as she is the one who sends the threats to Lissa, and notices the attraction between Dimitri and Rose, which her father uses in his plan when he kidnaps Lissa. Becomes a Strigoi to help her father and is killed by Dimitri in the end.

Mason Ashford

A Dhampir boy who is friends with Rose. He often helps and protects her in social situations. He is in love with Rose and would do anything for her, and proves it by helping to stop Mia's rumor and revealing the truth about her. Later, he leads a group of students to hunt down Strigoi. At the end of Frostbite he ends up being murdered by one of the Strigoi.

Janine Hathaway

Rose's absent mother and well-known Guardian. She guards a royal family in Nepal. (First appearance is in "Frostbite)"

Adrian Ivashkov

A Moroi from a wealthy royal family, Adrian is first introduced in "Frostbite", and is described as being very good-looking, and has the reputation of going through a lot of women. He takes an interest in Rose and strikes up a friendship with Lissa, after they both discover they are spirit users. Adrian decides to go to St. Vladimir's with Lissa to try to learn more about their spirit powers.

etting

The story is set primarily in western Montana, where St. Vladimir's is located in isolation. The closest city is Missoula, a several hours drive away, which a shopping scene takes place. The very first scene in "Vampire Academy" takes place in Portland, Oregon, where Rose and Lissa have been in hiding until caught. In "Frostbite", the story takes place mainly at a ski resort in Idaho, and also Spokane, Washington.

Types of Vampires

Dhampir

They are half human, and half vampire. They are guardians to Moroi and can only have children with Moroi. They do not drink blood and are mortal. Can be out in the sunlight without it hurting them, and have better senses than humans.

Moroi

They are full blooded vampires and are mortal. They drink blood, but not enough to kill. Their bite stimulates their victim, giving them a high feeling. They are guarded by Dhampirs from the Strigoi.

trigoi

Immortal vampires originating from Moroi who have killed from feeding, or have been forcefully turned by a Strigoi by being forced to exchange blood. They can only be killed by a silver stake through the heart, beheading, or by fire. Moroi, Dhampirs, and humans can be turned into Strigoi by other Strigoi.

Types of Elements

Each Moroi specializes in a specific element in their teens, either fire, earth, water, or air. There is a rare fifth element, spirit.

Fire

The control over all types of fire. Christian Ozera is a specialist in this element.

Earth

The control over all thing of the earth like rocks and wood. Natalie and Victor Dashkov are specialists of this element.

Water

The control over water in some of its states: solid and liquid. Mia is a specialist in this element.

Air

The control over air vapors and gases. The full effects of this element were seen when Lissa was tortured.

pirit

A very rare element. It allows for healing and compulsion. Some examples are Lissa, Ms. Karp, Adrian, and St. Vladimir. Much of this gift is still unknown, and each Moroi gifted with this element exhibits differing abilities. It is also known to cause depression and mental anguish.

Future books

The next Vampire Academy novel is Shadow Kiss, set for release November 13, 2008. Mead is currently signed on for two more yet untitled Vampire Academy novels.

References