Book #44: The Compelled

Title: Stefan's Diaries #6: The Compelled

Author: Listed as L.J. Smith, Kevin Williamson & Julie Plec, but it's really a ghostwriter

Date started reading: March 28, 2012
Date finished reading:  March 29, 2012

Publish date: March 2012
ISBN: 978-0062113986
Number of pages: 256

Official summary: "Control or be controlled, ... Stefan and Damon thought they knew evil. But nothing compares to Samuel, the ruthless vampire hell-bent on avenging Katherine's death by destroying the Salvatore brothers. Reeling from Samuel's latest attack, Stefan and Damon find help in the most unlikely of places — a secret coven of witches. Together they discover Samuel's plan is more sinister than they ever could have imagined. Their only hope is to stop him before he secures the power to control humans and vampires alike. If they fail, not only Stefan and Damon but all of London will fall victim to Samuel's spell. Based on the popular CW TV show inspired by the bestselling novels, Stefan's Diaries reveals the truth about what really happened between Stefan, Damon, and Katherine — and how the Vampire Diaries love triangle began." (http://harperteen.com)

How I obtained the book: Pre-ordered for $9.99 from Barnes & Noble

Memorable quotes:

• "The only thing in the world that's constant is war. ... It was a truth that had only become more evident in my more than twenty years as a vampire." ~ Stefan
• "No matter what, it seemed neither decades nor miles nor oceans could separate me from Katherine's legacy." ~ Stefan
• "I'm a beast on blood." ~ Stefan
• "A witch, a human, and a vampire, teaming up to fight evil. It sounded like the premise of a penny-paper serial. But thanks to the monster who was plotting our deaths, this was our lives." ~ Stefan 
• "(Katherine) was the truth at the center of an infinitely complicated riddle. Because of her, I no longer knew good from evil." ~ Stefan
• "A quiet Damon always made me uneasy." ~ Stefan
• "I never thought I'd have to depend on witches to save me. But I suppose we live in strange times." ~ Damon
• "I'd have thought twice before giving my blood to a raven-toting lunatic." ~ Damon to Stefan
• "In a city of a million heartbeat, I was on my own." ~ Stefan
• "Together you and Damon complete each other. You think, and he's all about action. But instead of appreciating what the other has, you fight about it." ~ Cora to Stefan
•  "Even the store catering to monsters wouldn't have me anymore." ~ Stefan
• "I felt like I was the bumbling villain in a burlesque show. Despite being foiled time and time again, I insisted on a new scheme. Only in a burlesque shoe, there was an audience. ... As I desperately racked my brain for another idea, I couldn't help but feel like the curtains were about to fall on the show. The only question was: How would it end?" ~ Stefan
• "When I was provoked, I was no longer Stefan. I was a monster." ~ Stefan
• "Damon's reaction to death and destruction was always to dance through the ashes." ~ Stefan
• "Apparently compelled vampires are as dull as dishwater." ~ Damon
• "The only thing more fearsome than a vampire is two female vampires with something to prove." ~ Samuel
• "We're vampires, Stefan, not gods. We're merely death's messengers." ~ Damon
• "There was something about that first kill that changes you, but it's how easy it is to murder again that's truly terrifying. As if the first time hadn't been just a fluke, but something you'd secretly enjoyed." ~ Stefan 
• "Immortality wasn't idyllic or enchanting. But it was powerful. If I had to live forever, I had to make it count." ~ Stefan

My commentary:

• Out of the six books in this series (so far?), this is by far the best one yet. It was a real nail-biter. The drama kept me reading and reading and reading. The book extends on the Jack the Ripper storyline from the fifth book and brings in witches. It's awesome how vampires and witches are twisted into the real life history of Jack the Ripper. I'm not sure if there are going to be any more books after this one, but I sure hope there are more. I wonder how many people who have read these books have started looking into the real Jack the Ripper story...
• My favorite chapter involves Stefan being told a story about Elijah, who is by far my favorite of the non-regular, recurring characters from the TV show. It's just a brief mention, but I'm glad that they brought him into it. The previous books had mentioned Klaus, but never any of the other original vampires until now. 
• Between the TV show, the main book series, and the "Stefan's Diaries" books, there is a really intriguing mythology forming... "original" vampires, witches, and werewolves. If only the three storylines could be brought together into one single storyline.
• *Major spoilery comments ahead*  .... Before this book, it had already been well-established that the story goes that a vampire was committing the Jack the Ripper murders, but this book explains why. He's looking for a pure-bred witch (one that is directly from the bloodlines of the "original" witches) so he can cut out her heart and eat it. If he eats it, he'll obtain the ability to compel other vampires. In real-life, Jack the Ripper's victim named Mary Jane had her heart cut out, so it fits history in a creepily accurate way. Also, Violet (Cora's sister who had been turned into a vampire) was staked and dropped into a river. In real life, there were reports of an unidentified woman who was found dead with a stake in her body (there are doubts about if this victim really existed or not). Since Violet and Cora had no family in the area in the book, no one who found the body would've been able to identify her, so that also freakishly fits in with what is written in Jack the Ripper's real history. I think I know too much about the real Jack the Ripper story...

Buy on Amazon.com: The Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries #6: The Compelled