Review: Stefan's Diaries Volume Three - The Craving based on a concept by L. J. Smith

Stefan Salvatore has come to terms with being a vampire. The events of the past few months have sobered him, and the fog of his own blood lust has begun to lift. He travels to New York City to start a new life, one that does not require him to kill humans to survive. Instead he feeds off of animals in Central Park. But the quiet life he envisioned is jolted when he runs into his brother Damon, who has convinced New York high society that he is Italian royalty. While Stefan is regaining his humanity, Damon has completely lost his. Stefan will do whatever it takes to protect Damon from himself, but there is another villain present. A vampire that seeks revenge for a death the Salvatores are responsible for. Stefan and Damon will have to work together to fight the greatest evil yet.

My problem with this series of books is twofold.

1) That the series is still being marketed as L. J. Smith’s work. Depending on what version of the books you get some explain that they’re based on her work, but most leave it unclear, and I think it’s unfair to lump these books on her reputation, because it just drags it down.

2) That there are now THREE versions of this story.
          Version A: The original book version of the Vampire Diaries, where the Salvatore brothers are born in the 1400’s and are Italian.
          Version B: The TV series version which has the brothers born and raised in 1864 Mystic Falls.
          Version C: The Stefan’s Diaries version which has the brothers born and raised in 1864 Mystic Falls, but then the events that happen both in Mystic Falls and after bear almost no relation to those that occur in the TV series.

If they’re going to market Stefan’s Diaries as ‘based on the hit TV series!’ then at least get it right! I mean these discrepancies are so irritating to those who are fans of the TV show, that it just makes me not want to bother anymore with this particular series of books.

I have no problem with books and TV series being different, I love the original Vampire Diaries books and I love the TV series, partly because of the differences. But something like this that just keeps getting things wrong – for example the original meeting between Katherine and Stefan, which was shown so early in the TV series, that the author must have seen it, is just infuriating.

Once you get past that the books are alright. The writing standard has definitely improved and this book is the better of the three. The voice still is very modern, but at least the facts are correct – even down to little details like Commodore Matthew Perry and Pimm’s being brought over from Britain.

My second biggest problem with them (after the rant above…) is that they are so tiny. The Salvatore brothers are fascinating, there is such a huge wealth of detail and depth of emotions and levels and facets that could be explored, and yet the books are just skimming the surface, going over the barest details that hold the plot together.
I want more. I want to get to know these brothers in another, but equally satisfying way as I am in the TV show, and it’s just not happening.

My third biggest problem relates back to my first. In the TV series Damon and Stefan have no knowledge of Klaus or his relationship with Katherine. So why in the book does Klaus send someone after them? It just doesn’t make any sense! If you’re going to have these as companion novels to the TV series then at least get them factually correct!

Otherwise, this plot was much better, the events were much more interesting, and it was a portion of Damon and Stefan’s lives that we’ve known nothing about prior to this. 

I’m holding out hope that this is a sign of better things to come. If the plot and writing continue to get better then we might get a really good book out of this some time soon… Let’s just hope the next book takes into account the plot of the TV series and the backstory already revealed.