(De)Constructing Morganville, by Rachel Caine

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Let's get the marketing out of the way:  CARPE CORPUS comes out tomorrow!  It's book six of the Morganville Vampires series.

So, you say, you've never heard of the Morganville Vampires series?  Fear not, my friend!  Let me give you a quick, very broad introduction:

When Claire Danvers' parents ship her off to Texas Prairie University at Morganville - a backwater town with a not-too-stellar university - they do it out of love.  She's only 16, and they're not ready to send her off to MIT just yet.  One year, they insist.  One year, close by.  Then you can transfer.

But there's a problem with moving to Morganville.  Claire quickly runs afoul of the meanest of mean girls on campus, and by moving off campus into a funky house of outcasts - Michael Glass, Eve Rosser, and Shane Collins - she transfers out of the normal curriculum, and into one where failure means death.

Morganville isn't like other towns.  Outside of the university borders, the vampires run the place, operating like the Undead Mafia; they own the businesses, collect protection money, and tax residents in blood donations.  Once you know the real Morganville, you can't leave.  Ever.

But Claire's got even bigger issues; she's about to become a key player in the fight for Morganville itself between factions of vampires, rebellious humans, and unknown strangers ... all the while falling in love and trying to maintain that all-important 4.0 grade point average.

The series includes Glass Houses, The Dead Girls' Dance, Midnight Alley, Feast of Fools, Lord of Misrule, and this week's release, Carpe Corpus.

So ... let's talk about some deep, dark town secrets ...

Bracelets.  You can tell a true Morganville resident by the bracelets they wear.  A bracelet with a rune or symbol means that the person has signed a Protection agreement with a vampire, who is responsible for looking out for him or her, and keeping them from becoming lunch boxes for others in town.  In return, the vampire gets a portion of his/her income.  And a dedicated monthly blood donation at the Blood Bank.  No, you don't have to sign up.  Some don't.  And some ... die.

Bloodmobile.  Yes, they do blood drives in Morganville, but it's usually at the University, where college students don't realize what's really going on.  In some cases, the Bloodmobile could show up if you haven't made your regular donations.  It's like being behind on your taxes, only these IRS agents really can get blood from a stone.  Or at least, from you. 

Common Grounds.  The local hot-spot coffee shop has been, for generations, a neutral meeting ground between vampires and humans.  It's currently run by Oliver, who seems like an okay guy.  Michael Glass played music there, before his circumstances changed.  And Eve Rosser worked there.  If you want to make a deal with a vampire, it's the safest place to do it ... although safe is relative anywhere in Morganville

Founder Houses.  There is a network of identical, aging Victorian houses in Morganville - fewer now than there used to be.  The Glass House, which was passed to Michael through his family, is one of these.  But there's more to the Founder Houses than meets the eye ... they have a certain low-level intelligence to them.  And a whole lot of power. 

Tunnels.  There are a lot of these beneath Morganville, many of them large enough to accommodate cars and trucks.  They're also a favorite lurking place for tunnel rats - humans who failed to make the change to vampires, and who ended up caught somewhere between the two.  Think zombies, but not as pretty.

Fraternities.  The Epsilon Epsilon Kappa fraternity - EEK - still throws its annual Halloween shindig, called The Dead Girls' Dance.  It's wild, it's wicked, and it attracts the undead.  So if you're going in costume, I recommend you go as a vampire slayer.  But it's a heck of a party.

Vamptown.  The center of town is dominated by Founder's Square, a miniature little European village with a large village green.  Lovely buildings.  Old world craftsmanship.  If you value your neck ... don't be a tourist.  Otherwise, you might get an insider view of places you really don't want to be.

The Net.  No, not the internet, although the vampires control phone, internet and email more rigidly than most dictator governments.  The Net is a psychic field that surrounds the town; it can do a lot of things, from discouraging you gently from leaving to destroying your car like hitting a brick wall.  On rare occasions, you might be issued permission to leave town.  But otherwise ... good luck getting past The Net.

Crazy vampires.  That's what makes Morganville so much of an adventure ... this is the last stand for vampires, the last safe place.  And they're diminishing, because there's an illness that's taken hold ... and it's eroding their ability to make other vampires, and eventually to stay sane.  The progress is slow, but relentless.  But if you had the chance to cure the vampires ... would you?

Okay, that's the brief tour of the back alleys of Morganville.  Next post, I'll introduce you to the main players in town ...

Rachel Caine, Carpe Corpse, Morganville Vampires, Penguin Books