I’d kind of been putting off reading Grave Importance because it’s the conclusion of a series I’ve enjoyed. This was a good ending to the series, and I’m sad it’s over, but at the same time there are a few things I wish had gotten a little more attention.
The basic story has two lines that of course merge part way through; first there’s Greta’s in which she takes over a really fancy mummy clinic for a friend for a few months and naturally discovers a serious problem. Greta also sees some personal developments in the progress of her relationship with Varney and that’s pretty cute and sweet, but I also wish that there had been a little more depth to that whole part of the series. Varney really gets some character attention here, and it works both for the plot as well as for him as a character (although I admit I haven’t read his original novel Varney the Vampyr). There’s also the related VanDorne part of this story involving the vaguely sinister heiress who has some connection to the problems Greta is finding; the conclusion to this part both makes sense but also feels a little rushed since it involves a pretty sudden character change. Although the scene in which Tefnakhte having himself a movie monster cliché moment and enjoying the heck out of it is mostly worth that part, the connecting piece that brings it all together is the bit that I just don’t get.
SO the other half of the story involves Ruthven getting cursed and having to go to Hell to get fixed; that’s not so much the second plot itself, that goes to the one who cursed him. There’s two angels from another dimension’s Heaven who want to get back home and have a plan for doing it that involves basically the destruction of reality as Greta etc know it. Being angels they have an instinctual dislike for the damned, which would include vampires etc. The thing that bugs me the most is that it’s not clear if these two were the whole reason behind the big catastrophe or if there might have been something else behind it that’s never revealed. If it was them, then there is not a full explanation of what happened to them in the first place and how-why the other Heaven needs to start a war with the Heaven of Greta’s realm. If it wasn’t Zophiel and Anitiel, then who was it and motive and etc?
I have to admit in spite of the annoyance, the solution works out pretty well, although it’s almost a literal deus ex machina. Not just who figures it out and manages to probably save things, but Samael’s reaction to finding out is pretty good.
Anyways, it a good and the right ending to a fun series, and maybe there might someday be more stories with these character and in this world.
