The Path of Razors: Vampire Babylon, Book Five

Green's oddly schizophrenic fifth Vampire Babylon novel (after 2009's A Drop of Red ) pits a team of vampire hunters against troubled vampire schoolgirls. While Dawn and her fellow human and supernatural stake wielders search London for bloodsuckers, Della and her cohort of adolescent vampires struggle to evade their stalkers while dealing with internal discord and betrayal. Dawn's half of the novel is filled with needlessly complicated backstories and romantic angst. Far more effective is Della's story, in which the mysterious guardians called custodes guide her to the revelation that just as she preys on humans, so too do some vampires seek to prey on the naïve vampire girls. Green has some genuinely new and interesting ideas, but the paranormal romance melodrama overwhelms them. (Aug.)