Short story of the Morganville Vampires Series about Shane's mandatory anger management therapy
“Evil must be fought, or what does it matter if we’re good? Goodness can’t be weakness, or it ceases to be good.”
"Anger Management" is a short story in Morganville Vampires Series which follows the tenth Book "Bite Club", so its place is #10.5 or between "Bite Club" and "Last Breath".
In "Bite Club" we saw what anger can do to Shane. And how it affected the entire city. Shane as a guilty party should have been sentenced to death and/or with a lot of torture included. That is certainly what Oliver preferred. Thanks to Claire and Amelie, though, the worst was avoided by a thread.
Shane was sentenced to parole which included daily anger management appointments with a vampire therapist (let's just call him a shrink XD ). He was to report to dr. Theo Goldman and depending on his progress and doctor's notes, he would be allowed to live.
Shane is tempered and he isn't making it easy for the doctor or himself. He realizes that he's got a choice to make. If he bails on this, he will probably vanish and he will leave Claire, once again, without a word. If he stays, he will have to work on his feelings... and let's just say that there is a lot of work involved.
This short story is one of the best so far. We finally see a little bit deeper into Shane's psyche and his feelings. Usually, he is very reserved and closed up and he doesn't like sharing. When you put his short temper on top of that, anyone might see him as a douche. I did for a while too.
Now, readers can see that there is so much more to a person than his outside shell. Shane needs to work through things with words rather than fists. When he finally does, he will be a very likeable character.
One thing that hasn't changed is his scepticism of vampires, some natural dislike he carries in his deepest layers. With that being said, you can imagine he doesn't really care for his vampire doctor. But the doctor is all elegance, wisdom and patience.
"Goldman's smile was sad and ghostly. "You do realize that just as all men are not the same, all vampires are not the same? The worst murderers I have ever met in my long life were breathing men who killed not for sustenance, but for sport. Or worse, for beliefs."
One of the great realizations Shane will dig out is that he carries a grudge towards Claire...
Very interesting insight into one character's mind :)
