
Still, a book by Christopher more that's slightly disappointing is head and shoulders above most other books, and perhaps my expectations were unrealistically high for that second book. I approached this one with tempered expectations, at any rate.
Abby Normal, "minion" of vampire couple Jody and Tommy, narrates much of this book through her diary. She is a perky goth girl who aspires to be, as she puts it, Nosferatu. There are frequent point of view switches throughout the novel, so we see things from Tommy and Jody's perspective (although not as frequently as I might have liked), as well as from the points of view of the police officers from the previous book, Abby's boyfriend, Chet the shaved vampire cat, and the Emperor of the City, among others.
Chet is turning the other cats of the city into vampires, which creates a public menace (particularly for homeless people). Foo Dog, Abby's boyfriend, who created UV-light jackets with destructive powers against vampires in the first book, is experimenting with vampire blood and rats, which creates some rather interesting (and hilarious) difficulties (involving a shop vac and the vampire rats' ability to turn to mist). Tommy, who was imprisoned with Jody in a bronze statue, becomes a raving lunatic because, unlike Jody, he is unable to turn to mist and spend his nights in a dreamlike state - he is trapped inside the statue for so long that, when he is inadvertently released, further mayhem ensues. Then a dark ship pulls up in the harbor: the old vampires are back to clean up the mess the old one left - and that means eliminating everyone involved. But not if Abby Normal can help it. And then there's a mysterious Japanese guy who wields an astonishingly effective sword against undead cats...
This book was a lot of fun, and the ending was unexpected and rather bittersweet - although it felt right, which made me think that this may be the final book in the series. I enjoyed the references to characters from other of Moore's books (particularly those from A Dirty Job, which is still my hands-down favorite of his books), as well as Moore's skillful use of language, which never fails to make me smile. I look forward to reading whatever he decides to set his pen (keyboard?) to next.
Abby Normal, "minion" of vampire couple Jody and Tommy, narrates much of this book through her diary. She is a perky goth girl who aspires to be, as she puts it, Nosferatu. There are frequent point of view switches throughout the novel, so we see things from Tommy and Jody's perspective (although not as frequently as I might have liked), as well as from the points of view of the police officers from the previous book, Abby's boyfriend, Chet the shaved vampire cat, and the Emperor of the City, among others.
Chet is turning the other cats of the city into vampires, which creates a public menace (particularly for homeless people). Foo Dog, Abby's boyfriend, who created UV-light jackets with destructive powers against vampires in the first book, is experimenting with vampire blood and rats, which creates some rather interesting (and hilarious) difficulties (involving a shop vac and the vampire rats' ability to turn to mist). Tommy, who was imprisoned with Jody in a bronze statue, becomes a raving lunatic because, unlike Jody, he is unable to turn to mist and spend his nights in a dreamlike state - he is trapped inside the statue for so long that, when he is inadvertently released, further mayhem ensues. Then a dark ship pulls up in the harbor: the old vampires are back to clean up the mess the old one left - and that means eliminating everyone involved. But not if Abby Normal can help it. And then there's a mysterious Japanese guy who wields an astonishingly effective sword against undead cats...
This book was a lot of fun, and the ending was unexpected and rather bittersweet - although it felt right, which made me think that this may be the final book in the series. I enjoyed the references to characters from other of Moore's books (particularly those from A Dirty Job, which is still my hands-down favorite of his books), as well as Moore's skillful use of language, which never fails to make me smile. I look forward to reading whatever he decides to set his pen (keyboard?) to next.
Books in the Vampire Love Story series:
1. Bloodsucking Fiends
2. You Suck
3. Bite Me
Bite Me: A Love Story (#3 in the Vampire Love Story series) by Christopher Moore (William Morrow, 2010) [Review copy received from publisher]
1. Bloodsucking Fiends
2. You Suck
3. Bite Me
Bite Me: A Love Story (#3 in the Vampire Love Story series) by Christopher Moore (William Morrow, 2010) [Review copy received from publisher]
Other reviews of books by Christopher Moore:
Coyote Blue
A Dirty Job
Fool
Also reviewed at:
Back to Books: "In all, a whole lot of insane hilarity with vampyre cats, an old samurai Japanese guy, and the usual main crowd of eccentric characters. A definite read for Moore fans."
The Book Muncher: "...this novel is one twisted adventure of vampire and human misdeeds and sloppy solutions that manages to succeed in being both interesting and wickedly funny."
Sassymonkey Reads: "I really wish I could say that I loved it. I didn’t hate it but I’m afraid it’s not one of my favourite Christopher Moore novels."
I just snagged this book from the library and cannot wait to read it. I really enjoyed the first two books in this series. And I love Abby Normal!
ReplyDeleteSerena - If you love Abby, you're going to adore this book! I'll be looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
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