Review: Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore
by Jenners • 05/01/2010 • 4 Stars, B Titles, Fiction, Humor, M Authors, Paranormal • 10 Comments
2 Words that describe the book: Vampire comedy
3 Settings where it took place or characters you met:
- Setting: Modern-day San Francisco
- Jody—A fledgling vampire who had her new lifestyle thrust upon her with no warning or choice, Jody is trying her best to make sense of her new undead lifestyle. But getting used to a life lived solely at night can make things a little tricky, so Jody needs a minion to do her bidding, which is where…
- C. Thomas Flood comes in. A wannabe writer from Incontinence, Indiana, Tommy is new in town and having a hard time getting adjusted to life in the Big City … until he meets the new love of his life, a certain undead redhead. Although Jody can be a little tricky and high-maintenance with her vampire lifestyle, Tommy is in love (he thinks). As Jody and Tommy settle into together, things take a turn for the worse when the vampire who created Jody starts causing trouble for them.
- I like Christopher Moore. (Have you picked up on that yet … after five or so glowing reviews of his witty, goofy and fun books?) This is the first book of his vampire trilogy (though I accidentally read You Suck first because I didn’t realize it was a series). But Moore’s vampires aren’t brooding, sparkly, or particularly scary. Jody is just like you and me … except with superhuman strength, a thirst for blood and heightened senses. Moore has fun with the whole vampire thing, which brings me to another thing I liked about the book.
- I liked how Moore has Tommy test various vampire legends and stories on Jody to see what is true or not. Once Tommy finds out Jody’s little secret, he cannot resist getting every book on vampires out of the library and checking to see what is true and untrue about vampires. These little experiments include having Tommy sneaking around touching Jody with crucifixes, trying to drown her in a bathtub, having her try to climb walls like Dracula, and rubbing her with garlic while she sleeps. And I liked Moore’s shout-out to the Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice.
- I liked how the book is just stuffed with Moore’s hilarious throwaway lines. You’ll be reading along and then Moore will write something so silly or goofy or unexpected that you just have to laugh out loud. Consider this thought from Jody:
She thought, My closet is starting to look like an ostrich hatchery. I’ve either got to start throwing out L’eggs eggs or get a tan on my legs and quit wearing nylons.
- I disliked the overly serious Reading Group Guide at the back of my book. This is a book that is written to be funny and read for enjoyment. In my opinion, it doesn’t cry out for book club discussions or deep thought. Yet there is a Reading Group Guide at the back with discussion questions like this:
Everyone has been exposed to vampire lore, either through books, movies or television. How does Jody’s transformation into a vampire differ from how you always thought someone became a vampire? In what ways is it similar?
The books touches upon the idea of euthanasia–the practice of ending the life of a terminally ill person in a painless or minimally painful way in order to limit suffering–in that Elijah Ben Sapir, the vampire who creates Jody, only kills those who are about to die or whose lives are limited in some way. What are your feelings about “mercy killings”? Do vampires have an ethical standard?
I’m giving the book 4 stars. I actually liked You Suck a bit better, but you can’t go wrong with Moore. He’s a fun, irreverent, creative writer whose sense of humor comes through on every page. Even if you don’t like vampire books, you can have fun with this one. (You won’t be scared, I promise. The only scary thing is how compelled you’ll be to read more Christopher Moore. I’m getting annoying with this whole “I love Christopher Moore” thing, aren’t I? OK … I’ll shut up now.)
5 Stars or less for your rating?
I got my copy via Paperback Swap even before the Give Me Moore Challenge which involves reading all three of Moore’s vampire books. Next up for me in my quest to read all of Christopher Moore’s books is Bite Me, the third book in the trilogy and my last book for this challenge.
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Funny, I read You Suck first as well and then went back to Bloodsucking fiends. I luckily finished up Bite Me before incurring library fines! Loved it, though You Suck was the best for me. I didn't join the Moore challenge since I only had the one left to read. I hope you enjoy it.
Thanks for letting me know I should read this one first. I hate reading books out of order!
Sounds so funny! I haven't read any of these, but I don't mind a vampire read. Another less known Vamp series I have enjoyed is called Almost Human by Melanie Nowak. You should check it out.
My vampire reading has been limited to Twilight (which, btw, I liked the way Edward looked in the graphic novel better than in the movie….but then I'm more a Jacob fan) and the Sookie Stackhouse books (and Ann Rice, of course, years ago). I'm not sure I'm ready to start another vampire series! My daughter reads several other vampire series, too.
I'm not into vampires either but you might just have convinced me to at least try this one. No, it's not just you thinking you don't need a book club guide for this book. I can't imagine discussing this in a book club. Sounds like some afternoon, you just read it for the chuckles and move on. No deep and lengthy discussion needed. Unless your book club is just a cover for wine guzzling. . . uh, tasting. Yeah, tasting. That's what I meant.
Lately I have been saying that I'm over vampires, but I think that is just a knee-jerk reaction to Twilight. After all, I do really want to read these books, and I just ordered The Passage on audio. Bring on the bloodsuckers!
I don't do vampires but you're starting to talk me into it!!!!
Have got as far as checking the library catalogue – and there are some Christopher Moores, including this one. We shall see!
Ive heard many good things about this book though have also heard some complain that it's just too silly – thanks for shaing your views.
Undead life(?)style. Is it possible to have an afterlife style?
I've heard other good things about this series I'll have to check this out.
I just haven't gotten into all the vampire stuff, but these do sound more entertaining than the sparkly ones.