Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
While Christopher Moore wrote this comedy-horror novel in 1995, I didn’t read it until twenty years later. During that period, unfortunately, the vampire-as-sex-object ascended from transgression to trope and into cliché. It happened with impressive speed, but I’ll leave an analysis of that phenomenon to people with the mental fortitude to study vampire romances.
My point is, does this book suffer?
Moore is always good for a laugh. And I laughed a few times. It’s not his best work, however. This is not entirely because of its subject matter. He has legitimately written comic masterpieces that outshine this charming story of [mild spoiler:] (view spoiler)
Amid all of this, Moore plays with canon in a way that is both surprising and satisfying (which is among his greatest strengths as a story-teller) even after a decade of sparkles and intense staring have made us all gun shy when it comes to messing with the laws of the vampire.
Still, something about this book feels a little tired. Is it the subject matter? It can’t be Moore himself. He apparently had so much fun writing this book that he continued the story (it’s a trilogy – You Suck and Bite Me follow).
Help me out, people. Let me know what you think.
Bottom line: It’s a quick read. The characters are amusing. The dialogue is sharp, as per usual with Moore. Just don’t hit this one right after reading Lamb or Fool.