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Science Fiction and Fantasy Association of New Zealand |
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Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore Orbit Books Supplied for review by Hachette New Zealand |
Reviewed By: Alan Robson |
| I love vampire stories. I particularly love funny vampire
stories. Jody Stroud is attacked by a vampire in an alley in San Francisco. She awakes the
next night with a fortune in cash stuffed into her clothing, a burned arm (it has been
lying in the sun all day and she has developed a hypersensitivity to light), and a hunger
for the taste of blood. She needs help -- preferably from someone who can go out during
the day, which she no longer can. Her car has been towed away, and the towing company is
only open 9 to 5. How is she going to get it back? Enter Tommy Flood, an unpublished
freelance writer who stocks shelves at the supermarket at night and plays ten pin bowling
in the aisles using frozen turkeys as bowling balls... Given how trendy romantic vampire stories are at the moment, they definitely need to be taken down a peg or two. The republication of this screamingly funny book is very timely. -Alan Robson Bloodsucking Fiends tells the tale of the life and love of Jody, a novice vampire, and Thomas, an aspiring writer and night-crew (shelf packer) at a supermarket, in modern San Francisco. And while Jody and Thomas are getting into the rhythm of living together, with Thomas left with all the daytime activities, they are also being stalked by the vampire that turned Jody. With a cast of vampires, corpses, confused cops, and chaos-inducing vagrants and low achievers the book should by rights be a horror story; but isn’t. Instead this is a comic opera of action and love, with some laugh out loud moments as off-the-wall moments get played out with gusto and feeling. The revelations arising from a public palmistry session that Thomas endures as he seeks counsel on moving in with Jody is one such scene. This book is written in a gentle comedic style strongly reminiscent of Carl Hiaasen, with the villain getting a suitably bizarre send off. This book left me keen to read more Moore. -Simon Litten |
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SFFANZ is a non-profit organisation
and registered charity designed to bring together fans of the fantastic in New Zealand |
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Contact us by email at: enquiries@sffanz.org.nz |
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