Tuesday, August 19, 2008

A Dirty Job, Bloodsucking Fiends, You Suck


Rating:★★★
Category:Books
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Author:Christopher Moore
First of all, let me say up front: I'm a sucker for twisted fiction stories. So when officemate, Kristen, told me about a humorous book called "Lamb, The Gospel according to Biff," I was intrigued.

I wanted to borrow "Lamb" as airport read during my recent trip but Kristen, who loved the author so much, wanted me to read "A Dirty Job" first as this was the Moore's usual style and he was afraid I wouldn't read the other books after reading "Lamb."

So I brought "A Dirty Job" and left "Lamb" at home thinking I might not be able to read it and I didn't want to be carrying it around during my 3-wk vacation. It was an easy read. You can say I enjoyed Moore enough that after I finished the book, I bought the two other books on the condition that it was on sale. :P

Generally I like the way Moore weaves the unreal into the modern day world as he does in "A Dirty Job" where normal guy Charlie Asher discovers his new role as sort of Death's little helper; "Bloodsucking Fiends" where Jody wakes up one day a vampire, her journey as she discovers her powers and falls in love with her minion, aspiring writer Tommy from Indiana; and "You Suck" a sequel to "Bloodsucking Fiends." (Good thing, I read Bloodsucking Fiends first too.) I found it clever how he infuses characters and sometimes events from these different books in the same way that Buffy made a cameo in Angel (the series spin-off from Buffy the vampire slayer) or how he turns some characters into regulars (as in the case of the Emperor and Inspector Rivera) while changing the character leads.

I like that Moore's writing is light and easy to read. His plots are sometimes predictable but somewhat intriguing and with enough twists to make one stick to the end and leave you wanting to pick up another of his stories. Most of all, I like how Moore also surprises you with quips that will make you laugh-out-loud.

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