Bite Me [Paperback]

Christopher Moore has been one of my favourite writers. I love the Pine Cove books, Lamb, Fluke, A Dirty Job and Bloodsucking Demons. But something seemed to go wrong in You Suck, where he let the book get out of control, leading to a train-wreck ending which pulled a deus ex machina out of the hat to arrive at a spectacular non-conclusion. Then came Fool, of which the less said the better, and now this.

Well, to start off, the actual plot doesn't materialise until the last fifty pages, and then it's an anticlimax because Moore relies on outrageous coincidences and such like to remove what little danger there is. So as soon as there's any sign of conflict it goes away again, almost immediately. Then there's lazy plotting. One character goes bonkers when the plot needs him to, and then becomes sane again, just like that, when the plot needs him to. And, once again, the ending is a total train-wreck, with unconvincing behaviour all round. Plus, for some reason, presumably to please the fans, Kona from Fluke makes a brief and incomprehensible appearance. And guess what: in Fluke he's funny and likeable; here he's annoying.

So, basically I shall be very dubious about buying any further books by Moore. Three duds in a row hits my threshold. At least we have eight great books.

The first Christopher Moore Book I read was Bloodsucking Fiends. It is the first book in this Love Story trilogy and one of four set in and around San Francisco. I absolutely loved it. When I reached the end of book 2, You Suck, I literally wanted to throw it across the room - I hated the ending so much. This one completely redeems it beyond all expectations. The fourth book set in the Bay area is A Dirty Job, and though a great story, and deserving of a squeal, it overlaps with this trilogy with a number of characters, and places. All are worth reading. But I don't think this book should be read as a standalone.

This story continues a few months after You Suck. Abby von Normal is still running around desiring to become a vampire with her boyfriend, Stephen Fooman. But all hell breaks loose in the bay area. Vampire Cats are eating all the street people and others. Their hoard is growing and appears unstoppable. Jodi and Tommy are freed from their bronze encasement, but Tommy has lost his mind while encased in bronze and is missing. To make matters worse, a dark ship arrives in the bay with three ancient vampires who have come to clean up the mess.

Moore states on his website that he wanted to write horror books. But people kept laughing at what he wrote, so he decided to write humour. He does indeed write with a humour bent and a very skewed look at life, and in this book life through a number of different characters eyes. The book is written as a series of first person narratives. Each character telling their experience of the events, so the story jumps time to time from person or storyline. Yet it all remains a complete and fluid composite whole. When you finish reading you feel satiated, satisfied and like anyone who has eaten too much maybe a little sleepy. The book proceeds at a break neck pace, and you find yourself not wanting to put it down. Bite Me does a great job of tying up the story lines from both the first and second books in the series.

This book is witty, whimsical and somewhat sublime. Moore's humour is not for all readers, but if you like Douglad Coupland, Chuck Palahniuk or Irvine Walsh you will enjoy this humorous presentation of the other side of the coin. Moore is an excellent writer and his 11 previous books have garnered him a huge and loyal following. Anyone I have introduced to his writings has fallen in love with them. I even have a friend who is currently re-reading all of Moore's works in chronological order to experience the growth in Moore as a writer. As such, Bite Me is definitely a pinnacle in Moore's canon of literature. It is full of characters you will love and jokes you might even laugh out loud at.

(First published in Imprint 2010-05-07.)

It is always exciting to get a new Christopher Moore book. He writes the best books to escape into and the most alive characters. All are reunited here in the third book about Jody and Tommy's life (or death) as vampires.
Fast passed and not short of action it is a race to save San Francisco for the undead cat Chet (shaved and getting larger), but as always there are other problems on the horizon.
The journal entries from Abi Von Normal were a personal favourite.
Sit back read and be entertained.