Product Description
The city of San Francisco is being stalked by a huge shaved vampyre cat named Chet, and only I, Abby Normal, emergency backup mistress of the Greater Bay Area night, and my manga-haired love monkey, Foo Dog, stand between the ravenous monster and a bloody massacre of the general public.
Whoa. And this is a love story? Yup. ‘Cept there’s no whining. See, while some lovers were born to run, Jody and Tommy were born to bite. Well, reborn, that is, now that they’re vampires. Good thing theirs is an undying love, since their Goth Girl Friday, Abby Normal, imprisoned them in a bronze statue.
Abby wants to be a bloodsucking fiend, too, but right now she’s really busy with other stuff, like breaking in a pair of red vinyl thigh-high Skankenstein® platform boots and wrangling her Ph.D.-candidate boyfriend, Steve (the love monkey). And then there’s that vampire cat Chet, who’s getting bigger and smarter—and thirstier—by the minute. Abby thought she and Steve could handle the kitty cat on their own, mais non . . .
Before you can say “OMG! WTF?” Tommy and Jody are sprung from captivity, and join forces with Abby, Steve, the frozen-turkey-bowling Safeway crew, the Emperor of San Francisco and his trusty dogs Lazarus and Bummer, Abby’s gay Goth friend Jared, and SF’s finest Cavuto and Rivera to hunt big cat and save the city. And that’s when the fun really begins.
Susan Tunis @ 5:02 pm
In my rave review of Moore’s last novel, Fool, I implied that his novels inspired by Shakespeare and the Bible are more substantive than his fluffier San Francisco/Pine Cove novels. This latest novel, Bite Me, has me rethinking that statement. Funny, it is. Fluffy, it is not. Bite Me is the third (and final?) novel in the Bloodsucking Fiends series. The first novel in a great series is always special because it’s our introduction to a new world. That said, this latest installment just might be the best. What I can tell you is this: I found it to be darker, scarier, more suspenseful, and at least as funny as the previous novels. And in addition to all of the above, it’s genuinely moving. These characters have been my friends for more than a decade now. I’ve grown to care about them.
The novel opens pretty much in the immediate wake of You Suck. The opening chapter is the first of many that are narrated by the unforgettable Abby Normal, self-proclaimed “emergency back-up mistress of the greater Bay Area night.” Abby begins by providing a dizzying (and helpful) recap of the first two novels, but I’d strongly suggest you read Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story and You Suck: A Love Story before tackling this one. She and Foo Dog still inhabit the “love lair.” Jody and Tommy are still encased in bronze. Chet, the huge shaved vampire cat is on the prowl. And all of our favorite San Franciscans are back: the Emperor, Bummer, and Lazarus; the Animals; cops Rivera and Cavuto; the folks from Asher’s Secondhand Store; and others. And Moore fans, a beloved past character who’s never shown up in San Francisco before makes an unexpected appearance in a supporting role. Be careful what you read about this novel. It would be a shame to ruin the surprise!
I don’t want to summarize the plot. It’s too crazy, it lurches in all sorts of unexpected directions, and why should I ruin your fun? What I can tell you is that I was completely surprised by the novel’s ending. Earlier I said this novel is darker, scarier, and more suspenseful. (At this point I should admit that I’m a total wuss who’s afraid of horror movies and rollercoasters.) Still, characters are placed in real jeopardy. Not all will survive. And I was definitely on the edge of my seat for large stretches of the novel. That Moore can maintain this level of tension while being spit-milk-out-your-nose funny is astonishing. I didn’t actually spit any milk out of my nose. I read this novel while laid up with the flu. Every time I laughed out loud it started a coughing jag. I nearly coughed up a lung, but I just couldn’t put it down! If that’s not a recommendation, what is?
Despite aphorisms about old dogs and new tricks, I have to say it: I think Chris Moore is getting better. I’ve been a hardcore fan for years, and that is saying quite a bit.
Nicole Del Sesto @ 6:33 pm
Who, but Christopher Moore, can give you a book with both tender moments, and fart jokes? Nobody I can think of, and that’s one of the things that makes him so brilliant.
In Bite Me, we return to the streets of San Francisco, (as much a character in the book as the humans … and the various assorted other creatures), picking up where You Suck: A Love Story left off. Much of the book is told from the perspective of Abby Normal, and OMFG I LOVE HER!
I found this book to be slightly more sophisticated than the previous two. A novel you can really (ready?) sink your teeth into. And I’m not just saying that because the pun works. With all the vampire fiction out there these days, vampire lore can get really tired. There were some unique aspects in this book which really put a fresh spin on things, and frankly some fun kind of sciencey stuff that gave it some of that aforementioned substance.
Never to be taken for granted, and always worthy of mention is Moore’s humor. The book started funny, it stayed funny, it ended funny. So many “comic” novels have laugh out loud starts, which sort of dwindle away as the story progresses. Not so with Bite Me. Many, many, laugh out loud moments.
Do you have to have read Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story and You Suck to read this one? Probably not, there’s enough background information given, but why wouldn’t you?
K. Harris @ 8:53 pm
He’s back! Christopher Moore returns to the city by the bay with his latest chapter of love, absurdity and vampirism in his uniquely original take on the underbelly of San Francisco. Moore’s demented vision of the city he loves is a common denominator in many of his novels and several of its wacky environs wander into and out of unrelated books. But “Bite Me” reassembles all the players of his previous success stories “Bloodsucking Fiends” and “You Suck” and continues all the drama (OK, not so much), the romance (sort of) and the farce (definitely) that only Moore can deliver.
If you’ve read the prior books in the trilogy–you pretty much know what to expect from this lightweight comedic romp. If you haven’t, however, this is NOT the place to start! Go back and sample “Bloodsucking Fiends” and proceed from there. “Fiends” set the standard for modern slacker vampire love stories and fans of that book and its sequel will surely be eager to devour (nifty pun, huh?) “Bite Me.” Countess Jody, Dark Lord Tommy Flood, Goth minion Abby Normal, and all the other eccentric characters are back to do battle with a new calamity threatening San Fran. Chet, an enormous shaved vampire cat, is creating an army of hungry vampire kitties that are stalking the most vulnerable of the city’s inhabitants. They’ve got to be stopped to keep the supernatural underworld from going public. I was going to say “in the dark” but let’s not overuse those delightful puns. Adding to the problem, some previous foes also show up to keep things quiet in a most foul-intentioned way. Will our love starved heroes prevail? Will they even survive?
“Bite Me” is action packed and filled with laughs. It is ridiculous and delightful–the conception of Chet alone is worth the price of admission. “Bite Me” will breeze by as a quick and amusing read. And that’s great! If you love these characters, check it out. But as I referenced earlier, this is not a starting point to new initiates of the Moore oeuvre. To enjoy all of its charms, you should start from the beginning. More comedic style than actual substance, however, “Bite Me” falls a little short of recent Christopher Moore titles. Coming off the highly ambitious “Fool” (one of my favorites of last year) and the strangely heartfelt “A Dirty Job,” which shares some of the “Bite Me” characters, this is more of a throw-back to an earlier, simpler times. But that’s OK–I live in a world where any Moore is good Moore!
Xina143 @ 11:22 pm
But I didn’t dig this installment as much as the first two! “Bloodsucking Fiends” was great! It had just the right amount of snarky sarcasm. It wasn’t over the top, but it pushed the limits and almost went there. “You Suck” introduced us to Tommy and Jody’s minion-Abby Normal. A little goth girl with a hankering to be ‘nosferatu’ (as she puts it). And finally, we get “Bite Me” and I have to say, I am a bit disappointed.
This book is told from Abby’s point of view, and along the way she discover that Abby isn’t quite as Goth as she wants us all to think. She is a confused, silly little girl. That isn’t to say Moore doesn’t slay with a few one liners, and he introduced us to a lonely old man-Okata-that I want to know more about. (Truth be told, he was the most interesting character in the book to me) Jody and Tommy didn’t do a whole lot here, but then neither did Abby.
Chet, the giant, shaved vampire cat had a bigger role, but we didn’t get to the crux of the story until about 80% of the way into the book, which means for me the ending was a little rushed, and a little too predictable.
It was funny, I will say that, but it didn’t have that edge that the earlier two did, not for me anyways.
Daimion @ 12:09 am
I am a fan of Christopher Moore. I discovered him last year after reading “A Dirty Job”, and have been working my way through his catalog. Having read both “Bloodsucking Fiends” and “You Suck”, I was eager to read “Bite Me” – his return to the world of vampires in San Francisco.
If you have read any of my other reviews, you know that I am NOT on board with the current vampire craze. As I have said before, I am eagerly awaiting the day that zombies reclaim the pop culture spotlight from vampires. (As a complete aside – after reading “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I would like to see someone mash zombies into the Twilight saga. Zombies feeding on the brains of Bella, Edward, and Jacob MIGHT be enough to get me to read one of those books…but I digress). All that being said, I do not have a complete embargo against vampires, so I felt free to enjoy “Bite Me”.
If you are new to Christopher Moore, this is most definitely not the book that you want to start with. Over the years, Moore has built up quite an interconnected world within his writings. You will see echoes of, characters from, or references to most of his earlier works in “Bite Me”. You can still enjoy the book without reading most of them, but make sure that you have read “Bloodsucking Fiends” and “You Suck” before tackling “Bite Me”. If you are a Moore fan, I won’t go in to too much detail on the plot for “Bite Me”. Suffice it to say that it picks up shortly after the end of “You Suck”, and carries the story on from there. All of your favorite characters are back – Jody, Tommy, Abby Normal, the Animals, even Chet the vampire cat. Picking up the story is in many ways like putting on a pair of old jeans. It’s familiar and comfortable.
Moore is a very gifted comedic writer. He has a quick wit and sarcasm that I can appreciate. His style is a fast paced, at times rapid fire, delivery of observations, cracks, and barbs. This story is no different – there are laugh out loud moments. My only complaint is that, at times, he has taken the vulgarity to a place just one step over the line for me. I’m no prude, and Moore has pushed the boundaries in the past, but I found a few portions of the books (most often those narrated by Abby) to be prurient just for the sake of being prurient. Perhaps you can make the case that this is just the authentic voice of a teenage Goth-wannabe living in the San Francisco underground. Not being a teenage underground Goth-wannabe myself, the authenticity of voice was lost on me, and just made for a few un-enjoyable passages.
Overall, I liked – not loved – this book. It was a very quick read – almost too quick. Moore did not add much to the overall story he had spun in the two previous volumes. You could say he added some closure to the story – but even that wasn’t all that I had hoped it would be. In reality, you could probably take all three books – “Bloodsucking Fiends”, “You Suck”, and “Bite Me” – mash them together, and end up with two very good books. Still, I highly recommend this book to fans of Moore. It’s nice to spend a few days with old friends like Tommy, Jody, Abby, and the Emperor of San Francisco. I just wish that I could have spent a few more days with them, grabbed some dinner, and maybe visited the Golden Gate Bridge while I was in town.