Post by Silver on Apr 24, 2009 9:54:06 GMT -5
Okay, so rather than write a synopsis /review myself I found this good one online, and since I agree with it here it is:
"Martin Kowalski lives in a world where vampires outnumber humans. The undead are frozen in time. Simple everyday items like cereal are sold on Ebay as nostalgic treasures. Canned human food now substitutes for dog food. Toilets are used as planters. Humans hide. A good time to be a vampire. Not so great to be anything else. Of course, there really is nothing else. That’s part of the problem.
Marty became a vampire in WWII. Near death on the battlefield, a female vampire turned him then left him behind. Martin began his undead life killing bad guys - Nazis, criminals and others he felt were in need of death. Soon, Martin and a few others changed their ways and began to kill as a benevolent gesture…with the help of the Pope and the Catholic Church.
That’s historical Marty. Present day Marty is bored. When his idea of ending his life doesn’t work, he tries something new. He stumbles across a little girl - Isuzu Trooper Cassidy. Her mother has been killed by vampires and Marty takes her in, but not until after she tries to kill him. He intends to keep her around for a little bit then kill her, but…
Thus starts the "should I kill her or let her live" battle in his soulless body.
The book follows Isuzu’s formative years as Marty morphs from predator to father. The story stays in first person and Marty’s charming and witty voice as he describes raising Isuzu and easing her transition from little girl to young woman. From coloring to her first period. From bulimia to a boyfriend. The journey is poignant. It is at times hysterical and always enjoyable.
Vamped falls into the category of Lad Lit. It follows the story of one guy - a very funny guy’s guy. Marty is flawed and imperfect, stuck in a rut and desperate to get out. Unfortunately, there’s nowhere to go now that vampires rule the world. Isuzu, a human kid with all of those annoying human kid habits, sends Marty’s stable and mundane world spinning.
There is a romance here, but it is a secondary theme and doesn’t appear until page 250. The point isn’t romance, which is good because that is the weakest and least developed part of the book. The plot centers on Marty, Isuzu and the growth of their relationship. The other characters are few and all serve a purpose in driving the story forward and revealing something in this new world Sosnowski has created. The bond that forms, and how this mismatched pair makes this strange pseudo-family situation work, drives the book. Marty’s growth (despite lack of blood and an inability to actually age) follows through the book as Isuzu grows older.
The writing is snappy and clean. The dialog zips along and the plot never drags. Vamped flips back and forth between backstory and real time without ever losing the reader. The shifts from vampire world to human world are clever and recall many old-time products, such as Count Chocula cereal, in a way that almost guarantees a smile.
Vamped does not rely on recycled vampire lore. The general world is familiar, but Sosnowski makes it his own. The result is a an endearing tale in a vampire world that feels fresh and different from what has gone before."
(c) Kassia Krozser/Helen Kay?
"Martin Kowalski lives in a world where vampires outnumber humans. The undead are frozen in time. Simple everyday items like cereal are sold on Ebay as nostalgic treasures. Canned human food now substitutes for dog food. Toilets are used as planters. Humans hide. A good time to be a vampire. Not so great to be anything else. Of course, there really is nothing else. That’s part of the problem.
Marty became a vampire in WWII. Near death on the battlefield, a female vampire turned him then left him behind. Martin began his undead life killing bad guys - Nazis, criminals and others he felt were in need of death. Soon, Martin and a few others changed their ways and began to kill as a benevolent gesture…with the help of the Pope and the Catholic Church.
That’s historical Marty. Present day Marty is bored. When his idea of ending his life doesn’t work, he tries something new. He stumbles across a little girl - Isuzu Trooper Cassidy. Her mother has been killed by vampires and Marty takes her in, but not until after she tries to kill him. He intends to keep her around for a little bit then kill her, but…
Thus starts the "should I kill her or let her live" battle in his soulless body.
The book follows Isuzu’s formative years as Marty morphs from predator to father. The story stays in first person and Marty’s charming and witty voice as he describes raising Isuzu and easing her transition from little girl to young woman. From coloring to her first period. From bulimia to a boyfriend. The journey is poignant. It is at times hysterical and always enjoyable.
Vamped falls into the category of Lad Lit. It follows the story of one guy - a very funny guy’s guy. Marty is flawed and imperfect, stuck in a rut and desperate to get out. Unfortunately, there’s nowhere to go now that vampires rule the world. Isuzu, a human kid with all of those annoying human kid habits, sends Marty’s stable and mundane world spinning.
There is a romance here, but it is a secondary theme and doesn’t appear until page 250. The point isn’t romance, which is good because that is the weakest and least developed part of the book. The plot centers on Marty, Isuzu and the growth of their relationship. The other characters are few and all serve a purpose in driving the story forward and revealing something in this new world Sosnowski has created. The bond that forms, and how this mismatched pair makes this strange pseudo-family situation work, drives the book. Marty’s growth (despite lack of blood and an inability to actually age) follows through the book as Isuzu grows older.
The writing is snappy and clean. The dialog zips along and the plot never drags. Vamped flips back and forth between backstory and real time without ever losing the reader. The shifts from vampire world to human world are clever and recall many old-time products, such as Count Chocula cereal, in a way that almost guarantees a smile.
Vamped does not rely on recycled vampire lore. The general world is familiar, but Sosnowski makes it his own. The result is a an endearing tale in a vampire world that feels fresh and different from what has gone before."
(c) Kassia Krozser/Helen Kay?