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Doesn't Suck Jan 25, 2007 (14 of 15 found this helpful)
Christopher Moore treats us to stereotyped outlandish and hilarious human (and vampire) behavior. The main characters are all budding comedians with a streetwise flair - one grows to appreciate the extravagant neurotic nuances of each personality. There are many large reality stretches, but we ARE talking vampires.
If you appreciate your limitations (daytime, feeding urges), it's not too bad being a vampire:
*superpowers - superhot redhead Jody feels a newfound freedom to roam the streets at night wearing very little, despite juvenile catcalls by potentially threatening testosterone-ridden gawker-groups. Safety worries? - not a problem, a nice one to shed. "She slipped comfortably into the new slot the night had made for her, like tumblers of a lock slipping into place."
*enhanced senses - as in Gibson's "What Women Want," there is far more to be ascertained about people you meet when you are from the world of the undead.
*sex - every event is the incredible best.
Perhaps the best character is Abby Normal, the hip-hop goth queen who wants to be "taken" to the other world and becomes the vampires' minion. She's "not inclined to use hip-hop vernacular often, but there are times when, like French, it just better expresses the sentiment of the moment." As in his other books, the high spots are the saucy dialogues between characters.
This is only my 4rth CM book and I'm on my way to becoming an addict. "You Suck" is a winner.
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A weak effort from a talented writer Mar 25, 2007 (35 of 43 found this helpful)
In You Suck, Christopher Moore returns to the characters who made him famous nearly a decade earlier in his absurdist vampire tale Bloodsucking Fiends. Young newbie vampire couple Jody and C. Thomas Flood are still in the Bay Area, trying to move out of town after imprisoning the 800 year-old-vampire Elijah Ben Sapir in a bronze cast to keep him out of the way. The Animals from Thomas's old stockboy days are still causing trouble, this time with a Vegas call girl of expensive tastes whose skin is dyed blue.
The highlight of the novel is the new character Abby Normal, a moody teenage vampire wannabe who identifies Thomas's otherworldly nature in a drugstore and becomes his minion. Abby is refreshingly naive and eager-to-please as she speaks in gothic prose with her Dark Lord and his Countess Jody. The most winning chapters are told in her gangster/Olde English/squealing teenage voice from her diary.
As a longtime fan, I'm disappointed in Moore's latest effort. The biggest failing is that it is entirely without a plot. The book's entire premise is "a sequel to Bloodsucking Fiends," and one must wonder what kind of cash Moore got from his publishers to take the task on. The only driving force is Jody and Thomas's need to leave San Francisco after promising the homicide cops from the first book that they would do so. The hijinks of the novel center on this flimsy premise, and the effort falls flat. No longer are the absurd situations, darkly humorous banter, and bloodlust perks of great fiction; rather, they are all this novel has, and even the banter gets tiring. Jody and Thomas are constantly "fighting" and making up. Abby Normal is the saving grace of the novel, but even she can't carry it all on her own.
Moore fans will delight in the return of the old detective pair from Bloodsucking Fiends and Practical Demonkeeping, as well as a cameo by Charlie Asher of A Dirty Job. Newbies should definitely choose the masterpiece Lamb as a first Moore work, and then try out his vampire works.
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Great Start - Sucky Ending Mar 3, 2007 (12 of 14 found this helpful)
Have you ever been reading a book and completely loved it, only to have the author make a boneheaded twist in the plot and you went from loving the book to hating it? Unfortunately, that is what happened with this book. This book started off so well - the first words in the book are: "You bitch, you killed me! You Suck!" This book is a sequel to Bloodsucking Fiends. Our hero is Tommy Flood, known by his pen name C. Thomas Flood.
In the previous book, he was in love with a vampire, a tall sultry red- head who woke up one day a vampire, and Tommy was in love with her and her protector. This book begins with Tommy waking up and he is now a vampire also. At first he thinks it is cool. But his conscience gets the best of him. He likes the power, and the greater abilities, but he does not like the taking of life, or even just taking blood.
This book also overlaps with Moore's A Dirty Job. The focus of this story is the changing life of Thomas Flood and his girlfriend Jody, and there is a second parallel story of Abby Normal, vampire wannabe, who is a servant of the vampire flood. She fetches coffee, finds new lairs and such.
It's hard to write a hate-it review, when what you hate is the ending of the book, without spoiling it for those who are reading it or will read it. But I can state with all sincerity, that of all of Moore's books, this is not more fun, it is not more entertaining and it is not more Moore. It was in fact far, far less.
Like most of Moore's books, this one is at times incredibly witty and always funny. But without spoiling the ending, the last chapter makes me hate this book. There are so many other ways he could have ended the book, yet he chose a cheap and easy way out. The end of this book is so poor that you regret having spent the time and effort reading it. What should have been a light fun romp through the nightlife of San Francisco, becomes a flop because of the ending.
(First Published in Imprint 2007-03-02 as 'Hate It' from the 'Love it/Hate it' book review column.)
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"Haven't you ever wanted to bone a Smurf?" Apr 8, 2008 (8 of 9 found this helpful)
"You Suck" is the much-anticipated sequel to Christopher Moore's most popular novel, "Bloodsucking Fiends." This book picks up right where the last one left off. C. Thomas Flood wakes up and discovers that his vampire girlfriend, Jody, has turned him into a vampire as well. Both of them need to get acclimated to vampire life, although Jody does have slightly more experience than Tommy. Together, the couple must secure blood to drink, acquire a new apartment, and hire a minion to do their bidding. They end up with 16-year-old Abby, a goth chick who is slightly obsessed with the undead, but actually turns out to be a pretty decent minion. It's a good thing Jody and Tommy have Abby in their corner, because it turns out that the guy who turned Jody into a vampire is on the loose (and super pissed off). Also, Tommy's former colleagues, the Animals, have spent all their money on an exotic blue prostitute (named Blue), and now they're out for revenge. Blue the Smurf-like hooker eventually turns into a vampire as well, and life (well, the afterlife) really does start to suck for poor Jody and Tommy.
I really enjoyed this book. Moore is absolutely hilarious, and his books are some of the most original novels out there. "You Suck" has everything from gigantic shaved cats to blood-laced mocha lattes: very funny stuff! For me, I thought the overall plot of the book wasn't as strong as "Bloodsucking Fiends." Moore had more than a decade to work on this sequel, so I expected a bit more in terms of actual storyline. Still, fans of the first vampire book will not be disappointed.
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Great book, surpise ending! Feb 22, 2007 (5 of 5 found this helpful)
I really enjoyed this book, I read through it rather fast, which is okay, but that means it is a page turner. The characters were spot-on and there's some great humour spread through the book. I really love Christopher Moore's ability to write so comically about such a serious subject. I recommend this book for vampire lovers, and people who hate vampires as well.