Scan barcode
hidusty's review
4.0
I’m really struggling with how to review Joe Vampire by Steven Luna. It’s fairly easy for me to write a book review but this is made more complicated by the fact that it’s less book than blog. Traditional fiction has a setup, a disaster, a resolution, more disaster, more resolution, etc. There is tension while you wait to find out if your hero or heroine survives or escapes from some crisis but Joe Vampire lacks much of that conflict, with the exception being the end.
It’s hard to worry about Joe because you know it's his blog and as long as he's updating it that he’s fine. We know that despite what we’re about to hear, despite any crisis, that Joe Vampire is obviously fine. Maybe not psychologically but physically. And maybe that’s really what this is all about. Maybe it's more about his growth than the events that conspire to affect that growth.
This book is not for folks who hate blogs. The same stuff you hate about personal blogs, you’ll hate about this book. But that’s not an insult to Mr. Luna’s Joe Vampire. It’s actually quite the complement because for all of the “okay, I’m getting bored” I kept reading because Joe FELT real. I didn't feel like I was reading the blog of a fictional character. Joe’s voice rang true. I got the idea that I knew him pretty well. If you took the vampire aspect out and placed it online folks would absolutely believe this was an honest to goodness account of a guy who works a ‘meh’ job, pines for a girl, has a blow up with his best friend, etc. In short, the tagline for Joe Vampire “Just a dude who'll never die, trying to figure out how to live” is brilliant. And honest.
Joe Vampire is not your normal fiction. It’s absolutely a blog in book form. If you love blogs, if you dig the voyeuristic nature of them, then you’ll enjoy Joe Vampire.
I’m looking forward to Joe 2. However, I think I’ll take a different approach to Joe 2, if the format is the same. I think I’ll read a post and set it down for a day. Read another post and set it down. Joe is great, but just like other human beings I can only take so much “me” talk. I guess that’s my personal opinion about blogs. The fact that Joe can endear himself to me and annoy me with his issues is actually a supreme compliment.
You should give the dude vampire a shot. At the end you may find yourself believing they are possible. Joe’s existence is certainly more believable than Edward Cullins. I’m sorry, Fredward Mullins. I get my Nightfall confused with my Twilight. My bad.
It’s hard to worry about Joe because you know it's his blog and as long as he's updating it that he’s fine. We know that despite what we’re about to hear, despite any crisis, that Joe Vampire is obviously fine. Maybe not psychologically but physically. And maybe that’s really what this is all about. Maybe it's more about his growth than the events that conspire to affect that growth.
This book is not for folks who hate blogs. The same stuff you hate about personal blogs, you’ll hate about this book. But that’s not an insult to Mr. Luna’s Joe Vampire. It’s actually quite the complement because for all of the “okay, I’m getting bored” I kept reading because Joe FELT real. I didn't feel like I was reading the blog of a fictional character. Joe’s voice rang true. I got the idea that I knew him pretty well. If you took the vampire aspect out and placed it online folks would absolutely believe this was an honest to goodness account of a guy who works a ‘meh’ job, pines for a girl, has a blow up with his best friend, etc. In short, the tagline for Joe Vampire “Just a dude who'll never die, trying to figure out how to live” is brilliant. And honest.
Joe Vampire is not your normal fiction. It’s absolutely a blog in book form. If you love blogs, if you dig the voyeuristic nature of them, then you’ll enjoy Joe Vampire.
I’m looking forward to Joe 2. However, I think I’ll take a different approach to Joe 2, if the format is the same. I think I’ll read a post and set it down for a day. Read another post and set it down. Joe is great, but just like other human beings I can only take so much “me” talk. I guess that’s my personal opinion about blogs. The fact that Joe can endear himself to me and annoy me with his issues is actually a supreme compliment.
You should give the dude vampire a shot. At the end you may find yourself believing they are possible. Joe’s existence is certainly more believable than Edward Cullins. I’m sorry, Fredward Mullins. I get my Nightfall confused with my Twilight. My bad.
ashlie2003's review
4.0
Reading Joe Vampire was the equivalent of reading a blog that was having a conversation directly with me. "What do you mean?" you say. I mean this: From the first paragraphs of the first entry of the blog, in which Joe confesses to the cyber-verse the ins and outs of becoming a vampire and how far removed it is from the fiction that has popularized the undead, he spoke directly at me, and called me out on all my vampire fan bullshit. Yes, I am female between the ages of 14 and 42. Yes, I'm a fan of the "Nightfall" novels. Yes, I play with a virtual farm on facebook. So sue me.
Steven Luna sucked me in and made me laugh out load, over and over again. Pop culture references are sprinkled throughout keeping the story present and solidifying the idea that Joe is a real person, who has really become a vampire.
The detail in the transformation from human to undead is disgusting, but intriguing because the physical process isn't explained away (or left to be just assumed) by magic.
Joe's relationships both before and after his transformation, are whole and real, even if they aren't always perfect.
And the best part, was there was no nonsense about what being a vampire meant for his soul and some higher or "lower" beings. It was a human story, about human decisions to be a good person even if it would be really easy to be "bad".
Already started book two, and looking forward to more.
Steven Luna sucked me in and made me laugh out load, over and over again. Pop culture references are sprinkled throughout keeping the story present and solidifying the idea that Joe is a real person, who has really become a vampire.
The detail in the transformation from human to undead is disgusting, but intriguing because the physical process isn't explained away (or left to be just assumed) by magic.
Joe's relationships both before and after his transformation, are whole and real, even if they aren't always perfect.
And the best part, was there was no nonsense about what being a vampire meant for his soul and some higher or "lower" beings. It was a human story, about human decisions to be a good person even if it would be really easy to be "bad".
Already started book two, and looking forward to more.
wilkincc75's review
4.0
What would you do if you woke up one morning and found yourself among the living dead? Try to make the best of it? Tell your loved ones? Start a blog?
Joe Vampire is the story of an average guy and how his life is rocked by one small mistake that turns him into a vampire and his attempt to continue a semi-normal life in spite of it, told in blog format.
I liked Joe and his story. It's funny as much as sad as you read about his mini-misadventures and mistakes, often in bulleted lists. After I finished I wanted to find him and give him a hug and say "It's all gonna be okay Joe" but that would be odd...and impossible.
If you're looking for a read that's funny and easy to do in small increments, or a change from the glamor of many turned-into-a-vampire stories this is a good one to pick up.
Joe Vampire is the story of an average guy and how his life is rocked by one small mistake that turns him into a vampire and his attempt to continue a semi-normal life in spite of it, told in blog format.
I liked Joe and his story. It's funny as much as sad as you read about his mini-misadventures and mistakes, often in bulleted lists. After I finished I wanted to find him and give him a hug and say "It's all gonna be okay Joe" but that would be odd...and impossible.
If you're looking for a read that's funny and easy to do in small increments, or a change from the glamor of many turned-into-a-vampire stories this is a good one to pick up.
liisp_cvr2cvr's review
2.0
Now, I really thought I was going to enjoy this vampire story so much because the premise of it just sounded so backward and awkward and different. Just how like like things to be. And in all fairness, the writing was good. The idea was good and what little explosive did happen was just all right. I didn’t even mind the structure of the book being presented as Joe Vampire’s blog. Perfectly readable. And no, Joe was not a happy puppy to be a vampire. There wasn’t many things, in fact, that Joe could muster happiness for. We’re dealing with a beaten down, pessimistic, moaning Joe Vampire.
I was a bit disappointed that something more exiting did not happen. It was a regular story of a guy going through life dealing with shit. To be honest- he came across like a real pussy. I swear, if he was my friend I would constantly keep telling him to cop on and get on with it. Yet, the occasional really funny lines kept me reading. It’s a book written by a guy and you can just get that guy-style right away. I mean, transition to vampirism through a nuclear diahrrea? Yup, it’s so totally a guy thing to have the need to draw parrallels with taking a dump. Guys love to talk about shit. The rest of the sense of humor in the book was quite OK, too. Some people love that kind of sarcasm and guy-sass. For me, it loses the awesomeness in heavy doses.
In this book, the vampire is just like any human really but with a strange diet. They suffer from the feels, they still have to work to make money, they still look for love. And they don’t sparkle. To be honest, that “I’m a vampire but not the sparkling kind” is becoming a bit of a cliché. Yeah, yeah, Twlight was a big hit with a sparkling vampire and you don’t sparkle because you’re the real deal and you just need to get a dig in at Twilight. Whatever, get over it. The vampires in this book don’t seem to be struggling with overpowering need for human blood and don’t seem to ponder too much about the fact that they’re going to live for a very very long time. The issues and dramas are quite “in this moment”, quite normal human first world problems. Maybe that’s why it read slightly average. No really dramatic, strange, paranormal incidents. Well, there is a kidnapping, but …
Ah, and I can’t write this review and not mention my favorite character- Bo. A southerner, just a bit thick but harmless and hard worker. He was my favorite character of the whole book and I wish he would have appeared a bit more often. In fact, I wish this book was about Bo, with Bo as the main character.
Overall- it was an OK read. You need to try it out to test the level of humor- it might just be your cup of tea.
I was a bit disappointed that something more exiting did not happen. It was a regular story of a guy going through life dealing with shit. To be honest- he came across like a real pussy. I swear, if he was my friend I would constantly keep telling him to cop on and get on with it. Yet, the occasional really funny lines kept me reading. It’s a book written by a guy and you can just get that guy-style right away. I mean, transition to vampirism through a nuclear diahrrea? Yup, it’s so totally a guy thing to have the need to draw parrallels with taking a dump. Guys love to talk about shit. The rest of the sense of humor in the book was quite OK, too. Some people love that kind of sarcasm and guy-sass. For me, it loses the awesomeness in heavy doses.
In this book, the vampire is just like any human really but with a strange diet. They suffer from the feels, they still have to work to make money, they still look for love. And they don’t sparkle. To be honest, that “I’m a vampire but not the sparkling kind” is becoming a bit of a cliché. Yeah, yeah, Twlight was a big hit with a sparkling vampire and you don’t sparkle because you’re the real deal and you just need to get a dig in at Twilight. Whatever, get over it. The vampires in this book don’t seem to be struggling with overpowering need for human blood and don’t seem to ponder too much about the fact that they’re going to live for a very very long time. The issues and dramas are quite “in this moment”, quite normal human first world problems. Maybe that’s why it read slightly average. No really dramatic, strange, paranormal incidents. Well, there is a kidnapping, but …
Ah, and I can’t write this review and not mention my favorite character- Bo. A southerner, just a bit thick but harmless and hard worker. He was my favorite character of the whole book and I wish he would have appeared a bit more often. In fact, I wish this book was about Bo, with Bo as the main character.
Overall- it was an OK read. You need to try it out to test the level of humor- it might just be your cup of tea.
ladilira's review
4.0
Full disclaimer: I bought this book years ago when it was originally published by Booktrope. I have not read the re-released version published by Dapper Press. Therefore, I have no idea what changes may or may not have occurred between the two publications. What I can say is regardless of any massive changes, this story was a delight to read. And I cannot imagine that has changed.
Joe Vampire is just an everyday guy trying to live an everyday life, except now he has the added bonus of being a creature of the night. If you like stories where the narrator speaks to you like an audience member with dark comedic timing, then you may find this story as entertaining as I did. It drew me in with how light the dark was treated and the conversational tone.
It was a quick read due to the presentation, but it was a full bodied story with self-loathing, monster hunters and a sprinkle of romance to complete the circle. It was good for a bunch of chuckles and maybe even a small eww!
I recommend the story to any dark comedy lovers out there that have a funny bone for the morbid and supernatural.
Joe Vampire is just an everyday guy trying to live an everyday life, except now he has the added bonus of being a creature of the night. If you like stories where the narrator speaks to you like an audience member with dark comedic timing, then you may find this story as entertaining as I did. It drew me in with how light the dark was treated and the conversational tone.
It was a quick read due to the presentation, but it was a full bodied story with self-loathing, monster hunters and a sprinkle of romance to complete the circle. It was good for a bunch of chuckles and maybe even a small eww!
I recommend the story to any dark comedy lovers out there that have a funny bone for the morbid and supernatural.
reviewsmayvary's review
4.0
3.5 stars:
The story of Joe, who goes through all the phases of grief when diagnosed with a chronic illness all his friends think is really drug abuse. The disease? He's a vampire. Which actually turns out to be a great way to get him off his ass and back into his life. Oh. And he's keeping it on the DL. So obviously, people start to find out. Mostly good people. Good luck, Joe.
Full review:
http://bookedupandbossy.blogspot.com/2015/12/book-review-joe-vampire.html
The story of Joe, who goes through all the phases of grief when diagnosed with a chronic illness all his friends think is really drug abuse. The disease? He's a vampire. Which actually turns out to be a great way to get him off his ass and back into his life. Oh. And he's keeping it on the DL. So obviously, people start to find out. Mostly good people. Good luck, Joe.
Full review:
http://bookedupandbossy.blogspot.com/2015/12/book-review-joe-vampire.html
More...