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A review by barb4ry1
Awfully Appetizing by Leod D. Fitz
3.0
Ghouls. Not likeable. Carrion eaters. Not as sexy or dangerous as vampires, or romantic as werewolves who try to tame their inner beast. If they appear in urban-fantasy at all, they do so as secondary characters supposed to make the lore richer.
Leod D. Fitz picked a ghoul as his POV character. Walter, raised by humans, and mostly socialized owns a morgue where he has access to decomposing bodies and where he can have a nice snack, an excised tumor for example. He likes his meat tenderized. The nastier it smells, the better it tastes.
His love life sucks, partly because of his bad looks, partly because Ghouls sexual behavior would devastate most willing human partners. Having little choice and even less money to pay for it, Walter finds some release in autoerotic asphyxiation.
Not your usual urban-fantasy hero, right?
Despite his off-putting behavior (by human measures), Walter is actually a decent guy and a caring son to his human adoptive mother. He wants to lead a quiet, solitary life and have regular meals. Instead, he finds himself pursued by murderous hunters, hounded by werewolves, and embroiled in the absurdly complicated world of vampire politics.
I felt tempted to DNF this book because of detailed (but not overly graphic) descriptions of Walter’s culinary tastes and sexual activities I can’t relate to. Obviously, I didn’t. Something in the prose and Walter’s wry and dark humor kept me engaged. I finished enjoying the story.
Parts of it are gross and I could do with less of realism, but I praise the author for exploring his character and his "ghoulness” fully. Leod created a repulsive character that’s hard to dislike and easy to root for despite his otherness.
Walter doesn’t predominantly examine the world through sight, and many scenes reflect it when he first “sees” things through smell and sound. I appreciate his dry wit, and resourcefulness. Contrary to other supernatural beings or human hunters, Walter doesn’t act as a predator and he tries to avoid violence.
The writing tends toward the humorous but I wouldn’t call the humor proper, especially when things do get gross and off-putting. That said, some passages are hilarious and nicely written. As for the characters, apart from Walter, all of them feel one-dimensional and I suspect many readers will dislike representation of females. The only important female character, a freshly turned vampire, is a sexy and sex-obsessed gal who spends a lot of other people’s money on clothes.
If Family Guy doesn’t offend you and makes you laugh, and you don’t look for a proper representation of both sexes in your fiction, chances are you’ll enjoy Awfully Appetizing. I did. Despite its flaws and shortcomings. I find Walter’s voice engaging and entertaining.
Leod D. Fitz picked a ghoul as his POV character. Walter, raised by humans, and mostly socialized owns a morgue where he has access to decomposing bodies and where he can have a nice snack, an excised tumor for example. He likes his meat tenderized. The nastier it smells, the better it tastes.
His love life sucks, partly because of his bad looks, partly because Ghouls sexual behavior would devastate most willing human partners. Having little choice and even less money to pay for it, Walter finds some release in autoerotic asphyxiation.
Not your usual urban-fantasy hero, right?
Despite his off-putting behavior (by human measures), Walter is actually a decent guy and a caring son to his human adoptive mother. He wants to lead a quiet, solitary life and have regular meals. Instead, he finds himself pursued by murderous hunters, hounded by werewolves, and embroiled in the absurdly complicated world of vampire politics.
I felt tempted to DNF this book because of detailed (but not overly graphic) descriptions of Walter’s culinary tastes and sexual activities I can’t relate to. Obviously, I didn’t. Something in the prose and Walter’s wry and dark humor kept me engaged. I finished enjoying the story.
Parts of it are gross and I could do with less of realism, but I praise the author for exploring his character and his "ghoulness” fully. Leod created a repulsive character that’s hard to dislike and easy to root for despite his otherness.
Walter doesn’t predominantly examine the world through sight, and many scenes reflect it when he first “sees” things through smell and sound. I appreciate his dry wit, and resourcefulness. Contrary to other supernatural beings or human hunters, Walter doesn’t act as a predator and he tries to avoid violence.
The writing tends toward the humorous but I wouldn’t call the humor proper, especially when things do get gross and off-putting. That said, some passages are hilarious and nicely written. As for the characters, apart from Walter, all of them feel one-dimensional and I suspect many readers will dislike representation of females. The only important female character, a freshly turned vampire, is a sexy and sex-obsessed gal who spends a lot of other people’s money on clothes.
If Family Guy doesn’t offend you and makes you laugh, and you don’t look for a proper representation of both sexes in your fiction, chances are you’ll enjoy Awfully Appetizing. I did. Despite its flaws and shortcomings. I find Walter’s voice engaging and entertaining.