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A review by hidusty
Joe Vampire by Steven Luna
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.