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A review by ericathrone
How to Be a Vampire by R.L. Stine
4.0
I first read this book as a kid (I read most of the original Goosebumps and Fear Street books back then) and never really forgot about it. Back in '96, '97, I was really into vampires and read quite a few vampire novels and watched vampire movies. I couldn't get enough! I was basically T.J., one of the book's main characters. This book really hit the spot. For a kid dreaming of being a fanged predator in the night, it represented the promise that all my bloody little dreams could come true. So of course I sought it out again, and here I am.
I just reread it. It took me an hour, maybe less, and I enjoyed it for the most part. It's not the finest prose, but one thing Stine and his contemporaries always did well was to keep kids books short and simple. The book relies heavily on readers' knowledge of vampires from movies and books out at the time (Bram Stoker's Dracula, Interview With the Vampire, and of course all the classics) to support the imagery. Basically, the story is in a world already built by a century or so of vampire literature and popular media. If you look at it that way, you can forgive the lack of actual world building in the book, though of course adult me wanted more background on Ved (the vampire), and the world of vampires at large. Why pick a kid for his "Dark Gift? Why was he so old and rotted? How many more vampires like him exist in then world? What happened to his previous vampires-in-training? Why was the book malfunctioning? Than again, once you start in the direction, it's a slippery slope, and the story would have hurtled away from Andrew's experience while the speedy plot ground to a crawl. That's probably too much metaphor.
In short, I think, even now post-Twilight, kids who are into vampires would love this book. It has some great vampire mojo scenes, and the ending is perfection. For adult readers, unless you're looking at this through the forgiving lens of nostalgia, this book leaves something to be desired. Is it a total disappointment though? Hey, if you have about an hour to kill, it's kind of fun. Grab a free 30 day trial of Scribd or something and give it a go. I don't think you'll feel your time is completely wasted.
Nostalgia/Vampire-obsessed kid rating: 5/5!
Actual rating: 3/5
Split the difference. Solid 4/5 from me!
I just reread it. It took me an hour, maybe less, and I enjoyed it for the most part. It's not the finest prose, but one thing Stine and his contemporaries always did well was to keep kids books short and simple. The book relies heavily on readers' knowledge of vampires from movies and books out at the time (Bram Stoker's Dracula, Interview With the Vampire, and of course all the classics) to support the imagery. Basically, the story is in a world already built by a century or so of vampire literature and popular media. If you look at it that way, you can forgive the lack of actual world building in the book, though of course adult me wanted more background on Ved (the vampire), and the world of vampires at large. Why pick a kid for his "Dark Gift? Why was he so old and rotted? How many more vampires like him exist in then world? What happened to his previous vampires-in-training? Why was the book malfunctioning? Than again, once you start in the direction, it's a slippery slope, and the story would have hurtled away from Andrew's experience while the speedy plot ground to a crawl. That's probably too much metaphor.
In short, I think, even now post-Twilight, kids who are into vampires would love this book. It has some great vampire mojo scenes, and the ending is perfection. For adult readers, unless you're looking at this through the forgiving lens of nostalgia, this book leaves something to be desired. Is it a total disappointment though? Hey, if you have about an hour to kill, it's kind of fun. Grab a free 30 day trial of Scribd or something and give it a go. I don't think you'll feel your time is completely wasted.
Nostalgia/Vampire-obsessed kid rating: 5/5!
Actual rating: 3/5
Split the difference. Solid 4/5 from me!