Book: You Suck by Christopher Moore

You Suck: A Love Story

Christopher Moore

I was the last of a small circle of friends to get into the writing of Christopher Moore. I basically tried him out because I was tired of the exclusionary conversations about his books in my presence. You know what I'm saying? When people are talking about tiny squirrel people in your presence, you really want to find out what they are talking about.

I own four Moore books and have read two. I own Fluke (actually, my wife owns that one. But I can read anytime I like, as long as I ask her nicely.), Bloodsucking Fiends, A Dirty Job and You Suck. I have read the last two.

Christopher Moore is an acquired taste. He is not for everyone. If you have not read anything by him, you really don't know what you are getting.

Would you like him? I don't know. The only way to find out is to ask yourself some hard questions. Namely, do you like to laugh out loud while reading? Do you like weird tales featuring vampires, hookers with blue skin, wannabe goth vampire chicks who hire themselves out as minions and homeless men with shaved cats? Do you like "easy-to-pick-up-on-for-fans-yet-not-off-putting-to-new-readers" continuity in the books you read?

If you answered yes to any of these things, then you should run, not walk, to your local bookstore and pick up You Suck (or any of Christopher Moore's books, for that matter). And if you are reading this at such a time when the bookstores are closed then go there anyway and camp out (or go on Amazon, they're open all night.)  

You Suck is a sequel/continuation of Bloodsucking Fiends, and features the same characters who appear within. If you haven't read Bloodsucking Fiends, fret not. I didn't either but that didn't affect my enjoyment of You Suck at all.

You Suck is the story of Jody and Flood. They are lovers. And Vampires. Jody was turned into a vampire by an evil old vampire. She turned Flood so she could have companionship. During the story, they have to deal with the return of the evil vampire (who they encased in bronze) and other trials and tribulations that come from being a vampire.

Moore blends wacky humor with spine-tingling chills expertly. I wish someone would have the good sense to bring him into the world of comics writing. He might not even be remotely interested, but he'd kick ass doing it.

My favorite part of the book deals with the continuity that runs through his books. Characters have appeared over and over again in his book. Nothing is such that you need to read the other books to know who these people are. But for those fans in the know, it's a special treat for them. But in You Suck, he takes continuity to another level.

There is a scene in You Suck that is the exact same scene as was in his last novel, A Dirty Job. And the fact that he used the same scene twice is brilliant. When the scene in question appeared in A Dirty Job, I kind of wondered where Moore was going with it. When I saw it in You Suck from a different perspective, a smile sprang to my face. Again, you didn't need to read A Dirty Job to fully enjoy it (and that's is part of the beauty of it), but it is a nice treat for those who did.

If I have one quibble with the book, it's that the ending came about just a little to pat. I expected, if not wanted, it to end differently. But the ending is not enough to make me not love the book. You should read the book for yourself.