An Unattractive Vampire

by Jim McDoniel

[Beth C.]

Yulric Bile, undead and ugly. Also - very proud of that. When he is wakened in present-day, he is alarmed - and angered - first by being mistaken for every other monster EXCEPT a vampyre (as he spells it), then by becoming aware that he isn't considered a vampire because...he's TOO UGLY. In the day of glittery, beautiful vampires, Bile is an outcast...a problem he intends to fix.

I had read several recommendations for this book and was excited to read it myself. While I enjoyed it, I didn't really find it laugh-out-loud funny, or anything like that. To me, it was a light, amusing read that was reasonably quick and entertaining. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, as long as you're not expecting more.

I did enjoy the majority of the characters, particularly the love/hate relationship between eight-year-old Simon and Bile himself. Evenly matched in wits, intelligence, and arrogance, they make the perfect partners. They really were the highlight of the story for me. The rest of the characters were interesting in their own ways, but didn't have the same vein of annoying amusement.

The story itself was unusual, and written with a bit of off-the-cuff smart-aleck humor that makes for a quick and enjoyable read. Overall, it wasn't exceptional, it wasn't terrible, it was just a fun, fast romp.