March 17, 2010
Reading Kathy's All Things Vampire entry the other day made me wonder: what's up with all these vampire books lately? Is their popularity some weird Jungian metaphor for America's current economic condition? With villains like Bernie Madoff and the Lehman Brothers standing in as financial bloodsuckers, draining the economic lifeblood out of our once strong country, the U.S. has become as anemic as Bram Stoker's Lucy Westenra.
Surely there's a doctoral thesis in here somewhere, but I just can't get into most current vampire novels; they're too sanitized. I prefer my vampire heroes to have a whiff of corruption--they are dead, after all--and a healthy dose of Freudian bad-boy sexuality thrown in for good measure.
So what's a horror junkie to do? Well, Gentle Reader, the answer is to turn to Charlie Huston. His excellent Joe Pitt series, which begins with Already Dead , describes warring vampire clans in New York City. Our hero is Joe Pitt, a maverick vampire who refuses to join any faction, instead hiring himself out as a mercenary hit man to the highest bidding clan. And let me tell you: taking out a vampire is more Quentin Tarantino territory than simple Gunsmoke shootout. This series is not for the squeamish, so be warned.
And here's where the fun comes in: Pitt is a hitman with a conscience. His HIV-positive girlfriend lives a celibate life; Joe agrees to the lifestyle even though he's immune (makes for an interesting relationship). Because Joe is a hitman for the highest bidder, all the Vampire clans have a vested interest in both keeping him alive--and--seeing him dead.
Huston's a great writer. Never sappy or sentimental, his writing is reminiscent of Raymond Chandler's, very noirish. Great storylines, fantastic dialog, and best of all: a vampire character with a heart. Go figure.
Oh, and if you like Already Dead and Joe Pitt, you're not done with just the one book; there are sequels:
Charlie Huston rocks!
I first heard of Already Dead a few years ago on NPR and was interested but never picked it up. My son made a bet with me, a non-reader I am, to read 20 books in the summer of '09. I started with Stephen King as I always wanted to read The Shining. Well, three books later I picked up Already Dead at my local library. I was hooked! At first I was thrown to the curb trying to figure out some of the dialogue as there are no quotation marks (ala Cormac McCarthey) but Huston's banter between characters is so realistic it makes me think of Elmore Leonard's writinings.
I finished my goal of 20 books by the end of September and am proud to say that I have ready tons of Huston's novels now: Already Dead, No Dominion, Half the Blood of Brooklyn, Caught Stealing, Six Bad Things, A Dangerous Man, and The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death. On my nightstand is the fourth Joe Pitt novel My Dead Body which I just got as a birthday present. I'm starting tonight!!!
Marc
Mistake above
The fourth Joe Pitt book is Every Last Drop and the fifth one is My Dead Body. I took a hiatus from reading for 5 months after going on unemployment. I think the stress of not having a job caused me not to read. Don't know why. Anyway, decided to pick up Every Last Drop and finish reading it and what happens?! I got a job! Now after blazing through Drop I'm onto the last one. Poor Pitt is getting messed up in this one.
Charlie Huston rocks!
Wow...so glad to find another Charlie Huston fan. So how is Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs? I keep wanting to read it.
And yes, great dialog. I think Elmore Leonard's the Man, though.
thanks for the reminder!
I've been meaning to pick this book back up. (Just like I've been meaning to finish A Game of Thrones and six other books, yikes.) At least your post is a prod in the right direction.
-Lindsey
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