Song of the Vampire by Carmen Adams

First published in 1996.

BEWARE OF TALL HANDSOME STRANGERS-- Who sleep by day . . . and play at night.

DON'T BE TAKEN IN BY COOL VIOLET EYES-- Even if they're wild and exciting . . . and speak of romance in the moonlight.

LISTEN TO THE WARNING OF THE FORTUNE TELLER-- Who foretells a terrible danger . . . that lurks in the shadows of darkness.

RUN FOR YOUR LIFE-- Unless you're ready to face the evil . . . and destroy it - or die.

Didn't I say I'd have a review for this book in early April? I stick to my word, man. And this is my first "real" review for Bites, as in I'm not copying and pasting from my writing blog. It's fresh!

This is one of those blink-and-you-miss-it books. If I could sit still for more than a nanosecond and just read this book through, it'd take me about an hour, maybe an hour and a half. It's a no bullshit, right to the point vampire story that begins and ends so fast it'll have you twitching for more.

Now, I'm really biased. I love this story because it reminded me of my uber-obsession, The Lost Boys. It's set in a California beach town with a boardwalk, a thrumming night life, runaways, sexy punk-looking guys. Not a whole lot is different but the similarities are strong enough that when I first read it (many moons ago), I squeed before squee was even a word. But, if you're not psychotic about The Lost Boys like I am, you'll still enjoy it, and you don't need to read it's predecessor, The Band, to know what's going on. I haven't.

What you need to like and appreciate is the non-romantic aspect of vampires. Yeah, they're sexy and charismatic and captivating but, at the end of the day, you're food. And this is how this book treats them. Iris and Megan are vampire hunters pretty much by force and when they're sent to a beach town with a dwindling runaway population to hunt out the problem, they get in a little over their heads. Or at least Megan does.

The writing isn't superfantabulous but it's good. It's nice and fat free, gets to the point and gets the story told. You understand these girls, where they come from and what's going on around them without the pomp and circumstance of inner monologues or long, rambling descriptions. It's a light read that'll leave you and your vampire craving satisfied but, like Chinese food, you'll be hungry for more not too long afterwards.