Bite Me

Bite Me is the third book in Christopher Moore’s vampire series, and far and away the third-best book in that series. This is not to say that Bite Me isn’t a fast, funny, engaging, romantic story – in other words a typically witty Moore entry. This is to say that Bite Me suffers when compared to its predecessors.

You Suck’s (which I reviewed here) addictively charming young punk Abby Normal returns as the caustically hilarious narrator of the story of Jody and Tommy. As if to ensure you don’t have to invest in the previous two parts (the first being the immortal, incomparable, and not-so-much-my-opinion-as-it-is-a-fact-awesome Bloodsucking Fiends), Abby begins the story with a thorough recap of events leading up to the present, complete with a chuckle-worthy quiz at the end of the chapter. She continues her duties as occasional storyteller (her diary entries are inserted now and then in Moore’s third-person prose), providing not so much keen insight as sarcastic perspective on the goings-on.

And the story is engaging, it is good, but it isn’t great. Perhaps it is because Moore never intended his trilogy to be a trilogy. You Suck was a response to fan clamoring for more, and due to its enormous popularity and genius, the thirst for continuing adventures was not abated but stoked. Unfortunately, the story for me because a little predictable, a little tired, and I felt the author growing just a bit weary of this franchise he had created.

And perhaps it is my sadness that I want my beloved series to be over. This story has reached a satisfying ending and does not deserve to be turned into a never-ending serial. It was a good death.