17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Great title, November 14, 2007
This review is from: The Dead Travel Fast: Stalking Vampires from Nosferatu to Count Chocula (Hardcover)
If you're interested in vampires, then you don't have much in common with Eric Nuzum, he makes it clear in his book that he's not very interested in them, and finds those that are to be lacking in some way. And it's not just vampires, if you're interested in anything that's remotely popular within American pop culture, then he seems to think of you as less than human, he even brags about not watching television. This was especially strange because in the book jacket, it says that one of his jobs was commenting on pop culture on VH1's various celebreality shows.
You name it, Friends was a terrible show (all of those respected television critics that liked it are wrong, the VH1 vj has spoken), Vegas is fake (ok, he has a point, but come on, everybody knows this, he acts as if he's making some deep observation). He never misses an opportunity to talk down about those that he's writing about. Except for Butch Patrick (Eddie Munster), he comes out fairly unscathed, I guess because, like the author, he pretty much makes clear he doesn't have any real interest in the subject matter either.
He goes to a Dark Shadows convention, and seems fairly horrified that people would spend their free time going to such an event, I suppose their time would have been better spent staying home and watching him on VH1, making witty observations about Gary Coleman. He does force himself to watch every episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, which he grudgingly admits is pretty good. He discovers that several of his co-workers are fans of the show, and this is where he makes an especially insulting observation, he muses that Buffy fans are more normal than Dark Shadows fans, and that unlike the weirdos at the convention, the Buffy fans aren't fanatic about a silly TV show. Of course, there are Buffy conventions, and for all he knows, some of his co-workers might have been to one, and really, most of the people at the Dark Shadows convention probably lead normal lives when they're not getting together to socialize with others that they happen to share an interest with.
Still, he is a good writer, and although it seems he must have hated every minute of it, he did do his research, and there is quite a bit of vampire lore that he covers. He goes quite a bit into Bram Stoker, Dracula, Vlad the impaler, and Bela Lugosi, all of which was interesting. I also have to admit, the chapter that he describes a group tour he took of Translyvania is hilarious, anybody that has been on a group tour can relate. I would have preferred that a writer with at least a passing interest in vampires had written this book, Nuzum seems to want to make money on the public's facination with vampires, but make it clear, he does not share that facination.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
vampires suck; this book doesn't, September 25, 2007
This review is from: The Dead Travel Fast: Stalking Vampires from Nosferatu to Count Chocula (Hardcover)
You'd think that when a guy writing a vampire book drinks his own blood in the opening pages, the rest of the story would pale. Not true here. This book is surprising in so many ways -- it's academic without being boring; it's hilarious without being condescending; and it's heartfelt without being sentimental. The yarn about taking a road trip to Transylvania with "celebrity host" Butch Patrick (Eddie Munster, now 50-something and vaguely indifferent re. the whole Dracula thing) is itself worth the price of the book.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book. Well researched and very entertaining., September 23, 2007
This review is from: The Dead Travel Fast: Stalking Vampires from Nosferatu to Count Chocula (Hardcover)
Excellent book. From the first chapter it sucks you into the world of vampires. Not only is the book well-researched, but the book is written in a way that you feel you are with the author as he travels to Transvylvania, Las Vegas, and other travels in search of the truth about vampires. The book would be entertaining even if you knew little or nothing about vampires. A must read.
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