Customer Reviews

I Vampire

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

And why isn't this book famous? I read this about ten years ago and still open it up to re-read it from time to time. This is such an amazing book. I find it hard to imagine that Jody Scott has written nothing else besides "Passing for Human" so I am wondering if this is a pseudonym and if so, who is Jody Scott really. This book was written by a true writer, and it's inconceivable to me that this is all there is.

First, this is not a vampire novel per se. Jody Scott uses this device plus some others (sci-fi, comic books, fantasy, feminist lit) to make a point about humanity and the way we live our lives. It's very powerful and makes some strong, strong pronouncements about how we waste our lives and allow ourselves to be brainwashed and led away from the things that are truly important. The introduction by Theodore Sturgeon mentions that love is everywhere, and that's definitely a central theme. But it's also fun - amusing and witty and so well-written. It was deeply engaging and enthralling. So here's the premise: Sterling is a 700-year-old vampire who has lived many lives and is a bit tired of them all, but she nevertheless mourns the loss and grandeur of her previous lives. Her current one is as a hard-sell ballroom dance manager (if it had been written today instead of 1984, I suppose Scott might have chosen a gym instead of ballroom dance). An alien named Virginia Woolf (get it?) crash-lands into her life and infuses it with romance and adventure and the lust for life. But Sterling is having trouble letting go of the pain of her existence.

This book is a sequel of sorts to "Passing for Human," which I didn't enjoy as much. "I, Vampire" can stand on its own.

I, Vampire is diverting, amusing, and witty as it skewers the pretensions of the human race. Jody Scott is a marvel. She perhaps surpasses her earlier novel, Passing for Human, weighing in mightily with both comedic and archly dark observations. Her prose zings and sparkles and wryly digs into popular culture.

And why isn't this book famous? I read this about ten years ago and still open it up to re-read it from time to time. This is such an amazing book. I find it hard to imagine that Jody Scott has written nothing else besides "Passing for Human" so I am wondering if this is a pseudonym and if so, who is Jody Scott really. This book was written by a true writer, and it's inconceivable to me that this is all there is.

First, this is not a vampire novel per se. Jody Scott uses this device plus some others (sci-fi, comic books, fantasy, feminist lit) to make a point about humanity and the way we live our lives. It's very powerful and makes some strong, strong pronouncements about how we waste our lives and allow ourselves to be brainwashed and led away from the things that are truly important. The introduction by Theodore Sturgeon mentions that love is everywhere, and that's definitely a central theme. But it's also fun - amusing and witty and so well-written. It was deeply engaging and enthralling. So here's the premise: Sterling is a 700-year-old vampire who has lived many lives and is a bit tired of them all, but she nevertheless mourns the loss and grandeur of her previous lives. Her current one is as a hard-sell ballroom dance manager (if it had been written today instead of 1984, I suppose Scott might have chosen a gym instead of ballroom dance). An alien named Virginia Woolf (get it?) crash-lands into her life and infuses it with romance and adventure and the lust for life. But Sterling is having trouble letting go of the pain of her existence.

This book is a sequel of sorts to "Passing for Human," which I didn't enjoy as much. "I, Vampire" can stand on its own.

This is one of the most original, brilliantly written novels I've ever read. I, Vampire, along with its prequel, Passing for Human, deserve to be discovered by readers everywhere. Jody Scott may be one of the wittiest writers of our century, and I am dying for her to write more.

This is a very different type of vampire book, in fact, it is a very different type of book. Sterling O'Blivion is the main character and she is a 700 year old vampire running a ballroom dance studio in Chicago in the present day. She is like no vampire I ever read about before. She is very, very human, although she does have to have her occasional drinks of blood - she takes no joy in it. In fact, she can no longer find much joy in life. Then along comes Benaroya an alien from a distant and far superior planet. Benaroya is disguised in the body of Virginia Woolf and there was no way I could not love this as much as I adore Woolf. Benaroya is a hoot! A wild and uninhibited being who comes up with the idea of selling famous men's sperm to women so they can have better children. Sterling and Benaroya run this enterprise together. All in all the book is at times hard to follow but it is also entertaining and just fun to read. For example, when Sterling has a hang-over she gets to take the body of Dr. Spock while her "real" body is recovering. I don't want to give away too much but it is a fun and thought provoking way to spend a day or two.

On a more serious note, the author is making a commentary on the shallowness of human society and how we waste our time pursuing things that don't mean anything. She hits home several times and it is amusing to recognize one's self and/or one's fellow human beings in Scott's descriptions.

i found this book among a pile of old books sittin in a dusty garage. and i chose to read it, and im so glad i did. this is the only book i know about that attempts to desribe vampires in a new light. and what a great one at that! it's not all about blood and gore and all that bs that hollywood chooses to feed the majority of us. this book provides a lot more than that artificial material. i enjoyed it very much and it might not be a famous book, but it's famous in my list of recommendations.