Staked [Mass Market Paperback]

J. F. Lewis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2009

A "fast-paced story with a heady mixture of humor, violence, and sex" (Library Journal), this witty and immensely appealing urban fantasy novel features a strip club-owning vampire with memory problems.

With his Denis Leary–esque wit and misanthropic outlook on (un)life, Eric is a vampire with issues. Take his memory problems, for example. He not only can’t remember who he ate for dinner yesterday, he doesn’t even remember how he became a vampire in the first place. Then his girlfriend, Tabitha, finally convinces him to turn her into a vampire—and when he does, his desire for her fades. And her younger sister Rachel sure is cute...

But when Eric kills a werewolf in self-defense, things really get out of hand. Now a pack of born-again lycanthropes is out for holy retribution, while Tabitha and Rachel each have their own agendas...which may or may not include helping Eric stay in one piece. All Eric wants to do is run his strip club, drink a little blood, and be left alone. Instead, he must survive car crashes, sunlight, sex magic, and werewolves on ice—not to mention his own nasty temper and forgetfulness.

Fans who enjoy Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, and Kim Harrison will love this unforgettable and subversive dark fantasy novel.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A pedal-to-the-metal demolition derby of sex and violence. Werewolves and vampires were never so much fun."

-- Mario Acevedo, author of X-Rated Bloodsuckers

"[A] fast-paced story with a heady mixture of humor, violence, and sex."

-- Library Journal

"...certainly impressive for a debut. The plot is reminiscent of the early, and best, of the Anita Blake novels."

-- Don D'Ammassa

About the Author

J.F. Lewis lives in Birmingham, Alabama and is older than is necessary. He decided that he wanted to be a writer when a supposed creative writing teacher questioned his sanity and suggested therapy. The author spent eight wonderful years working in a comic and game shop, until financial considerations required him to become a corporate schmoe. He abides with his patient wife, two adorable sons, and an ornery Akita.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books; Reprint edition (June 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439120749
• ISBN-13: 978-1439120743
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #166,390 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

J.F. Lewis lives in Birmingham, Alabama with his patient wife, two adorable sons, and a crazed canine. He decided that he wanted to be a writer when a supposed creative writing teacher questioned his sanity and suggested therapy. Staked was his first novel (and it also got him excommunicated). The Void City series continues in ReVamped, Crossed, and Burned (coming February 2012).

An avid reader, Jeremy also enjoys sushi, popcorn, lukewarm sodas, and old black and white movies. His two favorite activities are singing lullabies to his kids at bedtime and typing into the wee hours of the morning. Fortunately, like the protagonist of his Void City novels, the author takes very little sleep. Those looking for more information should track him down on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/J-F-Lewis/54427382233 or Twitter @JF_Lewis .

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Let's hope there more where this came from!, March 4, 2008

By 

Lupa (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Staked (Void City, Book 1) (Paperback)

Eric is a vampire. A vampire who owns a strip club, drive a '64 1/2 Ford Mustang, and has persistent short-term memory problems thanks to having been embalmed. Unfortunately, that werewolf that he killed while defending himself had connections--and now the pack's coming to collect payment (and did I mention they're holy rollers on top of it?). On top of it, his girlfriend, who convinced him to turn her into one of the undead, suddenly just isn't doing it for him any more. And his partner in the strip club business may not be the best friend Eric thought he was. What's an undead guy to do?

One would think that a novel featuring a vampire-owned strip club would be pretty predictable. Same goes for vampires vs. werewolves, and, of course, the physiology of the vampires themselves. Lewis manages to not only avoid being predictable, but displays an excellent talent at worldbuilding and characterization. Eric is anything but the seedy, smarmy stereotypical strip club owner. Despite being a vampire, he still deals with very human problems, from love to paying fines and tickets. Additionally, because he's still relatively young, dying in the mid-20th century, he doesn't have the "I've been dead for so long that my culture of origin no longer matters" copout going on. Instead, the reader is treated to odd cultural references from the 1950s and 1960s, and Eric's life is still punctuated by reminders of his human life--including his would-be wife, Marilyn, who stays with him even after his undeath.

The plot is fast-paced, too, especially for a not-quite-400-page book. Rather than focusing only on the mystery at the center of the story, Lewis brings in several plot threads and fleshes them out enough to keep them interesting. He wraps them up well, though he leaves a few cliffhangers at the end--which makes me really, really want to read the next book! He has a good grasp of dialogue, too; the characters speak believably and have distinctive voices. The changing first-person perspective brings added depth to the story as a whole, and Lewis has a good sense of when to change narrators.

Overall, this is one of the most entertaining and well-developed novels I've read in a good long while. Highly, highly recommended.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New stuff in every chapter, June 2, 2008

By 

J. Gardner Andersen "Gardner Andersen" (Fort Mill, SC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Staked (Void City, Book 1) (Paperback)

J. F. Lewis writes vampires so engagingly that I found myself breezing through the sex scenes to get to the juicy undead bits. I'm a guy. This is not normal behavior. Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying that the sexy stuff was bad. It simply paled in comparison to J. F. Lewis's fascinating interpretation of vampirism.

"Staked" is written with an easy, enjoyable style. There's a tongue-in-cheek element throughout the entire book that will keep you laughing before, during, and after the horrific elements. Most importantly, there's a character for everyone to like.

J. F. Lewis has a bright future ahead of him. One morning, I found myself reading this book while shaving with a straight razor. I don't think that's ever happened before. I'm sure if it was waterproof, I would have read it in the shower.

Nicely done!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Debut, April 4, 2008

By 

Slaingod (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Staked (Void City, Book 1) (Paperback)

This book was a lot of fun. Reminds me of a good cross of say Dresden Files and some of the other paranormal/urban fantasy (mostly female) authors out there. So basically the male lead is a little more well-rounded/thought out than usual. Some predictable plot twists, some not. It's hard to be completely original these days, but he still makes it seem fresh and interesting. Several laugh out loud moments.