The Mosquito Song [Kindle Edition]

M. L. Kennedy (Author)

Book Description

Hunted by amateur assassins, confounded by a mysterious notebook, and vexed by modern technology, a derelict vampire travels west to Chicago for answers. And maybe a little blood.

(Also includes author intro and bonus short story)

Pulp/Noir

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

M. L. Kennedy has contributed to various online publications, including Inside Pulse Movies, Moodspins, Beyond the Threshold, and Diehard GameFAN. He hopes that his work will one day inspire poorly crafted and sexually uncomfortable fan-fiction. Kennedy currently lives in Chicago with his wife, Jen, and their daughter, Thalia.

Product Details

• File Size: 203 KB
• Print Length: 108 pages
• Publisher: Tiny TOE Press (September 30, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005QPAUOU
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #760,284 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Not just another vampire story October 3, 2011

By Liz @ Fictional Candy

Format:Kindle Edition

This is definitely a non-traditional story for a vampire. The format its presented to the audience is a bit different, present tense first person. He doesn't really describe himself as tall, dark, handsome, rich, exotic, worldly...none of the things we normally associate with the modern vampire. This guy could be anyone. He could be your neighbor from down the street. I felt this lent a relatability to the story that made it a little more realistic. I can easily feel the vampire's voice narrating this whole story, as he's driving down the I-90 on his roadtrip. He's snarky and sarcastic, and he's a little bored, in my opinion. I really enjoyed his wit and dry sense of humor. Then someone finds him and tries to kill him. The hunt is on.

The cast of characters in this novella are all quite unique and interesting. I had a couple favorites, and lets just say I will never look at a Rocket Pop popsicle in quite the same manner.

The thing about a novella is that there are always a couple unanswered questions, that really would benefit from being explored further in a full length book. But all in all, I felt this was a really good story. I would recommend it, definitely. At times it did feel like it wasn't exactly a vampire story, but just a story about a guy who is on the search for some answers. And he's a little tougher than your average guy. A little smarter. And a bit more creative. But heck, who says a vampire has to be a sparkly guy with a European flair, and enough money to make Bill Gates envious? It was nice to read something different.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars It'll make you love vampires again. January 6, 2012

By Connor Coyne

Format:Paperback

There are a lot of nice things I could say about The Mosquito Song. It's short and fast, which will make it nice for plains and trains and brief reprieves from wrestling a squirming toddler. It's cackle-inducingly funny, which is fine if you're at home and only slightly awkward if you're at a diner. While the plot has a few hiccups -- the ending seemed abrupt and a little baffling -- the unique voice and fast-paced action make such complaints trivial by comparison. Oh, yes, and the prose manages to be both spare and distinctive, as in that most economical of statements: "I do that thing." In the book, this phrase encompasses everything from opening a door to aggravated battery. Also memorable: "I am too stupid to live." A peculiar case for a vampire to make.

Ah! But that's the most important nice thing I'd like to say about The Mosquito Song.

It rehabilitates vampires.

If you're anything like me, you grew up thinking vampires were badass. From the time I read Dracula in 7th grade to the college course I took on "The Slavic Vampire," I was something of a vampire nut, though I never went full goth over it. There was no need to. Vampires are lethal yet romantic, seemingly immortal and yet achingly vulnerable. Their niche within the pop cultural supernatural is one of pain and paradox and self-conscious limitation. As such, vampire stories are perfectly suited for the pathos (and bathos) of adolescence and young adulthood.

In the end, two things happened to me (and maybe to you, too). First, I grew up and all those vampire stories just started looking a little... corny? Overwrought? They started to look like the things I disliked about myself as a young adult. Second, the Twilight books came out, and oh, that hurt. How can a vampire sparkle? And look like Justin Bieber? And appeal to the same set of kids who buy Lisa Frank folders at RiteAid? Gary Oldman's Dracula was revolting and nauseating but it was Twilight that really made me sick to my stomach. Vampires: I thought I had lost you forever.

The Mosquito Song or, more specifically, its vampire narrator is a solid antidote to Twilight overkill. The narrator strikes a tone I've never heard in a vampire story before. His acerbic, cynical voice is already a reprieve from all that vampiric self-loathing and earnesty... but this vampire is also playful. He flirts his way across the Midwest, more bemused than outraged by his attackers, cheerfully amoral and yet never atavistic. When this refreshing voice is complemented by Kennedy's distinctive prose, the end-result is a tongue-in-cheek pulp novella that nods to its debts while moving beyond them. It'll appeal to readers who've outgrown the last pangs of puberty, and is an effective tonic chaser to those Stephanie Meyer wine coolers.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Gotta love a vampire with a sense of humor October 26, 2011

By SrchNResQ

Format:Kindle Edition

I really enjoyed the wry sense of humor and sarcasm found throughout this book - my only real complaints are that I was really into this and it just ended. AND it ended too soon.

More About the Author

I'm ML Kennedy. In the past I've worked for The DVD Lounge, Popcorn Junkies, Beyond the Threshold, Moodspins, and Diehard GameFAN reviewing DVDs, movies, video games, wrestling shows, supernatural claims, and running an advice column.

Despite my cheery disposition, I'm not always perceived as a positive person. In fact, a film director once tried to get me fired after reading my completely fair review of her movie. Luckily she proved her own incompetence by reading the review off of an illegal copy website and complaining to the editor of yet a third website.

I live in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago with my awesome wife and my precocious daughter.