Customer Reviews

The Vampire Kitty-cat Chronicles

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I received an advance review copy of this book in December and eagerly started in on it, but about three chapters in, I had to set it aside. I glanced at it a few times in the past few months, the pressure to finish building like it was an overdue assignment, but I couldn't bring myself to pick it up again. Today I finally did.

I am a fan of Ray's Flogging the Quill: Crafting a Novel that Sells and I really wanted to like the vampire kitty cat story, I really did. But there was no joy for me. I searched hard for signs of the campy, quirky tale I'd hoped for, but all I got was a case of severe irritation.

Some of the major premises of the tale annoyed me so much they knocked me flat out of the story. The first sign of trouble for me was the severely-anthropomorphized protagonist. I couldn't make it past the first kitty high-five - I kept thinking of Toonces from the old SNL skits. The undead demanding their rights to social services and suing under the ADA to keep government offices open at night? Uhhh... no. Sorry. My left-brain self kept thinking about budgetary constraints. Arresting a cat and taking it before a judge? Really?

Plus, as the story went on, I had serious problems with the most of the main characters' flip-flopping between 'good' and 'evil' with little or no motivation just in time to create a new crisis. To me, these did not feel like part of the genuine, natural flow of the story arc. I don't think I once found myself 'lost in the story'.

I'm having a tough time pinpointing what was missing from this story for me. Maybe the style was way too stripped down, too matter-of-fact somehow, for the subject matter. I think maybe there is a huge disconnect between the wacky highjinks of the tale and the manner in which it was written, which was pretty bare-bones. The writing style was so simplistic that it almost felt like it was supposed to be a YA story, even though much of that material definitely was not. Another disconnect for me.

For the record, I read a lot of sci fi/fantasy and I enjoy a good vampire story. I usually have no problem suspending my disbelief if there is even a somewhat-reasonably-constructed framework for me to latch on to. But for whatever reason this story didn't provide that for me. I'm not a writer, but I know what I enjoy and I couldn't find a way to enjoy this, even though I really wanted to. And I'm sorry about that.

i love this book, not only because of the new, fresh twist to the whole average vampire story, but because it is so funny! i would recomend this book to people of the younger age, but if you are an adult that just wants a light funny read, try the sample. patch gets turned into a vampire by a girl named meg, and the story is about how they deal with the whole proccess. there are lots of laugh out loud times, and it is a good deal for two dollars. i hope that my review can help you with your decision to buy the book, and if you do, it is worth you while!

There are lots of reasons to a read book. To learn something. To get wrapped up in a mystery or drama. To get insights into the cosmos. And, sometimes just for the pure fun of it. This one is for the pure fun. A terrific premise. (A vampire cat? With Groucho Marx sarcastic wit?) A fun cast of characters. (Including an over-the-top preacher who reveals phonies everywhere.) A non-stop plot involving vampires, phony wizardry and even a political campaign. (Complete with vampire fund raisers.) I enjoyed this from page one until the sun finally came up (kind of) for the vampire cat. You can try to find a moral here about prejudice or honesty or something -- but, for me, the pure fun was quite enough! Bring on book two, Mr. Rhamey!

Is this horror? Would you call The Munsters horror? Of course not. But it's cheesy, campy, and hilariously funny. There's even a Garth Marenghi feel in a few rare places.

Rhamey knows how to write a slick story that draws you in. I'm dying to read the next in the series.

In this vampire (tail) you get a cat's-eye view of the world from Patch--the unfortunate Calico tomcat who finds himself a newly sired vampire tangled up with slick lawyers, religious nuts, political fanatics and an underground society of vamps fighting for their rights to be un-dead.

Often hilarious and sometimes thought provoking, this well told story is a true original--unlike any other vampire novel out there.

This book was just plain fun. You'll flipping pages to find out what happens next. Young and old alike will enjoy this read.

Ray Rhamey has created a character in Patch, the Vampire Kitty-Cat, that I'm sure we'll be reading about for years to come.

The Vampire Kitty-Cat Chronicles is a novel that even a dog person will love.

Bring on the next adventure, Ray!

I'm a cat lover, not necessarily a vampire lover, and I found this treasure of a tale fun and fast-paced. Anyone who's owned a feline will love Patch. Any anyone who's willing to suspend reality for just a second won't be able to put this action-packed gem down. It's a page-turner right up to the end. Well done.

I found this novel both easy to read and engaging. It goes places other vampire novels never consider. The result is often laugh out loud funny. I truly look forward to reading more about Patch's misbegotten adventures!

This book was given to me by a friend and I held off reading it for quite a while because I am dead-sick of this whole "wouldn't it be cool to have superpowers or be so special I could attract one who does and then have a creepy romance with the undead?" vampire craze. Turns out, though, that this hilarious romp is not so much about vampirism as it is about (a) cat-think, (b) political satire (c) how power corrupts and (d) interspecies love. Ray Rhamey definitely speaks very good cat language, and he's got the background to qualify: check out the dedication to all the cats he has known and loved.

Rhamey knows vampires as well, and has come up with some excellent new twists that I'll bet the makers of True Blood wish they'd thought of. "DeathSavers," for instance--a blood flavor of LifeSavers for vampires having a low-blood attack.

This book is full of wry humor, and yet somehow strangely believable. I would highly recommend it, even--in fact, especially--to people who would otherwise pass it up because they have no interest in the subject.

Just when you think that the vampire genre is pretty much exhausted and headed toward cookie-cutter, assembly line style repetition, along comes Ray Rhamey's "The Vampire Kitty-Cat Chronicles" to shake things up! Patch is a rather undistinguished and ordinary calico tomcat -- until he gets turned into a vampire! Now his 'life' is complicated by mobs with torches, hostile undead, daylight, and perhaps worst of all -- politicians. Superbly crafted by Ray Rahmey who demonstrates and documents himself an inventive and skilled storyteller, "The Vampire Kitty-Cat Chronicles" is enthusiastically recommended for fans of the vampire genre -- and anyone who would enjoy a terrifically original and thoroughly entertaining action/adventure fantasy yarn!

Not a vampire fan, not a cat lover, but I was thoroughly entertained by this novel.
I read it in about 3 sittings stolen from a hectic schedule. Most novels I read do not catch hold of me that well. I recommend it.

Good read. Good entertainment.