Customer Reviews

Vampire a Go-Go

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Right now Vampire A Go-Go is in the Amazon Bargain segment, at half the price of Go Go Girls of the Apocalypse by the same author. There's a reason for that; this is a fine book, but not as compelling. It's almost as if the plot and characters were drawn up really well and then a computer program filled in the gaps.

The Good:
Cool ideas
Many plot bits tie together at the end
Not painful to read
Well researched

The Bad:
Alternating timeframe (by hundreds of years) isn't helpful
Alternating story-tellers (one is a ghost) also is distracting
Too many artificial secrets are kept until the end
We meet perhaps eighteen people by name... and three of them survive.
Some things are fully explained (origin of the ghost and zombies), but other things are never explained (origin of vampires.)

And brings home a vampire.

I don't know Victor Gischler, but you've got to love this guy - a talented author who never takes himself too seriously, and clearly has way too much fun practicing his craft. If previous tales of post-apocalyptic strip clubs and gun-toting college professors weren't enough, "Vampire a Go-Go" certainly puts him on the short list for "Bard of the Bizarre".

"VaGG" is a neat little tongue-fully-in-cheek farce of the horror genre, a consciously mismatched conglomeration of Harry Potter, the DaVinci Code, and Bram Stoker, told with the pace and temper of Scooby Doo. Allen Cabbot is a grad student at the fictional Gothic University, who lands a summer research assignment in Prague with the formidable Professor Evergreen. No surprise that before Cabbot's bags are properly unpacked in his Prague dorm, he figures out that this summer will not be spent prowling dusty Czech libraries for buried Kafka gems. Mysterious email admonitions lead to an entertaining buffet of werewolves, zombies, alchemists, wizards and, of course, a vampire, rendered with comic book's garish flair in short, sweet, staccato chapters that alternate from the present to the turn of the 16th century, in Prague. It is this historical context - weaving in real life players likes Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II, and alchemists Edward Kelley and John Dee, as well as an Indiana Jones-like pursuit of the legendary Philosopher's Stone - that adds enough dimension to keep some sense of credibility. It is the ghost of the alchemist con-man philanderer Kelley who narrates this wacky tale, providing the sexual diversion and requisite irreverence that has become a Gischler trademark. Throw in a supporting cast of Vatican Battle Priests (!), secret societies, raunchy sex, underground caverns and dusty crypts, and you've got all the ingredients for, well, for actually nothing like you've ever read before.

So this is by no means a perfect novel - in maintaining the comic book style, the dialog is painfully bad and the characters wafer thin - but it is a lot of fun, and does shed some admittedly twisted light on an overlooked period of the early Renaissance. While this isn't, and doesn't pretend to be, Bernard Cornwell, Gischer's depiction of Rudolph's background and his fascination with the occult was enough to have me searching the net for more information, including the real histories of Kelley and Dee. And not a bad travelogue for Prague, to boot. In short, more than enough entertainment for the 10-buck price of admission, with some education as a bonus. Thanks, Victor!

I received an autographed copy of this book from Mr. Gischler recently at a convention and it was a blast to read.
He kept the tempo up and the plot progressing. I couldn't pull myself away and read it all in one sitting.

If you want an entertaining book that will give you a laugh while keeping you guessing about the ending, this is it.

A+++

I'm a huge fan of Gischler's crime novels and short stories. The man is a raving mad genius, not doubt about it. But, I was hesitant to read this book, because it was not a typical "Gischler book" in my mind. But I was wrong. Sure, it's a horror novel if you consider there are ghosts, vampires, werewolves and golem's in the story, but the sly cracking humor found in Victor's other books is here in Vampire A Go Go too. He plots the story well and sends the readers back in the wicked history of the inquisition, the middle ages and a time when the Holy church did battles with witches and wizards.He takes you to modern day Czechoslovakia and spins you around the history of that strange country and even gives you an education while doing so. It's a fun read and fits in the Gischler pantheon quite well. Sure, I still prefer "Gun Monkeys" and "Pistol Poets", but Vampire A Go GO will keep you entertained from page one. And one warning to those Twightlight lovers...if you think this is a book about Vampires in love, you're won't like it. But if you want to read something really well written, entertaining, humorous and you downright fun. Give Gischler a Go Go!!

I have read almost all of Victor Gischler's books and this is my favorite so far. It's a quick read, interesting as hell, and the characters are a blast--even the villains. It's hard to imagine that someone in Hollywood won't turn this into a movie, but in case they don't, read the book!

I've been a Gischler fan since GUN MONKEYS and bought this right away assuming it was a sequel to GO-GO GIRLS OF THE APOCALYPSE. It sat on the back burner for over a year--I liked GGG, but wasn't in the mood for a sf survivalist read. I always expect offbeat from Gischler, but wasn't expecting this historical supernatural thriller. I was not disappointed. Not as absurdly wacky as Christopher Moore, but it does have a dash of wackiness. The historical basis reminded me of Kostova's THE HISTORIAN. A better title might have brought a more appreciative readership to this book.

I don't understand all the lukewarm or negative reviews of this book. I think it is easily on par with Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse or Suicide Squeeze. I absolutely LOVE the narration. I thought the dialogue was highly amusing, as usual. As for the story or premise of the book, yes, it's absurd. Just like a post-apocalyptic Ted Turner roaming the countryside, (in GO-GO) this book is very tongue-in-cheek. More than just about any writer I've read in a long time Gischler seems to be having a blast while he writes his books. I don't know if that is true, or not, but his prose and story flow as if he can't wait to get it down on paper (and I can't wait to read it!)

If you're thinking of buying this book and are wondering if you are going to like it I can help you answer that question. Do you like Chuck Palahniuk, Neil Stephenson, or Kurt Vonnegut? Gischler is a blending of all three, in my humble opinion. He is a bit "lighter" than Palahniuk or Vonnegut and fewer pages than Stephenson, but he has all of the wit and still delivers a message hidden inside a fun-to-read page-turner.

Based on this book I think it must be fun to ride around inside of Victor Gishler's head on a daily basis.

Plot Summary: An aimless English grad student, Allen Cabbot, agrees to become a professor's research lackey in Prague for a summer. When he arrives various people try to kidnap him, from a machine-gun toting priest, to a trio of witches, and finally a beautiful vampire. All Allen has is his skill at library research, and the undeserved attention of a fellow student named Peggy. Everyone but Allen knows that the professor's project is uncovering the famed philosopher's stone, and he unwittingly becomes the lynch pin for several competing factions.

Vampire A Go-Go has a cool cover, a cool title, and the back cover blurb promises "Horror at its side-splitting best!" When I go in with high expectations like these and I find an unremarkable story inside, one that didn't inspire a single smile, I'm going to come down on it like a ton of bricks. I was expecting something along the lines of Mark Henry's work, or J. F. Lewis, but this book is a sad wannabe by comparison. I hate to be so cruel, but after all that sizzle on the cover I expected to find a supernatural comedy feast inside. I know full well that authors have little to no control over how their stories are packaged by their publishers, but this is not an edgy, raucous comedy. Take out the few sexual scenes and they could probably market this to the young adult crowd. Yeah, it's that tame in my opinion. Like a kitty cat.

So obviously the lack of comedy bummed me out big time, but the other huge problem was the lack of somebody to root for. Allen was about as lame as a hero can be and still function. The only remotely inspiring character was Peggy, but her limited page-time wasn't nearly enough to get me enthused. The only vampire in the story was a stereotypical villain with no depth, no character, and she appeared on maybe twenty pages total. It has a catchy title, but the sad fact is that there was no vampire doing any kind of `a go-go' in this book. I know vampires sell books, but fans nowadays want more than a token bloodsucker who functions like a cardboard cutout propped against the scenery.

What can you say about a novel with a vampire, a werewolf, witches, warlocks, alchemists, and a squad of heavily armed Jesuit priests.
The story goes back and forth between now and the sixteenth century where the narrator, a ghost, lived.
Everyone is looking for the Philosopher's Stone which is not at all what people think it is.
Though there is a light-hearted touch here, make no mistake, this is a serious novel worth taking a look at. If you don't already have it, get it.
Now!
Victor Gischler can write. I know no other way to say it!

Gothic State University grad student blew off the semester when he met Brenda Cole. After she dumped him and he groveled but failed to win her back he finally moved on. His adviser Professor Carpenter and her 122 birds named Admiral Snodgrass say he can salvage his student status by accompanying notoriously known hard-ass Professor Evergreen and his wife on a research prject at a castle in Prague. Although his love is the Bronte sisters perhaps after Brenda's tattoos, Allen absolutely agrees.

In the Czech republic, Allen finds nothing going right as the Battle Jesuits Society of Witches (and one vampire) attack their party. He also concludes that Evergreen seeks the legendary philosopher's stone that reanimate the dead Not sure where he fits in to everyone's plot except as the fall guy, Allen soon meets Cassandra, Amy the good witch with no power and Penny who says she will earn and own him before the summer is through.

Lighthearted fun, VAMPIRE A GO-GO is an enjoyable Prague summer as Allen seems to run into one problem after another as if he is Job. Much of the story line is told by jovial spirited alchemist Edward Kelley or at least his ghost; who moans and groans over the Net's crappy picture of him. The characters are brilliantly developed and seem real (including Allen) so that readers will enjoy the most wonderful summer of Allen's life that is if he survives to the fall.

Harriet Klausner