Fun and Fear

It’s curious the way people find books.I sometimes see them advertised (the way publishers suppose people see them), but far more often I find them more serendipitously.I’m active on Goodreads, and many times a book someone else has reviewed will catch my eye.I like to read things that I notice in independent bookstores.I’m always on the hunt for a bargain.At work we have a used book rack where any volume is half-a-buck.During lunch one day I spied Victor Gischler’s Vampire a Go-Go.Now the title told me this wasn’t exactly a serious novel, but it had vampire in the title and when I write horror it often ends up on the funny side.All in all it seemed like it would be worth the tiny investment, even if I don’t have a clear idea of what go-go really means.

While not laugh-out-loud funny, this is an enjoyable romp through monster land.Kind of like Harry Potter with some adult themes thrown in.The characters—which include ghosts, witches, wizards, a werewolf (sorry lycanthrope), a golem, and a vampire—are likable and strangely believable.An unexpected twist came with the Battle Jesuits, a nice touch that shows yet again how close religion and horror can be.I won’t try to summarize the action here, but I’ll simply note that there are twists and turns aplenty and smiles and splatter along the way.It’s clear that Gischler researched the novel well, bringing interesting texture to the tale.

Like the last novel I read, also acquired in an inexpensive browsing situation, much of the story is set in Prague.My wife and I visited Prague back when it was still in Czechoslovakia, and before it had become a tourist haven.From reading these recent novels, apparently quite a lot has changed there.Of course, in those days I hadn’t tapped into my love of monsters for many years.Working on a doctorate has a way of doing that to you.Now that I’m back, I’m enjoying the variety available in the genre these days.I still have a soft spot for Stephen King novels, and Poe will always remain among my sacred texts, but I’m inclined to read these newer treatments as well.There’s nothing really to scare you in Vampire a Go-Go, but there are remarkably moving moments.And some of the monsters are quite a lot of fun.It would restore my faith in the power of the accidental find, if it ever required resurrection.