Bloodsucking Fiends

A Love Story

De: Christopher Moore

Narrado por: Susan Bennett

Christopher Moore is a New York Times best-selling author whose offbeat novels combine comedy and the supernatural.

A striking red-head, 20-something Jody is attacked and transformed into a vampire while walking home one night in downtown San Francisco. Befriending 19-year-old Tommy, Jody tries to understand her new undead life, but trouble finds her when the cops start suspecting Tommy of being a local bloodsucking serial killer.

©1995 Christopher Moore (P)2008 Recorded Books

Bloodsucking FUN!

OK, I know some of you don't want to "fall" for the humor, but if you'll let yourself go, this book is SO funny. NOT every book is a documentary. If all books were all true, we'd be....non-existent. Give it a try. So clever. So funny. Many laugh-out-loud moments, as many others have said. Very engaging, I listened to it all as quickly as feasible. Enjoyable, and will listen to the others in the same series soon. Narrator SUSAN BENNETT IS AWESOME, and should be booked for work her entire career! She MORE than made it great. Loved her, and she brought more mental visions with the words than expected.
Am I right, people that've heard this?
Loved it, and I listen to books ALL day long, and I love horror. Even though this wasn't scary per se, it dealt with those ideas, which were more than enough for a good time. You like funny? You like vampires? Get this book. DON'T expect Lestat. Though......

Funny Vampires!

"Bloodsucking Fiends" epitomizes Christopher Moore's quirky humor; and Susan Bennett narrates it perfectly. Maybe Moore has an inordinate sex-obsession (even for a man!); but, in his case, it's O.K. After all, Moore writes hysterical silliness, and what could be sillier than sex? "Bloodsucking Fiends" is the first in his San Francisco vampire series, setting the standard for all vampire humor. Yes, vampires are all the rage these days, allowing Moore to poke merciless fun at them. All of his books have some supernatural element; so vampires just had to enter his oeuvre sooner or later. Here, we meet Jody -- insecure, hapless San Francisco office worker -- just before she (involuntarily) gets converted into a vampire. We also meet several other delightful characters: Tommy Flood, Jody's love interest and minion; the Emperor of San Francisco and his loyal "men," Bummer (a Boston terrier) and Lazarus (a golden retriever); and "the animals," who (allegedly) "work" the Safeway nightshift. Poor Jody has to learn how to be a vampire on-the-fly; and she discovers that she likes it, despite its limitations. (I just hate being dead all day, don't you?) The narrator, Susan Bennett, does a superb job. At first it disappointed me that Oliver Wyman -- who had narrated Moore's previous audiobooks -- was not narrating "Bloodsucking Fiends;" but soon I was enjoying Bennett's acting every bit as much as I love ALL of Oliver Wyman's performances. She has that versatility thing going for her, like a young Barbara Rosenblat. I have only one objection to this audiobook -- which might not bother other listeners as much as it bothers me -- but I REALLY hate it when Audible makes the bookmarks too far apart. Please, Audible: make the bookmarks no longer than five minutes apart! Otherwise, I recommend "Bloodsucking Fiends" to all silliophiles.

Entertaining but not outright funny...

A lot of reviews said this was a very funny book. It *is* light-hearted, and some parts, perhaps, are humorous, but there wasn't a single laugh-out-loud moment for me. Not one. I'm not even sure it made me smile at any point.

This doesn't mean it was bad, not by any means... it was very entertaining and there were no points where the story lagged or where I was tempted to fast forward. There's just enough description to bring characters and events to life, but not so much that you get tired of the descriptions.

Overall, it's a decent read. Fast and entertaining and interesting enough that I'd listen to the next in the series. The narration was very good, with distinguishable characters and pleasant intonation.

Great story! Perfect Narrater!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes!!!!! Great story with some comedy!

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Emperor and his "MEN" Because to cares for his men. I don't want to give to much away.

Susan Bennet brought this character to life.

Which character – as performed by Susan Bennett – was your favorite?

The Emperor

Any additional comments?

All around good story with some twists and turns. Had some laughs as well. I will be downloading the second book!!!!

Great book...lousy title

I loved this book - laugh out loud funny, with quirky characters and enough twist and turns to keep you listening. The only thing I didn't like about the book is the title - what an embarrassing thing for others to see you listening to on your iphone....

Fun, but not outright hilarious

Bloodsucking Fiends is not what I was expecting from a Christopher Moore novel. My first experiences with Moore were his Dirty Job and Secondhand Souls books. This is a different book. Moore was felt like he was towing the line between a black comedy and a dramedy.

There's definitely some comedic moments. From frozen turkey bowling, to shooting at seagulls with a shotgun in the streets of San Francisco, there's some truly entertaining comedy in the book. There's also some dark moments with some of the deaths and subtleties that speak to a social context of the mid 90's.

This is a book set in the mid 90's. It shows it with everything from the pay phones, to the way people are treated. I'm purposely avoiding some major plot details with this, but the book dates itself.

Narrator Susan Bennett does a good job with the story. She's not outstanding, she gets the job done and is an enjoyable speaker. I don't think she's perfect, but I'm not sure who I would cast. Her voices are varied enough to tell the characters apart, and it work's mostly for Jodie and The Emperor.

I think that the best thing about the story is that Moore has created his own version of San Francisco complete with it's own cast of characters. From The Emperor and his noble pups Bummer and Lazarus, to officers Cavuto and Rivera. I think that it works well for Moore and his world. It makes it feel like a universe and not some stories set in San Francisco.

Is it worth a listen? For this book, I can't recommend it to anyone, but I will say if you like Moore's story and his comedy, this is different from his newer stories. If you're new to Moore, I don't think this is the best place to start, but if you've listened to him before it's a different style than his newer books, but worth a listen.

Couldn't finish it..

I'm surprised by the amount of amazing reviews. I was so bored with this book and just could not get into it. I was not a fan of the narrator either. This kind of book just isn't for me.

Perfect for my 1st choice on Audible.

As my first audiobook, I feel I made a great choice with this one. As a college student, I needed something to take my mind off of stress and Bloodsucking Fiends did much more than that for me. Right from the beginning, I found myself hooked on the story and the atmosphere portrayed. Few things are as enjoyable to me as it was to relax and listen to a few chapters way late at night or first thing in the morning before starting my day. (These times of day best fit the mood of the book for me.) The characters are all unique and interesting and Susan Bennett brings them and the story much to life. I found everything about this book to be very fun and I recommend it.

I didn’t laugh

The reviews are what convinced me to buy this book because I love a good “romcom” but I don’t think I laughed out loud once. The story was cute however I won’t be reading any additional books from this series. It wasn’t worth the credit, in my opinion. I enjoyed most of the narration.

I laughed-I was surprised-I was delighted

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The best reader I have ever heard. Every crazy character distinct and, in my opinion, performed to perfection. In fact, it started me on a whole Christopher Moore kick. But this series...oh, I just love it. Funny as hell and I'm even sick of vampires! Did I say I love Susan Bennett's performance? Excuse me! Worth repeating, though, and I RARELY give anything 5 stars.

What did you like best about this story?

The originality and humor. I don't think I've ever laughed so much listening to any other audiobook.

What about Susan Bennett’s performance did you like?

Her characterization. Every thing you could ever want in a narrator.

If you could rename Bloodsucking Fiends, what would you call it?

Wouldn't change a thing...when you find out why it's called that...again, it's worth reading (or hearing) just for that scene.