Already Dead

By: Charlie Huston

Narrated by: Scott Brick

From the Battery to the Bronx, Manhattan is crawling with Vampyres. Joe Pitt is one of them, and he's not happy about it. Yeah, he gets to be tough as nails and hard to kill. But spending his nights trying to score a pint of blood to feed the Vyrus that's eating at him isn't his idea of a good time.

Now some fool who got himself infected with a flesh-eating bacteria is lurching around, trying to munch on folks' brains. Joe hates shamblers, but he's still the one who has to deal with them. It ain't easy going his own way, refusing to ally with the Clans that run the undead underside of Manhattan.

But it's worse once he gets mixed up with the Coalition and finds himself searching for a little rich girl who's gone missing. Now anarchist Vampyres are pushing him around, a crazy cult is stalking him, and Joe's got to find that girl and kill that shambler before the sun comes up.

©2005 Charles Huston (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"An irresistible and fiendishly original take on the vampire myth....Huston has fun playing with the conventions of the genre, creating his own hip update that will appeal to fans of Quentin Tarantino and Buffy the Vampire Slayer alike." ( Publishers Weekly)

Good, Clever Fun

Any additional comments?

It’s a lot harder to do this than it looks. I know, all too well, because I’ve been working on something in the same vein. (And “vein” isn’t a pun, though it could be.)

Huston’s basic plan here is to marry the hardboiled novel to the vampire story. His hero, Joe Pitt, is a vampire who, true to the Chandler/Hammett code, insists on working alone in a quasi-existential bid to figure out what it all means. In other words, his case(s) turn out to be as much about self-discovery as about their more proximate causes.

And it works. It works pretty well.

Being a vampire (vampyre) means that Pitt is changed from what he was when he was human. He isn’t sure what fulfillment might look like. He balances his girlfriend – who, as someone HIV-positive, refuses to sleep with him – with his uncertain place in the pecking order of the New York vampire world. He takes cases no one else can manage because, precarious and alone as he may be, no one else in this world is as self-possessed, as legitimately his own person.

The story itself is solid. Pitt comes up against the agendas of several different people, and it isn’t clear until the end who’s responsible for what. It’s professional work, entertaining and engaging, and, as I say, I’ve tried my hand at something similar.

Things fall down a little when too much of the story turns on the particulars of what it means to be a vampire, things like how the virus affects its host and how driven particular vampires are to the different clans and gangs, to the politics of the vampyre world. But, from what I can tell, Huston builds on all of that as part of the ongoing series. He’s planting the seeds of a more complex world where each decision here has implications for future novels. So, if it feels a touch too pat here, I can forgive it.

I also can’t help contrasting this with Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden books. Where those are clunky and cliché-ridden, with a protagonist in love with his idiosyncrasies, this is someone who approaches a real character – at least as real as a vampire private detective can get.

In the end (or in the beginning if you prefer) it’s a stretch to make this work, but Huston does. I’m not quite in a hurry to read what’s next, but it’s on the list. This is quality pulp fiction, and I’m taking notes on how Huston pulls it off.

LOVED IT!

What did you love best about Already Dead?

The story pulls you in. The narrator was outstanding.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Already Dead?

Just Joe...

What does Scott Brick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The realism of the NY accent and the characters attitude/wit.

Any additional comments?

Read it! I bought the whole series after this book.

A suprisingly good novel

Read a lot of disappointing Vampire novels lately? Me too.. This was received well by critics so I gave the story a shot, and it was Good!! Ok, so the cover art is ugly and not much to look at - but like they say "dont' judge a book by its cover".

It's a gritty story with Noir pop style and a certain masculine flair. This is a far cry from the bodice ripper, fantasy sex, Vampire Stories with lame action and dialogue that grates on the ear. I haven't had this much fun in a different way of looking at supernatural creatures since George R.R. Martin's Lycanthrope story "Skin Trade"

As an added bonus the producer of this audio book got a solid, talented narrator who you've probably heard a lot of. Fire up the sample listen. If you've been listening a long time to novels, you'll recognize him.

So listen up and give it a try - with any luck you'll like it as much as I did. If we're luckier, someday maybe the author will write a few more like this.

Good book, bad choice of narrator

I should have read the actual novel. Scott Brick does a poor New York accent, he is just too classy and nerdy for the characters in this book. But the story is very good, and still worth a credit.

Get Used to Holding Your Breath!

Eerie, intense, interesting, dark and excellent writing and narration. Sometimes there is a little too much explanation for my taste however eventually the story moves ahead. I must admit, in order to listen to the second book which I will eventually do, I have to be in the mood. Right now, I'm not. I want to be entertained and some of this writing is a little, just a little dark with no hope or light for Joe.

The narrator, Scott Brick, I believe is excellent. He has a good grasp on the character.

If you can, take advantage of the sale and buy the audio book. If not, buy it anyway. It's really a good investment. Kind of reminds me of Jim Butcher's books without the humor.

Pretty Good

This book is heavy on character development while not compromising action and story pace. That is not an easy thing to do (game of thrones fails miserably here) but the author succeeds.

My only problem is the use of Deus Ex Machina during the climax. I really cannot stand that literary device although...in this book it is foreshadowed and that makes it not nearly as annoying as it usually is.

I'm not a fan of sleuth or vampire genres but this was interesting and entertaining. The fans of those genres will probably rate this book 5 stars. In terms of vampires, the author creates a vampiric world that is unique to this book while being familiar to anyone.

Very nicely done. Thank you for the entertainment.

looking for a good series

I stumbled onto this while searching for a great series after finishing son of the black sword series(which by the way I HIGHLY RECOMMEND) and found this little gem,great story and character development was above par...the reader voice work was good and overall story kept me interested..some parts were drawn out but overall a great audio books

Not just for vampirophiles

Fun listen - I found it an updated "hardboiled" detective noir that HAPPENS to be set in a vampire context.
The story is well constructed, the characters are interesting, the protagonist is vulnerable and while the exploration of the vampiric dynamics and culture is fresh and interesting, the story doesn't rest on vamp mystique to interest the reader


You don't have to wear a lot of crushed velvet to enjoy this one! :D

Simplistic genius

Charlie Huston has done something special here with his first Joe Pitt novel. He has created a new format for a tired story (vampires) and has made literary history with his simplistic approach to writing such a complex tale. It is a violent story, not for the faint of heart, but well worth listening to. This audiobook was my first experience with Huston, and hopefully all of his books will be on audio someday. Until then I can just re-listen to the Joe Pitt series and read his Hank Thompson trilogy on my nook. We need more Huston though, so Charlie, if you are reading this... knock it off and get writing.

Love Joe

If you could sum up Already Dead in three words, what would they be?

Interesting, more...more

What was one of the most memorable moments of Already Dead?

The series was great....

Which scene was your favorite?

All of it

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Sympathy

Any additional comments?

Love this series...movie maybe? Charlie, don't quit trying