Rating: 
Summary: Just to let folks know....
Review: ....there will be a sequel. CORRECTION: Mark is done with DEAD ON MY FEET and it will be coming out in June 2003. He is working on the third book in the series, BORN WITH THE DEAD. The series title is HALF-LIFE. And it's an excellent series. :)
Rating:
Summary: Don't Read This Book....
Review: ...if you're locked into stock vampires, predictable situations and characters that are either constantly broody or awash in hormones. *Do* - definitely DO - pick this one up if you're looking for fresh
mythos, lively storytelling and a guided whirlwind tour of your emotions. I want more!
Rating:
Summary: Don't Read This Book....
Review: ...if you're locked into stock vampires, predictable situations and characters that are either constantly broody or awash in hormones. *Do* - definitely DO - pick this one up if you're looking for fresh
mythos, lively storytelling and a guided whirlwind tour of your emotions. I want more!
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely great urban horor-fantasy-Needs a sequal please
Review: As his physical and mental conditions and emotional needs are deteriorating and other changes occur, Christopher Csejihe believes he suffers from a rare disease. Though he seeks a cure, Chris is more obsessed over learning who killed his wife and child even if that ugly incident seems tied to his current degenerating condition. However, Chris has other problems as two weird groups of individuals use him as the rope in a deadly tug of war. At the same time, the medical research community wants to turn him into a guinea pig. To survive, Chris must first understand and second accept that he has ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE and one foot in the world of the undead because his disease is actually the stages of a mortal transforming into a vampire. Two rival covens want him either to join them or die. ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE is a very entertaining vampire tale that works because the cast (natural and supernatural) appears genuine. Thus, the audience accepts vampirism and other paranormal creatures as a sort of sixth kingdom with several genres and species. The story line is fast-paced, filled with growing tension and suspense, and a fabulous surprise of an ending. Still, it is the ironic narrating of Chris quoting the romanticists like Yeats, Sappho, and E. John that turns this horror novel into a wonderfully humorous satire that spoofs itself yet provides a serious classic horror style undertone. W. Mark Simmons has written a winner that will please the full spectrum of horror fans, who will realize that this is not Kansas anymore, just an excellent tale. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: How Can He Believe in Vampires?
Review: Christopher Csejthe's life is over. He lost his beloved wife and daughter in an automobile accident and now he has some weird disease that no one has ever seen before. He can't eat, he can't sleep, he had to quit his job as a teacher because he can't stand the sunlight so now he spends his nights as a disc jockey for a small local radio station waiting to die at any moment. When two strange women show up and try to convince him to travel with them to Seattle, Christopher is having none of it - until some strange monster tries to attack him at work. Suddenly, Christopher doesn't find himself so ready to die. What he discovers in Seattle is that he is a vampire, well, sort of. Christopher has the reflexes and instincts of a young vampire, but has not yet transformed completely. He is an anomaly and there are those who want him dead and there are those who want him studied. Christopher himself just wants to get away from all of these freaky people who believe in crap like vampires and werewolves and stuff. With careful plotting and a random break in at the compound, Christopher is able to escape, but he doesn't get far. It turns out that there are many other vampires looking for him. Vampires who believe that Christopher can lead them to THE vampire - Count Dracula himself... One Foot in the Grave was a very unusual vampire book that I greatly enjoyed. I loved Christopher as a character, he was witty, sarcastic, and completely unwilling to believe that he was now one of the powerful undead. It was also endearing to see him make so many mistakes and to know that he had weaknesses and could be manipulated, but he was still trying to be "the good guy." The plot had many unexpected twists and turns and the author really keeps you guessing until the last page of the book. The only complaint I had was that Christopher changed pretty abruptly (and not for the better in my opinion) near the end of the book and suddenly there are all of these other characters that play important roles. This was kind of weird, but I still really enjoyed the book. If you have the good fortune to come across a copy of this book at a reasonable price snatch it up - you will enjoy yourself!
Rating:
Summary: How Can He Believe in Vampires?
Review: Christopher Csejthe's life is over. He lost his beloved wife and daughter in an automobile accident and now he has some weird disease that no one has ever seen before. He can't eat, he can't sleep, he had to quit his job as a teacher because he can't stand the sunlight so now he spends his nights as a disc jockey for a small local radio station waiting to die at any moment. When two strange women show up and try to convince him to travel with them to Seattle, Christopher is having none of it - until some strange monster tries to attack him at work. Suddenly, Christopher doesn't find himself so ready to die. What he discovers in Seattle is that he is a vampire, well, sort of. Christopher has the reflexes and instincts of a young vampire, but has not yet transformed completely. He is an anomaly and there are those who want him dead and there are those who want him studied. Christopher himself just wants to get away from all of these freaky people who believe in crap like vampires and werewolves and stuff. With careful plotting and a random break in at the compound, Christopher is able to escape, but he doesn't get far. It turns out that there are many other vampires looking for him. Vampires who believe that Christopher can lead them to THE vampire - Count Dracula himself... One Foot in the Grave was a very unusual vampire book that I greatly enjoyed. I loved Christopher as a character, he was witty, sarcastic, and completely unwilling to believe that he was now one of the powerful undead. It was also endearing to see him make so many mistakes and to know that he had weaknesses and could be manipulated, but he was still trying to be "the good guy." The plot had many unexpected twists and turns and the author really keeps you guessing until the last page of the book. The only complaint I had was that Christopher changed pretty abruptly (and not for the better in my opinion) near the end of the book and suddenly there are all of these other characters that play important roles. This was kind of weird, but I still really enjoyed the book. If you have the good fortune to come across a copy of this book at a reasonable price snatch it up - you will enjoy yourself!
Rating: 
Summary: It was okay.
Review: Everyone else LOVED this book so much that I guess I was disappointed it wasn't that great to me. I found it dull in places and kind of stupid. The hero never takes any responsibility for the deaths of his wife and daughter. He is so into being free that I wonder if I'm the only person who doesn't expect the kind of freedom he demands over his life. I mean, a comfortable "prison" with all the amenities and no money hassles sounds okay to me. And to me it was too much info on all the vampire research. Still, overall, it was an okay book.
Rating:
Summary: Great book with a curious ending
Review: I also bought this book because of the new twist, "Dracula Meets the Godfather" (written on the cover). It truly was a pleasurable read. The main character, Chris, is very droll, wry, witty, sometimes sarcastic - everything I like in a lead. For quite a while it's kept a mystery a) what's wrong with him and then b) what happened to start him on the way to becoming a vampire. It's a refreshing twist that he isn't just turned into one and then goes on neck-biting power trip like in other stories I can think of. The theory explaining vampirism that's put forth in the book is also an original twist (you practically want to believe it). I enjoyed that for most of the book, Chris is weirded out and skeptical of the people around him and of the changes in his body as a real person would be. At the same time, he keeps his sense of humor in a great way. The author keeps everything very rooted in the real world, very modern, with references to horror movies we've all seen, Anne Rice - even my favorite, "Air Dracula" (in reference to a running leap made by one of the vampires who's pivotal in the plot). Very funny stuff. The only problem was, this refreshing rooted-in-reality aspect was lost toward the end. Suddenly there weren't just vampires and werewolves (that the author established very well by then - you practically expect them to be living next door) but zombies and a long dead creepy dating back to ancient Egypt. It was like the book suddenly took a turn into the campy horror that it was making fun of all along. I thought that was a curious way to end a book that was extremely well-written and refreshing otherwise.
Rating:
Summary: Great book with a curious ending
Review: I also bought this book because of the new twist, "Dracula Meets the Godfather" (written on the cover). It truly was a pleasurable read. The main character, Chris, is very droll, wry, witty, sometimes sarcastic - everything I like in a lead. For quite a while it's kept a mystery a) what's wrong with him and then b) what happened to start him on the way to becoming a vampire. It's a refreshing twist that he isn't just turned into one and then goes on neck-biting power trip like in other stories I can think of. The theory explaining vampirism that's put forth in the book is also an original twist (you practically want to believe it). I enjoyed that for most of the book, Chris is weirded out and skeptical of the people around him and of the changes in his body as a real person would be. At the same time, he keeps his sense of humor in a great way. The author keeps everything very rooted in the real world, very modern, with references to horror movies we've all seen, Anne Rice - even my favorite, "Air Dracula" (in reference to a running leap made by one of the vampires who's pivotal in the plot). Very funny stuff. The only problem was, this refreshing rooted-in-reality aspect was lost toward the end. Suddenly there weren't just vampires and werewolves (that the author established very well by then - you practically expect them to be living next door) but zombies and a long dead creepy dating back to ancient Egypt. It was like the book suddenly took a turn into the campy horror that it was making fun of all along. I thought that was a curious way to end a book that was extremely well-written and refreshing otherwise.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I bought the book out of deperation for something to read. I was thoroughly fascinated from the start. Just enough humor to keep from being too serious and not so much as to be silly. A good storyline, great characters and action. I have to agree with everyone else who has also commented-- where's the sequel?
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