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12th out of 84 books
—
266 voters
Jane Bites Back (Jane Fairfax #1)
Two hundred years after her death, Jane Austen is still surrounded by the literature she loves—but now it's because she's the owner of Flyleaf Books in a sleepy college town in Upstate New York. Every day she watches her novels fly off the shelves—along with dozens of unauthorized sequels, spin-offs, and adaptations. Jane may be undead, but her books have taken on a life o...more
Paperback, 299 pages
Published
December 29th 2009
by Ballantine Books
(first published November 30th 2009)
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Unlike the sea monsters and zombie and Darcy Vampyre books, I found entertainment in this cash-in on Austen, and evidence that the author was at least familiar with Austen's period and writing, even if the supposed lost Austen novel showed no hint of either period flavor or Austen's style or wit. Maybe it was supposed to be leaden and cliche, which is why it had been rejected over a hundred times. Not quite sure where the writer was going there, unless a commentary on the bad taste of the popula...more
If Queen Victoria and Lizzy Bennet can be zombie hunters, and Darcy a vampyre, why not add Jane Austen herself to the ranks of the undead? (Seems like everyone's fair game these days.)
The premise is simple enough. Jane Austen isn't dead. She is in fact a vampire, currently living in a small town in New York state where she owns a bookshop. Her biggest concerns are the sweet attentions of Walter, a local carpenter - she likes him but you can't really have a relationship with someone when you're...more
The premise is simple enough. Jane Austen isn't dead. She is in fact a vampire, currently living in a small town in New York state where she owns a bookshop. Her biggest concerns are the sweet attentions of Walter, a local carpenter - she likes him but you can't really have a relationship with someone when you're...more
9 likes · like · see review
I was intrigued by the premise of this book: Jane Austen alive today, an owner of a bookshop and living as a vampire!? It promised to be a very interesting read and I wasn't very disappointed. This had a sort of chick lit feel to it and would not be something I would consider as a serious Austen spin off. Definitely more tongue-in-cheek. I really enjoyed the other literary characters that made an appearance (too clever!). Jane's witty remarks regarding her own popularity and her inability to dup...more
1 like · like · see review
Feb 27, 2010
Heather
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
austen-inspired fic fans
Recommended to Heather by:
blogosphere
Rating: 2.5/5
Another book in the austen-inspired fiction world I absolutely wanted to love...but didn't. Don't get me wrong it was on the witty side, but I hated the way the author portrayed Austen. Yes, she's a vampire and has been for a couple hundred years, but in all that time she's done nothing with herself except pine away after Lord Byron and open a book shop and has learned nothing about herself or the world so she has to rely on Byron to teach her and thus abuse her and manipulate her a...more
Another book in the austen-inspired fiction world I absolutely wanted to love...but didn't. Don't get me wrong it was on the witty side, but I hated the way the author portrayed Austen. Yes, she's a vampire and has been for a couple hundred years, but in all that time she's done nothing with herself except pine away after Lord Byron and open a book shop and has learned nothing about herself or the world so she has to rely on Byron to teach her and thus abuse her and manipulate her a...more
4 likes · like · see review
This should not have worked -- I mean, come on, Jane Austen as a vampire. But it did work, and it was engaging and well written. Jane is not the typical urban fantasy, Mary Sue type, who kicks butt, takes names and sleeps her way through the entire paranormal community (thank goodness!!). She is lonely and vulnerable but also determined and spirited. She runs a bookstore in New England, and has a crush on the local contractor. When her maker shows up in town, she does what it takes to protect he...more
I won this book through First Reads and am glad I gave it a shot.
This is a light read about Jane Austen as a vampire running a small bookstore in a small New York town. We follow Jane as she tries to maneuver around men who are interested in her, getting a novel published and a rival who wants to destroy her.
Ford pokes fun at the current Austen craze, the current vampire craze, and fandom in this charming, doesn't-take-itself-too-serious tale.
The pacing was pretty good, with enough tension in...more
This is a light read about Jane Austen as a vampire running a small bookstore in a small New York town. We follow Jane as she tries to maneuver around men who are interested in her, getting a novel published and a rival who wants to destroy her.
Ford pokes fun at the current Austen craze, the current vampire craze, and fandom in this charming, doesn't-take-itself-too-serious tale.
The pacing was pretty good, with enough tension in...more
Jane Austen gets naked with Lord Byron on page 19 of this opus, which tells you everything you need to know about its verisimilitude. And, yes, I know that my mentioning lack of realism in a novel where the lead character is the vampirized icon of 19th century chick lit made anyone reading this snort soda out of their nose, but just because you're an author brilliantly cashing in on two of the biggest fads to hit publishing in the last ten years doesn't mean you can't take a minute to honor you...more
3 likes · like · see review
I remember buying this book almost a year ago, and watched it sit on my to-read shelf until yesterday when I picked it up before work. I finished it in 24 hours, which is new for me, usually I am a two or three day reader and nothing really gets finished in a day. Even if I love the book I take some time to read and enjoy it. I have to admit I have mixed feeling about Jane Bites Back. This is not a book in the style of Jane Austen; it is a book about Jane Austen as a current day vampire. The cur...more
Yes, this is pretty well what it says on the cover. Jane Austen is alive and well and living in New York. As a vampire. She is also running a bookshop, which is, perhaps, a pity as she is considerably annoyed by the Jane Austen Industry, which includes a reading from the author of Waiting for Mr Darcy attended by costumed fans, Jane Austen finger puppets, Jane Austen paper dolls, and the threat of "a Jane Austen massage book" entitled Sense and Sensuality. She is especially put off by the fact t...more
Jane Austen didn’t die two hundred years ago, but was in fact, turned into a vampire and is currently living in Brakeston, New York as the owner of a book store. Jane has a good friend, Walter Fletcher, who would love to be more than that with Jane, but she shies away from the closeness. She can’t stand the thought of loving someone and then watching them die, while she is immortal.
Jane also isn’t thrilled with the fact that she receives none of the royalties from her books that are still being...more
Jane also isn’t thrilled with the fact that she receives none of the royalties from her books that are still being...more
Jane Austen is alive and well—actually, not quite alive and all is definitely not well. She hasn’t sold a book over a hundred years since her purported death…when an arrogant and seductive Lord Byron turned her into a vampire. The vampirism wouldn’t be so hard to take if her unpublished novel hadn’t been rejected 116 times.
Drawing on stories of the real Jane Austen’s slightly acerbic nature but always impeccable manners, Mr. Ford has crafted a witty little romance novel, one that deals with the...more
Drawing on stories of the real Jane Austen’s slightly acerbic nature but always impeccable manners, Mr. Ford has crafted a witty little romance novel, one that deals with the...more
Normally, I avoid books that turn our literary figureheads, or other famous people, into vampires, werewolves, vampire hunters, etc. However, I kept seeing this book and finally just picked it up and started reading it.
I have to say that I really really really enjoyed it. Ford's depiction of Jane's character is superb. He does a great job of creating her reactions to things that people say she would or wouldn't do. Lord Byron is terrific in his mysterious, snarky kind of way. It's a lot of fun w...more
I have to say that I really really really enjoyed it. Ford's depiction of Jane's character is superb. He does a great job of creating her reactions to things that people say she would or wouldn't do. Lord Byron is terrific in his mysterious, snarky kind of way. It's a lot of fun w...more
This book was on the list of books recommended by Toronto Library staff (they rock!), so after reading (and liking) Pride and Prejudice and Zombies I just had to give this book a try.
The good: it kept me up till 3AM. It was a fun and funny read.
The bad: it's to much of a genre mash to be enjoyed thoroughly. A satire-vampire-suspense-romance plot is just too much for this little volume.
And now with spoilers: I've found all the main characters under-developed. Jane? You would think that after 2...more
The good: it kept me up till 3AM. It was a fun and funny read.
The bad: it's to much of a genre mash to be enjoyed thoroughly. A satire-vampire-suspense-romance plot is just too much for this little volume.
And now with spoilers: I've found all the main characters under-developed. Jane? You would think that after 2...more
If Queen Victoria and Elizabeth Bennett can be zombie hunters, and Mr. Darcy a vampire then why not include Jane Austen among ranks of the undead? I found endless entertainment in this cash-in on Austen novel and certainly appreciated that the author was familiar with Austen's period and writing, even though Constance, the supposed "lost" Austen novel showed no hint of either period or Austen's style. Perhaps that is why it had been rejected over a hundred times? Not quite sure.
The premise of Ja...more
The premise of Ja...more
Reviewed by Sonja B for Bookworldtravels
*MINOR spoilers*
I do not recommend this book to Charlotte Bronte hardcore fans!! :)
Jane Bites Back is somewhat slow at the beginning. I kept reading because the story seemed to be good and, well, I am an Austen fan and wanted to see how it ends... :D
Other than Jane, there is Lucy, her assistant, who was my favorite character! She is very funny and refreshing, most funny scenes happen when Lucy is around and her reactions are hilarious!! (e.g. when she...more
*MINOR spoilers*
I do not recommend this book to Charlotte Bronte hardcore fans!! :)
Jane Bites Back is somewhat slow at the beginning. I kept reading because the story seemed to be good and, well, I am an Austen fan and wanted to see how it ends... :D
Other than Jane, there is Lucy, her assistant, who was my favorite character! She is very funny and refreshing, most funny scenes happen when Lucy is around and her reactions are hilarious!! (e.g. when she...more
What can I say that hasn't already been said? Jane Bites Back is a very well-written and well developed story about Jane Austen as a vampire bookstore owner residing in upstate New York in the 21st century. That alone gets us off to a pretty good start and then we learn that this Jane has received 116 rejection letters for her latest manuscript (well it was written when she was still alive but still...). Just when she begins to despair that she'll never be able to write again, she receives an em...more
This book was a gift from my Aunt and she was 'dead' on with this choice. We regularly trade 'Austen' books anytime they come out, and this was a very clever and, I thought, and original take on all the Jane books out there. The idea that Jane owned/ran a bookshop was lovely. I loved the appearance of other 'dead' literary characters and their stories and absolutely thought the take on the Austen-Bronte feud was wonderful. When I picked up the book I was worried it would be like all the vampire...more
My review: Well, it's not Austen, but it's not a bad summer read. I rather liked it. I had no expectations going in. Sometimes that's a good thing. I will have to say it's one of the better Austen spin offs I've read. However, more non-evil vampires? *yawn* getting tired of sparkly happy go lucky vampires. Jane in this novel at least does hunt for human blood but never actually kills anyone.
It's fun. It's light. It's entertaining. Get it from your library. Apparently, it's a series too. I hadn'...more
It's fun. It's light. It's entertaining. Get it from your library. Apparently, it's a series too. I hadn'...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Instead of giving yet another Jane Austen book the supernatural treatment, Ford gives Jane herself the makeover this time: making her a vampire, putting her in a small town in modern times, giving a revived literary career under a new name, and dropping problems into her lap, which have resurfaced from her past both as a person and as a figure in literary history. There's suspense, romance, and wit. Ford writes Austen as amused at the recent zombie and sea monster takes on her books, in scorn of...more
Mar 28, 2010
Robin
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-in-10,
supernatural
Not a bad book. I found this by accident. It was in my "Amazon recommends...", which I should probably publish. The list is probably more interesting than anything I actually have to say. :-)
Anyway, our adventure begins in a bookstore in New York, which is run by Jane Austen. Actual Jane Austen, not the Jane Austen marketing empire we've all come to know and love. Which, coincidentally, our Jane is not profiting from by a single cent. Not that she's angry...much. She's had two hundred something...more
Anyway, our adventure begins in a bookstore in New York, which is run by Jane Austen. Actual Jane Austen, not the Jane Austen marketing empire we've all come to know and love. Which, coincidentally, our Jane is not profiting from by a single cent. Not that she's angry...much. She's had two hundred something...more
Okay, this was entirely an impulse purchase. I admit to getting sucked in on this one. Totally capitalizing on both the Jane Austen publishing fervor (fever?) and vampire-mania, this book follows the formula you'd expect on both angles. I confess I was way more interested in the idea of Jane Austen being alive and unable to find a publisher, not to mention responding (albeit anonymously) to the current wave of Austen-mania. The author does succeed in creating a Jane with wit and confidence, as y...more
I freely admit that I only took this book off the shelf because I wanted to have a more informed disdain for it. I've read many badly done Austen related books in my time, and this one - in which Jane Austen is still alive as a vampire - seemed like a trashy and ridiculous addition to the genre. But then, I saw that Stephanie Barron had written a cover blurb. I really like Stephanie Barron. It was enough to make me open it up and read a few pages.
Much to my surprise, the book is quite charming....more
Much to my surprise, the book is quite charming....more
Really?
Really???
The premise was good, which is why I fooled myself into thinking that I would enjoy this, despite the fact that I usually avoid Austen-knock offs. Now I remember why, and vow to hold to that rule in the future.
This was not fractionally as clever as it thinks it is. It was predictable, full of cliches, and if the descriptions and satire of the Austen knock-off industry were sometimes spot on, Ford seems to genuinely believe that the satire doesn't apply to him because he's making...more
Really???
The premise was good, which is why I fooled myself into thinking that I would enjoy this, despite the fact that I usually avoid Austen-knock offs. Now I remember why, and vow to hold to that rule in the future.
This was not fractionally as clever as it thinks it is. It was predictable, full of cliches, and if the descriptions and satire of the Austen knock-off industry were sometimes spot on, Ford seems to genuinely believe that the satire doesn't apply to him because he's making...more
I was very pleasantly surprised by the fast-paced fun I had while reading this book. I was worried after my previous attempts at reading Jane Austen fan-fic **coughMrDarcyVampyrecough** but fortunately that was not the case here.
Jane is a 234 year old vampire living in a tiny town in upper New York where she runs a bookshop with her Hot Topic-esque assistant and friend and pleasantly flirts with the cute home remodeler down the street. She is also attempting to publish her latest manuscript whic...more
Jane is a 234 year old vampire living in a tiny town in upper New York where she runs a bookshop with her Hot Topic-esque assistant and friend and pleasantly flirts with the cute home remodeler down the street. She is also attempting to publish her latest manuscript whic...more
I didn't really know what to expect when I read this book. All I knew was the blurb on the back, and one or two reviews I'd skimmed. But I thought that any book with Jane Austen as the owner of a bookstore wouldn't disappoint, and I was right! I would have finished this book in one day, if I'd been able to keep my eyes open 15 minutes longer.
Jane ... Fairfax, as she calls herself, is undead. Yes, that's right, Jane is a vampire. We soon discover that although she owns Flyleaf Books, in a small t...more
Jane ... Fairfax, as she calls herself, is undead. Yes, that's right, Jane is a vampire. We soon discover that although she owns Flyleaf Books, in a small t...more
A modern Gothic novel full of Janeite lore and paranormal hijinx
Jane Austen's novels brim with irony, witticism, and in the end, a gentle reprove or two. It is why I love her writing. Few authors can deliver this dry, deft and wickedly funny style. Michael Thomas Ford is one of them.
His latest novel Jane Bites Back is more than a gentle joke, it is a sly wink at the Austen and vampire industry. The clever title alone tells us that Ford has more than a keen sense of humor. The story concept is e...more
Jane Austen's novels brim with irony, witticism, and in the end, a gentle reprove or two. It is why I love her writing. Few authors can deliver this dry, deft and wickedly funny style. Michael Thomas Ford is one of them.
His latest novel Jane Bites Back is more than a gentle joke, it is a sly wink at the Austen and vampire industry. The clever title alone tells us that Ford has more than a keen sense of humor. The story concept is e...more
There is an entire cottage industry surrounding the novels of Jane Austen. Dozens of authors have tried their hands at expanding her works, continuing the adventures of beloved characters such as Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. Recently, fiction has turned from traditional takes on her works to more...interesting avenues.
Take Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, for example, or its sister-novel, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. (Both of which the library owns- find them in the catalog!)Rece...more
Take Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, for example, or its sister-novel, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. (Both of which the library owns- find them in the catalog!)Rece...more
I have to admit, I didn't read any of Austen's books YET, just watched the movies. And I don't know much about her personal life, but what I felt like is that the Jane (Fairfax) Austen of this book is not believable. It is a big deal also because she doesn't resemble Austen, she also acts like a teenager in a great part of the book and that's pretty much why I didn't like the book.
To be honest, this whole book was unbelievable. I'm not a big fan of these new kinds of vampires that eat and/or tha...more
To be honest, this whole book was unbelievable. I'm not a big fan of these new kinds of vampires that eat and/or tha...more
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The premise is simple -- Jane Austen as a vampire with what amounts to writer's block due to an unpublished manuscript, fitting in as prim and proper bookshop owned Jane Fairfax.
The beginning was a bit slow as Jane fended off advances from a friend, but was held together by her struggle to get Constance published, and some snark in the direction of Austen spin-offs cashing in on people who didn't get it.
Then, in pops a bloke who turns out to be the one...more
The beginning was a bit slow as Jane fended off advances from a friend, but was held together by her struggle to get Constance published, and some snark in the direction of Austen spin-offs cashing in on people who didn't get it.
Then, in pops a bloke who turns out to be the one...more
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Michael Thomas Ford is the author of more than fifty books, for both young readers and adults, in genres ranging from humor to horror, literary fiction to nonfiction. As a writer for young adults he is the author of the popular "Circle of Three" series (writing as Isobel Bird); nonfiction books about spirituality (Paths of Faith), the AIDS crisis (Voices of AIDS), and the gay community (The World...more
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“When The Journal of Words compiled its list of the one hundred best novels written in English, do you know that Pride and Prejudice was number twelve?" She stopped pacing and glared at Jane. "And do you know where Jane Eyre was?" she asked. She looked at the four of them in turn, but nobody answered her. "Number fifty-two!" she shrieked. "Fifty-two! Below that pornographic travesty Lolita!" She spat the title as if it were poison. "Below Huckleberry Finn! Below Ulysses. Have you ever tried to read Ulysses? Have you ever finished it? No, you haven't. No one has. They just carry it around and lie about having read it.”
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