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Joe Pitt #5
My Dead Body
As the concluding volume of this highly acclaimed series opens, Joe has spent a year splashing around in the city's sewer system, protecting the perimeters of the ground on which his love, Evie, now lives.
Above ground, Manhattan's Vampyre clans have at last abandoned any claims on civility and have finally sprung fully for each others' throats. But as Vampyre civil war rages, Joe is tracked down by an old acquaintance and pulled back to the surface. At last, the many questions that have driven him will be put to rest - and the many friends and foes who have defined his world will either be put in the ground or will claw their way to survival.
The carefully maintained peace is forgotten. When the stakes are this high, there can be no neutrality - only winners and losers. But when the blood stops flowing, what side will Joe Pitt be on?
Above ground, Manhattan's Vampyre clans have at last abandoned any claims on civility and have finally sprung fully for each others' throats. But as Vampyre civil war rages, Joe is tracked down by an old acquaintance and pulled back to the surface. At last, the many questions that have driven him will be put to rest - and the many friends and foes who have defined his world will either be put in the ground or will claw their way to survival.
The carefully maintained peace is forgotten. When the stakes are this high, there can be no neutrality - only winners and losers. But when the blood stops flowing, what side will Joe Pitt be on?
300 pages, Paperback
First published October 13, 2009
51 people are currently reading
1152 people want to read
About the author
Charlie Huston
103 books1,309 followersCharlie Huston is an American novelist, screenwriter, and comic book writer known for his genre-blending storytelling and character-driven narratives. His twelve novels span crime, horror, and science fiction, and have been published by Ballantine, Del Rey, Mulholland, and Orion, with translations in nine languages. He is the creator of the Henry Thompson trilogy, beginning with Caught Stealing, which was announced in 2024 as a forthcoming film adaptation directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Austin Butler. Huston’s stand-alone novels include The Shotgun Rule, The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death, Sleepless, and Skinner. He also authored the vampire noir series Joe Pitt Casebooks while living in Manhattan and later California. Huston has written pilots for FX, FOX, Sony, and Tomorrow Studios, served as a writer and producer on FOX’s Gotham, and developed original projects such as Arcadia. In comics, he rebooted Moon Knight for Marvel, contributed to Ultimates Annual, and penned the Wolverine: The Best There Is series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 190 reviews
November 15, 2009
- Hey, Charlie Huston. Can I ask you a question?
- Sure, Kemper.
- First, I’m a big fan. Your new breed of neo-noir writing is a blast to read in both your crime and horror novels.
- Thank you.
- No problem. I gotta admit that I thought the Joe Pitt character was probably one of your weaker creations for a while there, though.
- Why? You didn’t like the idea of a tough guy Vampyre getting caught up in various turf wars between rival clans in New York?
- No, I was good with that. I just have this pet peeve about writers doing supernatural characters. There's always a hero or anti-hero who is supposed to be a bad ass, but it seems like they always spend the majority of their books getting beaten to the point where they can barely function, but somehow prevail in the end. Harry Dresden and Sandman Slim, for example. And Joe Pitt is a poster boy for this. He’s supposed to be the rogue independent vampire that everyone is scared of, yet he seems to spend most of the books getting his ass handed to him, and even his vampire healing hasn’t prevented him from being maimed and half-crippled by now.
- You have a point, and I’m sorry to say that poor old Joe doesn’t fare much better in this book. So I assume you want to ask why I felt the need to inflict such misery on him?
- No, actually, after reading My Dead Body, I’m pleased with how you handled the whole thing. I didn’t realize that there was an arc to the whole story and that this one would be the final culmination of Joe’s saga. The fact that he’s a damaged mess makes sense in that context. Plus, I now realize that Joe wasn’t a miserable asshole just for the sake of being a miserable asshole. He’s a character like John Constantine or Rorschach from Watchmen. He’s the outsider who refuses to compromise no matter what it costs him and others.
- Oh, well I’m glad you feel better about that now, Kemper, but I thought you had a question?
- I do, Charlie Huston. My question is just why in the hell you are incapable of writing dialogue like every other goddamn writer in the known universe?
- Are you referring to the way I don’t use quotation marks or verbs like ‘said’ or ‘asked’?
- Yes, I am. I mean, you do some of the best and most realistic dialogue this side of Elmore Leonard, but this affectation of using a dash and then the dialogue with no clue as to who spoke it… Well, frankly, Charlie Huston, it’s kind of a pain in the ass. And it gets really bad when there are several people in a room talking, and then you have to get cute about letting us know who’s speaking by using the other person’s name. All this could have been avoided if you would just use some freaking quotation marks and a ‘I said’ every once in a while. Everyone else does it.
- Yes, but I’m a groundbreaking writer trying to perfect a new style of noir….
- Save it, Charlie Huston. It’s a cute little gimmick that was mildly amusing in the first book I read by you, but now it’s just a distraction. And it’s too bad because My Dead Body was a terrific book, but I shouldn’t have to create flow charts as I’m reading to try and keep track of who is speaking. I really don’t get it. Were your parents killed by quotation marks and you swore vengeance? Did the word ‘said’ steal a girlfriend from you once? You need to get it over it.
“I’ll think about it,” Charlie Huston said.
“You see how easy that was?” Kemper asked.
- Sure, Kemper.
- First, I’m a big fan. Your new breed of neo-noir writing is a blast to read in both your crime and horror novels.
- Thank you.
- No problem. I gotta admit that I thought the Joe Pitt character was probably one of your weaker creations for a while there, though.
- Why? You didn’t like the idea of a tough guy Vampyre getting caught up in various turf wars between rival clans in New York?
- No, I was good with that. I just have this pet peeve about writers doing supernatural characters. There's always a hero or anti-hero who is supposed to be a bad ass, but it seems like they always spend the majority of their books getting beaten to the point where they can barely function, but somehow prevail in the end. Harry Dresden and Sandman Slim, for example. And Joe Pitt is a poster boy for this. He’s supposed to be the rogue independent vampire that everyone is scared of, yet he seems to spend most of the books getting his ass handed to him, and even his vampire healing hasn’t prevented him from being maimed and half-crippled by now.
- You have a point, and I’m sorry to say that poor old Joe doesn’t fare much better in this book. So I assume you want to ask why I felt the need to inflict such misery on him?
- No, actually, after reading My Dead Body, I’m pleased with how you handled the whole thing. I didn’t realize that there was an arc to the whole story and that this one would be the final culmination of Joe’s saga. The fact that he’s a damaged mess makes sense in that context. Plus, I now realize that Joe wasn’t a miserable asshole just for the sake of being a miserable asshole. He’s a character like John Constantine or Rorschach from Watchmen. He’s the outsider who refuses to compromise no matter what it costs him and others.
- Oh, well I’m glad you feel better about that now, Kemper, but I thought you had a question?
- I do, Charlie Huston. My question is just why in the hell you are incapable of writing dialogue like every other goddamn writer in the known universe?
- Are you referring to the way I don’t use quotation marks or verbs like ‘said’ or ‘asked’?
- Yes, I am. I mean, you do some of the best and most realistic dialogue this side of Elmore Leonard, but this affectation of using a dash and then the dialogue with no clue as to who spoke it… Well, frankly, Charlie Huston, it’s kind of a pain in the ass. And it gets really bad when there are several people in a room talking, and then you have to get cute about letting us know who’s speaking by using the other person’s name. All this could have been avoided if you would just use some freaking quotation marks and a ‘I said’ every once in a while. Everyone else does it.
- Yes, but I’m a groundbreaking writer trying to perfect a new style of noir….
- Save it, Charlie Huston. It’s a cute little gimmick that was mildly amusing in the first book I read by you, but now it’s just a distraction. And it’s too bad because My Dead Body was a terrific book, but I shouldn’t have to create flow charts as I’m reading to try and keep track of who is speaking. I really don’t get it. Were your parents killed by quotation marks and you swore vengeance? Did the word ‘said’ steal a girlfriend from you once? You need to get it over it.
“I’ll think about it,” Charlie Huston said.
“You see how easy that was?” Kemper asked.
November 27, 2018
I'm re-reading this book, and have decided this series--and particularly this book--has a carol-metaphor-story.
Once, in the early witching hours of the morning when absolutely nothing good happens, I got called out of bed to respond to a roll-over car accident out by Highway N. My partner and I jumped in the ambulance and raced to the scene, still half-asleep, ambulance lights and siren flaring in the darkness. The car had rolled off the road, but the scene was obvious from a mile away, lit up by white-hot spotlights and the strobes of police cars. Officers doing a search had found a teen thrown from the car, sprawled in the matted corn, limbs askew, barely conscious. He was in a halo of light, rimmed with an expanse of corn, enough to get lost in. As I knelt, crushing stalks under my knees, I took his head in my hands to hold his spine straight until my partner could apply a collar. He might have moaned as we worked. For his mother, for a cigarette, for a drink--who could tell? I could smell the sweetness of alcohol on his breath as I watched his breathing. When we shifted and wrapped his body, buckling him to the hard plastic longboard, I heard the deep thuk thuck of the helicopter blades as they slowed.
The Charlie Pitt series is a lot like that scene. Violence, stupidity and noble intentions; life and struggle; purpose and accidents; tension and inevitablity; darkness lit by flashes of white and red lights; poetry and philosophy in short choppy bites. Impressive and uncomfortable. The high of adrenalin coupled with tragedy.
***************************
The finale in the Joe Pitt series satisfactorily brings it all together and leaves a warm afterglow. Truly, I wasn't sure it would. The beginning was rocky; Joe is apparently taping a chronicle of events, and of all things, laughing as he narrates. What?! Joe doesn't laugh. Maybe, at most, a dry chuckle or a bitter half-curve applied to the lip. It felt awkward. However, I stayed with it and it took off like one of Joe's matches flaring in the dark. Chubby comes to call and request a favor, dangling the chance for Joe to break even, and setting it with a sharp hook. Joe is dragged in despite himself, and soon finds himself traversing Manhattan looking for Chubby's missing daughter and her Vampyre lover.
Once again, the underbelly of New York comes alive, particularly the beginning when we follow Joe through his new turf, and the following subway sequences. I can just about feel the grime and hear the rumble of the train from Joe's shack. Every time Joe meets that pasty white Enclave skittering through the shadows, I shiver.
The overall action sequence felt a little re-hashed, but it worked well. It's the finale, and appropriate both in term of the plot and the arc of Joe's life, and frankly, it's satisfying to revisit the gang. Digga, Percy, Amanda, Sela, Phil, Lydia, Terry and Hurley, Predo, the Count. They all get a chance to wax philosophical, and what do you know--they all have some surprising insights that are true to character. Digga is my clear favorite, but Hurley's period accent and mindset runs a close second. The relationships have developed enough over the course of the series that it's not a replay--more of a jazz riff, escalating to a dramatic conclusion. Huston is not afraid to play hardball with his characters; like Hamlet, the stage is littered with bodies by the end.
And damn if the writing doesn't keep grabbing me:
"I'd say I was thinking about Evie, but that would be redundant. She's my white noise. Always there, crackling static in my brain. Inescapable. Mostly you tune it out. The second you focus on it, it drowns out everything else."
"Not that she's done me wrong. Just that she radiates danger with a half-life of forever."
"If it go that far. Which I ain't sure about as yet. Possibility people could all have a sudden attack of gettin' they's shit together. Never know."
Cross posted at: http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/0...
Once, in the early witching hours of the morning when absolutely nothing good happens, I got called out of bed to respond to a roll-over car accident out by Highway N. My partner and I jumped in the ambulance and raced to the scene, still half-asleep, ambulance lights and siren flaring in the darkness. The car had rolled off the road, but the scene was obvious from a mile away, lit up by white-hot spotlights and the strobes of police cars. Officers doing a search had found a teen thrown from the car, sprawled in the matted corn, limbs askew, barely conscious. He was in a halo of light, rimmed with an expanse of corn, enough to get lost in. As I knelt, crushing stalks under my knees, I took his head in my hands to hold his spine straight until my partner could apply a collar. He might have moaned as we worked. For his mother, for a cigarette, for a drink--who could tell? I could smell the sweetness of alcohol on his breath as I watched his breathing. When we shifted and wrapped his body, buckling him to the hard plastic longboard, I heard the deep thuk thuck of the helicopter blades as they slowed.
The Charlie Pitt series is a lot like that scene. Violence, stupidity and noble intentions; life and struggle; purpose and accidents; tension and inevitablity; darkness lit by flashes of white and red lights; poetry and philosophy in short choppy bites. Impressive and uncomfortable. The high of adrenalin coupled with tragedy.
***************************
The finale in the Joe Pitt series satisfactorily brings it all together and leaves a warm afterglow. Truly, I wasn't sure it would. The beginning was rocky; Joe is apparently taping a chronicle of events, and of all things, laughing as he narrates. What?! Joe doesn't laugh. Maybe, at most, a dry chuckle or a bitter half-curve applied to the lip. It felt awkward. However, I stayed with it and it took off like one of Joe's matches flaring in the dark. Chubby comes to call and request a favor, dangling the chance for Joe to break even, and setting it with a sharp hook. Joe is dragged in despite himself, and soon finds himself traversing Manhattan looking for Chubby's missing daughter and her Vampyre lover.
Once again, the underbelly of New York comes alive, particularly the beginning when we follow Joe through his new turf, and the following subway sequences. I can just about feel the grime and hear the rumble of the train from Joe's shack. Every time Joe meets that pasty white Enclave skittering through the shadows, I shiver.
The overall action sequence felt a little re-hashed, but it worked well. It's the finale, and appropriate both in term of the plot and the arc of Joe's life, and frankly, it's satisfying to revisit the gang. Digga, Percy, Amanda, Sela, Phil, Lydia, Terry and Hurley, Predo, the Count. They all get a chance to wax philosophical, and what do you know--they all have some surprising insights that are true to character. Digga is my clear favorite, but Hurley's period accent and mindset runs a close second. The relationships have developed enough over the course of the series that it's not a replay--more of a jazz riff, escalating to a dramatic conclusion. Huston is not afraid to play hardball with his characters; like Hamlet, the stage is littered with bodies by the end.
And damn if the writing doesn't keep grabbing me:
"I'd say I was thinking about Evie, but that would be redundant. She's my white noise. Always there, crackling static in my brain. Inescapable. Mostly you tune it out. The second you focus on it, it drowns out everything else."
"Not that she's done me wrong. Just that she radiates danger with a half-life of forever."
"If it go that far. Which I ain't sure about as yet. Possibility people could all have a sudden attack of gettin' they's shit together. Never know."
Cross posted at: http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/0...
June 2, 2010
The reason that I am not a fan of book series is because most authors simply don't have the ability to draw out a plot to several books. They either run out of ideas and coast or they blatantly continue with the only real motivation being the money it brings in. Charlie Huston is not one of those writers. His Joe Pitt series never lets up in excitement or imagination and the totality of five books is just enough to tell his story. My Dead Body is the fifth and last of the series and it is one of the best wrap-ups I've ever seen. The novel brings all the loose ends together in a satisfying ending. The New York vampire clans and Huston's dogged anti-hero Joe Pitt finally end up in a war that answers all of Pitt's questions. And does Pitt finally get the girl? Got to read it to find out.
January 21, 2019
This is the final book in Huston’s Joe Pitt, Vampyre-at-large series. It follows
Every Last Drop
(my review). This series was an urban fantasy with a dark and gritty, ultra-violent noir/hardboiled flavor. It brings the story arc, of the previous four (4) books to its close, but leaves room for another. I was frankly grateful for the end of the series. It wrapped-up most of the main plot lines. All the bad guys got what they deserved, and the battered anti-hero in true spaghetti western fashion rode off into the sunset. (“Jersey” was not a possible destination.)
Note this book breaks the series' tradition of saving trees. It’s a bulky 315-pages. Earlier previous books in the series have been barely thicker than novellas. I would have greatly appreciated the author having written a trilogy of ≥ 350 page books, rather than two (2) somewhat novel-sized books and three (3) novellas. In addition, this book would be unintelligible to folks who have not been following the series in its publication order.
Prose is the same as the other books in the series. The author is aping the writing in the noir/hardboiled style of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler although there are no arch metaphors and a modern use of ultra-violence. There is a lot more of the contemporary Warren Ellis, Richard Kadrey and Brian K. Vaughan to found in the way the stories of the series are written.
The Pitt protagonist’s POV is used throughout. Pitt’s dialog is noir genre laconic. The other characters continued to provide large tracts of annoying exposition. Descriptive prose is good, although the author spent less time on atmosphere in this book than others in the series. Note that no new metro-New York locations are introduced in this story. Action sequences are better done in this last gasp effort than in previous books. I had a problem with the author’s time sense. I think that the story takes place over 24-hours. Unfortunately, too much happens, for 24-hours to be an appropriate time frame. For example, I felt that travel time between locations would sum to about 6-hours; cleaning-up, clothes changes, and personal hygiene between blood baths and shit-dippings to be 2-hours; and there were about 8-hours of expositional narrative dialog alone. Unlike previous stories, the author makes a lame attempt to make this particular book to have an epistolary form. This is unlike any of the other books in the series, but supports the possibility of an additional story arc with the return of the character. Finally, I did not laugh-out-loud once while reading this book. Earlier books in the series had one or more laugh-out-loud responses from me to the author’s macabre sense of humor. However, here I only smiled once or twice. All of these occurred around Pitt's nicotine addiction. (A sense of humor is the first thing that goes in an overly long series.) I suspect if the series had been shorter, I would have found it overall funnier.
This story includes sex, modest alcohol abuse, tobacco use, and ultra-violence. There is some sex 'talk'. Not all of it is hetronormative. Pitt finally gets it on, in an anti-climax. Oddly, the author handles it in a traditional fade to black with a return of Pitt pulling his jeans up from around the ankles. (That was disappointing.) Pitt drinks spirits to hydrate the way to you should drink water post-gym workout. Tobacco use features a lot in Pitt's narration. I found this staple of the noir/harboiled genre to be uninteresting in this story. Violence is graphic and pervasive. It consists of: physical, edged-weapons, and firearms mayhem in graphic detail. There is a lot of gore and ichor involved. There was also a certain amount of exrcrement. Physical mutilation is described in excruciating detail. The last few books have had the author torturing and mutilating his protagonist in excess that I can’t understand. Body count is high. This story is not a YA read.
The main characters include: Pitt, Evie (no last name), Terry Bird, Predo (no first name), The Count (name since forgotten), DJ Grave Digga, Lydia, Chubby Freeze and Amanda Horde. All the major and minor characters are all carried over from the previous book(s). In fact, every one of Pitt’s antagonists in the series makes an appearance in this story. These characters receive no real development. The exception may be that the minor reoccurring Hurley vampire character. He acts uncharacteristically, before he dies. Bronx and Queens vampires are mentioned, including the Queens vampire (Queen) Esperanza Benjamin.
Plotting was an omnibus wrap-up of every bad guy in the series dying. In previous reviews, I complained that several books were fillers—this one left me breathless in its application of the Kill 'em All trope. The story starts out blandly enough with Pitt being extorted into finding the girl. This leads to a climactic battle between all the Manhattan vampire (and human) power blocks. The “Old” vampires who had won the power struggle of the previous books ultimately lose it all. The Manhattan vampire power blocks: Coalition, Society, Hood, Cure and Enclave are all destroyed. Good news? Pitt gets the girl. Bad news—he and the girl prudently leave Manhattan. The story ends with the possibility of another story arc within the New World Order of the story's conclusion. The author has since relocated to the West Coast. I expect Pitt and Evie to return from the grave in L.A. or S.F..
There were more continuity issues than plot holes in the story. Continuity issues have been mentioned above. Time consumption was very elastic. I thought the story ought to have taken place over three days. Also, with Pitt’s battle tattered clothing and him drenched in blood and ichor; what bodega clerk would sell him cigarettes?
The tour of metro-New York has always been an edu-tainment draw for this series. Unfortunately, no new locations were introduced in this book. However, I continued to follow the story locations while reading, which are very accurate in their description. From this book, I was finally able to locate The Enclave.. I ❤ NY.
This series had its good points, but this story was a bit of a letdown. It was better than the last two books. It was dark, dour, and gritty, with terse dialogue, blood, gore, and ichor. It was almost Lovecraftian in places. The Manhattan vampire sub-culture on the edge of madness has always held my interest as a plot device. Unfortunately, it felt like the author was in a rush to wrap-up the series by “Killing them All” and be done with it. In total, there were less than 1400 pages in the series’ five (5) books. It easily could have been done in two or three, avoiding the repetition of the middle books. The first, second (maybe) and last being the best books in the series. I also felt that the author may have come to hate his protagonist in the course of writing the series. To my mind, Pitt’s mutilation and retreat to New York’s sewer system was too bizarre a way to treat a character, despite this being a somewhat bizarre series. In summary, if I had not gotten so deep into the series, I would not have bothered to read this story to complete it.
Readers interested in contemporary vampire fiction, may be interested in a list I created while reading this story of vampire novels of a similar ilk: LISTOPIA: Not Your Average Vampire Novels.
Note this book breaks the series' tradition of saving trees. It’s a bulky 315-pages. Earlier previous books in the series have been barely thicker than novellas. I would have greatly appreciated the author having written a trilogy of ≥ 350 page books, rather than two (2) somewhat novel-sized books and three (3) novellas. In addition, this book would be unintelligible to folks who have not been following the series in its publication order.
Prose is the same as the other books in the series. The author is aping the writing in the noir/hardboiled style of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler although there are no arch metaphors and a modern use of ultra-violence. There is a lot more of the contemporary Warren Ellis, Richard Kadrey and Brian K. Vaughan to found in the way the stories of the series are written.
The Pitt protagonist’s POV is used throughout. Pitt’s dialog is noir genre laconic. The other characters continued to provide large tracts of annoying exposition. Descriptive prose is good, although the author spent less time on atmosphere in this book than others in the series. Note that no new metro-New York locations are introduced in this story. Action sequences are better done in this last gasp effort than in previous books. I had a problem with the author’s time sense. I think that the story takes place over 24-hours. Unfortunately, too much happens, for 24-hours to be an appropriate time frame. For example, I felt that travel time between locations would sum to about 6-hours; cleaning-up, clothes changes, and personal hygiene between blood baths and shit-dippings to be 2-hours; and there were about 8-hours of expositional narrative dialog alone. Unlike previous stories, the author makes a lame attempt to make this particular book to have an epistolary form. This is unlike any of the other books in the series, but supports the possibility of an additional story arc with the return of the character. Finally, I did not laugh-out-loud once while reading this book. Earlier books in the series had one or more laugh-out-loud responses from me to the author’s macabre sense of humor. However, here I only smiled once or twice. All of these occurred around Pitt's nicotine addiction. (A sense of humor is the first thing that goes in an overly long series.) I suspect if the series had been shorter, I would have found it overall funnier.
This story includes sex, modest alcohol abuse, tobacco use, and ultra-violence. There is some sex 'talk'. Not all of it is hetronormative. Pitt finally gets it on, in an anti-climax. Oddly, the author handles it in a traditional fade to black with a return of Pitt pulling his jeans up from around the ankles. (That was disappointing.) Pitt drinks spirits to hydrate the way to you should drink water post-gym workout. Tobacco use features a lot in Pitt's narration. I found this staple of the noir/harboiled genre to be uninteresting in this story. Violence is graphic and pervasive. It consists of: physical, edged-weapons, and firearms mayhem in graphic detail. There is a lot of gore and ichor involved. There was also a certain amount of exrcrement. Physical mutilation is described in excruciating detail. The last few books have had the author torturing and mutilating his protagonist in excess that I can’t understand. Body count is high. This story is not a YA read.
The main characters include: Pitt, Evie (no last name), Terry Bird, Predo (no first name), The Count (name since forgotten), DJ Grave Digga, Lydia, Chubby Freeze and Amanda Horde. All the major and minor characters are all carried over from the previous book(s). In fact, every one of Pitt’s antagonists in the series makes an appearance in this story. These characters receive no real development. The exception may be that the minor reoccurring Hurley vampire character. He acts uncharacteristically, before he dies. Bronx and Queens vampires are mentioned, including the Queens vampire (Queen) Esperanza Benjamin.
Plotting was an omnibus wrap-up of every bad guy in the series dying. In previous reviews, I complained that several books were fillers—this one left me breathless in its application of the Kill 'em All trope. The story starts out blandly enough with Pitt being extorted into finding the girl. This leads to a climactic battle between all the Manhattan vampire (and human) power blocks. The “Old” vampires who had won the power struggle of the previous books ultimately lose it all. The Manhattan vampire power blocks: Coalition, Society, Hood, Cure and Enclave are all destroyed. Good news? Pitt gets the girl. Bad news—he and the girl prudently leave Manhattan. The story ends with the possibility of another story arc within the New World Order of the story's conclusion. The author has since relocated to the West Coast. I expect Pitt and Evie to return from the grave in L.A. or S.F..
There were more continuity issues than plot holes in the story. Continuity issues have been mentioned above. Time consumption was very elastic. I thought the story ought to have taken place over three days. Also, with Pitt’s battle tattered clothing and him drenched in blood and ichor; what bodega clerk would sell him cigarettes?
The tour of metro-New York has always been an edu-tainment draw for this series. Unfortunately, no new locations were introduced in this book. However, I continued to follow the story locations while reading, which are very accurate in their description. From this book, I was finally able to locate The Enclave.. I ❤ NY.
This series had its good points, but this story was a bit of a letdown. It was better than the last two books. It was dark, dour, and gritty, with terse dialogue, blood, gore, and ichor. It was almost Lovecraftian in places. The Manhattan vampire sub-culture on the edge of madness has always held my interest as a plot device. Unfortunately, it felt like the author was in a rush to wrap-up the series by “Killing them All” and be done with it. In total, there were less than 1400 pages in the series’ five (5) books. It easily could have been done in two or three, avoiding the repetition of the middle books. The first, second (maybe) and last being the best books in the series. I also felt that the author may have come to hate his protagonist in the course of writing the series. To my mind, Pitt’s mutilation and retreat to New York’s sewer system was too bizarre a way to treat a character, despite this being a somewhat bizarre series. In summary, if I had not gotten so deep into the series, I would not have bothered to read this story to complete it.
Readers interested in contemporary vampire fiction, may be interested in a list I created while reading this story of vampire novels of a similar ilk: LISTOPIA: Not Your Average Vampire Novels.
April 27, 2012
2 stars. Okay, wow. So much I want to discuss in this review. The final novel in the Joe Pitt series, where finally the over arching plot gets solved and all the various factions come together in the turf war to end all turf wars.
The series continues with its downward spiral into an overly complicated plotline and muddled characters that show no discernible reasons for their actions except 'we need to kill and/or use Joe Pitt'. Honestly I was left wondering why does everyone think this guy is so great? Aren't there any other dudes who they can use? Joe Pitt can't be the only once rogue vampire. He doesn't have any special abilities except it seems to be constantly pummelled on and then hide himself and then ally himself to yet another powerful villain who gives him a second (third, fourth, fifth) chance for some reason.
I still have no idea what really divides any of these major groups. We have the coalition, which want to maintain the status quo. Ok, I get that. I can understand why they would want to do that, it makes sense for vampyres not to want to rock the boat if they have a good thing going.
You have the 'Society', which for some reason *claim* that they want to go public and eventually reveal themselves to humans. But Terry Bird, the leader, seems to not really want to do that because he has so many opportunities to do so and constantly says 'well I want to do it later'.
Then here's the 'Hood', which honestly, don't seem to have any discernible raison d'etre except that hey, guess what - all these dudes be black dudes who are the worst gangsta stereotypes you can imagine.
The Enclave are interesting but fail again in execution. You have these monk type vampires, supposedly so uber powered and skilled that everyone is scared to tangle with them, but they don't do anything but sit around in an empty warehouse. By the end they actually all kill each other rather than actually doing any damage. Why is Evie, Joe's once girlfriend who had aids, somehow the savior of these Enclave types? Why do they listen to her? Why didn't they just kill her if she was making waves and the big boss the Count never trusted her?
Finally you have the 'Cure', lead by Amanda, that sweet girl that Joe rescued in the first novel, who is only in her early twenties, has never gone to med school, and yet somehow is capable of solving a decades old puzzle of what makes the Vampyre virus tick that the coalition had hundreds of people working on this whole time. She's sitting around splicing together genes and making whole new breeds of Vampyre all while sitting in a fortress tower under seige and threat from the Coalition. Huh? What? Who you say? Confused yet?
The noir tone just seems so out of place in this final novel which really is just a straight up action novel more than anything else. In the end, everyone seems to die except for - wait for it - Joe! And his Twu Wuv! How nice and romantic and happy and completely un-noir-like!
So many disappointing things about this final book. So many things that don't even make any sense. Why does everyone suddenly become so stupid? Why is Joe, who now only has one eye, and 7 fingers, able to kill and manipulate everyone? Why do people keep listening to him and believing him after he's double crossed them countless times?
Why choose now, of all times, to reveal that Vampyres exist by getting cops to go to the Vampyre charnelhouse to save the human chattel? Why do Joe and Evie ride off into the sunset and think somehow by leaving New York that they will escape persecution? Haven't they ever heard of the internet? Don't they think that word is going to spread? Do they think that vampyres are only found in New York?
Why did I keep reading to the end of this book?
These are the burning questions people. Questions left unanswered by this severely disappointing book.
The series continues with its downward spiral into an overly complicated plotline and muddled characters that show no discernible reasons for their actions except 'we need to kill and/or use Joe Pitt'. Honestly I was left wondering why does everyone think this guy is so great? Aren't there any other dudes who they can use? Joe Pitt can't be the only once rogue vampire. He doesn't have any special abilities except it seems to be constantly pummelled on and then hide himself and then ally himself to yet another powerful villain who gives him a second (third, fourth, fifth) chance for some reason.
I still have no idea what really divides any of these major groups. We have the coalition, which want to maintain the status quo. Ok, I get that. I can understand why they would want to do that, it makes sense for vampyres not to want to rock the boat if they have a good thing going.
You have the 'Society', which for some reason *claim* that they want to go public and eventually reveal themselves to humans. But Terry Bird, the leader, seems to not really want to do that because he has so many opportunities to do so and constantly says 'well I want to do it later'.
Then here's the 'Hood', which honestly, don't seem to have any discernible raison d'etre except that hey, guess what - all these dudes be black dudes who are the worst gangsta stereotypes you can imagine.
The Enclave are interesting but fail again in execution. You have these monk type vampires, supposedly so uber powered and skilled that everyone is scared to tangle with them, but they don't do anything but sit around in an empty warehouse. By the end they actually all kill each other rather than actually doing any damage. Why is Evie, Joe's once girlfriend who had aids, somehow the savior of these Enclave types? Why do they listen to her? Why didn't they just kill her if she was making waves and the big boss the Count never trusted her?
Finally you have the 'Cure', lead by Amanda, that sweet girl that Joe rescued in the first novel, who is only in her early twenties, has never gone to med school, and yet somehow is capable of solving a decades old puzzle of what makes the Vampyre virus tick that the coalition had hundreds of people working on this whole time. She's sitting around splicing together genes and making whole new breeds of Vampyre all while sitting in a fortress tower under seige and threat from the Coalition. Huh? What? Who you say? Confused yet?
The noir tone just seems so out of place in this final novel which really is just a straight up action novel more than anything else. In the end, everyone seems to die except for - wait for it - Joe! And his Twu Wuv! How nice and romantic and happy and completely un-noir-like!
So many disappointing things about this final book. So many things that don't even make any sense. Why does everyone suddenly become so stupid? Why is Joe, who now only has one eye, and 7 fingers, able to kill and manipulate everyone? Why do people keep listening to him and believing him after he's double crossed them countless times?
Why choose now, of all times, to reveal that Vampyres exist by getting cops to go to the Vampyre charnelhouse to save the human chattel? Why do Joe and Evie ride off into the sunset and think somehow by leaving New York that they will escape persecution? Haven't they ever heard of the internet? Don't they think that word is going to spread? Do they think that vampyres are only found in New York?
Why did I keep reading to the end of this book?
These are the burning questions people. Questions left unanswered by this severely disappointing book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2012
A somewhat fitting ending to a series that held me captive for all five books. I am not quite sure what to think about this one... I don't think I understood what happened to Joe and to Evie. And there were so many loose ends but I think that was part of what had to happen. Yeah, yeah, I know, this review makes no sense to anyone who hasn't read the books. Basically, Joe decides enough is enough, and all hell breaks loose. In literally one night, the entire Vampyre community is exposed and Joe is at the center of it, taking out his enemies and "feeding the worm" that is in the heart of the Big Apple. Gonna miss Joe though, he sure was a lot of fun.
November 9, 2009
The final novel in a series has a lot to measure up to, and in my opinion the last Joe Pitt novel didn't live up to its four predecessors. I am a big fan of Charlie Huston - and his Joe Pitt character in particular - but both of them seem to have lost their edge in My Dead Body.
Dead Body picks up a year after the events in Every Last Drop and while most of the threads are picked up again, they aren't picked up in a way that is consistent with the books that came before. Most of the characters from the previous books act...well, out of character. And while all the various dangling questions are given explanations, it felt a bit like Huston had written himself into a corner with the big reveal at the end of Every Last Drop and decided that the only way out was to slash and burn anything and everything. And I do mean everything.
I think that Huston sums up what happened pretty well in his blog:
"Someone did ask me the other day how I felt about finishing the series. All I could think to say was, “Bye, bye, Joe Pitt.” Joe was six-three and over two-hundred pounds. That’s a load to carry for five years."
I think he was just ready to put Joe down and move on, but I'm disappointed that my crush on Joe Pitt had to end this way.
Dead Body picks up a year after the events in Every Last Drop and while most of the threads are picked up again, they aren't picked up in a way that is consistent with the books that came before. Most of the characters from the previous books act...well, out of character. And while all the various dangling questions are given explanations, it felt a bit like Huston had written himself into a corner with the big reveal at the end of Every Last Drop and decided that the only way out was to slash and burn anything and everything. And I do mean everything.
I think that Huston sums up what happened pretty well in his blog:
"Someone did ask me the other day how I felt about finishing the series. All I could think to say was, “Bye, bye, Joe Pitt.” Joe was six-three and over two-hundred pounds. That’s a load to carry for five years."
I think he was just ready to put Joe down and move on, but I'm disappointed that my crush on Joe Pitt had to end this way.
October 30, 2009
I've always enjoyed Charlie Huston - both his hard crime and his "urban fantasy" Joe Pitt series. I have to admit though, this was not my favorite of the series. While still a fun ride, it didn't have the punch or clarity of the earlier books. Seemed at times like the author was trying to tie off every loose end, rather than progress the plot organically.
November 3, 2009
In 2005 I was burned out on Vampire novels. Anne Rice’s books really weren’t my thing. I thought they were more romance novels than horror novels. And most of the other stuff out there was pretty derivative. Still TV shows like “Buffy” and “Angel” and comic book characters like Blade and Hannibal King from Marvel Comics “Tomb of Dracula” series had shown me that Vampires struggling against their nature to do soemthing good can make for some pretty compelling fictional characters.
It was that idea and the fact that Charlie Huston had already written two kick ass crime thrillers that made me pick up the first novel in his Joe Pitt Casebooks seriees “Already Dead” and I’m so glad I did. It was the perfect blending of horror and everything I love about crime fiction.
In creating the world of Joe Pitt, it’s like Huston took the best elements of some of my favorite stories and made the ultimate cocktail. I see elements of films like “Blade 2″ and “The Warriors”, classic private eye fiction, Richard Matheson’s “I Am Legend”, and Garth Ennis’s comic “Preacher. If you like any of those things you’ll love what Huston does with vampires or vampyres as it it’s spelled in Pitt’s world.
The Joe Pitt casebooks take place in a world where vampyres are real. They’re not supernatural creatures, but there is a hint of the supernatural running through the series. They have been infected by a virus that makes them hunger for blood and amps up their physical abilities allowing them perform some amazing feats. These Vampyres have gathered together to form clans, with different perspectives on how to make their way in the world.
The specific setting of the Joe Pitt books is New York City. The island of Manhattan has been divided up by a number of opposing clans. The two most powerful are the wealthy and secretive Coalition, who want to blend in and keep the world of Vampyres a secret. And The Society, a band of revolutionaries and rebels who use violence and intimidation in hopes of one day achieving their ultimate goal of a world where man and Vampyre can exist in harmony.
Joe Pitt has history with both of those clans and because of that he doesn’t want anything to do with them. Like all noir anti-heroes trouble has a penchant for finding him. This usually happens as a result of a private detective style job Joe takes to make ends meet. Sometimes he has to hurt and kill a whole lot of people to succeed at those jobs and stay alive. The one guiding light of Joe Pitt’s world is his girlfriend Evie, an HIV infected bar tender.
Now that I’ve set up Joe’s world I’m going to to attempt to do a spoiler free review “My Dead Body” the fifth and final book in the series. Joe Pitt’s story evolves over the course of the first four novels: the previously mentioned “Already Dead“, the second volume “No Dominion”, the third book “Half the Blood of Brooklyn”, and the fourth book “Every Last Drop.”
By the time “My Dead Body” begins, Joe Pitt is in the darkest of all places, underground. He’s ignited a full scale war between the major Vampyre clans of the city, and his beloved Evie doesn’t want to see him. He’s eking out an existance in the sewers of New York City. An old associate finds him and asks him to look for his daughter who disappeared into the chaotic Vampire underworld. Pitt agrees because he learns that Evie wants him to take the case.So he sees this as an opportunity to fight his way back to the one good thing in his life.
What follows is a fast paced, blood soaked, action packed, horrific, morally murky, poignant and fun story that takes place all over one night. Pitt is a charismatic underdog. You love him because of his quick wit and his endurance. Both are on display here. Pitt undergoes a ton on physical punishment in this book, but he keeps going. You also really feel and understand the love that keeps him going. It makes him easy to root for. And Huston bring Pitt’s story to a satisfying conclusion.
He also wraps up the stories of most of the book’s reoccurring characters in nice and interesting ways. Characters that are given especially cool arcs in “My Dead Body” include: Lydia Miles, a prominent Society member and leader of a cell of lesbian Vampyres, and Hurley the Society’s massive chief enforcer.
“My Dead Body” is more than just cool character moments though. You get a three way battle between members of the Coalition, The Society, and the mutated horrors of an insane researcher out to cure the virus. You get Joe Pitt fighting to stay alive and put down all the evil in his world, as well as anything that stand between him and Evie.
Huston doesn’t tie up everything in “My Dead Body”. He leaves some things for the readers to decide, which I think ultimately makes for more satisfying reading anyway. All of these elements combine to make “My Dead Body” the best book in the Joe Pitt series and a hell of a send off for the character and his fascinating world
It was that idea and the fact that Charlie Huston had already written two kick ass crime thrillers that made me pick up the first novel in his Joe Pitt Casebooks seriees “Already Dead” and I’m so glad I did. It was the perfect blending of horror and everything I love about crime fiction.
In creating the world of Joe Pitt, it’s like Huston took the best elements of some of my favorite stories and made the ultimate cocktail. I see elements of films like “Blade 2″ and “The Warriors”, classic private eye fiction, Richard Matheson’s “I Am Legend”, and Garth Ennis’s comic “Preacher. If you like any of those things you’ll love what Huston does with vampires or vampyres as it it’s spelled in Pitt’s world.
The Joe Pitt casebooks take place in a world where vampyres are real. They’re not supernatural creatures, but there is a hint of the supernatural running through the series. They have been infected by a virus that makes them hunger for blood and amps up their physical abilities allowing them perform some amazing feats. These Vampyres have gathered together to form clans, with different perspectives on how to make their way in the world.
The specific setting of the Joe Pitt books is New York City. The island of Manhattan has been divided up by a number of opposing clans. The two most powerful are the wealthy and secretive Coalition, who want to blend in and keep the world of Vampyres a secret. And The Society, a band of revolutionaries and rebels who use violence and intimidation in hopes of one day achieving their ultimate goal of a world where man and Vampyre can exist in harmony.
Joe Pitt has history with both of those clans and because of that he doesn’t want anything to do with them. Like all noir anti-heroes trouble has a penchant for finding him. This usually happens as a result of a private detective style job Joe takes to make ends meet. Sometimes he has to hurt and kill a whole lot of people to succeed at those jobs and stay alive. The one guiding light of Joe Pitt’s world is his girlfriend Evie, an HIV infected bar tender.
Now that I’ve set up Joe’s world I’m going to to attempt to do a spoiler free review “My Dead Body” the fifth and final book in the series. Joe Pitt’s story evolves over the course of the first four novels: the previously mentioned “Already Dead“, the second volume “No Dominion”, the third book “Half the Blood of Brooklyn”, and the fourth book “Every Last Drop.”
By the time “My Dead Body” begins, Joe Pitt is in the darkest of all places, underground. He’s ignited a full scale war between the major Vampyre clans of the city, and his beloved Evie doesn’t want to see him. He’s eking out an existance in the sewers of New York City. An old associate finds him and asks him to look for his daughter who disappeared into the chaotic Vampire underworld. Pitt agrees because he learns that Evie wants him to take the case.So he sees this as an opportunity to fight his way back to the one good thing in his life.
What follows is a fast paced, blood soaked, action packed, horrific, morally murky, poignant and fun story that takes place all over one night. Pitt is a charismatic underdog. You love him because of his quick wit and his endurance. Both are on display here. Pitt undergoes a ton on physical punishment in this book, but he keeps going. You also really feel and understand the love that keeps him going. It makes him easy to root for. And Huston bring Pitt’s story to a satisfying conclusion.
He also wraps up the stories of most of the book’s reoccurring characters in nice and interesting ways. Characters that are given especially cool arcs in “My Dead Body” include: Lydia Miles, a prominent Society member and leader of a cell of lesbian Vampyres, and Hurley the Society’s massive chief enforcer.
“My Dead Body” is more than just cool character moments though. You get a three way battle between members of the Coalition, The Society, and the mutated horrors of an insane researcher out to cure the virus. You get Joe Pitt fighting to stay alive and put down all the evil in his world, as well as anything that stand between him and Evie.
Huston doesn’t tie up everything in “My Dead Body”. He leaves some things for the readers to decide, which I think ultimately makes for more satisfying reading anyway. All of these elements combine to make “My Dead Body” the best book in the Joe Pitt series and a hell of a send off for the character and his fascinating world
March 10, 2011
My Dead Body is Charlie Huston's fifth and final entry in the Joe Pitt saga, a hard-boiled horror noir series about vampyre clans in modern-day Manhattan. The Island is divided into geographical territories run by various clans including The Society, The Coalition, The Hood, The Enclave, and other minor clans that are fictional paradigms of criminal enterprises as they exist today.
This sweeping finale leaves no question unanswered, and no character unvisited as Pitt makes the rounds with Terry Bird, Hurley, Lydia, Dexter Predo, Grave Digga, The Count, Evie, Amanda Horde and Sela. Readers new to the series who haven't read the first four books may find themselves lost in the complicated relationships that govern character motivations, though the novel is comprehensive enough to be read without prior a introduction. Huston's gripping, stylistic prose pulls no punches with casual descriptions of escalating violence, and Joe Pitt's outrageous and often reckless stunts keep the roller-coaster pacing one long thrill-ride.
The story opens as Joe Pitt's self-exile in the underground sewers of Manhattan comes to an abrupt halt when Chubby Freeze requests his help in finding his missing daughter, a human impregnated by a vampyre. The potential repercussions of a hybrid child are brewing unrest among the clans who alternatively view the unborn as a savior or their damnation. Pitt--well aware that to show his face in Manhattan after starting a war between the clans would be suicide--isn't inclined to take the job until Freeze hints that Evie, Pitt's old flame, wants him to find the girl.
Once on the job, Joe tracks the girl's whereabouts from one territory to another, finding himself pursued by old enemies--head of clans who want him dead--and reverts to his old habit of artful negotiation by playing one clan off another to serve his own ends. When the investigation leads him to The Cure--Amanda Horde's high-rise penthouse located in the heart of Coalition territory--Joe's gruesome discovery of her horrific medical research on the vyrus may well prove the end of vampyre kind.
Vampire fans will find the pulp fiction Joe Pitt series a unique departure from popular romantic fantasies like Twilight and Sookie Stackhouse. If you like your vampires with more of a bite, check out the first in the series, Already Dead.
This sweeping finale leaves no question unanswered, and no character unvisited as Pitt makes the rounds with Terry Bird, Hurley, Lydia, Dexter Predo, Grave Digga, The Count, Evie, Amanda Horde and Sela. Readers new to the series who haven't read the first four books may find themselves lost in the complicated relationships that govern character motivations, though the novel is comprehensive enough to be read without prior a introduction. Huston's gripping, stylistic prose pulls no punches with casual descriptions of escalating violence, and Joe Pitt's outrageous and often reckless stunts keep the roller-coaster pacing one long thrill-ride.
The story opens as Joe Pitt's self-exile in the underground sewers of Manhattan comes to an abrupt halt when Chubby Freeze requests his help in finding his missing daughter, a human impregnated by a vampyre. The potential repercussions of a hybrid child are brewing unrest among the clans who alternatively view the unborn as a savior or their damnation. Pitt--well aware that to show his face in Manhattan after starting a war between the clans would be suicide--isn't inclined to take the job until Freeze hints that Evie, Pitt's old flame, wants him to find the girl.
Once on the job, Joe tracks the girl's whereabouts from one territory to another, finding himself pursued by old enemies--head of clans who want him dead--and reverts to his old habit of artful negotiation by playing one clan off another to serve his own ends. When the investigation leads him to The Cure--Amanda Horde's high-rise penthouse located in the heart of Coalition territory--Joe's gruesome discovery of her horrific medical research on the vyrus may well prove the end of vampyre kind.
Vampire fans will find the pulp fiction Joe Pitt series a unique departure from popular romantic fantasies like Twilight and Sookie Stackhouse. If you like your vampires with more of a bite, check out the first in the series, Already Dead.
May 16, 2011
3.5 stars, a nice conclusion to the Joe Pitt series. I do think the series should have been condensed into a trilogy, though; the last couple of books have been a little repetitive.
Huston's writing is fantastic, as always. I've come to love his unique prose style and his vivid dialogue. I have been lukewarm on the plot of these books for a while now, but as long as Huston's characters keep talking I don't really care what's going on.
Only for Huston would I forgive the spelling of "vampyre", and these are not typical vampire novels. They are crime/noir fiction, which happen to be about (mostly) non-magical vampires living in an alter-ego Manhattan. They're very dark, extremely violent, but with touches of black humor.
Huston's writing is fantastic, as always. I've come to love his unique prose style and his vivid dialogue. I have been lukewarm on the plot of these books for a while now, but as long as Huston's characters keep talking I don't really care what's going on.
Only for Huston would I forgive the spelling of "vampyre", and these are not typical vampire novels. They are crime/noir fiction, which happen to be about (mostly) non-magical vampires living in an alter-ego Manhattan. They're very dark, extremely violent, but with touches of black humor.
March 4, 2024
I absolutely love all of the Joe Pitt novels, with their fresh and original depictions of vampire crime families carving out their territories in New York City. Fast-paced and extremely gory. There are no 'good guys' in these novels - only 'less nasty' protagonists who fill in for heroes. Highly recommended.
March 5, 2019
Still a good read, but my least favorite of the series. The story, like the protagonist, just seems tired, worn out, and ready for the end. Joe appears to be losing touch with reality, waxing metaphorical to the point it’s often hard to know what is supposedly reality, or a fevered hallucination. Too much of the story is simply Joe’s philosophizing about the “World.”
This is an interesting series, with a unique take on Vampyrs (Vampires to the uninitiated.) It is well worth the time and effort to read. And of course you’ll want to read this final chapter. (Not sure on that, but it feels like it.) This story certainly caps several story lines and can’t be skipped if you want to experience the series. And the series is worth while experiencing. I just wish it had gone out with a little more bang.
This is an interesting series, with a unique take on Vampyrs (Vampires to the uninitiated.) It is well worth the time and effort to read. And of course you’ll want to read this final chapter. (Not sure on that, but it feels like it.) This story certainly caps several story lines and can’t be skipped if you want to experience the series. And the series is worth while experiencing. I just wish it had gone out with a little more bang.
March 9, 2018
A fitting end to this series. Very enjoyable read
June 27, 2011
Oh man, did I love these books or what. I may just be in the perfect mood too appreciate them, so I'm not going to make many objective statements about their absolute value, but at the moment this series really does seem to belong right up there with Cormac McCarthy, the best of Elmore Leonard, and the grittiest of Quentin Tarantino. In addition, the narration by Scott Brick really brought the characters to life -- especially the world-weary, self-despising, laconic Joe Pitt, who was voiced to perfection by Brick.
If you can't stand blood and guts, stay far away from these books. If you can't put up with grit and grime and grim fatalism, go read something else. But if you find the killer instinct intriguing, and you appreciate the extreme dedication that makes some people willing to be cut to shreds in the pursuit of their goals, then these may be the books for you.
There is a lot more here than just the gore -- as with McCarthy, all that blood means something -- so don't make the mistake of thinking these are "just" pulp novels about a vampire (Vampyre). If you look deeper, you'll also find observations on the "human" condition that are well worth pondering.
If you can't stand blood and guts, stay far away from these books. If you can't put up with grit and grime and grim fatalism, go read something else. But if you find the killer instinct intriguing, and you appreciate the extreme dedication that makes some people willing to be cut to shreds in the pursuit of their goals, then these may be the books for you.
There is a lot more here than just the gore -- as with McCarthy, all that blood means something -- so don't make the mistake of thinking these are "just" pulp novels about a vampire (Vampyre). If you look deeper, you'll also find observations on the "human" condition that are well worth pondering.
February 22, 2010
I was glad to finish off this series; my enjoyment of the story waned over the course of the 5 books. The one constant that kept it fun was Huston's style with dialog. Really fun and engaging.
The plot of this one? Pitt pinballs between all the power factions in Manhattan as he searches for a 2 young adults; one a Vampyre, the other a woman pregnant with his child. Hilarity ensues. He continues to live from second to second with a decreasing amount of appendages as a consequence.
The resolution of the tale was pretty satisfying, but I still don't really see the whole Wraith angle he laid down at the end. A little thin in my opinion. Still on the whole I continue to read Huston's books for the hard boiled dialog and noir characters.
The plot of this one? Pitt pinballs between all the power factions in Manhattan as he searches for a 2 young adults; one a Vampyre, the other a woman pregnant with his child. Hilarity ensues. He continues to live from second to second with a decreasing amount of appendages as a consequence.
The resolution of the tale was pretty satisfying, but I still don't really see the whole Wraith angle he laid down at the end. A little thin in my opinion. Still on the whole I continue to read Huston's books for the hard boiled dialog and noir characters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 4, 2010
Figured I'd read the last Joe Pitt Book. Figured I loved the first, second, and fourth ones.
And yeah, I admire the way Huston writes and the way he dared to open this story up and make it bigger with every book.
Didn't figure on this: My Dead Body is the best book Huston's ever written. Couldn't put it down. Even half dead and one-eyed, Joe Pitt is a badass.
Don't want to spoil anything. Think that ruins the book for some people. Let's just say having read the Hank Thompson trilogy, I figured I knew where this one was going. Figured Huston's only got one kind of ending for this kind of thing.
Figured wrong.
Great book.
Writing this on Easter, wondering if it's wrong to worship Charlie Huston. Probably is. Figure I'll probably do it anyway.
And yeah, I admire the way Huston writes and the way he dared to open this story up and make it bigger with every book.
Didn't figure on this: My Dead Body is the best book Huston's ever written. Couldn't put it down. Even half dead and one-eyed, Joe Pitt is a badass.
Don't want to spoil anything. Think that ruins the book for some people. Let's just say having read the Hank Thompson trilogy, I figured I knew where this one was going. Figured Huston's only got one kind of ending for this kind of thing.
Figured wrong.
Great book.
Writing this on Easter, wondering if it's wrong to worship Charlie Huston. Probably is. Figure I'll probably do it anyway.
April 2, 2011
I have a poor history with series, so I was prepared for disappointment. Instead, I find that I'm enjoying this. It's fast paced, but coherent, and Huston's been able to remind me of the events of the earlier books, (but without that clumsy approach so many writers have) so the action makes sense. He's handling the dialogue oddly though; no quotation marks, and it's not always clear who's speaking. Not sure why he's chosen to do this, but Jamie tells me it's normal for this series. Overall, great fun.
November 27, 2025
If you like NYC and gritty, gory PI books, this series is for you!
March 4, 2010
I liked this and I really enjoyed how the series was wrapped up. I just had a hard time with the diction in this book more than any of the others. I don't think it was any "worse" than the other books. I had to read VERY slowly to understand what was going on and often had to reread paragraphs.
I listened to the first two books on audiobook and the rest I read. If I were to do this series over again I'd listen to all of them I think.
I listened to the first two books on audiobook and the rest I read. If I were to do this series over again I'd listen to all of them I think.
April 16, 2024
Un brillante cierre, apocalíptico como no podía ser menos, a lo que empezó siendo en apariencia una serie mezclando novelas negras y vampiros. Es verdad que a veces se fuerza mucho la suspensión de la incredulidad de cuánto puede aguantar un cuerpo, aunque sea vampiro, siendo mutilado, disparado, quemado y sabe uno qué más.
Pero es bonito, es muy bruto, es muy crudo y está muy bien. Mis dieces
Pero es bonito, es muy bruto, es muy crudo y está muy bien. Mis dieces
August 2, 2011
This great series really ended with a bang. And I totally loved it.
Book 5 in the Joe Pit case books did something that only a few series have done, and that was to give the series a real sense of closure, it doesn't give you that feeling of emptiness, and actually kicks you out of it.
Book 5 in the Joe Pit case books did something that only a few series have done, and that was to give the series a real sense of closure, it doesn't give you that feeling of emptiness, and actually kicks you out of it.
January 4, 2010
This series died out in the previous book, and this one, My Dead Body, would be better named "My Dead Series." It's too bad, because Joe Pitt was a great character for the first two books.
October 12, 2011
A pretty good book and a great series. Joe Pitt is easily one of my favorite vamps and while I didn't love the abrupt ending, it was worth the 5-book journey getting there.
March 9, 2025
My Dead Body (Joe Pitt #5) by Charlie Huston
https://www.amazon.com/My-Dead-Body-N...
According to my notes, my last review of a book in the Joe Pitt series – Half the Blood of Brooklyn - was written in 2018. The review says that I read Half the Blood of Brooklyn in 2011.
Time flies.
Also, Half the Blood of Brooklyn was the third book in the series, and this is the fifth book.
Both facts may account for why I was confused by what I learned at the beginning of this book.
It seems that Joe Pitt – vampyre and Phil Marlow stand-in among the vampyres – has hit rock bottom. He’s lost an eye and is living in a sewer with the refuse of society. Pitt has always been on the edge but this is not where I remember leaving him in Book 3.
Before we get to the details, a few words of background. Pitt is a “vampyre” because “vampirism” is caused by a virus, aka the “vyrus.” Pitt lives in a vampyre infested Manhattan. Manhattan is split among Vampyre clans that Pitt has managed to offend over the course of his life. The north portion of Manhattan is under the control of the Hood, which is run like a street gang. The middle territory is under the control of the Coalition which is like the mafia, and is the most powerful of the tribes. South Manhattan is divided between the Society, a group of leftist vampyres that talk like community activists. There is also the Enclave, a religious order that seeks enlightenment through self-starvation. These clans are at each other’s throats since each territory represents the blood that they need to survive on.
What sent Joe underground was learning in Book 4 that the Coalition has been more proactive in obtaining blood than everyone thought. Joe’s discovery set off a war among the groups, with all of them agreeing that Joe needed to be eliminated for causing the war.
Joe is brough back into the game by an acquaintance – porn producer Chubby Freeze - who wants to find his daughter, whose head he has filled with stories about vampire romance. Chubby tells Joe that Joe’s ex-girlfriend will talk to him if does this good deed. Since Joe has always been a sucker for helping the innocent despite his tough guy demeanor, he is immediately roped in.
From there on – and the “from” part is very early in the book – Joe plays the role of the “Man who destroyed Hadleysville.” He visits all the clans in his search for Chubby’s daughter. Key players are removed in the process. Author Charlie Huston is clearing the chessboard as we see the eccentric and evil characters from prior books end their time on stage.
This book is entertaining and fast moving. Huston uses a writing style like James Joyce where dialogue is represented by dashes. This can make it hard to keep track of who is talking but it is a telegraph style that underscores the action of the book. Joe Pitt is a wise cracker who can’t help but crack wise even when awful things are being done to him. He is a bad man who does bad things, but we do come to like and root for him on the grounds that he may be the least bad person in this book.
I recommend reading the series in order. I am going to have to back and read Book 4 and get a sense of what I missed in Book 5.
https://www.amazon.com/My-Dead-Body-N...
According to my notes, my last review of a book in the Joe Pitt series – Half the Blood of Brooklyn - was written in 2018. The review says that I read Half the Blood of Brooklyn in 2011.
Time flies.
Also, Half the Blood of Brooklyn was the third book in the series, and this is the fifth book.
Both facts may account for why I was confused by what I learned at the beginning of this book.
It seems that Joe Pitt – vampyre and Phil Marlow stand-in among the vampyres – has hit rock bottom. He’s lost an eye and is living in a sewer with the refuse of society. Pitt has always been on the edge but this is not where I remember leaving him in Book 3.
Before we get to the details, a few words of background. Pitt is a “vampyre” because “vampirism” is caused by a virus, aka the “vyrus.” Pitt lives in a vampyre infested Manhattan. Manhattan is split among Vampyre clans that Pitt has managed to offend over the course of his life. The north portion of Manhattan is under the control of the Hood, which is run like a street gang. The middle territory is under the control of the Coalition which is like the mafia, and is the most powerful of the tribes. South Manhattan is divided between the Society, a group of leftist vampyres that talk like community activists. There is also the Enclave, a religious order that seeks enlightenment through self-starvation. These clans are at each other’s throats since each territory represents the blood that they need to survive on.
What sent Joe underground was learning in Book 4 that the Coalition has been more proactive in obtaining blood than everyone thought. Joe’s discovery set off a war among the groups, with all of them agreeing that Joe needed to be eliminated for causing the war.
Joe is brough back into the game by an acquaintance – porn producer Chubby Freeze - who wants to find his daughter, whose head he has filled with stories about vampire romance. Chubby tells Joe that Joe’s ex-girlfriend will talk to him if does this good deed. Since Joe has always been a sucker for helping the innocent despite his tough guy demeanor, he is immediately roped in.
From there on – and the “from” part is very early in the book – Joe plays the role of the “Man who destroyed Hadleysville.” He visits all the clans in his search for Chubby’s daughter. Key players are removed in the process. Author Charlie Huston is clearing the chessboard as we see the eccentric and evil characters from prior books end their time on stage.
This book is entertaining and fast moving. Huston uses a writing style like James Joyce where dialogue is represented by dashes. This can make it hard to keep track of who is talking but it is a telegraph style that underscores the action of the book. Joe Pitt is a wise cracker who can’t help but crack wise even when awful things are being done to him. He is a bad man who does bad things, but we do come to like and root for him on the grounds that he may be the least bad person in this book.
I recommend reading the series in order. I am going to have to back and read Book 4 and get a sense of what I missed in Book 5.
December 29, 2025
If Tarantino adapted 'Vampire: The Masquerade' (complimentary). With a side of hard-boiled private dick vibes.
(A spoiler-free collective review of the whole series since I read it in less than a week and they've all melded together in my brain)
Gritty, pulpy, often graphically violent, surprisingly funny, balls-to-the-wall urban fantasy. Truly dirty entertainment - and I say that lovingly, since I read the whole series in 5 days.
Couldn't put the books down. And even though a marathon like that very clearly highlights the author's literary formula for the series and the overarching plot, that didn't stop me coming back for more, book after book. Although, after some time, noticing certain patterns becomes quite funny - for instance: antagonist monologues at main character for 20 pages, then main character monologues at antagonist for several pages, playing dumb/actually being dumb, antagonist tries to hurt protagonist or vice versa, ACTION SEQUENCE.
But even knowing how this formula works, I was still hooked :)
Word of warning (I guess?): the books are very much a product of their times - especially in regards to language and what we would call political correctness. But simultaneously the series heart is in the right place, as odd as that may sound. Essentially, all characters are treated equally brutally by the plot/author. It's not a "punch-down" kinda world - it's very much a "punch everyone" kind.
So if you're not turned off by graphic violence (including sexual), graphic sex (including queer sex), drug use and various disease (including vampyrism) - go ahead and gives this book a shot. It can be read as a stand-alone but my guess is that if you get to the end, you'll wanna continue. And each book is an equally juicy morsel, with a truly delicious pay-off at the end.
(A spoiler-free collective review of the whole series since I read it in less than a week and they've all melded together in my brain)
Gritty, pulpy, often graphically violent, surprisingly funny, balls-to-the-wall urban fantasy. Truly dirty entertainment - and I say that lovingly, since I read the whole series in 5 days.
Couldn't put the books down. And even though a marathon like that very clearly highlights the author's literary formula for the series and the overarching plot, that didn't stop me coming back for more, book after book. Although, after some time, noticing certain patterns becomes quite funny - for instance: antagonist monologues at main character for 20 pages, then main character monologues at antagonist for several pages, playing dumb/actually being dumb, antagonist tries to hurt protagonist or vice versa, ACTION SEQUENCE.
But even knowing how this formula works, I was still hooked :)
Word of warning (I guess?): the books are very much a product of their times - especially in regards to language and what we would call political correctness. But simultaneously the series heart is in the right place, as odd as that may sound. Essentially, all characters are treated equally brutally by the plot/author. It's not a "punch-down" kinda world - it's very much a "punch everyone" kind.
So if you're not turned off by graphic violence (including sexual), graphic sex (including queer sex), drug use and various disease (including vampyrism) - go ahead and gives this book a shot. It can be read as a stand-alone but my guess is that if you get to the end, you'll wanna continue. And each book is an equally juicy morsel, with a truly delicious pay-off at the end.
July 17, 2020
My Dead Body is the fifth and final book in Joe Pitt series written by Charlie Huston. It centers on Joe Pitt, a private investigator and vampire who solves cases in a supernatural Manhattan.
Private Investigator Joe Pitt wants to hide in the sewers from the assorted vampyres he's pissed off, but his old friend, porn producer Chubby, draws him out to try to help a young woman who has been impregnated by a vampyre. Naturally, once he's on the surface, Joe is threatened, beaten and maimed by assorted enemies.
Narrating grimly through the pain, he explores the origins of the vampyre-creating Vyrus while playing Manhattan’s various supernatural factions against each other.
My Dead Body is written rather well. The narrative is fast pacing with sharp dialogue and the pulp action is rather gripping and entertaining. Huston has written an intense, frenetic, and brutal conclusion to this pulp-inspired series as the rival vampire faction of Manhattan Island face off as the readers learn more about the Vyrus that makes people crave blood.
Overall, the Joe Pitt series was wonderfully and evenly written. Huston has created a wonderful protagonist in Joe Pitt as a rogue vampire in a modern day Manhattan full of secret vampire clans that are at odds with each other. Over the course of the series, Pitt has floated from clan to clan, doing dirty and bloody work wherever it was needed, and his actions upset the status quo in vampire clandom, which instigating the impending war between the clans – a war which Pitt had no small part in bringing about, mind you.
All in all, My Dead Body is written rather well and is a good conclusion to a wonderful series.
Private Investigator Joe Pitt wants to hide in the sewers from the assorted vampyres he's pissed off, but his old friend, porn producer Chubby, draws him out to try to help a young woman who has been impregnated by a vampyre. Naturally, once he's on the surface, Joe is threatened, beaten and maimed by assorted enemies.
Narrating grimly through the pain, he explores the origins of the vampyre-creating Vyrus while playing Manhattan’s various supernatural factions against each other.
My Dead Body is written rather well. The narrative is fast pacing with sharp dialogue and the pulp action is rather gripping and entertaining. Huston has written an intense, frenetic, and brutal conclusion to this pulp-inspired series as the rival vampire faction of Manhattan Island face off as the readers learn more about the Vyrus that makes people crave blood.
Overall, the Joe Pitt series was wonderfully and evenly written. Huston has created a wonderful protagonist in Joe Pitt as a rogue vampire in a modern day Manhattan full of secret vampire clans that are at odds with each other. Over the course of the series, Pitt has floated from clan to clan, doing dirty and bloody work wherever it was needed, and his actions upset the status quo in vampire clandom, which instigating the impending war between the clans – a war which Pitt had no small part in bringing about, mind you.
All in all, My Dead Body is written rather well and is a good conclusion to a wonderful series.
February 9, 2025
Great ending to a good series.
After the last book, Joe now lives in the sewers, hiding from all the ruckus he caused in New York with his discoveries. Chubby Freeze appears, asking Joe to help him bring him back his lost daughter, who fell pregnant with the child of a Vampyre. Joe owes Chubby one, but when Chubby tells him, helping was Evie's precondition for Joe to meet her again, it's a done deal. So he has to climb back up, into a world where nearly everyone has some unfinished business with him. And tension was already rising up there, between all the different groups. Over the course of the book Joe meets all the other characters again, whom he had to deal with in the other books: Terry, Hurley, Lydia, DJ Grave Digga, Percy, Phil, the Count, Dexter Predo, Amanda Horde, Sela and so on. He get's to settle some scores, and he get's to apply his unique way of dealing with his problems. Some of the banter between him and Dexter Predo made me laugh out loud. I would really like to read a book on their former clashes.
This book keeps the dark tone, but Joes way of looking at things gave it a funny side i really enjoyed.
After the last book, Joe now lives in the sewers, hiding from all the ruckus he caused in New York with his discoveries. Chubby Freeze appears, asking Joe to help him bring him back his lost daughter, who fell pregnant with the child of a Vampyre. Joe owes Chubby one, but when Chubby tells him, helping was Evie's precondition for Joe to meet her again, it's a done deal. So he has to climb back up, into a world where nearly everyone has some unfinished business with him. And tension was already rising up there, between all the different groups. Over the course of the book Joe meets all the other characters again, whom he had to deal with in the other books: Terry, Hurley, Lydia, DJ Grave Digga, Percy, Phil, the Count, Dexter Predo, Amanda Horde, Sela and so on. He get's to settle some scores, and he get's to apply his unique way of dealing with his problems. Some of the banter between him and Dexter Predo made me laugh out loud. I would really like to read a book on their former clashes.
Predo points.
- Do you know what separates us from animals, Pitt? Our thumbs.
He fits the open shears around the base of mine.
- Our opposable thumbs are what allowed us to become users of tools. And our use of tools is inextricably linked to the development of our brains.
He looks at me
- But you, Pitt, with your profound and recurring idiocy, you can undoubtedly spare a thumb.
This book keeps the dark tone, but Joes way of looking at things gave it a funny side i really enjoyed.
June 5, 2019
The penultimate book of the Joe Pitt series. Our hero has been living in the sewers for a year when his old pal Chubby Freeze finds him and asks him to find his pregnant daughter. Not unlike the rest of the series Pitt runs into all his friends and nemesis in Manhattan as he goes about searching for her. This time though nobody is giving him the benefit of the doubt and Joe gets royally messed up in this book.
There was something about this one that I liked the least out of all five books. I don’t know if maybe the shtick starts wearing thin or what but it kind of felt like the same old thing at this point. Pitt runs into each main character from the entire series, has it out with them, then moves onto the next one. Only this time the relationships end permanently. You can kind of tell that Huston is either getting bored or running out of things to say about these people. Don’t get me wrong though, the prose is still tight and gritty and full of attitude.
With that said this is one of my favorite series ever. There is just something about the idea of gangster vampires that is just so damn cool. Or maybe it’s the way Huston writes it. I don’t know. Either way it’s a series that every crime fiction and horror fan should read.
There was something about this one that I liked the least out of all five books. I don’t know if maybe the shtick starts wearing thin or what but it kind of felt like the same old thing at this point. Pitt runs into each main character from the entire series, has it out with them, then moves onto the next one. Only this time the relationships end permanently. You can kind of tell that Huston is either getting bored or running out of things to say about these people. Don’t get me wrong though, the prose is still tight and gritty and full of attitude.
With that said this is one of my favorite series ever. There is just something about the idea of gangster vampires that is just so damn cool. Or maybe it’s the way Huston writes it. I don’t know. Either way it’s a series that every crime fiction and horror fan should read.
June 5, 2020
Le cinquième et dernier épisode des aventures de Joe Pitt est dans la lignée des précédents : toujours violent, souvent épique, parfois drôle. Mais en-deca des deux premiers romans qui m'avaient séduit. La lassitude, sans doute.
Pourtant, il s'en passe des choses dans cette conclusion : les événements se bousculent, les alliances se font et se défont, des vérités éclatent. Tout change vite dans le New-York fantastique imaginé par Charlie Huston.
Malgré cette profusion d'action et de révélations, je me suis un peu ennuyé en lisant ce cinquième volume, même les grandes scènes qui se veulent spectaculaires à la fin m'ont plutôt laissé de marbre.
Il faudrait peut-être aussi que j'apprenne à résister à cette obsession de vouloir finit une série de romans le plus vite possible, en enchainant les tomes les uns après les autres sans me laisser le temps de respirer, de lire autre chose pour éviter de me lasser. Une autre fois, peut-être ...
Pourtant, il s'en passe des choses dans cette conclusion : les événements se bousculent, les alliances se font et se défont, des vérités éclatent. Tout change vite dans le New-York fantastique imaginé par Charlie Huston.
Malgré cette profusion d'action et de révélations, je me suis un peu ennuyé en lisant ce cinquième volume, même les grandes scènes qui se veulent spectaculaires à la fin m'ont plutôt laissé de marbre.
Il faudrait peut-être aussi que j'apprenne à résister à cette obsession de vouloir finit une série de romans le plus vite possible, en enchainant les tomes les uns après les autres sans me laisser le temps de respirer, de lire autre chose pour éviter de me lasser. Une autre fois, peut-être ...
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