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Halflife Chronicles #1
One Foot in the Grave
Christopher Csejthe doesn't believe in vampires--until he becomes one. He doesn't believe in witches or werewolves, either. Then they make him an offer he can't refuse.
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 1996
16 people are currently reading
405 people want to read
About the author
Wm. Mark Simmons
11 books47 followersWilliam (Wm.) Mark Simmons was born in 1953 and spent his formative years in Independence, Missouri, the hometown of President Harry S. Truman and fantasy author Jim Butcher.
He has had a varied career as an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, musician, and entertainer.
His first novel, In the Net of Dreams, was a finalist for the Compton Crook Award and made Locus Magazine’s “Best List” in 1991. To date he has published seven novels and one novella in the United States with translations in Russia and the Czech Republic. His unique blend of humor and plots that unfold "like an origami sculpture designed by M.C. Escher" have won him the title of “master of twisted humorous fantasy and horror.”
Mark currently resides in the town of Hutchinson, Kansas, not far from the world famous Cosmosphere Space Museum. For the last 13 years of his 40-plus years as a broadcaster and a journalist, he was the Music Director for Radio Kansas and heard as the network’s morning Classical host throughout nearly half of the Sunflower State up until his retirement in 2018. His eighth novel, "A Witch in Time," was released in April of 2019. He currently serves as Game Warden for the nature preserve that is his back yard, wrangles cats, and is working on two new novels in his now copious free time.
(source: http://www.sff.net/people/wm.mark.sim...)
He has had a varied career as an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, musician, and entertainer.
His first novel, In the Net of Dreams, was a finalist for the Compton Crook Award and made Locus Magazine’s “Best List” in 1991. To date he has published seven novels and one novella in the United States with translations in Russia and the Czech Republic. His unique blend of humor and plots that unfold "like an origami sculpture designed by M.C. Escher" have won him the title of “master of twisted humorous fantasy and horror.”
Mark currently resides in the town of Hutchinson, Kansas, not far from the world famous Cosmosphere Space Museum. For the last 13 years of his 40-plus years as a broadcaster and a journalist, he was the Music Director for Radio Kansas and heard as the network’s morning Classical host throughout nearly half of the Sunflower State up until his retirement in 2018. His eighth novel, "A Witch in Time," was released in April of 2019. He currently serves as Game Warden for the nature preserve that is his back yard, wrangles cats, and is working on two new novels in his now copious free time.
(source: http://www.sff.net/people/wm.mark.sim...)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
November 6, 2011
3.5, maybe even 4 stars, however, it's impossible for me to round up due to that horrible, horrible cover.
December 5, 2023
Campy 90’s era urban fantasy/horror with snark
May 10, 2018
A fun take on the 'dammit I'm a vampire?!?' genre.
Has a nice spin on a scientific take on the supernatural. Interesting world set-up so far, and nice smart-ass tone to the hero.
Being set (and written) in the 90s is a fun blast from the past for those of us that lived it. :)
Has a nice spin on a scientific take on the supernatural. Interesting world set-up so far, and nice smart-ass tone to the hero.
Being set (and written) in the 90s is a fun blast from the past for those of us that lived it. :)
January 23, 2009
The start of what looks to be a fairly unique series, even though it follows the standard modern-fantasy formula of "hapless guy/girl thrust into secret vampire/werewolf underworld." What sets it apart is the tone, which swings back and forth between light absurd humor and dark heavy existential drama, yet somehow works because it's all so consciously cheesy and over-the-top (come on, there's a werewolf character named Lupe Garou).
The protagonist is a little too self-consciously badass at times and could easily become a Gary Stu depending how the series progresses, but again, given the pulpy over-the-top feel of the whole thing, an average-Joe main character would probably be jarring. And the author really likes to throw in literary and mythological references, not very subtly, and I can't quite decide if this is a positive (as a former English major it's fun to play spot-the-ref) or a negative (um... it's a bit pretentious, isn't it?).
In general, a very fun read, and I'm looking forward to checking out the rest.
The protagonist is a little too self-consciously badass at times and could easily become a Gary Stu depending how the series progresses, but again, given the pulpy over-the-top feel of the whole thing, an average-Joe main character would probably be jarring. And the author really likes to throw in literary and mythological references, not very subtly, and I can't quite decide if this is a positive (as a former English major it's fun to play spot-the-ref) or a negative (um... it's a bit pretentious, isn't it?).
In general, a very fun read, and I'm looking forward to checking out the rest.
January 13, 2025
Обявявам състезание по намиране на най-потресаваща корица за годината.
За късмет, тук пребиваващите не съдим за книгата по корицата. Така че дадох шанс на тази и се оказа разбиваща.
Отдавна не бях чел вампирска история, която хем да носи духа на Стокър, хем да е доволно напредничева (последната мисля беше „Крепостта“ на Франсис Пол Улсън). Писана през вече далечната 96-та година, тази книжка е градско фентъзи, преди да стане популярно. Интересното е, че авторът, сякаш интуитивно, е набарал някой от основните постулати на поджанра – ясно изразена мистерия, водене на повествованието от първо лице, класическо ноарно звучене. И все пак, точно защото все още пазарът не е залят с постиндустриално фентъзи, романа успява да е доста оригинален, като излиза от юношеската литература и спокойно може да се класифицира като сериозна литература на ужаса. Псевдо-научните обяснения за вампиризма или поне научните опити на героите по темата бяха истински кеф и ми напомниха за „Клиника в средата на нощта“ от Димитър Цолов и „Слепоглед“ на Питър Уотс.
Кристофър е 32 годишен учител по литература с (както се подсказва по-късно) интересно минало. След загубата на семейството си в трагичен инцидент, от който не помни нищо, той отключва психоза с психо-соматична непоносимост към дневна светлина. Докато лекарите се опитват да разберат какво точно му се случва, той работи като нощен ди джей в местното радио. Един ден се появява сериозен експерт по подобни на неговите проблеми, а с нея и куп проблеми, нямащи нищо общо с нормално подредения ни свят. Това ще захвърли Кристофър в свят на Вампири, Върколаци, Египетски магьосници и редица други твари, които щъкат из нощта. Ще му се наложи на дърти години да взема много сериозни решения за бъдещето.
Предвид литературното образование на главния герой и многовековното културно обогатяване на някой от второстепенните, книгата е изпълнена с референции към класическата английска литература – Шекспир, Колдрич, Байрън... каквото се сетите. Това ми достави истинско удоволствие (в повечето ърбънчета референциите са към поп културата и Междузвездни войни).
Включването на Дракула (самият той принц Влад V - Набивача) беше много добре отиграно и образователно.
Ще се чете и следващата.
За късмет, тук пребиваващите не съдим за книгата по корицата. Така че дадох шанс на тази и се оказа разбиваща.
Отдавна не бях чел вампирска история, която хем да носи духа на Стокър, хем да е доволно напредничева (последната мисля беше „Крепостта“ на Франсис Пол Улсън). Писана през вече далечната 96-та година, тази книжка е градско фентъзи, преди да стане популярно. Интересното е, че авторът, сякаш интуитивно, е набарал някой от основните постулати на поджанра – ясно изразена мистерия, водене на повествованието от първо лице, класическо ноарно звучене. И все пак, точно защото все още пазарът не е залят с постиндустриално фентъзи, романа успява да е доста оригинален, като излиза от юношеската литература и спокойно може да се класифицира като сериозна литература на ужаса. Псевдо-научните обяснения за вампиризма или поне научните опити на героите по темата бяха истински кеф и ми напомниха за „Клиника в средата на нощта“ от Димитър Цолов и „Слепоглед“ на Питър Уотс.
Кристофър е 32 годишен учител по литература с (както се подсказва по-късно) интересно минало. След загубата на семейството си в трагичен инцидент, от който не помни нищо, той отключва психоза с психо-соматична непоносимост към дневна светлина. Докато лекарите се опитват да разберат какво точно му се случва, той работи като нощен ди джей в местното радио. Един ден се появява сериозен експерт по подобни на неговите проблеми, а с нея и куп проблеми, нямащи нищо общо с нормално подредения ни свят. Това ще захвърли Кристофър в свят на Вампири, Върколаци, Египетски магьосници и редица други твари, които щъкат из нощта. Ще му се наложи на дърти години да взема много сериозни решения за бъдещето.
Предвид литературното образование на главния герой и многовековното културно обогатяване на някой от второстепенните, книгата е изпълнена с референции към класическата английска литература – Шекспир, Колдрич, Байрън... каквото се сетите. Това ми достави истинско удоволствие (в повечето ърбънчета референциите са към поп културата и Междузвездни войни).
Включването на Дракула (самият той принц Влад V - Набивача) беше много добре отиграно и образователно.
Ще се чете и следващата.
January 25, 2023
This novel starts out strong with Simmons’ hero, Chris Csejthe, trying to deal with having lost his wife and daughter a year before while also working with his doctor to try and understand why he is increasingly sensitive to sunlight. For the reader who has picked up an urban fantasy, this is an easy question to answer. Chris is becoming a vampire. Part of what makes the first portion of this novel so interesting is the effort to find out why Chris is changing. Thrown into the mix is Chris’ overly slow introduction to the supernatural world. Things don’t really begin to jump until two critical things happen—Chris gets reason to suspect that his wife is not dead after all (or maybe she is undead) and Chris starts having nightmares about what really happened the day he lost his family (and which it turns out he doesn’t remember clearly at all).
This storyline is very well done and quite exciting. Unfortunately, the book slows down again as it turns into a quest for a rogue vampire killing people near where Chris used to live. This is one of those things that I think the vampire community should have been alert to earlier. Weird deaths and disappearances are often a sign that vampires are active and the region Chris used to live in seemed to have a lot of those.
As the novel develops, Egyptian mythology and Count Dracula begin to factor into the story and Chris continues to grow in power without actually finishing his transformation and becoming a vampire. He also continues to be—well, not suicidal, but not interested in continuing his life if he becomes a vampire. This adds a lot of tension as he struggles to bring about a permanent ending to the problem of the rogue.
This is a slow moving but very interesting novel.
This storyline is very well done and quite exciting. Unfortunately, the book slows down again as it turns into a quest for a rogue vampire killing people near where Chris used to live. This is one of those things that I think the vampire community should have been alert to earlier. Weird deaths and disappearances are often a sign that vampires are active and the region Chris used to live in seemed to have a lot of those.
As the novel develops, Egyptian mythology and Count Dracula begin to factor into the story and Chris continues to grow in power without actually finishing his transformation and becoming a vampire. He also continues to be—well, not suicidal, but not interested in continuing his life if he becomes a vampire. This adds a lot of tension as he struggles to bring about a permanent ending to the problem of the rogue.
This is a slow moving but very interesting novel.
May 18, 2019
I really wanted to like this book because I quite liked the basic story. Unfortunately, in the end, I found it to be rather…meh.
It is a an attempt to put a new spin on the old vampire tale and it’s not really a bad one. I always (mostly) like stories where the main protagonist finds out he is a supernatural creature, in this book a vampire (kind of), and then has to come to grips with his new place in the world and his new powers.
However this book feels like it is all over the place. The story kind of jumps around a lot and sometimes the scene changes are quite abrupt. People that in one moment seemed to help the guy was…not so helpful in the next moment. I felt it was somewhat difficult to read thanks to the lack of continuity.
The book, not surprisingly, delves into the story of vampires what they are and the scientific how’s and why’s. Then Egyptian gods are dragged into the story and… Well it all felt not very well put together.
It’s not really all bad. There are quite a few of fun reading moments but overall I have to say that it was a bit of a disappointment.
And yes, the cover is really atrocious.
It is a an attempt to put a new spin on the old vampire tale and it’s not really a bad one. I always (mostly) like stories where the main protagonist finds out he is a supernatural creature, in this book a vampire (kind of), and then has to come to grips with his new place in the world and his new powers.
However this book feels like it is all over the place. The story kind of jumps around a lot and sometimes the scene changes are quite abrupt. People that in one moment seemed to help the guy was…not so helpful in the next moment. I felt it was somewhat difficult to read thanks to the lack of continuity.
The book, not surprisingly, delves into the story of vampires what they are and the scientific how’s and why’s. Then Egyptian gods are dragged into the story and… Well it all felt not very well put together.
It’s not really all bad. There are quite a few of fun reading moments but overall I have to say that it was a bit of a disappointment.
And yes, the cover is really atrocious.
March 20, 2018
I enjoyed this thoroughly. A good take on vampires, et al., interesting and funny characters, and a pretty good story all made for an enjoyable read. Plus the highest compliment I can give any author; I want to read more.
September 22, 2020
I rather enjoyed this, even though I can’t remember why in the world I picked it out to listen to. The narrator does a great job with his voice acting — not just reading aloud, but channeling characters and working on his pacing, etc. Very enjoyable.
February 19, 2019
Started fast, dragged in the middle (especially the lengthy digressions to figure out exactly how this vampirism thing was working), then had a great climax.
October 12, 2020
Not terrible, but kind of boring. There's not much of a plot, especially given the length.
June 5, 2023
Halflife is a vampire setup, but with the author's half ironic writing style. I like it, and there's a lot of philosophical thinking in between about life and death and afterlife.
December 3, 2024
Good fun. Quite amusing.
Read
June 14, 2019A very different vampire book. Or maybe I should say, semi-vampire!
December 5, 2018
Logged in to MySpace today (with the thought that I might delete anything still there—something I thought I'd done years ago) and found this book review. So I moved it to the place I keep book reviews these days. The coolest thing about this review was that shortly after I put it up as a MySpace blog post, Wm. Mark Simmons saw it and sent me a friend request! It was a small digital world.
* * *
Satanists from Arkansas! Well, I wrote this once already today; this time undoubtedly it will be slightly different. MySpace ate it the last time; hopefully, the older version won't turn up in a week as an unnecessary companion to this second posting of—
—a book review. I'm a fan of the adventures of Anita Blake, but she has more sex partners than adventures these days and I miss the police work, corpses and demonic beings on killing sprees, so I must have been looking for something new in the line of vampire fiction. Some of the other stuff I've seen kicking around looked unlikely to provide what I've been missing, but this series caught my eye when I saw it's third volume, Habeas Corpses float past me at the library.
I wanted to read it, but when I saw it was book three I started looking for book one; the library didn't own it, so I put in a purchase request. After waiting several months, they finally bought it and I got it a few days ago. I finished it last night and it was brilliant.
It's not really that like an Anita Blake book. It reminded me of Magic Kingdom For Sale/Sold but I don't know if anyone else would see the similarity (it's probably only similar to my twisted recollection of the Terry Brooks novel which I read many years ago). It's full of goofy humor that I enjoyed but which will likely annoy anyone opposed to goofiness in their vampire books.
It has a mysterious evil being killing lots of people for initially unknown reasons who is thwarted at the end of the book; thus I found it good.
I'm sure it comes of having to rewrite this, but I've noticed that I haven't mentioned the title of the book yet. It's One Foot in the Grave by Wm. Mark Simmons. It's the first book of the Half/Life series.
* * * * * Spoilerish notes on the series title * * * * *
Well, I think that's enough about this book.
* * *
Satanists from Arkansas! Well, I wrote this once already today; this time undoubtedly it will be slightly different. MySpace ate it the last time; hopefully, the older version won't turn up in a week as an unnecessary companion to this second posting of—
—a book review. I'm a fan of the adventures of Anita Blake, but she has more sex partners than adventures these days and I miss the police work, corpses and demonic beings on killing sprees, so I must have been looking for something new in the line of vampire fiction. Some of the other stuff I've seen kicking around looked unlikely to provide what I've been missing, but this series caught my eye when I saw it's third volume, Habeas Corpses float past me at the library.
I wanted to read it, but when I saw it was book three I started looking for book one; the library didn't own it, so I put in a purchase request. After waiting several months, they finally bought it and I got it a few days ago. I finished it last night and it was brilliant.
It's not really that like an Anita Blake book. It reminded me of Magic Kingdom For Sale/Sold but I don't know if anyone else would see the similarity (it's probably only similar to my twisted recollection of the Terry Brooks novel which I read many years ago). It's full of goofy humor that I enjoyed but which will likely annoy anyone opposed to goofiness in their vampire books.
It has a mysterious evil being killing lots of people for initially unknown reasons who is thwarted at the end of the book; thus I found it good.
I'm sure it comes of having to rewrite this, but I've noticed that I haven't mentioned the title of the book yet. It's One Foot in the Grave by Wm. Mark Simmons. It's the first book of the Half/Life series.
* * * * * Spoilerish notes on the series title * * * * *
Well, I think that's enough about this book.
February 21, 2017
think i may have read these before...not 100%
January 11, 2011
This is a very good book, cursed with one of the worst pieces of cover art I have ever seen. A friend had to explain to me it was a werewolf, changing. I could have sworn it was an elf, except there are no elves in this book, which was the reason I was so confused. Baen, give this book a new cover and give it a chance!
Christopher Csejthe was a nightime radio DJ, recovering from the death of his wife and daughter. He is also half a vampire, although he doesn't know it yet. He was infected when he was attacked and his wife and daughter were killed in a car crash. Now he is a wanted man -- the Domans of the Seattle vampire enclave and the New York vampire enclave want to investigate why he has not mutated into a full vampire. Chris only wants to live his life on his own terms. Except he has to deal with Barrarab, the first vampire, and Kaduth Bey, the Egyptian necromancer and a few other undead things. After dealing with them, life will seem rather tranquil. Very interesting premise and there are three other books in the series.
Christopher Csejthe was a nightime radio DJ, recovering from the death of his wife and daughter. He is also half a vampire, although he doesn't know it yet. He was infected when he was attacked and his wife and daughter were killed in a car crash. Now he is a wanted man -- the Domans of the Seattle vampire enclave and the New York vampire enclave want to investigate why he has not mutated into a full vampire. Chris only wants to live his life on his own terms. Except he has to deal with Barrarab, the first vampire, and Kaduth Bey, the Egyptian necromancer and a few other undead things. After dealing with them, life will seem rather tranquil. Very interesting premise and there are three other books in the series.
March 18, 2023
There's a lot I don't like about this book:
- the horrendous cover art
- Characters developing and then dying off-screen out of nowhere
-sudden jump cuts between scenes
-the random additions to story mythology out of nowhere
but the book overall is enjoyable. I had a fun time reading this. The main character is great. It sucks you in. The author gets relatively philosophical with the mechanics of being undead, which is entirely in my wheelhouse. The biggest issue this book has is its structuring principles.
- the horrendous cover art
- Characters developing and then dying off-screen out of nowhere
-sudden jump cuts between scenes
-the random additions to story mythology out of nowhere
but the book overall is enjoyable. I had a fun time reading this. The main character is great. It sucks you in. The author gets relatively philosophical with the mechanics of being undead, which is entirely in my wheelhouse. The biggest issue this book has is its structuring principles.
March 16, 2016
an interesting take on the vampire tale. iit did seem to go from a quick,simple,vampire story to all of a sudden,bout 3/4's of the way through the oom, there was a bunch of talk of Egyptian Gods. it was not complicated, it was just a surprise.
there were a few surprises in this book. it didn't end how I thought it would.
the 2nd half was better than the 1st.I did have a bit of trouble staying engaged in the story.
there were a few surprises in this book. it didn't end how I thought it would.
the 2nd half was better than the 1st.I did have a bit of trouble staying engaged in the story.
March 19, 2009
Take Jim Butcher's writing style, take away the hard-bitten P.I. elements and add some whimsy and a whole lot of (unserious) vampire fiction conventions and you have this series. Begins with a protagonist suffering from symptoms which smack of vampirism, but not entirely; ends with reanimation, mummies and Vlad Drakul. What's not to like?
July 16, 2014
Do not judge a book by its cover. Especially this cover....
I wish I could remember how I found this or why I bought it, but very glad I did and that I finally took the time to read it.
I loved that it was set in an area of Kansas that I am very familiar with. Plenty of action and humor.
It is indeed Dracula meets the Godfather...
Highly recommended.
I wish I could remember how I found this or why I bought it, but very glad I did and that I finally took the time to read it.
I loved that it was set in an area of Kansas that I am very familiar with. Plenty of action and humor.
It is indeed Dracula meets the Godfather...
Highly recommended.
July 26, 2013
Take it for what it is - a pulp fiction, cheesy romp of crazy vampire and werewolves tale that nails all the stereotypes.
It's a lot of fun. It would be yawn-yet-another-one-of-these, but the book doesn't take itself too seriously. It's supposed to be funny, wise-cracking, off-the-wall!
Fun stuff!
It's the first of a series, so if this one is up your alley, you've got some more coming.
It's a lot of fun. It would be yawn-yet-another-one-of-these, but the book doesn't take itself too seriously. It's supposed to be funny, wise-cracking, off-the-wall!
Fun stuff!
It's the first of a series, so if this one is up your alley, you've got some more coming.
December 10, 2007
This is a great start to a series. It's kinda in the vein of Buffy/charmed if the main character was a guy that gets turned into a half vampire/human/werewolf hybrid. There is a lot of humor, action, and memorbable characters. Hopefully the next book continues the the trend.
April 10, 2008
excellent contemporary fantasy chock full of well researched literary and mythological references. Lead character somewhat annoying. Chris, get over your bad self already! Disgraced by ridiculous, irrelevant cover.
January 5, 2024
2024 notes: I still have vivid memories of scenes from this novel - the vampire teeth dentures, the pity-murder, the werewolf love interest (The cover of this novel is still one of my utmost favorites). Definitely a book I want to reread at some point.
August 3, 2010
Wonderful read. I love this author's writing style and sense of humor. Very much looking forward to more of his books.
June 28, 2008
I read this book several years ago.Funny, dark and a wonderful read :)
April 27, 2009
The main character is funny. I like him and this was a good adventure but the cover of the book is horrible and I hated walking around with it.
Want to read
February 4, 2010 This is really a Baen book. Fluffy characterization. But, very fun.
The vampire is benevolent in the series.
The vampire is benevolent in the series.
June 13, 2011
Pretty good book but horrible cover.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews