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The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant
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"The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant" Discuss Everything *Spoilers*
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Utterly delightful.I've read it up to the latest book.
The first book (chapters 1-6) was really enjoyable and the start of the climax of the book. It was a great start for the main character.
These books are fun
Can't wait to get started with this series. My local library is trying to get book 1 for me.
Kaladin wrote: "Can't wait to get started with this series. My local library is trying to get book 1 for me."Kaladin, did you ever tell your sister about this one? I think you once mentioned that she was an accountant or something?
I could try. If they're fun, my wife might like 'em too!
I will observe that one of the later books is dedicated to all the accountants who have told him, over the years, how much Fred means to them.
Mod
For the most part I really enjoyed this. The characters are fun and the humor was right up my alley. It was held back from some repetitiveness and, I personally, felt there was little chemistry between Fred and Crystal
I have to agree with Ryan on this one. The title was quite a misnomer: where is the accounting and the vignettes are pretty much the opposite of unadventurous. All told, I found it rather like fast food: quickly consumed, aimed to appeal to a wide audience, mediocre in quality but still enjoyable, and utterly unmemorable.
This is the literary equivalent of a box of kraft mac & cheese - nothing cutting edge or new, but rather even in quality and pretty satisfying overall. The world is challenging enough right now, I can enjoy a little slice of whimsical.Ryan, in the Vegas story, it's mentioned how hugely valuable a parahuman accountant would be, then in the next story Fred says he's had a huge boom in business, so I assume the accounting relevant to the plot is happening off screen?
Kim, agreed, there's more than a little insta-love between Fred & Krystal rather than a chemistry that develops over the course of the book, but eh, we're seeing things through Fred's eyes and maybe his voice just doesn't write down those relationship details unless Krystal grabs him by the cheeks and plants one on him.
For anyone whose library has this in audio form, the narrator is really perfect for Fred's voice!
Michelle wrote: "For anyone whose library has this in audio form, the narrator is really perfect for Fred's voice!"This.
I think that the short story format made everything too simple. Every story had a problem, and the problem was solved by the end. I think that a novel would have allowed more opportunity to develop the characters and have them deal with issues that aren't so quickly dispatched.
Michelle wrote: "Kaladin wrote: "Can't wait to get started with this series. My local library is trying to get book 1 for me."Kaladin, did you ever tell your sister about this one? I think you once mentioned that..."
She is :) Her birthday was last week. Got her a copy. She's loving it so far 😀👍
Chris wrote: "I think that the short story format made everything too simple. Every story had a problem, and the problem was solved by the end. I think that a novel would have allowed more opportunity to develop..."Agree. And I also was at first confused as to whether they were originally published separately, because of the constant rehashing of the facts established previously.
It does seem like the book is a collection of short stories that were published one at a time, perhaps a monthly scifi magazine. Since they were put together in a book, an effort at editing would have been nice. That said, I enjoyed the book! I will be recommending it those who want something lighthearted and fun.
The short story/episodic nature would have bugged me a whole lot more if the little recaps at the beginning of each tale were contradictory, but since they stayed consistent, I was able to just go with it.
1. What did you think of the world?Your basic urban fantasy with a secret government agency that handles the parahumans
2. What did you think of the characters?
I liked the characters. Sure, Fred didn't have a lot going for him, but he kicked in in the clutch. And Albert was fun and the high mage lol. Of course, Krystal kicked ass, but she really could have given Fred some more direction.
3. What worked or didn't for you?
It was definitely a cozy type book. Writing it as a diary of sorts was a little - meh. There weren't really any surprises, but I did end up liking everyone. But again, why didn't anyone help Fred understand what it meant to be a vampire and how the whole para-human community worked?
4. Overall thoughts?
I think I would read another book with Fred and the gang, but I'm not in a hurry to buy the whole series or anything. I did have a bit higher hopes for it, but it didn't end up disappointing me too much.
It is unusual to find short stories in this genre and it made for a pleasant change. I agree with others that there is nothing deep and meaningful in these stories but they are pleasant enough and overall I enjoyed reading them.
I really didn't enjoy this and only gave it 2 stars because I didn't absolutely hate it. I felt like the first 2 stories relied way too much on high school humor and a high school "who's cool and who's not" mentality that has zero appeal for me. I suspect that the author might have written those stories in high school or shortly after. It has that vibe of something the author wrote as a kid for his friends and just made a fix-up later on with a couple of newer stories added to it. Overall, it felt really lazily written and aimed at an audience that doesn't include me.
My impressions are similar to CJ's. I was immediately reminded of the Sabrina the Teenage Witch sitcom in the way it was written and the general tone, and the sound effects of the dramatized version didn't help dissuade me of that notion either. The story felt trite, and I feel like a lot of opportunities for character development and for forging a deeper connection between the characters was lost due to the format. I think I need to be in a specific kind of mood to enjoy this type of story, and sadly I wasn't :(
Literary reader here. I enjoyed the episodic nature of the novel which allowed the reader time to do a little imagining, allowing the reader to engage with the character off the page.I was reminded of Don Quixote--another episodic novel--where the two main characters are sometimes wise and sometimes less wise.
Yet overall I agree with Edwin--pleasant and forgettable. Yet I kind of expected that as it is a cozy fantasy. I am satisfied and will move on to other books/series.
I was also reminded of the family movie Monsters' Inc. when Crystal said:Everything you think you know about Monsters is a lie. Ghouls, Ghosts, Werewolves--all of them and more are real-- and hiding out behind the scenes in our world. Officially they are known as parahumans and part of job is to hunt down the ones who get out of hand.
An adult version of such a good children's movie cannot help but be entertaining.
I will note that as the series goes on there are some -- less than cozy elements.
Mary, does that make the later books better or worse, in your opinion? Is the overall quality higher? I enjoyed it, in the main, it was a good popcorn kind of book.
That the two main characters were typical nerdy high schoolers, who turned out pretty ok or were new and improved was pretty accurate.
It still has its popcorn elements and I still enjoy it.
Mod
1. What did you think of the world?
2. What did you think of the characters?
3. What worked or didn't for you?
4. Overall thoughts?