 "MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE VAMPIRE SERIES!" | 2009-08-29 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1IUGFYX54SOK4 |
From the first installment in this series to the last, P.N. Elrod takes us on a very special ride through her deliciously different and marvelously creative imagination. Jack Fleming, the reluctant vampire, is the most believable and likeable vampire ever brought to life (pun intended), and that includes other spin-off characters such as the Jonathan Barrett series (which are only very slightly less delightful). I came across these novels in a friends personal collection and kept reading until my friend insisted I go home and get some sleep.
I can only agree with the other reviewers who love the works of P.N. Elrod, and especially Jack Fleming. (If you're reading this Ms Elrod, I also had the delight of reading your crossover fanfic piece bringing together Quantum Leap and Jack Fleming. I read and reread it many times, just as I have all of your vampire novels.)
I have actually PRAYED that Jack Fleming would grace the Big Screen! I continue to hope.
Thank you Ms. Elrod for such a walloping good time!
NJM
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 "Not your average vampire stories" | 2009-03-26 |
| - Reviewed By tivor |
I like vampire stories. But the problem is that most of the vampire novels these days seem so intent on showing the erotic side of vampiric myths. On top of that, many "highly recommended" vampire novels seem to be targeted at female audiences, with sexually independent and aggressive female leads that kick male characters' behinds. Nothing wrong with that (and for the record, I do like my female leads to be kick-butt types rather than damsel-in-distress types), but well, I am just not the target audience. I wanted something different -- something that wasn't so intent at being horny and/or proclaiming "I am a woman, hear me roar," if you will.
Enter Jack Fleming, an out-of-work reporter in the 1936 Prohibition Era Chicago, who has *just* been killed and turned into a vampire in the very first page.
Now, because of the way vampirism works in this novel, there is no cliché moments of "Oh my god, I have become a monster," or "Oh no, I have to drink human blood to survive," or other similarly angst-filled scenes.
Instead, Jack's main concern -- aside from solving the cases at hand -- is how to lead as normal and human life as possible without being discovered for what he is. In fact, the characters in the novel treat Jack's vampirism like a peculiar (and very secret) medical condition, rather than a monstrous abomination that you would normally expect in a vampire story. And since Jack only just became a vampire, there is no usual "I am an immortal, I have witnessed history" element either. And while there is some sex, it's kept to a minimum because that's not what the story is about. Quite frankly, this book *almost* does not feel like a vampire novel at all.
And that's a good thing. It is quite refreshing to have a vampire story told without the usual trappings. Jack makes a charming and very sympathetic protagonist without the typical angst and drama associated with vampires, and I'm having a ball reading about his adventures.
Another good thing I'd like to mention: You probably already know that this is a three-books-in-one deal. But it reads like a one long story because the next "book" picks up almost immediately after where the previous book ended. I like that.
So why am I rating this book only four out of five stars? Two reasons:
1. As much as I like Jack Fleming, I'm finding his human friend Charles Escott to be a much, *much* more interesting character. I almost wish the story was told from his perspective instead of Jack's.
2. This is about the physical condition of the book. The glue that holds the cardboard paperback cover to the spine of the book is not very strong. I'm in the middle of reading the third story in the book, and the cover is literally a mere inch away from being completely detached. So far the pages themselves are fine, but I fear that the binding glue might fail for them too.
In any case, this is a solid and very entertaining work of vampire fiction. If Amazon allowed me to give half-star ratings, this book would definitely get a four-and-a-half-star rating from me.
For anyone who likes vampire stories but wants something different than the usual crop, I highly recommend this book. And I will soon be getting the second collection of Jack Fleming stories, The Vampire Files, Vol II. |
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| "Excellent 'down to earth' vampire fiction!" | 2007-12-03 |
| - Reviewed By User: ARM7KS19121R2 |
I was so happy to see that the publisher has opted to do a 3-book large format release for this excellent series by P.N. Elrod that even though I own all the books under the original mass market covers, I am buying them all again in the new editions.
I am also ecstatic to see that they have done a MUCH better job on the cover art than in the original mass market editions. If I had not been running a chain bookstore when the first one came out hadn't gotten a recommendation from one of my customers who loved the book, I would NEVER have picked it because the cover art was so tacky. I think a lot of good books go unnoticed because the publisher harms the book with bad art. Publishers: use a plain colored cover instead of something that makes the book look like tough-guy drivel or something else they are NOT! Good cover art sells books, BAD ART KILLS!
I recommend this series to readers who are interesed in how a 'normal' human might react to the circumstances created by being made vampire unexpectedly. Jack isn't a deliberate hero, and is no part of any 'brotherhood' or 'secret society'; he is instead a Joe Average hack journalist scrabbling to make a living in the depression, a likable guy who bumbles around trying to figure out what happened to him and feeling like he is up to his waist in the quicksand that has become his existence.
In many vampire fiction novels, becoming a 'creature of the night' magically solves a host of probelms and enables the hero to go on a crusade or gain lots of 'powers' which help to cope; this doesn't happen for Jack. He tries to do the best he can under the circumstances he's been handed, but finds himself becoming more at odds with the 1920's organized criminal empire he's become inadvertently pitted against, and finds himself relying more and more upon the few human friends he has who know what he is. His vulnarability is at times wrenching.
These books are enjoyable fiction which make you think about what it REALLY might be like to have the vampiric circumstance thrust upon you. No sturm and drang, no graphic sex scenes, but plenty of emotional response where the reader becomes invested in Jack, his friends, and the trials of his new existence.
I recommend these book Highly - watch out, though: they're hard to put down and you may face the hazard of staying up way too late to finsh and showing up for work the next day with dark circles under your eyes! |
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| "A vampire private eye: Detective fiction takes a supernatural turn" | 2007-11-12 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2I7I63PH8GTJF |
P.N. Elrod's Vampire Files are amazing. They take old-style detective fiction, set in post Al Capone Chicago, and merge it with the supernatural in the form of Jack Fleming, former reporter turned private investigator. Oh yeah, he's also a vampire.
Elrod's stories would be great reads on their own, but with the addition of Fleming's status as a bloodsucker, they are absolutely fantastic.
Wonderful settings, filled with exciting action and really cool characters, make these books seem to whiz by. Fortunately this volume includes the first three books of the series.
By the end of the last book, you'll be hooked. Be sure and pick up The Vampire Files Vol. II.
For those who like vicious gangsters, dapper detectives with a dark past, and smart, beautiful damsels in distress, The Vampire Files are a perfect fit. Get this one today! |
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| "Books 4-6 in the Jack Fleming, Vampire PI series" | 2007-08-21 |
| - Reviewed By kentish_bookworm |
This is a collection of books 4-6 in the Jack Fleming, Vampire PI series and contains entertaining supernatural stories which leaven the 'vampire' moments with the humanity of our bloodsucking protagonist, Jack. He's a great hero because he's fallible, seems to get shot and knocked out rather regularly, cares for his girlfriend Bobbi and his friend Charles Escott and tends to blunder around not being quite sure what he's doing a lot of the time. Perhaps his blundering and being shot may pall over time but at the moment it makes for a very different, and very likeable, hero.
ART IN THE BLOOD
"Art in the Blood" sees Jack coming to the rescue of a man at a party and then being sucked into problems within the art world. Alex Adrian was a famous artist but hasn't done anything since his wife committed suicide; Evan Robley and his sister Sandra are also artists and when more suspicious events start taking place, including a death for which Alex Adrian might be responsible, Jack and Escott have to unravel the plot and work out what's really going on. The Chicago underworld plays its part as usual with more dodgy characters who have it in for Jack and Escott.
This story gives us more of an insight into the relationship between Jack and Bobbi as well as Jack needing to use his powers of vampire hypnosis more and more, leading to more people finding out what he truly is. It's another great read with a lighthearted feel and yet sometimes a darker undertone.
FIRE IN THE BLOOD
The first page in this book is great fun as we meet Jack apparently stripping Olivia Vandemore's evening gown from her and about to sacrifice her on an altar to Sabajajji, the Spider God. Fortunately this is just part of the novel he is writing rather than reality - although reality for Jack Fleming, Vampire PI, is often as bloodthirsty as this novel.
Jack and Charles Escott, Private Agent, are summoned to see Mr Sebastian Pierce, a rich retired Chicago man who tasks them to find a valuable bracelet that his daughter's boyfriend or a friend of his may have stolen. Jack finds himself shadowing the daughter to Bobbi's club and soon enough they stumble into murder and mayhem. A new member of the Chicago Underground, Vaughn Kyler, comes into play in this book and he's a particularly creepy individual who is resistant to Jack's vampire hypnosis. This book also sees the darker side of Jack having an outing after an episode of hypnotising goes rather wrong. Once again Jack finds himself in dodgy situations and only escapes by the skin of his teeth - is this ability going to pall any time soon?
The ending of this book is rather open and in fact leads directly into the next story, "Blood on the Water", although fortunately this episode does reach some sort of a conclusion. However Jack's rather more off balance in this book because of the darker side of his powers and we are learning more about him through it. Another great episode in this excellent series - a series that it probably pays to read in order.
BLOOD ON THE WATER
This story starts directly after "Fire In The Blood" and I think it would probably be rather difficult to understand everything that's going on, along with the fairly large cast of characters, without reading some of the previous books.
Jack Fleming, Vampire, had a bit of a shock in the last book when his vampiric nature got away from him and he nearly killed a woman. He's still struggling with the aftermath of those events in this story and is unwilling to use his hypnosis skills but equally doesn't want to talk about it to the rather perceptive Charles Escott, his partner.
The 'baddie', Vaughn Kyler, who we first met in the last book plays a significant role in the beginning of this story when he gives Jack the ultimatum to leave town or die. This gives Jack huge moral qualms - Jack knows that if he doesn't kill Kyler then neither Charles nor Bobbi will be safe, and yet how can he become a murderer? I think the way that the author showed Jack's fears about this was excellent.
In this story everyone is still chasing the bracelet from the last book and Jack enlists the help of Gordy, another local crime boss who's helped them in the past. Unfortunately a turf war seems to be breaking out with a new entrant, Angela Paco, playing her part as well. The three-sided war looks to be unstoppable and Jack has to decide on his actions with Kyler.
Once again, as in most of the other stories, Jack gets himself into various fixes and nearly dies. His physical limits are tested in a new way and there is more violence surrounding him. In the earlier books there was a lot of situation comedy where Jack was acting like a ghost and it happens again, very amusingly, in this book. However the turf war in this book lends it a darker feel and no doubt sets up for further instalments.
In short, it's another good read and we're getting further and further into Jack's character as the stories continue but this wouldn't be a good first book for a reader in this series.
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| "Wonderful Books" | 2007-08-05 |
| - Reviewed By bookcrossingfan |
Set in 1936, our hero finds himself on a shore with a man tyring to kill him. The series of books follow Jack's adventures to find out why someone whats to kill him and his search to find his lover Maureen. Excellent light reads 9/10
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