| Already Dead | Contributor: Amfo | Posted: 16/02/07 | 11:21 |
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page 2 of 3 Joe Pitt was not taken into a graveyard at midnight to indulge in homosexual frottage with a dark, sweet Antonio Banderas type to become a Vampyre. Instead, he was infected with the Vyrus. The name might push cuteness to snapping point, but the concept is definitely cool. The Vyrus eats blood. And evolution has made it decide that rather than eating its own host's blood, which would kill the host and thus the Vyrus, it compels its host to obtain fresh blood from other, well, victims. Joe can suck blood with the best of 'em, but it's much more effective (and much more Street) to inject in intravenously using his "works", a sort of portable blood transfusion kit. In return for, or perhaps in order to enable, Joe's constant acquisition of blood, the Vyrus tweaks his muscles, his nerves, even his synapses to make him hyper-alert, extremely strong, tolerant (if not quite invulnerable) to most forms of physical trauma, and of course completely immune to all blood-borne diseases. Naturally, he's hyper-sensitive to sunlight, because there's nothing more noir-ish than a hero who can't even go outdoors during the day. Beyond these core ideas - the blood-sucking, the immortality, the UV thing - Huston plays fast and loose with remaining vampire conventions: - The pizza, what's just out of the oven?
- Tomato and garlic. - No way, no fucking garlic. How 'bout the broccoli, it been out all day? He shrugs. - Fine, give me the broccoli. Not too hot, I don't want to burn the roof of my mouth. He cuts a slice and slides it into the oven to warm it up. I could eat the tomato and garlic if I wanted to. It's not like the garlic would hurt me or anything. I just don't like the shit. That's from page one. You'll also notice the French-magical-realist-literati alternative dialogue markup, which is very trendy. That's one thing about the novel, it's precocious. At times cringingly so. If the word "fuck" offends you, don't go anywhere near this book because it's used roughly four times on every page. Similarly, if concepts like mutual masterbation, child sex abuse, and general sexual depravity aren't your cup of tea when all you're out for is a bit of dismemberment and fountains of blood, stay away. |
