I received this book for free from the Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Straight Outta Fangton by C.T. Phipps Published by Crossroad Press on August 18 2018
Genres: Adult, Horror
Pages: 196
Format: e-book
Source: Author
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The nitty-gritty: Gritty, fast paced and full of humor, C.T. Phipps takes the tried and true vampire genre and gives it a unique spin.
A good half of the thugs present pulled out pistols, crossbows, swords, and bats with silver spikes, and one guy grew what look to be Wolverine’s claws.
“Damn,” David said, surveying the main hall. “We’ve been Wrath of Khan-ed!”
“That’s from Moby Dick originally,” Melissa corrected, staring forward in horror.
“Who gives a shit!” I shouted.
As soon as I heard the title of this book, I knew I’d be in for a particular type of humor. I also knew it could go either way for me, since I’m pretty picky about humor in fiction. But I needn’t have worried. Straight Outta Fangton struck my funny bone just right and I had a blast reading this book.
The story takes place in a world where vampires exist alongside humans in a carefully controlled manner, as only one vampire for every 100,000 humans is allowed to be created. Watching over the denizens of Vampire Nation is a hierarchy of powerful Old Ones who also control the money that feeds into the system. Peter is vampire with a lowly job at a Qwik & Shop, barely eking out a living. But things are about to get interesting, when one evening at work, the body of a young woman is discovered in the bathroom. Only she’s not exactly dead. She’s a newly turned vampire named Melissa, and after Peter uncovers the details behind her turning, he realizes that something fishy is going on.
First of all, Melissa is able to say words like “God” and “Jesus” which most vampires aren’t able to utter at all. Even stranger, when they take a look at the security camera footage to see who did the deed, there’s no one there. This leads Peter to conclude that an Old One, a very old vampire, was probably the culprit, since only vampires who have been around hundreds of years have the power of invisibility. The whole thing feels like a set-up for something bigger, and Peter, David and Melissa are about to find out what that is.
Phipps does a great job of taking everything you’ve ever heard about the vampire mythos and adding his own spin to it. His world-building was an interesting mix of the familiar—vampires drink blood, burn up in the sun, and have servants like Renfield from Dracula—with some new ideas, like biting someone is an intense sexual experience for both the vampire and the victim. I also loved the social hierarchy he’s created. There are lots of rules to this world, about which vampires are on the top of the food chain and which ones are at the bottom. And although it’s illegal to kill vampires, of course there are hate groups out there that don’t want them around. Overall, Phipp’s world feels awfully familiar to our own, except it’s populated with supernatural creatures. The setting of Detroit—in this case called New Detroit and Old Detroit, depending on which part of town you’re in—was a perfect dark and gritty city for this story and added plenty of atmosphere.
I enjoyed the characters, especially Peter, David and Melissa. This is a very big cast and at times it felt a bit overcrowded to me. But I did love the interactions among these three in particular. Melissa, ironically, is a member of the Human Rights League, one of the aforementioned vampire protest groups, so you can imagine how awkward it is when she discovers she is now a vampire. David really grew on me as well. He starts out as sort of annoying, but as the story progresses, he turns out to be an important member of the team. Also, he desperately wants Peter to turn him (he’s a servant and he has to pay his dues first!)
Phipps’ writing is pretty good, I’m happy to report. He really has a knack for funny, punchy dialog, which always gets extra points from me. He’s got a great ear for comedic timing as well, which makes me wonder if he might be really good at writing screenplays. The banter between the characters is so funny at times that I laughed out loud.
I think my favorite parts of Straight Outta Fangton, however, were all the pop culture references that Phipps gleefully throws into the story. It’s clear he’s a big movie buff, because Peter compares everything to the movies he’s seen and the books he’s read. If you’re a lover of genre pop culture like l am, and you’re of an age where 70s, 80s and 90s entertainment shout-outs make you smile—Stephenie Meyer and Twilight, Buffy, The Matrix, and Star Wars, just to mention a few—then you’ll have a blast with this book. (And big bonus points Mr Phipps, for the Buffy mention!)
The story does get a little confusing at times. Phipps adds in quite a few flashback scenes, as Peter recalls important moments from his past, and although I usually love flashbacks, it wasn’t always easy to tell where they began and ended. I think some simple visual breaks would have made these scenes stand out more, so it could just be a matter of text formatting. The flashbacks definitely added an extra layer to the story, so I’m very glad they were included.
All in all, I had so much fun with Straight Outta Fangton. For a novel with a tagline like “A Comedic Vampire Story,” there is quite a bit of unexpected depth and intricate plotting to this book.
Big thanks to C.T. Phipps for supplying a review copy.
As ever, an excellent review, Tammy. It’s always wonderful when you find a humorous book that really catches you and makes you giggle – though as I’m not much of a film buff or even watch much TV these days – I’m guessing many of those references would sail right over my head. And because of that I’m not going to add this one to my teetering TBR pile – but I really enjoyed reading about it.
Thanks Sarah! It’s definitely funnier if you catch the references:-)
This sounds perfect for me. Already grinning and I haven’t read it yet. Fabulous review, Tammy! Thanks for putting this book on my radar!
Laura Thomas recently posted…Spine Chillers: Big Bad Wolf ~ A Middle Grade Horror Review
This is perfect for you, Laura! Hope you get the chance to read it:-)
I just knew that vampires worked the night shift at convenience stores! The truth is out. I remember seeing you haul this and it sounds like it was as much fun as I anticipated. I’m definitely grabbing it as I think the humor would really appeal to me and hey, I’m all for the pop culture references. Great review and I’m so glad you shared this one.
Ha ha, the night shift scenario was perfect, that’s for sure. I think you’d enjoy this!
Fantastic review, though your quote might be better including the line from Moby Dick:
***
Jumping Jack Flash lifted his mug. “From hell’s heart did Melissa stab at me. For hate’s sake, we spit my last at she.”
***
Tehehe.
Fangtastic review! Amazing insight into my world and I did my best to be as “authentic” as I could be without sacrificing the Rule of Cool.
Thanks for stopping by, C.T.!
I love your website and it’s always a source of great reviews. Some of my favorite series were found here.
Wow thanks! I only read the best books;-)
This sounds like a fun read but I’m a little bit worried about the huge cast. I am easily confused but I’ll give it a look when I need a dose of humor.
I think the large cast was tough for me, I’m the same, I sometimes need a more narrow focus with fewer characters.
This title cracks me up, haha. This sounds like such a good read, great review!
Kaleena @ Reader Voracious recently posted…The House by the Cemetery by John Everson
Yep, gotta love the title, it’s one reason I decided to read it:-)
When you listed this book as one of your upcoming reviews in a previous post, I was immediately curious – if nothing else the title promised the right kind of humor, and once again my “book vibes” seem to have worked perfectly: this sounds like a delightfully fun book, and the pop-culture references are indeed a bonus, not unlike the Easter Eggs in a DVD… 😀
Thanks for sharing!
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…Novella Review: RETURN TO HONOR (Powder Mage #1.5), by Brian McClellan
Exactly, lots of book Easter eggs! The references are really funny if you’re familiar with movies, etc.
I also liked how he took typical vampire myths and mixed them with his own unique ideas. My favorite interactions were between Peter and Thoth, especially near the end, but David was fun too. See I just didn’t even get a lot of the pop culture references, and I think that does make a difference. I’m glad you liked this one!
Kristen @ Metaphors and Moonlight recently posted…Bookish Musings: Human vs. Inhuman Vampires
The pop culture references are definitely older so I’m feeling really old, lol! But I would definitely read more from him for sure.
I tried to go with very recognizable ones of big iconic franchises sprinkled with ones that were more obscure but vampire related (A Vampire in Brooklyn, “I like the Night Life”) as a way of rewarding readers. Also, Peter is about a decade older than he looks because…well, vampire.
🙂
Glad to hear such high praise, I have this one scheduled to be reviewed in a couple of months. I really enjoyed his book I Was a Teenage Weredeer, love the humor and all the puns.
Oh cool, I’m looking forward to your review!
Me too, obviously. 🙂
Yeah, I love a bit of humor in my reading, but I’m also always a little nervous whenever I get pitched “humorous” books because I never know whether it’s the type that would work for me. Our tastes in this area are pretty well aligned though, so I’d probably have a good time with this one too 😀
I love the sound of this one and the cover is brilliant.
I shall definitely add this to my wishlist.
Lynn 😀
This sounds really cool and I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’m definitely going to have to add this to my tbr. 🙂
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I love the title and the cover AND the quote you pulled! Pop culture references in books tend to be a hit or miss for me, but this one sounds it’ll be a lot of fun! 😀
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