You Suck: A Love Story (Bloodsucking Fiends, 2) Paperback – January 8, 2008

Loved finding characters that show up in later books, seeing how they get their start. Easy read and plenty of fun.

I've been reading Moore for a long time now. He was flawless until "Lust Lizard," at which point he wrote a few books that left me less than thrilled. With the exception of the brief, loose "Stupidest Angel," I haven't been blown away by Moore's most recent efforts (they just didn't have the same energy his earlier books did).The same holds true for "You Suck," his sequel to "Bloodsucking Fiends." I thought it was a great idea to go back and pick up where his old characters left off (Moore loves to name-check his old characters anyway, so it seemed like a natural fit). But I really wish he had done more with the story here."You Suck" picks up the moment "Fiends" ends. Tommy has to come to grips with being a vampire. He and Jody also need to get out of town, which they promised detectives Rivera and Cavuto they would after causing havoc the two policemen couldn't explain away to their superiors.Moore has a lot of fun creating this unique relationship -- early on the one-liners just roll on brilliantly as Tommy and Jody discuss their somewhat absurd future life, and the fact that she has, you know, KILLED him. It's really funny, classic Moore stuff, but I just wish he had moved on past this. "You Suck" really has no plot to speak of and Moore stretches out this section of the book to the breaking point. For a while the book feels like nothing but banter between Jody and Tommy -- and while it's funny, charming banter, it grows tiresome because it's repetitive.The best new addition here is Abby Normal, who Tommy employs as their minion. Abby's overwrought diary entries are just flat-out hilarious. Every time Moore switches to Abby's voice, the book comes alive.Tommy's old coworkers, the Animals, are back, and they are definitely the least appealing thing about the book. I couldn't even keep straight who was who (which I found rather annoying) and they bring with them a prostitute they picked up in Vegas. This entire section of the novel, involving Blue (the prostitute) and the Animals, is the least developed and interesting thing about the book. It completely drags it down.Since this is Christopher Moore, you know "You Suck" is going to be funny. It is. There will be moments where he's so dead-on perfect you can't help but shake your head in admiration. But there's just not enough here to sustain a novel. I have to admit I got a little bored with it. It picks up in the end, as all the pieces come together for a showdown, but I think Moore was just a tad lazy with this book.It's a must for Moore fans -- as all of his books are -- but I wouldn't start here if you're new to him.This is a merely amusing book from a superbly funny writer.

Ah, Chris Moore. Bloodsucking Fiends was the first book of his that I read. It caught my eye in the bookstore in 1997 (or was it '96?) because of its colorful cover - one of the earlier trade paper reprint versions, not the one shown here now on Amazon. Anyway, it showed a voluptuous cartoon Jody lovingly stroking Tommy's neck against a backdrop of an equally voluptuous cartoon San Francisco. (From the angle, they must be sitting atop Coit Tower, but never mind.) I was hooked. I bought it, I loved it. I read it several times over the course of the next few years, and I also picked up all his other books (I particularly like Practical Demonkeeping, The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove and Coyote Blue, and I find A Dirty Job very touching). Being a woman, I was intrigued by the highly male "voice" of the books, but it was also an education, know what I mean? One of the things I like most about Moore is his ability to present a character that if you met him or her in real life, you might be intimidated (young man by gorgeous woman, a young woman by a group of rowdy men, etc.). But by showing that character's motivations and actions, you see that they are subject to the same fears and vulnerability as the rest of us. But it's a subtle lesson; Moore's jocular good humor permeates everything and gives it a gloss that can only be described as "good times, man, good times." I just don't know of any other author who can present such a terrific mix of cartoon, sexy goings-on, action-packed, er, action, and a little life lesson too.On to You Suck. You Suck picks up right where Bloodsucking Fiends leaves off. Tommy has just awakened as one of the undead; the Animals have taken off for Vegas to spend the money they got for the old vampire's stolen artwork; the Emperor, Cavuto and Rivera are dismayed to realize vampires still roam their city. Plus, some new characters have turned up to enrich the proceedings. Abby Normal, a teenage wanna-be goth and her sidekick Jared, is utterly hysterical. Abby wangles her way into becoming Tommy's and Jody's new minion, and presents her own take on the action via journal entries written in a very funny teenage voice that were for me one of the highlights of the book. Blue is a rather desperate prostitute picked up by the Animals in Vegas, and who proceeds to bleed them dry in more ways than one. And then there is William and his huge cat, Chet, both of whom end up as blood donors for Jody and Tommy. I think poor shaven Chet in his red sweater may have been my favorite new character and I sure hope he gets his revenge in future installments. As for Jody, I do think it is clever of Moore to show us just how liberating it might be to go - as a woman - from being worried about your physical safety to knowing that you are in fact quite capable of taking care of yourself. It's very easy to put myself in Jody's fabulous pumps and imagine just how wonderful such freedom would feel.I live in San Francisco, so I really love how the City too becomes a character in the book. I moved here not long after first reading Bloodsucking Fiends, and I must admit, I have tended to keep an eye out for the Emperor or any fearless redheads in little black dresses. I sometimes shop at the Marina Safeway when I'm in the neighborhood, and the action there shows up in my mind just like a movie scene.My only complaint about this book? I finished it too fast.

As with all of Christopher Moore's stories it is definitely worth the read. I cannot say it is my favorite novel but it is definitely in the top 3. I have found that most Christopher Moore fans I know like to figure out which story is your favorite the minute they find that you are a fan of this author. This book is funny and a great pick-up from when another story left off (as his other stories often are in his other books). This story was great right from the very start. There was no waiting from somthing to happen a few pages in. The entire rest of the novel was funny & sad and totally worth reading. If it sounds like I haven't said anything that happened in the story you are right, I haven't. I don't want to give any of it away. As with all of Christopher Moore's stories, once I get going I can't quit, they are all great! From the first one I picked up I read every one I could get ahold of and now I have to wait until he brings one out every year or so. He is a great funny author and as always, a joy to read.

It's been quite a while since I purchased and read this book, but it was a fun read! I would recommend this book.

La tapa es bastante fina y malilla, pero por el precio...El libro ya lo había leído y es maravilloso.

"You suck" ist ja nicht mehr ganz neu. Ich habe es aber erst in diesem Mai auf einer USA-Reise kennen gelernt. Es handelt von einem jungen Pärchen in San Francisco, das sich auf schräge und sehr witzige Weise in ihrem neuen Vampir-Alltag (bzw. eher All-Nacht) zurechtfinden muss. Im Gegensatz zu der eher schweren Tristesse der "Biss-zum-..." - Serie ist das hier leicht und voller einfallsreicher spaßiger Wendungen. Sehr empfehlenswert!

Ce roman est la suite de  Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story  (Les dents de l'amour en français), l'histoire de Jody devenue vampire.Comme Jody aime Tommy et qu'elle se sent seule, elle en fait un vampire. Mais ses anciens compagnons d'infortune, les "animals" vont devoir lui faire la peau, enfin quand ils auront réussi à atterrir, parce que ce sont des chasseurs de vampire, désormais.Une histoire menée tambour battant, entre défonce, hémoglobine, sexe, gothic, flics, peur et... défonce.Un bon Christopher Moore dans la lignée du  Le Lézard lubrique de Melancholy Cove .n.b. : ce roman est traduit en français sous le titre  D'amour et de sang frais . Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love StoryLe Lézard lubrique de Melancholy CoveD'amour et de sang frais

This is not a recent publication, but I have only just read it, and I want to share. It is a very very funny book dealing with what happens when Thomas J Flood (aka Tommy and, frankly a bit of a geek) is bitten by his beautiful red-haired girlfriend Jody, and turns into "a foul dead thing" - well, a vampire anyway. Their undead existence is sometimes helped but more often complicated by William, the homeless man with the huge cat, Chet, the huge cat himself (shaved early in the proceedings, after which he wears a red sweater) Abby Normal, a little Goth girl, her Emo friend Jared, the Animals, (the night crew from the supermarket where Tommy used to work), Elijah, the eight hundred year old vampire who vampirised Jody, the Emperor of San Franciso and his dogs, the ex Cheddar Princess of Fond du Lac, Cavuto and Rivera, the Homicide cops who believe in vampires, and hunt them...and Steven Wong... It is farce, but it is very good farce, and full of excellent lines such as: "Abby pouted - sticking out her lower lip far enough that pink was showing above her black lipstick, making her look vaguely like a cat eating a plum" and under the farce there is, even amongst the vampires a strong sense of humanity and responsibility. One of the recurrent phrases is the question "Have you fed Chet?" Yes. Foul dead things but they get their priorities right. And it all ends happily. More or less.(There is gore, rough language, and sex. But hey - this is San Francisco, and they are vampires...)