Straight Outta Fangton by C.T Phipps
Narrated by Cary Hite
Publisher: Crossroad Press
Publication Date: August 28, 2018
Date Read: November 6, 2018
Length: 7 hours 27 minutes
Source: Author
★★★☆☆
Peter Stone is a poor, black vampire who is wondering where his nightclub, mansion, and sports car is. Instead, he is working a minimum wage job during the night shift, as being a vampire isn’t all that impressive in a world where they’ve come out to mortals.
Exiled from the rich and powerful undead in New Detroit, he is forced to go back when someone dumps a newly-transformed vampire in the bathroom of his gas station’s store. This gets him fangs – deep in a plot of vampire hunters, supernatural revolutionaries, and a millennium-old French knight determined to wipe out the supernatural.Sometimes, it just doesn’t pay to get out of the coffin.
I liked this one even if I didn’t love it. I decided to read this book because I have really enjoyed this author’s work in the past and this sounded like a lot of fun. I did enjoy the story but it didn’t grab me the way that I had hoped it would. It took me a lot longer to finish this audiobook than a book this length usually does. I actually started the book over about two hours in because I felt like I had missed some key plot points. I did end up having some fun with this one and am glad that I gave the book a chance.
Being a vampire is supposed to be glamorous, right? That has not been the case for Peter Stone. Peter is a poor black vampire working at the local convenience store. Peter is the only employee at the store that is willing to do any work. Peter can’t even get his servant to do anything. When a woman turns to a vampire in the store’s bathroom, it is up to Peter to keep things under control.
I had a really hard time connecting with the characters in this story. I didn’t dislike Peter but I was never really invested in his well-being. There were a couple of characters that died during the story and I have to admit that I wasn’t moved by the development. I feel like it is probably a bad sign when character deaths don’t elicit any kind of reaction. I thought that some of the special abilities and unique world building were interesting. I also appreciated the complexity of the mystery and the amount of action in the story.
This was my first experience with Cary Hite’s narration. I feel like he did a good job with the story overall but I do wonder if his delivery might have taken some of the humor out of the story. This was described as a comedic story but the humor was completely lost on me. I had no issues with Mr. Hite’s reading voice but I do wonder if his narration style might have kept me from really connecting with the story. I wouldn’t hesitate to listen to his work again though.
I think that this book will work better for a lot of readers. It was a unique take on vampires with a well thought out mystery. I wouldn’t hesitate to read more from C.T. Phipps in the future.
I received a review copy of this audiobook from the author.
About the AuthorC.T Phipps is a lifelong student of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. An avid tabletop gamer, he discovered this passion led him to write and turned him into a lifelong geek. He is a regular blogger on “The United Federation of Charles” blog. He’s recently released the novels The Rules of Supervillainy and Esoterrorism.
Oh dear, I'm sorry this didn't work out for you — I thought the blurb had such potential in it.
I did like the book even though I had a few issues with it.
it sounds like cool though, a dead broke vampire, who is more like human than a vampire. Then again, sounds like it flopped
I consider 3 stars to be a good rating. I didn't love this one but I was able to appreciate it.
I'm sorry this one didn't turn as well as you'd hope. I do agree that there seems to be less of the great one-liners in this story compared to some of his other works. Great review.
Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart
I just didn't find the book funny. There were times that I could tell that the book was trying to be funny but it seemed to fall flat for me.
Humor is such an iffy thing. But, I agree that its not a good sign that a death of even a minor character didn't have you feeling it. Sounds quirky and I like that he's a blue-collar vampire. 🙂
Most people seemed to like this one more than I did. I just didn't find the book to be funny and had a hard time really connecting with the characters.
Interesting. Melanie loved this one 4.5 hearts. Different people have some different tastes. Sometimes it's only different on small points or certain genre. It's also true some narrators work for some and not for others. If I decide to read this one I'll have to reread both your review and Melanie's to see if I should read or listen. Anne – Books of My Heart
It may have been a narrator issue. I did wonder if I would find some humor in the story if I had read it instead of listening. Who knows maybe it was my mood while I listened to it?
I don't generally have a good time with vampire humour as I never seem to find it funny where I'm supposed to!
I guess that was my problem with this one.
Sorry it was a bit complicated for you
I still liked the book overall.
It's really hard to love a story if you don't really connect with the characters. I can understand why this didn't knock your socks off. Glad to hear you enjoyed some of the story. Great review, Carole! 🙂
Thanks, Rachel!
Not being able to connect with the characters is problematic for any story.
I agree!
I do want to try this author, but perhaps one of the others first 😉
I really liked his weredeer book 🙂
Thank you again for reading it and I do consider 3 stars a good thing.