Vampires Anonymous

by Jeffrey N. McMahan

The vampire Andrew must investigate an organization determined to destroy all his kind. By Lambda Literary Award-winner Jeffrey McMahan.

Genres: Vampires, Fantasy, Queer, Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1991

Reviews

[Psycheen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is written in FIRST PERSON PRESENT TENSE!!!!!!! It was unreadable!

[Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Campy queer vampiric excellence! Vampires Anonymous is a book I picked up from a second hand book store, while browsing aimlessly. First enticed by the title name, I read the excerpts on the back and immediately went to see what any reviews said about it. To my surprise I had stumbled upon a niche book! I couldn’t find many reviews, and this made me more interested in founding out for myself what story these pages were keeping for me. One thing I would like to address is the ever controversial writing style the author uses in this book. Andrew the vampire is our books main character with the story being written in his point of view. The difficulty with this first person narrative is when Andrew refers to himself in the third person. It is explained that he does so in a way that reflects his mental state yet at some parts it seems erratic this switch, and can come across as irregular. To me, this actually helps the narrative to have the correct tone. A gay immortal creature of the dark is allowed to have his mind wander sporadically and his mood change rapidly. It is what gives Andrew his charm! In a chapter where another vampire, Kane, reads Andrew’s mind, Kane points out how odd it is that Andrew thinks in third person at times. If you as a reader can get past this unique writing style, this book has so many great moments for you. I am surprised this book does not have more of a fan following because it is delightful bloody fun! The book doesn’t take itself too seriously and so this really allows for the humor to shine through. I rarely find myself in this position but I was fully laughing at many scenes because of how brilliantly camp they are. The smart witted writing paired with the exaggerated characters and dramatized scenarios sprinkled with just the right amount of vampire puns and gay sexual innuendos made reading this book something truly a unique and memorable experience in the best way. I am aware many may not be so inclined to read about gay morally gray vampires, but to stumble across this by chance in the store, felt like the book had found me, instead of the reverse. I will never forget Andrew the vampire nor his story with all its theatrical debauchery. Camp at its best! 5 stars.

[Colby Pope · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It's an easy read. It's not high-brow, it's about vampires for goodness sake. It's definitely a page turner and you may be surprised who you find yourself siding with, as the plot unfolds. Really good fun!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a little bit of an Interview with the Vampire parody. There's a couple and there's a kid and they're all vampires.

I like it. I gave my copy to my friend when I moved, and now I want to get another one.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woah super fun book. Andrew the Vampire is very amusing. This book makes gays seem a tiny bit slutty and shallow, but well...really who we tryin' to kid here? Let's keep it real. This character was introduced in several short stories from collections then fleshed out with this novel. I believe the first two stories with Andrew were in an anthology called Somewhere in the Night. Then there is another one in another anthology called Embracing the Dark. He has one of those southern moms who was trailer trash who married wealthy and tries really hard to act upscale while occasionally slipping into hick mode when upset. The stories all totally cracked me up. Good stuff.

[Vivencio · Rating 4 out of 5]

anne rice's never ending installments to the vampire chronicles have become too tedious for words. this is my one concession to the current vampire rage. deliciously camp.