What do you think?
Rate this book
BITE BACK!
Despite his pale skin and fangs, teenager Benjamin Cooper doesn’t want to be a goth, let alone a vampire. However, one fateful night in the summer of 1995 he catches the eye of Christine, a blood-drinker returning to town having left under a cloud several years previously.
She needs Benjamin for protection. He needs Christine to drag him out of the malaise of his stalling, small-town life. They both have a thirst for vengeance leading to a partnership bonded by blood. As the body count rises and enemies multiply, Benjamin and Christine are cast into an escalating spiral of revenge that they may not escape from.
BITE BACK! is a darkly comedic, lewd and violent teen horror story set in Sittingbourne during the Summer of Britpop, seasoned with suburban drama and offbeat characters.
She needs Benjamin for protection. He needs Christine to drag him out of the malaise of his stalling, small-town life. They both have a thirst for vengeance leading to a partnership bonded by blood. As the body count rises and enemies multiply, Benjamin and Christine are cast into an escalating spiral of revenge that they may not escape from.
BITE BACK! is a darkly comedic, lewd and violent teen horror story set in Sittingbourne during the Summer of Britpop, seasoned with suburban drama and offbeat characters.
272 pages, Paperback
Published August 17, 2024
8 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 25, 2024
Methinks the goth doth protest tooth much! (ho ho)
When I was halfway through this I still didn't know where it was going, which for a book one might initially have summed up as "vampire love triangle" is a big achievement.
Obviously this is a lot more than that and that second half does indeed go some places, but at its core it's a story of 90s indie kids in Sittingbourne discovering who they really are.
You might say, "But I've never been to Sittingbourne, is this really going to resonate?" and I would answer, "Neither have I but I'm already going to be casually calling it 'the Bourne'".
Anyway, characters are big and, despite their many mistakes, highly loveable. There are some good laughs and while stuff gets serious, it never gets heavy.
When I was halfway through this I still didn't know where it was going, which for a book one might initially have summed up as "vampire love triangle" is a big achievement.
Obviously this is a lot more than that and that second half does indeed go some places, but at its core it's a story of 90s indie kids in Sittingbourne discovering who they really are.
You might say, "But I've never been to Sittingbourne, is this really going to resonate?" and I would answer, "Neither have I but I'm already going to be casually calling it 'the Bourne'".
Anyway, characters are big and, despite their many mistakes, highly loveable. There are some good laughs and while stuff gets serious, it never gets heavy.
October 30, 2024
I was initially slightly disapointed that this wasn't the propsed follow up to PPM's previous book Survive The Universe but a whole different setting and characters. Also I was sad that he'd moved from the space opera genre to vampires as I'm a little tired of self-published vampire books (which I rarely finish). Luckily this was an extremely pleasant surprise, tankfully less of a Twilight / True Blood wannabe and more Salem's Lot meets Submarine. I'm a naughts rather than nineties kid so while some of the specific refrences went over my head Bite Back's ability to capture the teen experience is spot on. I felt myself recognise, cringe and laugh at equal measure at naive misteps and awkward social interactions. The horror takes it time to come but when it arrives it's thrilling and I burned through the back chapters in an evening. Hanging out with Christine and Benjamin in the Summer of '95 was so much fun. Recommended!
September 21, 2025
This is the second book from this author that I've read. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, the characters really came alive for me and I was transported back to the 90's in a heartbeat.
Well rounded and an interesting take on the vampire story line, with some excellent "nods" back to when music was still awesome! (I may be giving away my age!)
Read it!
Well rounded and an interesting take on the vampire story line, with some excellent "nods" back to when music was still awesome! (I may be giving away my age!)
Read it!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews