Rant or Rave: Christopher Moore

One of the joys of working at a library is the constant exposure to new authors and artists that is available to you. On the artist side of the equation, I am currently enjoying Coldplay's work, a band I had heard a lot about but hadn't really listened to previously. I like Viva la Vida quite a bit, so I hope the band and Joe Satriani can figure out the plagiarism lawsuit Satriani has brought against the group.

But I digress. The staff here at the Library has introduced me to the works of Christopher Moore, author of Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, The Stupidest Angel and Bloodsucking Fiends. So, this Rave is for Christopher Moore. As you can probably guess from the titles, Moore's stuff is pretty irreverent-- and definitely not kid-friendly as it contains plenty of profanity and what the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) would label Adult Themes. They are also really, really funny in a quirky, Douglas Adams sort of way.

Interestingly, I have not read any of the books I listed above-- though I intend to read all of them in the near future-- but rather started at the end, with Moore's two latest novels: A Dirty Job and You Suck. Of the two, I liked A Dirty Job more, but they were both a blast to read (actually, listen to-- I "read" both of them in audiobook format).

You Suck was fun since it is a vampire tale and includes a character who was once the Cheddar Queen of Fond du Lac, but the ending was somewhat abrubt and not entirely satisfying to me, plus it is a sequel to Bloodsucking Fiends, and I generally try to avoid reading sequels without reading the preceding book. But it was a hoot reading You Suck shortly after Interview With the Vampire, as the two retellings of the classic vampire story could hardly be more dissimilar.

But I found A Dirty Job to be the more engaging, laugh out loud funny of the two. Part of the preference might also be due to the performers of the audiobooks-- Fisher Stevens is just awesome as the reader of A Dirty Job, while Susan Bennet is good, but not great, at reading You Suck.

At any rate-- I am looking forward to reading the rest of Moore's books. I don't think he'll make it into my very favoritist authors (Adams, Terry Pratchett, Stephen R. Donaldson), but I'm definitely anticipating some well-spent hours curled up with a good book. And if you're looking for some fresh, fun reading (or listening) and don't mind profanity and a rather peculiar viewpoint of the world, I recommend Chris Moore's stuff.