This is the end. This is the end of what I consider to be the best vampire, excuse me, Vampyre, series ever written. MY DEAD BODY is the final book of the Joe Pitt case files by pulp noir writer Charlie Huston. The first book, ALREADY DEAD, was the book that made me a lifelong fan of Huston’s work and took this vampire-hating horror critic and made him fall in love with a vampyre story like no other.
If you never have read any of the books in the Joe Pitt series, ALREADY DEAD, NO DOMINION, HALF THE BLOOD OF BROOKLYN, EVERY LAST DROP and now this book, MY DEAD BODY, you’re really missing out on something great.
These books tell a very different vampire story, not one where they turn into bats or fear religious artifacts, but one where they are infected with a virus that will kill them if they don’t drink human blood, but yet will explode if they go into the sunlight. Hunting humans is strictly enforced by the clans of the vampires who rule the streets of New York, and spelling vampire as vampyre is the norm. It is a completely different world from the usual scenario depicted in this genre genre. It is a fresh idea that works.
At the end of the forth installment of the series, EVERY LAST DROP, Joe went into hiding. He had exposed how the coalition got their endless supply of blood and turned the city’s biggest clans against one another. For this, he has become a wanted man, and every vampyre in New York City wanted to get their hands on him. Therefore, into the sewers and old abandon subway system went Joe Pitt. Now, a year later, Joe is lying low while war is brewing between the clans of New York City. Joe has spent the last year living among the homeless, the mole people, stealing a pint of blood from a strung out junkie here and there to get his fix of blood. However, people know where he is and when a guy named Chubby comes looking for Joe, he finds him. Joe owes Chubby a favor, so Chubby asks Joe to help him find his pregnant daughter who ran off with her vampyre boyfriend. The clans all know that this baby could be born half human, half vampyre. But no one really knows. Joe soon finds his way back onto the streets of New York, meeting up with old friends, and does a lot of making up and a lot of killing, all while getting his ass kicked even more than he has in all the other books combined. However, this book ties up all the loose ends and concludes the story as a whole.
Usually when one reads a book, it never really ends the way one would like it to, or think it would. Having read all the books in this series, I am very happy with the way it ends. I have to give author Charlie Huston all the credit in the world for bringing the character of Joe Pitt to life. The only word I can use to describe this book is great. The series is the best damned vampyre series ever, and I stand by that statement. Forget about the Ann Rice books and forget about the Twilight series. Joe Pitt is the best badass vampyre to ever splatter his way onto the page. My only complaint is that the series is now over. Maybe someone will kidnap Charlie Huston and get all Annie Wilkes on him. Then maybe the series could continue. Only one can hope.
If you have never read this series, whether you are a fan of vampire fiction or not, this is by far the best series of vampire books to ever be written. I cannot praise it highly enough. I love this series, and while I am sad to see it end, I am happy with how the story comes full circle.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
