Ray Garton's Live Girls is one of those books that when you put it down, you know you want to read more. It's not fair that the only vampire books that get sequels are known for their sparkle, or whatever you call it.
While his vampires are capable of falling in love, and can resist the urge to sink their teeth into every neck they see, they are also capable of being the brutal monsters they are meant to be.
In Night Life, Garton moves his vampires across the country from the grimy strip club in Times Square, New York circa 1980 to the sleazy Los Angelas porn industries of the 2000's. The move is not only fitting, as everyone knows, sequels must always take things to the next level, but Garton effortlessly changes the whole feel of the story to match the move.
Live Girls just felt like you were in Times Square, New York during the 80's. Peep Shows and adult entertainment found down back alleys of a city known for it's dirty little secrets. Night Life takes us to the shock me if you can era of adult entertainment, where girls have to do much more than just offer a peep.
While his vampires are capable of falling in love, and can resist the urge to sink their teeth into every neck they see, they are also capable of being the brutal monsters they are meant to be.
In Night Life, Garton moves his vampires across the country from the grimy strip club in Times Square, New York circa 1980 to the sleazy Los Angelas porn industries of the 2000's. The move is not only fitting, as everyone knows, sequels must always take things to the next level, but Garton effortlessly changes the whole feel of the story to match the move.
Live Girls just felt like you were in Times Square, New York during the 80's. Peep Shows and adult entertainment found down back alleys of a city known for it's dirty little secrets. Night Life takes us to the shock me if you can era of adult entertainment, where girls have to do much more than just offer a peep.
In Night Life we are introduced to Martin Burgess, a horror writer with an obsession over vampires. He wants to know the truth behind the stories he has read regarding the Live Girls club in New York. He hires a couple of private investigators; Karen Moffett and Gavin Keoph, to dig through the muck and trace these stories back to their origins.
This leads them back to Walter Benedick, the reporter who tried to uncover the truth but has since gone into hiding to try and keep his distance from the Brutals. Walter's problem is that he is still a reporter at heart and wants the truth to be exposed. He convinces Davey and Casey Owens, now married and accustomed to living the life of the undead, to talk to the investigators.
Of course, the Brutals are not keen on being exposed and are willing to do everything they can to keep these secrets from being exposed. Like an artist uncovering his painting for the world to see, Garton removes the cover and unleashes his Brutal's upon our heroes, and while there is no sparkle, there is plenty of splatter.
Is Night Life as good as Live Girls? I wouldn't go that far. How many sequels are honestly as good or better than the original? I didn't know what to expect when reading Live Girls, and it's hard to recapture that feeling of stumbling across something new. That is perfectly acceptable though, I didn't want anything new with this book. I wanted to catch up with Davey and Casey, I wanted to see what these vampires were doing, and how they have adapted to the ever-changing world just like the rest of us have. Night Life is a solid sequel. It is gory, brutal- but most importantly, it is fun. Thank you, Mr. Garton, for catching us up with these monsters that do what they are supposed to do... act like monsters.
This leads them back to Walter Benedick, the reporter who tried to uncover the truth but has since gone into hiding to try and keep his distance from the Brutals. Walter's problem is that he is still a reporter at heart and wants the truth to be exposed. He convinces Davey and Casey Owens, now married and accustomed to living the life of the undead, to talk to the investigators.
Of course, the Brutals are not keen on being exposed and are willing to do everything they can to keep these secrets from being exposed. Like an artist uncovering his painting for the world to see, Garton removes the cover and unleashes his Brutal's upon our heroes, and while there is no sparkle, there is plenty of splatter.
Is Night Life as good as Live Girls? I wouldn't go that far. How many sequels are honestly as good or better than the original? I didn't know what to expect when reading Live Girls, and it's hard to recapture that feeling of stumbling across something new. That is perfectly acceptable though, I didn't want anything new with this book. I wanted to catch up with Davey and Casey, I wanted to see what these vampires were doing, and how they have adapted to the ever-changing world just like the rest of us have. Night Life is a solid sequel. It is gory, brutal- but most importantly, it is fun. Thank you, Mr. Garton, for catching us up with these monsters that do what they are supposed to do... act like monsters.
I keep telling Bobby to stay off the carpet, or no bed-time story
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