The Griffin or the Agate

    I have learned, through experience, to be wary of any book recommended via an email mailing list. Some people might be pushing a book that's either theirs or a friend's; others might worship a certain author and recommend anything, regardless of quality; and some, well, some just recommend books that aren't very good. Still, one can't just ignore advice because sometimes you'll be led to something spectacular (kind of what we're trying to do here at The Griffin, you know?).
    Recently three tomes were suggested and, with nothing much on my plate, I took a chance and read all three. One (Rachael Caine's Ill Wind) was derivative, uninspired, and predictable, while the other (C. E. Murphy's Urban Shaman) was decent, if a trifle bland and requiring massive leaps of faith as a reader. But then there was the third book, Gil's All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez, which proved to be the winner of the bunch. It's actually something different, a quirky, humorous tale that delights in deconstructing the insipid stereotype of the dark, handsome, romantic vampire that is being flogged to death in both print and media. Instead of the onerous Lestat, Martinez gives us Earl. The bloodsucker is thin, balding, and possesses nothing in the way of seductive skills. He's traveling with Duke, just your everyday werewolf, and a stop for a bite to eat lands them in a diner with a zombie problem. Something odd was going is going on in Rockwood, Texas, and Duke and Earl soon find themselves deep in a mystery involving such oddities as friendly ghosts (human and canine), undead bovine, and teenage trouble like they've never seen before. Love gets examined from several sides: good, bad, and the whole spectrum in between. And it seems it truly can be eternal.
    There's a nice, easy lope to Martinez's prose, and it goes well with his intriguing characters and unusual situations. Even during action sequences he manages to keep the same voice, and the book is better for it. His subtle tweaks at some of the genre fiction around these days are welcome as well. Go get this book, it's an unexpected treat. And this isn't a mailing list, now is it?   §

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