The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires

<!-- wp:paragraph {"align":"center"} --><p class="has-text-align-center">Previously:|Coming Soon</p><!-- /wp:paragraph -->The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires is a horror novel by Grady Hendrix, who previously wrote My Best Friend’s Exorcism and Horrorstör. It was released on the 7th of July 2020 by Quirk Books. We follow Patricia a bored, middle-aged housewife who is attacked by a neighbour on the way home from a book club meeting. This brings a young man into her life who may not be as nice as he initially seems.I love vampires. They are easily my favourite supernatural creature, so much so that my undergraduate dissertation was on the subject of vampire bites in nineteenth-century literature. I was initially drawn to this book by the similarities of this title to my favourite vampire series, The Southern Vampire Mysteries, also known as the True Blood book or the Sookie Stackhouse series, by Charlaine Harris. While Grady Hendrix’s depiction of vampires is very different from those it was such a fresh and interesting depiction. There was an erotic element, which is often present in depictions of the vampires, as far back as Dracula or Carmilla, but it was absent of any sort of romance. This is most definitely a horror novel above anything else, and this is reflected in the clear distinction between sex and romance.My only complaint about the vampire element is that while it was introduced early in the novel, we don’t see a lot of vampiric activity until later in the book and I simply wanted more. That said the ‘Bathtub scene’ towards the end of the novel is full of the exposition that I wanted and remains one of my favourite parts. While the interpretation of the vampire is quite clearly a literal one you could have removed a couple of scenes and all of a sudden it could have become more metaphorical. Hendrix makes a lot of connections between the vampire element to real-life serial killers though the book club reading list. I found this connection fascinating and would love to hear a whole essay on the topic. These connections enabled Hendrix to slip a supernatural creature into a very real world almost seamlessly. It also makes the reader think about the fact that there are creatures, maybe even worse than vampires, praying of people in the daylight, so maybe being afraid of the dark is a waste of time.I have already called this book a horror multiple time. If you know me then you know I abhor horror on the basis of being easily scared. This book made me nervous, made me squirm, and maybe freaked me out a little but it did not terrify me, which suited me perfectly. For the most part, it is a slow-burn psychological thriller which builds up to a couple of carefully crafted chilling moments. There is a lot of gaslighting, where Patricia’s husband repeated telling her than she’s imagining things. This was a really interesting plot point because it said a lot about gender roles in 90s Southern America, particularly in terms of the power dynamic between a working husband and a housewife.Another theme which was completely unexpectedly included is that of race and social class. I thought it was a brilliant inclusion that probably still, tragically holds today, but I don’t want to say much more about it because you should discover it on your own. I do wish it had been a little more prominent but to do that Hendrix would have had to make the book multi-perspective which would be taking away some of the psychological intensity of being in Patricia’s head all of the time.My one gripe with the plotting element of this book it the pacing as there a lot of time jumps. These are obvious as they happen between sections of the book which are labelled with the month and year. I have no problem with time-jumps hypothetically but in this case, I felt that they disturbed the pacing of the book. I understand why Hendrix chose to use them, but it detracts from being able to see Patricia descend into this obsession with her neighbour.In terms of characters, the major focus is on Patricia, who is fine though not super interesting. This does mean that her arc is an enjoyable one to follow. I wish there had been more of the new neighbour, James, as I’ve already expressed. However, the lack of him does make his scenes all the more special. The ending was interesting to see a lot of the characters come together, which had a nice message. It did make me wonder how this book would have looked had there been more perspectives. I’m not wishing to change it, but it did give me food for thought.Overall, I gave this book FOUR out of a possible five stars. Ultimately, it’s a fun vampire book that is balanced well with darker themes and I would not hesitate to recommend it to others.

I was unsure about this one when I first downloaded it to Kindle - I love Vampire books but I have to be in a specific mood to read them. (Anne Rice - Completed it mate.)(This is a UK saying :-)This is a great modern retelling of the Vampire trope - It's set in the 90s (which is now classed as Historical Fiction - can you believe it?!) I wasn't sure about the style of writing until I was about 1/4 of the way through, it's a satire, there's lots of tongue in cheek mysogyny (Sorry to people who found those bits unrealistic - I was there in the 90s - it's an accurate portrayal!)There were also several sections of the book which made me want to fling my kindle at the wall - emotiove writing! And this made me want to continue reading in the hope that Carter, Horse and Leland got their just deserts... Great book, whether you love it or hate it, it definitely made me feel something!There are some big horror elements, some blood and guts, and some assaults which are tough reading, and are could come as a shock as the book starts off pretty light and amusing whilst we meet all the characters, and then takes a really dark turn.Horror comedy at it's finest, and I think the portrayal of 90s racism and mysogyny is pretty accurate. It may only be 30 years ago but it was a different time. Great modern Vampire book and I'm going to read more from Hendrix... Let me get my wallet out...

I love the fantasy and horror genre, but at times I feel disillusion by the portrayal of heroines.They are always late teens or early 20s, buxom with tiny waists, super fit, can use a sword, shield, bow and arrow plus know about 10 different ways of killing a man twice their size by just looking.Nobody writes about a heroine who is the wrong side of 40, has a ruined stomach, non existent chest, hair in a permanent messy bun and spends her days clearing up after everyone...... or do they?The Southern Book Clubs Guide To Slaying Vampires is set around the lives of Patricia and her friends. A tall dark stranger moves into the neighbourhood but something about him isn't quite right, and Patricia's senile mother in law is convinced she knew him from her childhood..."Theres something in the woods taking our babies'The book is easy read. It has a feel good 90s throwback vibe to it. The content is humorous, almost satirical. There are elements of gore and horror, but they don't overpower the story. In addition Grady Hendrix provides some fantastic full on suspense. The Southern Book Clubs Guide to Slaying Vampires would make a fantastic retro horror film.I love Patricia, shes the epitome of every 40 something mum, trying her best to keep the family ticking over at the same time as being a constant embarrassment to her children. She is just so believable.If your a 90s child and feeling frustrated with the never ending housework, procrastinate for a while with a copy of The Southern Book Clubs Guide To Slaying Vampires.