Book Review: Suburban Vampire Ragnarok by Franklin Posner

Suburban Vampire Ragnarok was written by Franklin Posner and self published and released according to Amazon on the 2nd July 2018. I have a soft spot for vampire stories, so I was excited to read this and it was well worth a read. Before I get on with what I thought about the book, I’ll briefly sum up what the book is about, essentially Suburban Vampire Ragnarok follows Scott Campbell, a new convert to the vampiric lifestyle after being attacked in the wreckage of a car accident and the story is really about him adapting and trying to maintain some semblance of his life while adjusting to being a bloodsucker.

The first thing I want to say is that the title is a lot heavier than what greets you in the page, I mean with context it makes total sense and as something to grab the reader it certainly works but I can’t say that I felt it summed up the story perfectly. But to be honest, my minor complaint about the name is among the only real issues with this story.

On a more positive not it’s got a real sense of self, it is able to be funny, in a way that is actively engaging and very tongue in cheek rather than over the top, you get a real flow for the story through the character’s responses to becoming a vampire. On top of the at times humorous undertones of the book there is a very serious aspect to it as well, Scott’s life is on the line and he has defend his very existence and walk the line between the supernatural community that he now finds himself a member of and the mortal society that he is still connected with.

I mentioned up top that I enjoy and have a lot of time for vampire stories, this plays well with the typical conventions of vampirism that have been established and used, particularly in the past decade or so, but it’s not afraid to poke fun at some of those tropes as well, for example a certain vampire thing from the Twilight series. I think what comes across most is that Franklin Posner is clearly passionate about his story, you get that even in the first couple of pages and it really raises this novel up.

I do feel that their were parts of the story could be worked on a bit, just some tightening up of the dialogue and narrative to improve the overall experience. But again, i’m talking about minor edits to just help the flow of the story. That being said, it works really well as it is and is a great read, especially if you tend to read while on the go, I stuck this in my Dropbox and just consumed it over a few hours when I was travelling for work and it really brightened up what otherwise would have been a boring trip.

So yeah, to sum up the story is engaging, I think the characters are strong, in particular Scott Campbell and Detective Grace Montoya were highlights, and I particularly want to applaud the fact Scott stopped an actual crime, the typical narrative for vampire stories is that they get so wrapped up in their immortal lives that they just kind of ignore, tolerate and/or hide from humans but here we have someone filled with all the power and potential we all wish we had and he makes a positive impact, and fights justly against the consequences. I honest thought it was such a smart move, and it’s not something you see a lot so it certainly felt unique. Anyway, on top of all that their is a nice sprinkling of humour and plenty of suspense and drama, all of that come together to more than earn a 4/5. If you want to grab a copy for yourself then head on over to Amazon, also why not grab the first book in the series as well by clicking here. Lastly, make sure and check out my interview with the author by clicking here. 

First Published on: https://offtherecordblog.org/

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