The Vampire and the Plant Guy

Title: The Vampire and the Plant Guy
Author: Helen Louise Caroll
Cover Art: Trace Edward Zaber
Publisher: Amber Quill Press
Buy Link: Buy Link The Vampire And The Plant Guy
Genre: Contemporary M/M, Vampire, Romantic Comedy
Length: 7,000 words
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 rating stars

A Guest Review by Raine

Summary Review:  Well written short story with a fun concept but the humour felt a little forced for me.

Blurb: Being a forty-three-year-old vampire in a small town creates a whole host of dating issues, including a particularly sensitive one. That’s why undead accountant Darryl Yates has pretty much given up on the idea of finding a man of his very own. But thanks to his brother Larry, he’s got a date with a “plant guy” who happens to bear the same name!

Nursery owner Daryl Keyes lusted after Darryl back in high school. Now he’s got a chance to make some fantasies come true. But what’s up with Darryl’s pointy teeth?…

Review:

I was attracted to this book by the fun title – the cover didn’t hurt either- in spite of the fact that I usually don’t bother with short stories. I just read too quickly to make it practical on a day to day basis, so it was good to have a chance to look at a form I don’t often explore.

This is very much a romantic comedy, even as it examines elements of vampire mythology, it is looking rather self consciously for the laughs in the usual situations; daylight danger, crossing water and of course sleeping in coffins. The biggest set up is reserved for the examination of that biological myth within the myth – the vampire erection. This practical approach was a success for pragmatism not romanticism! It also managed a different take on fade to black which perhaps hindered any intimacy being created.

It was good to see a writer trying something different. Yet the obvious restriction of length, added to the humour meant there is an inevitable superficiality about the story. The changing points of view seemed an unnecessary complication. I smiled occasionally, but sometimes I thought the writer just tried too hard to find the laugh. It is possible I just didn’t ‘get’ the gags…….why were both main characters called Daryl- with or without an extra r? Humour is always so personal. Having heard Joss Whedon’s stuff- best vampire comedy lines ever- I’m probably over critical.

So I liked this concept, the writing was good; family background and high school back history was nicely added to the mix. Somehow, I still felt the overall execution was a little disappointing- to fall back on school report terminology- could do better. However I liked some things enough that I am going to try some other work by this author to see if this is representative or not.