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Book Review By Debbie
One Foot in the Grave by William Mark Simmons

Christopher Csejthe's life is over. He lost his beloved wife and daughter in an automobile accident and now he has some weird disease that no one has ever seen before. He can't eat, he can't sleep, he had to quit his job as a teacher because he can't stand the sunlight so now he spends his nights as a disc jockey for a small local radio station waiting to die at any moment. When two strange women show up and try to convince him to travel with them to Seattle, Christopher is having none of it - until some strange monster tries to attack him at work. Suddenly, Christopher doesn't find himself so ready to die.

What he discovers in Seattle is that he is a vampire, well, sort of. Christopher has the reflexes and instincts of a young vampire, but has not yet transformed completely. He is an anomaly and there are those who want him dead and there are those who want him studied. Christopher himself just wants to get away from all of these freaky people who believe in crap like vampires and werewolves and stuff. With careful plotting and a random break in at the compound, Christopher is able to escape, but he doesn't get far. It turns out that there are many other vampires looking for him. Vampires who believe that Christopher can lead them to THE vampire - Count Dracula himself...

One Foot in the Grave was a very unusual vampire book that I greatly enjoyed. I loved Christopher as a character, he was witty, sarcastic, and completely unwilling to believe that he was now one of the powerful undead. It was also endearing to see him make so many mistakes and to know that he had weaknesses and could be manipulated, but he was still trying to be "the good guy." The plot had many unexpected twists and turns and the author really keeps you guessing until the last page of the book. The only complaint I had was that Christopher changed pretty abruptly (and not for the better in my opinion) near the end of the book and suddenly there are all of these other characters that play important roles. This was kind of weird, but I still really enjoyed the book. If you have the good fortune to come across a copy of this book at a reasonable price snatch it up - you will enjoy yourself!


Plot & Themes
Tone of book - very upbeat
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - fantasy story on current Earth
Magical Beings/Mental/Magical/Powers Yes
magical powers:
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 30 %
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20 %
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 %
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20 %

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status:
Age: - 20's-30's
If magical mental powers: - super strength - is very quick - healing

Main Adversary
Identity: - an organization
Has magical powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist: - can change shapes - super strength - is very quick
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an average amount

Setting
Earth setting: - 20th century
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - explicit references to deaths
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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