Review of It's Hard to Be a Vampire

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Harshitha G B
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Review of It's Hard to Be a Vampire

Post by Harshitha G B »

[Following is a volunteer review of "It's Hard to Be a Vampire" by Viktoria Faust.]
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3 out of 5 stars
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This book is a collection of short stories with an assortment of subjects, including horror and vampires. These tales touch on a variety of themes, including magic, fear, desire, and discovering the truth.

The author began to initially narrate stories of vampires through the eyes of a little girl named Sandra. Sandra followed her curiosity and learned about Mysterious Man, which led her to learn about his identity and ultimately choose to become a vampire. It is her journey to look into it. Sabbath, the vampire hunter, is the next person we meet. His story follows his development from a little child to a hunter, and it discusses all of his desires and fears. The greatest of its kind, we were introduced to the incredible writer Andy, who utilized vampires as inspiration for his fiction writing. He met his insane fan and proceeded to uncover numerous truths and fall victim to traps; his journey is filled with uncertainty and terror.
In one of the author's crime-horror stories, "Gallery of Horror," we meet Jay Turner, an aspiring artist who faces inner battles in his quest to find a way to join in with the world of success and appreciation by infusing his paintings with soul. This prompted him to select the route with no way back. The following chapter introduces us to a youngster named Anthony, who provides insight into Jay's artwork and his secrets, ultimately contributing to the finding of souls. The "Behind the Door" story, which tells the account of events that occur behind a door and make a young girl doubt her own identity, reality, and imagination, is included in this theme. Under the heading "Narcissus," we were presented with a terrifying tale about a man and a woman who were crossing Borg Drive at 46th Street when they saw a display of terror and darkness. This terrifying event caused others to become afraid and never cross the street again as a result of the tale. This is the tale of Borg Drive's dark passages. The story of "The Invisible Ink" creates a metaphorical connection between writing, words, and ink by offering a viewpoint on life, expressing emotions, and emptying ourselves to write the memory. This story, written from author Hana's point of view, revolves around the observable and imperceptible signs of emotions.

I gave it a 3 out of 5 rating. The book's strongest point is the author's narrating manner in "Behind the Door" and "Narcissus," which effectively conveys raw emotion in a single fleeting moment. I saw her amazing story-developing abilities in action with "Gallery of Horror" and "That bloody, useless, bloodless body," which produced exciting reading experiences. The author's story-telling skills in major chapters are her strength. The challenging part that didn't grab my interest was the chapters titled "Do vampires dream of slaughtered sheep?" and "Quietly they rise from the fog." It felt empty because these stories failed to reach me because there were not many aspects to connect. As the writer stated in that particular chapter, "What is the point of my story? There is none.". I got the same feeling while reading these chapters because the narrative felt hollow in comparison to other incredible tales because these stories lack both a body and a soul as they were directionless in story building or narrating. The chapter "It's hard to be a vampire" was really hard to complete because of its fat-shaming aspects and story-developing material. The title of the book, "It's hard to be a vampire," didn't feel quite fitting to me because it didn't seem to be very relevant given the diversity of stories that didn't have any ties to other stories or topics that could be grouped under it. The title was not accurate and would mislead readers who only decided to read about vampires because the primary stories concentrated on other topics, such as horror and magic, which are unrelated to vampires. The editing team did a great job of presenting an error-free format for enhanced reading experiences; therefore, I recommend this to readers who appreciate experiencing varied degrees of desire,horror, fear, and vampires.

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It's Hard to Be a Vampire
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With Warmest Regards,
Harshitha
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Tomy Chandrafrost
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Post by Tomy Chandrafrost »

A book about vampires! As someone who grew up in Asia, I only know vampires from a few famous American films. Reading a book about this theme seems intriguing, especially after reading your review. Thank you for writing this.
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Julie Marie Basil
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Post by Julie Marie Basil »

This sounds like an interesting collection of short stories. I appreciate your honest critiques of the shortcomings of the book. Keep up the good work!
"It is only with the heart that one can see clearly, what's essential is invisible to the eye." ~ Antoine St. Exupery
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Harshitha G B
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Post by Harshitha G B »

Julie Basil wrote: 29 Apr 2024, 18:00 This sounds like an interesting collection of short stories. I appreciate your honest critiques of the shortcomings of the book. Keep up the good work!
Thank you and yess it's best to highlight both positive and negative of the book
which may help our fellow reader's to decide while picking the book.
With Warmest Regards,
Harshitha
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MAHAD BAIG MIRZA
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Post by MAHAD BAIG MIRZA »

The reviewer admirably dissected the collection's multifaceted narratives, deftly highlighting its strengths in conveying raw emotion while constructively critiquing chapters that lacked depth, ultimately offering valuable insights for potential readers.
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Gerry Steen
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Post by Gerry Steen »

It is unfortunate that this book had some shortcomings for you. I hope the author is able to improve their writing based on your critiques. Thank you for this honest review.
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Priya Murugesan
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Post by Priya Murugesan »

An honest review from you! As I love vampires and magic, I think I might like this book.
In a world where you can be anything, be kind :)
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Tomi Ahmed
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Post by Tomi Ahmed »

This review offers a balanced critique of the book's strengths and weaknesses. The stories "Behind the Door" and "Narcissus" are praised for their emotional depth, while "Gallery of Horror" is highlighted for its engaging narrative. However, the reviewer found some chapters, like "Do Vampires Dream of Slaughtered Sheep?" and "Quietly They Rise from the Fog," to be lacking in substance. Additionally, "It's Hard to Be a Vampire" was criticized for its fat-shaming content. The book's title is seen as misleading due to its diverse themes beyond vampires. Despite these issues, the reviewer appreciates the author's storytelling abilities and the book's clean editing, ultimately recommending it to fans of horror and magic. The 3 out of 5 rating reflects these mixed impressions.
Tomi Ahmed
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Rajaee R
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Post by Rajaee R »

The author should have given a more appropriate name for the book. Moreover, the book's fat-shaming content could have been avoided.
Thanks for the review. It clearly states the positive and negative aspects of the book.
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Post by Abhishek3m4 »

Your review provides a thorough overview of the collection of short stories, highlighting both its strengths and weaknesses, offering potential readers a clear understanding of what to expect from the book.
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Yashi Shukla
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Post by Yashi Shukla »

I love vampire related books. The plot of this book seems right up my alley. Thank you for your review.
Yours truly,
Yashi Shukla
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