De'Ath Takes a Holiday by Shaun Micallef
De'Ath Takes a Holiday written by renowned Australian comedian, actor and writer Shaun Micallef is an interesting meta take on the gothic.
It certainly has a very clever premise and engaging plot line that links the vampyre myth with the slave trade (although Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice had a similar context and setting). Without too many spoilers, Comte De'Ath the original vampyre uses slaves turned zombies to pick cotton in his fields thus funding his immortal life.
The Comte appears at many interesting points in history and tells us the real stories of the great and the good. It is obviously well researched and well written.
Whether you enjoy this book or not is very much dependent on your sense of humour. It is very clever, uses a lot of literary allusions, and is a different take on the traditional gothic style.
I enjoyed the witty reviews by long dead authors on the cover and first pages - but I stand with Bram Stoker's alleged quote - 'If I wasn't dead I would sue!'
Dead authors outraged by what current authors are doing with their work is an interesting idea for a future work perhaps?
Find De'Ath Takes a Holiday by Shaun Micallef.
Jenny
Format
Books
Reactions