Where I Explain Why It's Still Good

El Último Vampiro by Juan Antonio Amezcua
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I didn't actually like this book very much, but I'm not here to dump on it. It does some things well and serves a purpose, which I will explain.

I tried to get to a bookstore while on vacation in Mexico, but they weren't convenient to my location. And in any case, the hours and days they were open didn't match with my available time there. (I located one in person on a Sunday, but it was closed, of course, and didn't open again until Tuesday--when I was leaving.) Disappointing. But I was assured by many folks that OXXO (kinda like 7-Eleven) sold books. And they do. Not many, but a few. That's where I found this one.

The novel is meant to be a high-interest low-difficulty book, one to read for fun or to give to a reluctant reader. The plot isn't well thought out, and the plot holes are enormous, but it moves along rather entertainingly, careening from one idea to the next. Why didn't Hugo the vampire kill the girl? Was she the first pretty girl he'd seen in all those years? What happened after he saved them from the bullies? Why weren't all the disappearances showing up in the local news? How did Valeria and Erick overlook Hugo's many murders when they befriended him? How'd they take it so in stride?

I dunno is the answer to all of them. The book has its own logic. With vampires and vampire hunters and bullies and battles and scheming and noble sacrifices, there's lots of good stuff to make you overlook such concerns. Also, very importantly, it's not very long, only about 25,000 words. I wish it was formatted more like a Goosebumps book and less like a school book, but that's not the author's fault. At least the cover is sufficiently creepy.

Anyway, I'm all for anything that gets people reading, and this book is a perfectly good example of the type of book aimed at reluctant and infrequent readers. More power to everyone involved.

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