Re-read audible version 7-6-19
Straight Outta Fangton
A Comedic Vampire Story
By: C. T. Phipps
Narrated by: Cary Hite
This is an audible book I requested and the review is voluntary. Although I have read this book in kindle format, all of Phipps books are worth pre-season again! Especially the funny ones! (Which most are!) This one has an underappreciated black vampire working in some quick shop at night. His boss is a werewolf that is an addict and his best friend is his ...well, he wants to be a vamp too so let's call him a minion. The story starts by them finding a dead body in the bathroom. That is the easiest part for them in the whole book! The rest is down hill! It is a hilarious ride there too! So much craziness, giggles (those were from me), creatures, witty and clever situations and dialogue that kept me glued to the book! Loved it again. Forgot just how funny it was.
The narration was terrific! ( )

I liked this one even if I didn't love it. I decided to read this book because I have really enjoyed this author's work in the past and this sounded like a lot of fun. I did enjoy the story but it didn't grab me the way that I had hoped it would. It took me a lot longer to finish this audiobook than a book this length usually does. I actually started the book over about two hours in because I felt like I had missed some key plot points. I did end up having some fun with this one and am glad that I gave the book a chance.

Being a vampire is supposed to be glamorous, right? That has not been the case for Peter Stone. Peter is a poor black vampire working at the local convenience store. Peter is the only employee at the store that is willing to do any work. Peter can't even get his servant to do anything. When a woman turns to a vampire in the store's bathroom, it is up to Peter to keep things under control.

I had a really hard time connecting with the characters in this story. I didn't dislike Peter but I was never really invested in his well-being. There were a couple of characters that died during the story and I have to admit that I wasn't moved by the development. I feel like it is probably a bad sign when character deaths don't elicit any kind of reaction. I thought that some of the special abilities and unique world building were interesting. I also appreciated the complexity of the mystery and the amount of action in the story.

This was my first experience with Cary Hite's narration. I feel like he did a good job with the story overall but I do wonder if his delivery might have taken some of the humor out of the story. This was described as a comedic story but the humor was completely lost on me. I had no issues with Mr. Hite's reading voice but I do wonder if his narration style might have kept me from really connecting with the story. I wouldn't hesitate to listen to his work again though.

I think that this book will work better for a lot of readers. It was a unique take on vampires with a well thought out mystery. I wouldn't hesitate to read more from C.T. Phipps in the future.

I received a review copy of this audiobook from the author. ( )

This was a fun tale and new take on Detroit vampires. Definitely no cliched Detroit vamps in this story! This is definitely a comedy with plenty of sarcasm and snark. There’s also plenty of pop culture references, which usually added to the fun but sometimes I found a little too much. Just my personal taste there.

Peter Stone is a decent fellow who gets caught up in bigger, badder things. A vampire hunter who’s been turned into a vampire (Melissa) turns up in his life and the two reluctantly join forces to save the vampire nation of New Detroit from a self- hating vamp. Yep, all sorts of vamps in this story. Not everyone wants to be undead, even if the undead now have voting rights, can get night jobs, and have to pay taxes.

One aspect I really liked about this story was part of the set up. The vamps have been carefully working behind the scenes to make vampires palatable to humans through media. There’s the books, the movies, the plush toys, and the bobble heads. After a hundred or so years, the idea of friendly vampires isn’t all that odd to humans.

David (Peter’s thrall), Melissa, and Peter all have lively banter between them. I really liked that some of the joking was centered around bigotry. There’s so many anti-vampers out there (and Melissa used to be one). It reminded me a little of how True Blood used the anti-vamper hate talk to mirror real world hate talk. It was well done, often eliciting a laugh even as the story takes a jab at bigotry in general.

Part of the tale involves solving a murder and for that, Peter needs to involve his master, Thoth. While Peter is in charge around David and Melissa, he has to rein it in and be a little subservient to Thoth. It was nice to see that Peter has this flexibility and also situational awareness. This bodes well for how the character will grow with the series.

Then in steps Renaud, a former French Templar. He’s the Big Baddie of the tale and it’s going to take everything our heroes have to survive. I did find the second half of the tale more fun than the first half. There’s more action. All told, the story could have used a little more world building and little less pop culture. All told, 4/5 stars.

The Narration: Cary Hite gave a really good performance to this story. He had a great voice for Peter stone and his female voices were believable. I enjoyed his voice for Thoth and for Renaud as well. All character voices were distinct. There were no technical issues with the recording. 5/5 stars. ( )

My original Straight Outta Fangton audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Peter Stone is a vampire. A poor African American vampire who is shunned from New Detroit and has to work night shift in a convenience store to make ends meet. Stone discovers a freshly turned vampire in the women’s restroom and from there, his troubles are just beginning. There is a movement to destroy the old ones and a new vampire to step in and take over. Peter is smack dab in the middle.

Filled with witty references and comments from Blade, Blacula, Vampire in Brooklyn and other pop culture film references, CT Phipps tells the story of Peter Stone. Light and comedic, it flows well and captures the listener’s attention. It is not an edge of your seat type of story but it has its moments where the action was non-stop. I enjoyed the scene where Peter enters a sesame seed bun specialty store to investigate a lead but is compelled to count sesame seeds … hilarious!

The narrator, Cary Hite, added an almost Samuel L. Jackson voice to the main character which made it even more captivating! Hite was the pièce de résistance that made the book even more entertaining. The manner in which he voiced the prose was perfect! Together both Phipps and Hite made the book come to life for me.

If you enjoy pop culture references, vampires, and comedy – this is the book for you! It was fun, pure and simple.

There were no issues with the production or quality of this audiobook.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author. ( )

Straight Outta Fangton by C.T. Phipps is an unusual vampire story. It is fun, full of action, a strange world of vamps and weres with humans, and quite a different look at vampire life. Never boring. I was given this book to read and the review was voluntary. ( )