If you enjoy mild, dry, self-deprecating humour, delivered in the context of a tongue-in-cheek take on Urban Fantasy, then "The Utterly Uninteresting And Unadventurous Tales of Fred, The Vampire Accountant" is the book for you.
Fred was not an exciting person before he became a vampire. He was a slightly lonely CPA who lived a quite life and who would do almost anything to avoid confrontation. Fred has remained true to his nature in his undeath, or at least, almost. He still works as a CPA, although he's had to change his office hours to avoid daylight. He still lives alone, spending most of his time in his apartment. He has his blood supply delivered.because he can't cope with the idea of having to hunt for his food. Then he goes to his High School Reunion and his undeath begins to change.
Over the course of these tales, Fred doesn't quite turn from Clarke Kent to Superman but he does carry off, albeit almost accidentally and never with the expectation of success, a series of exciting escapades.
These are tales that deliver gentle humour rather than laugh-out-loud comedy. As each tale unfolded, my affection for the conflict-averse Fred grew. Fred slowly collects a set of misfit, supernatural friends as he works through a High School Reunion dance that makes "Carrie" look anemic, a Live Action Role Play with some real magic in the mix, a negotiation with the creatures who really own Las Vegas, and an attack by a vampire uber-predator and his minions.
The book consists of seperate tales that hang together like episodes in a TV series but don't quite add up to a novel. The downside is a mildly annoying amount of repetition that made me long for a "Previously on 'Fred, the vampire accountant...'" section at the beginning of each tale.
Kirby Heyborne narrates the tales with great comic timing and the least threatening vampire voice I've ever heard.
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