Rebel Town Reviews [OPEN]

V Generation (Chapters 1-5) - @Dark_Writes

V Generation (Chapters 1 - 5) by Dark_Writes

Reviewed by ESHurricane

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Overview

Millennial vampires. There is no other way to describe this story. If you ever wanted a sarcastic and promiscuous look at what bloodsucking immortals would be like in this generation, look no further. V Generation is a romp through the lives of a group of entitled assholes that abuse their power in the name of selfishness. It's fun and gritty and suspenseful all at the same time, and tackles a lot of unique things that most supernatural stories of this era do not.

Cover/Title

I dig the title, it definitely works for the in-your-face feel of the novel, and of course it's clever too. I like the play on Generation with the V for vampires.

I like the cover, I think it's an interesting stylistic choice, with the crossed arms mimicking the V shape. However, I don't feel that it accurately captures the overall flavour of the story. I'm not a graphic designer, but as a reader and purchaser of books, I can say that if I saw this on a shelf somewhere I would assume that this is the cover of a more serious novel. I wouldn't expect to find what's inside.

Although, maybe that's the point. Maybe the elegant cover is an allusion to the characters being beautiful and elegant and high on themselves, meanwhile they're murdering demon assholes on the inside. In which case... damn, I like it.

Summary/Description

The summary is excellent. It's clear, to the point, and sums up Chester's personality in a nutshell. It has a clear beginning, middle and end, and raises questions that definitely make me want to click that READ button. I especially liked the unhip plebeians bit.

Hook

So, as far as first lines go, I don't feel that it's the strongest opening. The sentence is We're at Tuck, and while it does make me immediately wonder what Tuck is, which is good, I feel like somebody like Chester (especially in first POV) could come in with a much harder bang here.

That being said, the title of the chapter is Fabulous Bitches, which is quite possibly the best opening chapter title I've ever seen... so if we count that as the hook, then perhaps we can forget what I said about the first sentence.

Grammar/Structure

We can just swipe this category completely from the record. Grammar is impeccable here, but I wouldn't expect anything less from the author of Fix That Bitch: A Foul-Mouthed Guide to Grammar.

Characters

There is so much to love and love to hate about this colourful cast of characters. My favourite thing is that I don't find a single one of them likable. And it's not even because they're murdering demons. I guarantee even without the supernatural element I would enjoy not liking any of them as regular mortal assholes.

Chester is a hipster that hates hipsters. He has the world at his fingertips but he's just a whiny bored little shit like an undead Holden Caulfield. I found myself simultaneously to punch him in his devilishly handsome face, and loving reading about his depravity.

He's a strong protagonist because he has so much to say, so much to think, so much to do. He's got this clear pretentiousness that is ever prevalent even when he's criticizing everyone else for being pretentious. He's a delicious contradiction of himself, all wrapped up in the bow of immortality and vampire powers with no conscience. It's a recipe for excellent literature.

This isn't to say that I can't connect with Chester, however. When he's pining over Vince, the guy he's in love with (or at least he thinks he's in love with), he becomes vulnerable. This kind of desperation really humanizes him and even though he treats Vince like a drug that he can't quit it makes him just a little more relatable and multifaceted.

Speaking of the supporting characters, they play a big role, and many even get a chapter or two in their own POV, which adds a unique flavour to the story. The author does an amazing job distinguishing the characters, making their inner monologue very clear so that it's easy to see that we've switched. And being in everyone's head really hammers home the theme that none of these characters are good people. There is no good vs. evil here. Just ambiguous fuckery.

I also love that none of the characters seem to give a shit about sexual or gender identity, they all just kind of screw who they want when they want. It's refreshing. :)

In case anyone is wondering, Sarah is my favourite character. She's the only one I like because I like her. #TeamSarah

Narrative

Narrative voice is heavy here, skillfully presented in a series of different points of view. The story centers around Chester, or at least appears to at first, but then we get insights into what all of the other characters are doing and thinking as the plot progresses. It's not enough to just tell us what they're up to, nay, we have to be inside their heads. And I love that.

POV switching like this can be clunky and jarring at best, or boring at worst if the characters have no personality. And none of those things apply here. Every time I got a new character chapter, I was excited to see exactly how they feel about everyone else. They're constantly assuming and accusing and putting words in each other's mouths, and nine out of ten times with a POV switch I found out that those assumptions were so wrong. Or at least the motivations behind the thoughts were wrong. It's so interesting and gives a lot more depth to the story.

Plot/Pacing

The plot and pacing are good for the first little bit, as I was just learning about this world. I honestly felt like I could just read about these characters messing around and partying all the time and be totally content. But alas, plot happens, and it's revealed to be a classic whodunit. With an immortal twist, of course.

The story eases from what seems like a bunch of random moments to pass the time into linear storytelling very gradually, and I didn't even notice it happening. A few times a chapter would start with a new character in a seemingly random place and then by the end it would tie back into the story and I'd be left going ohhhhh! which always makes me happy. And also how I ended up binging this entire book instead of just reading five chapters.

Closing Comments

All I can say, really, is go read this book. If you like dark humour and weird sexy scenes that will make you question your morals, go read this book. If you like unique character-driven pieces that are also deliciously offensive, go read this book. Just go read it.