The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant by Drew Hayes

 

I have a weakness for amusingly loquacious titles and Drew Hayes’ The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant certainly qualifies. The novel follows the misadventures of Fredrick Frankford Fletcher, a timid twentysomething accountant who, as the title suggests, finds himself turned into a vampire.

Fred increasingly finds himself forced into strange and not at all unadventurous situations and makes a number of new friends including a zombie, a would-be-necromancer, a weresteed, and finally Krystal, an old friend from high school and an agent in a mysterious, unnamed agency that deals with the paranormal. The cast of characters is built slowly over each section and it is quite enjoyable to see the whole family assembled at the end.

The novel is structured into five more or less contained short stories that follow Fred as he’s dragged into his girlfriend’s agency business. It is fast paced, often highly amusing, but the plot is slender. The novel is mostly concerned with fun, and it is fun. There is a delightfully whimsical and satirical undertone to the stories. Drew Hayes clearly enjoyed writing the novel and his enthusiasm is infectious.

Humor and comedy is deceptively difficult to write, and while I never laughed out loud, The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant is quirky and highly entertaining. A quick, light read.

 

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