Happy Hour of the Damned

The only thing I've thought those two words had in common was the starting letter, but "Happy Hour of the Damned" has convinced me that yes, footnotes can be funny. There are 132 footnotes in "Happy Hour's" 290 pages. Before that scares you off, they cover everything from undead abbreviations (USO: Unknown Supernatural Origin) to explaining that an 'my eyes mid-roll' is "standard operating procedure for show of irritability." They range from "don't have anything in your mouth when you're reading them" to "oh, why did I stop reading the wonderful narrative to look?" Footnotes are just the tip of the iceberg of what makes "Happy Hour" different. Mark Henry's also included drink recipes and playlists in exhibit frames on several pages. Bluntly, this should NOT work, but it does. There's everything here to distract you from the narrative. Amanda is both learning how to be a zombie and trying to find a lost succubus, named Liesl. The zombie lessons include such things as what not to eat--just about anything but booze, which really isn't a problem since alcoholism runs in the family--to how to spackle yourself back together when your undead skin's been damaged. We've also got delightfully labeled flashbacks, occasional lists (OCD much?) and strange twists and turns in abundance. But, Henry's timing is exquisite--just when you're about to get totally lost, he throws you a bone and sucks you back into the main plot. Amanda Feral is your typical catty, clothes and cars conscious, self-involved chick lit heroine who tripped on a donut box that she tossed away for someone else to pick up and died. (God I love poetic justic, don't you?) She was so twisted in life, she was having a delicious affair with her therapist, Martin Allende. There's about as much character development as you'd expect, the reviewer says with her tongue firmly planted in cheek. As other reviewers have stated, this book is HILARIOUS, but it's an acquired taste. Readers with a weak stomach should not apply! If you love totally twisted far out horror film humor, you will get more than a happy hour reading this book.

This is the funniest book I have ever read. In the fine tradition of Christopher Moore's Blood Sucking Fiends, Amanda Feral has to learn how to deal with her new undead lifestyle. Amanda's trials are hysterical. I thought I was going to break something laughing. Mark you are one sick puppy. I cannot wait for Road Trip of the Damned.

Notice that most of the other reviews are from really highly ranked, strong selling fantasy authors? That says a lot about the quality of this book. It's not only a fun read, but it's a well-crafted fantasy world that would be great to inhabit, except for the flesh-eating divas.

In case you missed it above: "Gruesome, ghoulish and utterly groundbreaking. Mark Henry is daring and scathingly funny." --Jackie Kessler I really, really enjoyed this book. It's dark and macabre, and seriously twisted -- which in my world makes it damn near perfect. Amanda isn't your average heroine. She's unapologetically biting -- both in her humor and her food choices -- and she's got a brutal fashion sense and a fine appreciation for booze. What makes the story really work for me is that Amanda is more than a well-dressed vehicle for a scathing one-liner: she changes over the course of the book. She grows, bless her dead little heart. Like I said, the humor is dark. If EVIL DEAD is your thing, I bet you'll love this book.

If you're like me, you've always thought that the hot, flirty action on Sex and the City was missing one essential thing: humans getting eaten by zombies. Finally, someone has breached the gap in that field of entertainment, and his name is Mark Henry. Happy Hour of the Damned follows ad exec Amanda Feral as she adjusts to life as one of the living dead, following an unfortunate slip in a parking lot. Amanda's a sassy, no-nonsense heroine with a taste for both quality fashion and human flesh. Her friends, vampire Gil and zombie Wendy, are fantastic, and the trio provides non-stop wit and banter as they unravel the mystery of what's happened to a missing friend. Mark's easy writing style captures Amanda's voice perfectly and makes this urban fantasy book hard to put down. If you like your humor a little dark and twisted, you've come to the right place--and you'll never look at Starbucks the same way again.