Out for Blood

By: John Peyton Cooke

Narrated by: Sean Duregger

Young Chris Callaway finds escape from the diagnosis of his terminal illness in the company of vampires, but he soon discovers that "life" among the undead holds its own set of terrors.

©1991, 2019 John Peyton Cooke (P)2020 Valancourt Books LLC

Love John Peyton Cooke’s writing

Have enjoyed everything I have ever ready by him. His wiring is usually queer and a bit horror or mystery.

Unique take on vampires

John Peyton Cooke & Sean Duregger brought Chris to life, you will laugh and cry. This was a bit more of an adventure story than expected . Overall it was a nice listen but felt like something was missing, but will listen to it again.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Excellent book & narration

I don’t actively seek out horror books (well, not since I was on a Stephen King kick in middle school), but I’m thrilled to have found this audiobook. I think it technically qualifies as a romance too, but this will be best enjoyed by folks who are OK with that being a small part of the story.

Chris Calaway is 22, dying of leukemia, obsessed with vampires and I immediately fell in love with him as a character. If fatal optimism is possible, that’s Chris. He’s really so excited to be free of his disease and becoming a part of a world he has fantasized about his whole life that I couldn’t help but jump into the world with him.

Cooke has a unique take of vampires and does a fantastic job on world building. He also spends time on the history of certain characters that entertains and it’s not until later that you realize what parts are relevant to current day. 1991 current. Perhaps it’s because I was not much younger than Chris in the early 90’s, but the book felt nostalgic instead of outdated. There is quite a bit of well crafted mystery and suspense going on, punctuated by enough humor to keep the nightmares at bay. I was enthralled from beginning to end and finished it in 2 days.

My only complaint, and I admit it’s unfounded other than I really like a good romance, would be to have heard more about Chris and his beau. Is it possible to demand a sequel 30 years later?

Narration:
Sean Duregger did a fantastic job with the narration. This was a huge cast of characters and Duregger gave each of them their own unique sound as well as skillfully expressing various emotions. I look forward to more of his work.

Trigger Warnings (possible spoilers):
It’s Vampires. There’s blood sucking and a few murders. While somewhat detailed, I didn’t find it overly gory.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from Audiobooks Unleashed and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

A gripping vampire story, superbly narrated!

I’ve listened to and read dozens of vampire stories, and it can sometimes feel like a genre that has been bled dry (sorry, I couldn’t resist). Not so here! Not so at all!
This story brings some truly original ideas to the vampire mythology, and illuminates a well crafted, original blond-sucking universe through excellent plot, character, and story structure. We are introduced to this visceral vampire world by Chris, a delightfully honest, and mildly cynical, newly turned bloodsucker. The plot takes some nicely unexpected turns, moves at a great pace, and builds to a very satisfying finish.
The vocal magic is performed here by Sean Duregger. His obvious love of this genre and the craft of horror storytelling shines through in every chapter. His voices are distinct, and every character is wonderfully sketched out by his performance. Sean has an obvious talent for finding the music of a story, and relaying the emotional journey of every character and scene.
I found I couldn’t stop listening to this, and after I ran out of errands to run to keep listening in the car, I sat back in my office to complete the book. I was sad to find there is no sequel, so listeners should savor every minute of this tale, as Sean carries you along on this sensual, suspenseful ride. This is one I will come back to. Very highly recommended!

Not what I was hoping for...

Based on the reviews, I was so looking forward to listening to this. It seemed like it would be something dramatic and interesting. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it past the first hour or so. I honestly don't know if it was a combination of story and narrator, or just that the narrator didn't do the story justice, but it all just felt super cheesy. Almost like a really bad porno without the porn. Something I could totally picture being mocked (if in movie form) on an episode of MST3K. If that's your schtick then go for it, but I am definitely exchanging.