Reviewed by George Ivanoff 

I’m partial to a good vampire novel every now and then, but the really good ones are few and far between. I’ve not read a huge number of them, but of those that have made it onto my reading list, my favourites would be Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot and Poppy Z Brite’s Lost Souls… and now I can add Narrelle M Harris’s The Opposite of Life to that list. It has everything you would expect from a vampire novel (pointy teeth, blood, dead bodies, etc) and yet it is a surprisingly atypical vampire novel in its characters and approach.

Geeky librarian Lissa is having a hard time of life. Dumped by her arsehole boyfriend, she tries to go out and have a bit of fun. But everywhere she goes, she keeps coming across dead bodies — some drained of blood, other mutilated. Are they somehow linked to her? Or is it just a case of wrong place, wrong time? Never one to just sit back and accept things, Lissa decides to investigate. And what she discovers is a world of vampires living and drinking blood in the city of Melbourne. But these vamps only drink blood with the donor’s consent and they don’t kill their donors — at least, that’s the way it’s supposed to be. So who is doing all the killing? And why? Daggy vampire Gary has been assigned the task of investigating the killings by the reclusive head vampire. Lissa ends up following Gary and nagging him into letting her help. Together they set out to solve the mystery.

There is a lot to like about this novel — the setting, the characterisation and the clever plot, as well as Harris’s approach to vampire lore.

It’s pleasing to read a novel that uses Melbourne so well – from the city nightlife to daytime suburbia. It gives a real sense of place, and for me as a Melbournian, a real sense of familiarity, lending the fantastical elements of the novel a solid foundation of reality. Melbourne is a great city and it needs more vampire novels to use it.

Then there are the characters — well rounded, interesting and complex. There’s a real sense of character history to each and every one of them. And I just love the idea of a slightly podgy, daggy vampire who wears loud Hawaiian shirts. Gary and Lissa make a terrifically unusual couple of lead characters. The supporting cast are also an interesting bunch — from Magdalene, the proprietor of the blood-sucking nightclub where vampires hang out, to Lissa’s mother, desperately trying to forget the past — each with their own little quirks and nuances. They’re good, solid characters that feel real.

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to writing about vampires. Different authors will give the mythology a different slant. From Meyer’s sparkling bloodsuckers to Brite’s separate race that gets diluted and less vampiric with each human-interbred generation. And so too, Harris plays with the mythology to good effect. I love the fact that her vampires don’t need to drink blood (they just really, really like it) and that they have a problem learning new skills once they become undead. And these variations to mythology aren’t just shoved into the novel to try and force an artificial freshness, they’re actually important to the story… which gives the novel a genuine freshness.

By now, dear reader, you are no doubt aware that I LOVED this book. What else can I say other than, go out and get it. Oh wait… there is one more thing — I’m very pleased to learn that there will soon be a sequel. I’m looking forward to it!

The Opposite of Life