I, Vampire: The Confessions of a Vampire - His Life, His Loves, His Strangest Desires ...

By Michael Romkey

From yesterday to a hundred years ago, he lives in the world and walks among us. He enjoys the finest things in life, including beautfiul women, well-aged wine, and the finest classical composers. He has no guilt—he has no need of it. Neither good, nor bad, neither angel nor devil, he is a man, he is a vampire. And this is his story. . . .

“Women are my weakness. Or to be more accurate, I should say they are my greatest weakness, for I have many. Travel. Books. Classical music. Art. Excellent wine. And, formerly, cocaine. I admit these things without a sense of guilt. I am, as my friend from Vienna says, a man with a man’s contradictions. I am neither good nor bad, neither angel nor devil. I am a man. I am a vampire.”—From I, Vampire

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Dec 15, 2010
• ISBN: 9780307775214

Reviews for I, Vampire

[chris.wolak · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thanks to my friend Hilary for recommending this book. It's a fun read, very fast and humorous with moments of serious heartache and philosophizing.

[patiencefortitude · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Terrible tacky vampire cheese. Dated, circa mid-80s. Overblown and campy. You might not be able to admit to yourself how much you are enjoying it. And wow, is it terrible. In the best possible ways.

[penforhire · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I felt it was a middle-of-the-road reimagining of the vampire mythos. Not bad, but also not as stirring as, say, Anne Rice's work.I think my biggest issue is the characterization of our main protagonist. He is too vanilla/bland/nice guy-ish. I felt his emotions much better before he became a vampire. Romkey did an excellent job visualizing his life's setting and turmoil. But after the transformation it felt too detached, emotionally. It was fascinating, learning about vampirism as he goes along, but not as gripping.I also got a sour taste near the end with the whole "walking in sunshine" thing. That just makes the Illuminati too, um, sparkly (alluding to the "good" vampires of Meyer's Twilight).

[iluvvideo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked this book, but not as much as I wanted to. I followed the story to the climax, but was overwhelmed by the characters (good AND bad) and the myriad story lines. By the end I just wanted to finish, having lost any sense of caring what would happen to the main characters.Now don't get me wrong. I did enjoy the book for the most part and was really interested in the vampire 'coming of age' process. There were some incredible sections of the book that just flew by. I also felt however, that the author kept adding characters and plots to what would have been a great read if left to complete the story with just the main characters.I WILL recommend this to others seeking intriguing vampire fiction. I will also seek the authors other works. He has a unique voice that I want to read more of.

[njbookgirl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I can usually tell how much I like a book by how much I can't wait to read it. In this case, I sometimes went days without picking it up. A good book, I can't go hours without reading. This story definately had potential. Even as I started it, I was interested in the characters & anxious to see how it progressed. Unfortunately, it just fell flat. It was a mixture of a rather boring vampire's life mixed with some gore here & there. It's not a "bad" book but there definately wasn't any desire to recommend this to friends.

[thioviolight · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I think I would have better appreciated this novel had I read it around the time I bought my copy (12 years ago!), when I was at the height of my vampire obsession. Nevertheless, it was nice to read a different take on the vampire lore, and to follow the initiation of this modern vampire into his new life. The story is also filled with interesting vampire characters such as Mozart, Jack the Ripper and the Borgias.

[bcquinnsmom · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Set in 1989, David Parker is a frustrated musician whose wealthy family wanted him to become an attorney. He marries the boss's daughter and lives to regret it. While he's working his tush off, she's having fun with his office mate. He is lonely, addicted to cocaine & hits bottom. Soon afater he is fired from his job, divorced, and meets up with a gorgeous Russian woman named Tatiana. He falls for her almost immediately; unbeknownst to him, she is a vampire. Eventually he decides he can't live without her and begs her to make him a vampire as well. That's when the story REALLY begins. The story is done in diary format so the reader can get into David's head and know his feelings as well as the events that led him to Europe. Once he is in Europe, he finds a nemesis in the form of another vampire, whose identity I will not disclose here. Suffice it to say that David, the fledgling vampire, has unknowingly stepped into a struggle between two different vampire factions. Although set in the 1980s, Romkey made this book interesting by including within its pages several real historical figures, each with his own story to tell and his own role to play in the fight between factions. I liked this novel, and now I want to find the sequels. Very smooth writing; David's character is nicely developed and it is a fun read. Recommended.

[skillz4 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was - in my mind - quite an incredible book. I Think Romkey took past figures (good and bad), and twisted them into an amazing design of "oh yeah..." kind of thinking. I love this book. Please read it if you get a chance.