As a pure survival guide, this book covers everything necessary -- how to detect the undead, how to arm and defend yourself, and how to ensure you don't become infected and join their ranks (think of it as collected methodologies in part gleaned from various vampire books and movies). That's only a sampling of what you'll find inside, and such useful knowledge comes with a price. At 260 pages, some content does seem like filler; it could have been a much more enjoyable read at a slimmer 200 pages.
It's a light-hearted attempt at a survival guide -- with vampires -- but much of the intended humor falls flat, especially within the sidebars answering practical questions about vampires and vampirism. Still, the additional "vampire fact" sidebars sprinkled throughout, all based on either traditional folklore or "real" vampires of history, help to spice up some of the less interesting chapters.
Written in easily-digestible sections with numerous illustrations, The Vampire Survival Guide isn't necessarily a page-turner, but still holds enough interest to start, put down, and then revisit on occasion to read a little more. Perfectly suited as a coffee-table book, or alongside holy water and wooden stakes as part of your vampire hunter's kit.
3 out of 5
Purchase The Vampire Survival Guide
from Amazon.com