Gil's All Fright Diner Paperback – May 1, 2005

I'm not even sure where to begin. I picked up this book in the bookstore cause I liked the cover, opened it up and next thing I know I'm still STANDING in the aisle and I'm three chapters in. I buy the book, go home and read it straight through! I've never done that in my life (besides "The Giving Tree"), but I couldn't put it down. Who is this A. Lee Martinez? Does he have any other books?The story is simple: two kinda friends - one a vampire, one a werewolf - agree to help the owner of an all-night diner with her zombie problem. Yea, that sounds simple, but somehow Martinez has crammed more imagination, originality, action, smiles and endearing characters in 272 pages than most writers would in 10 books or their whole career. I am truly impressed.

A very easy and fun read! The characters are great, and there is a lot of humor! The plot flowed well, and the ending was great!

In this highly competitive fiction market where a mere handful of writers pump out eighteen wheeler loads of publisher directed formulaic volumes, it is encouraging to see Tor discovering brilliant young writers. For someone who actually `has' a comb-over, drives a big car, still gets a thrill out of reading Westerns, and occasionally goes back and re-reads old classics by C. S. Forester and Hemingway, it gives me great pleasure to pick up a book that is not only well written, but a heck of a fun read. A. Lee Martinez's, Gils All Fright Diner, is a jewel. Let me warn you gray-templed bookworms that this is not your father's Oldsmobile, it's a Porsche with fangs and hairy seats; but is well worth a night of your time. Superb read, very well written. Different? Oh yes, but wonderfully so.

A fun book with a simple story: Duke (a werewolf) and his buddy Earl (a vampire) come across a diner in the middle of nowhere that's been infested with a zombie problem. Well, it starts out as a zombie problem but turns out to be much more. Along the way you'll encounter a ghost that's forbidden to leave the graveyard, horny teenage cultists, a cop named Kopp, old gods, and maybe the former owner of Gil's Diner, Gil himself. The humor may not be to everyone's liking (Duke's favorite shirt says "No Fat Chicks") but overall it was a lighthearted and easy read.

This was funny as heck and gory to boot. I had way too much fun spending time in this book. Way way too much fun.

I really enjoyed this book. I had read one other book by the author and sought out something else of his to read. I was not disappointed. It runs in the same vein as Koontz' Odd Thomas books-not total mimicry, but similar in that roving guys with extraordinary attributes are battling the forces of evil. I had a hard time putting this one down. I had read other reviews panning the so-called fat woman prejudice and they made me hesitate in getting it, but having read it, I don't think it was as bad as some reviewers claimed (this coming from a formerly pretty fat guy). He actually made Loretta sound appealing to me in spite of her size and I had hopes that Duke would come around before the end of the book, but he didn't. Maybe they can get together in a future sequel? Enough of that. This whole book played out in my head like a movie (think From Dusk 'til Dawn). Wikipedia says that DreamWorks may or may not be working on it. It think live action with CG would be better that animation, but either would be fine with me if they do it justice.

Meet Earl and Duke, one is a skinny, anemic vampire and the other a hefty well nourished werewolf. Then they drive up to Gil's all night diner looking for a cheap meal and end up agreeing to help Loretta (the current owner) with her zombie problem along with others for $100.00 and an extra piece of pie. Just so you know Loretta has a bit of a yen for the werewolf but he is resisting as best he can. We are going to throw in some cemetary guardians and a heaping handful of old gods and stir gently. This menage is a delightfully funny escape from reality and you will not want to put the book down. I read it in one sitting not because I wanted to but I had to, I could not bear to put the book down.I have never read anything by this author before but I am going to find his other books and order them as a treat for myself.

"Gil's All Fright Diner" by A. Lee Martinez, offers an interesting take on the buddy-buddy genre. The two buddies, Earl and Duke, drive into the small town of Rockland in their old pick-up truck, and wander into the midst of a zombie outbreak while eating at a diner. Nearly broke, they decide to stay a while and help out in return for some cash. But, since Earl is a vampire and Duke is a werewolf, this isn't quite as far-out of a premise as it might seem. As I don't discuss plot or give spoilers in my reviews, below are my impressions of this humorous urban fantasy novel.The book is well written and funny, but it wasn't as hilarious to me as some of the other reviewers have indicated. The author both embraces and skewers (mostly skewers) a lot of "conventional" wisdom regarding good, evil, and the dead/undead, to good effect. The story's point of view basically shifts around between three characters, Duke, Earl, and Tammy, all in the third person, and it works well for this novel. There is just enough backstory provided to flesh out the characters without slowing down the narrative. The characters themselves are interestingly quirky, and are generally not simple stereotypes (well except for Chad, perhaps, but that's intentional; when you read the book, you'll see what I mean.)The book would work very well for a sequel, but the author has indicated that he has no plans for a sequel for this or any of his other novels, which is a shame. On the other hand, the book is soundly plotted and completely self-contained, and the story doesn't leave any loose ends. I enjoyed the book; while it wasn't a book I had to finish in one day, it's one of the better ones in its genre. Four stars.

I like A.Lee Martinez' fantasybooks in general. Bought this one again, as I really wanted to reread it and couldn't find my first one.Two very special pals coming to this diner in the middle of nowhere. Evil has also arrived and now: Let the games bigin! Fun read-

After reading a library copy, I had to have one for my shelf. Love the humour. Will be looking for more by this author

I was expecting a Ghostbusters style fun ride, but not even close. It wasn't funny and plot wasn't interesting enough to stop me from skim reading. Finished the entire book in about 2 hrs with breaks and didn't really miss anything.2 stars is generous.

Excellent book. A very clever, funny and thought provking book that will be read by everyone in this house more than once.

Yes, a refreshingly different supernatural adventure about heroes Duke & Earl, two good ole boys who happen to be a wolfman and a vampire, driving around America's dusty back roads, not looking for trouble, when they come upon a diner just as it's attacked by zombies. Impressed by their help, the owner pays them to do a couple of jobs which is just as well as, unknown to them, the diner is the focus of attention from the villain, a sexy seventeen year old girl who wants to raise hell -literally. No, just joking; what she really wants to do is bring back the Elder Gods (cf H.P.Lovecraft) to destroy the world and the zombies are just the warm-up act.Set in a world where supernatural entities lurk just out of sight and small town marshalls usually know how to deal with them, if neccessary, this is an amusing entertainment which builds well.I don't want to spoil anything because, as I mentioned above that the zombies are just the start, there is lots more to come but I can't resist just one -flesh-eating zombie cows! If that doesn't make you want to read the book, I don't know what will.