Books About Vampires

[samah]

I've noticed recently from the internet that there are a lot of books about vampires ,I believe that the first one was Dracula by Stocker and the other writers found this book as an access for hundreds of other stories about vampires , Vlad Tipes , Transylvania ...etc.
I know that a lot of people believe that this is not good literature but lets admit it these things are successful and somehow fun .
I'm 20 years old in the last a few years I started to believe that maybe vampires are real ! every time I watch T.V theres a series or a movie about vampires, deamons
and who didnt watch Buffy anyway ?!
Its like Vampires and more other things are apart of a new culture we are forced to be part of especially if you are young , when you go to school you find everyone is reading these things and talking about it , but you dont see too many people reading books for Destoevsky or Tolestoy for example ,
, I'm not saying that all the vampires books are bad and unfortunatly I've never read anyone of them just because english is not my first language and actually I'm not so good in it and I couldnt find other books in my language .
What I'm trying to say is that its a good thing to read everything but we should always be able to evaluate what we read .

[Bysshe]

I've only ever read two books about vampires - Dracula and Interview with the Vampire.

However, I ended up really regretting reading Interview with the Vampire. It was very disappointing.

[mir]

i read Sunshine, by Robin McKinley, and it became my absolute favorite book (that's not a classic which I only read once); but when i started half-looking for other vampire books because i'd loved that one so much, i couldn't really find anything good. does anyone know some GOOD vampire books?

and i think vampire books are so popular because they combine a lot of elements that are really well-liked in books - an otherwordly aspect, easy read without a huge amount of thought, eroticism, and violence.

interpretation is fun, but let's face it, books that are nothing more than face value are too, especially on a friday night at 12:00 . . . it all depends on your mood.

[Bysshe]

does anyone know some GOOD vampire books?

Dracula's the obvious choice...if you haven't read it already.

[Hyacinth Girl]

does anyone know some GOOD vampire books?
interpretation is fun, but let's face it, books that are nothing more than face value are too, especially on a friday night at 12:00 . . . it all depends on your mood.
I recently read, "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova. I found it a lot of fun as a vampire mystery that drew on a large historical base, and even echoed Stoker's Dracula in form to some extent through use of various letter narratives introduced into the linear narrative. Great literature it is not, but a definite GOOD read.

[Pendragon]

If you like short stories, I recommend Dracula in London edited by P.N. Elrod, The Mammoth Book of Dracula edited by Stephen Jones, and then there's The Many Faces of Van Helsing, edited by Jeanne Cavelos, and the excellent 100 Vicious Little Vampire Stories, one of a 100 story series put out by Barnes & Noble and edited by Robert Weinberg, Stefan Dziemanowicz, and Martin H. Greensburg. The stories are by such authors as Tanith Lee, Christopher Golden, Brian Lumley, Ramsey Campbell, Gene DeWeese, Mike Ashley, Greg Cox, Hugh B, Cave, and other masters of fantasy and horror. http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/verkleidung/costumed-smiley-001.gif

[mir]

thanks! i'll try as many as i can find! : )

[Jay]

What about John Polindori's The Vampyre (http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/p/polidori/john/vampyre/) (published 1819)? - think ghost-story telling competition at Lake Geneva 1816 - Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (http://www.online-literature.com/shelley_mary/frankenstein/) was written then. I think Byron wrote Darkness (http://www.online-literature.com/byron/685/), but not too sure. P.B. Shelley wrote Alastor, or The Spirit of Solitude (http://www.bartleby.com/139/shel112.html) if I'm not mistaken. I guess Polindori beat Stoker and used the idea of a vampire in literature first ;)... or at least English lit.

Yep, romanticism exam soon, what gave me away? :D

[kathycf]

Lost Souls by Poppy Z Brite
Sunglasses after Dark by Nancy Collins
Both of these came out in the early 90's, and I think they are worth a look, if you like vampire and/or horror stories.

Apparently there is an upcoming movie "Ultraviolet" this is the author's website.

http://www.yvonnenavarro.com/ultraviolet.htm

[mir]

sounds like Underworld

[Weeping Willow]

If some wants there is a really good book series called Ravenloft..
the first book is called Vampire of the Mists by Christie Golden.
REally really good..

[Shannanigan]

Now that I think about it, I've only been reading one series of books related to vampires, and I haven't read any other books outside of the series. The books, of course, are the Anita Blake series I'm always ranting about...by Laurell K. Hamilton, starting with the book "Guilty Pleasures." (I don't care how much anyone thinks it is just a useless page-turning, keep-me-entertained-this-summer series....I love it!) Hamiton's books also include werewolves and other were-animals, are based on a character who raises zombies, and every once in a while a witch or troll will make an appearance. I really should read Dracula, huh? lol....

[kathycf]

... The books, of course, are the Anita Blake series I'm always ranting about...by Laurell K. Hamilton, starting with the book "Guilty Pleasures." (I don't care how much anyone thinks it is just a useless page-turning, keep-me-entertained-this-summer series....I love it!)

Nothing wrong with that, I like reading books of all different kinds.Something "trashy" can have merit even if all it provides is an afternoon's entertainment. :)

Carmilla by J. Sheridan LeFanu is also a good creepy vampire story.
Free download
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/10007


sounds like Underworld
I dunno, I didn't see that. After I saw Blade, I swore off vampire movies for a while.... :brow:
the two books I mentioned are pretty good though.

Lost Souls by Poppy Z Brite
Sunglasses after Dark by Nancy Collins

[Padan Fain]

Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin. Not typical, but also one of the best novels I've ever read. recently re-released.

[Satine]

I'm not a fan of Vampire books, but I have a friend that is and she is a huge fan of Anne Rice. Christ the Lord is supposed to be really good, but I haven't read it, and it's different than her other stuff......

[Pendragon]

Poppy Z Brite-- excellent short stories. I collect anthologies, and I've read many stories by this author. Very good! :nod: Tres chic!

[kathycf]

Poppy Z Brite-- excellent short stories. I collect anthologies, and I've read many stories by this author. Very good! :nod: Tres chic!
Oui! :)

I'm not a fan of Vampire books, but I have a friend that is and she is a huge fan of Anne Rice. Christ the Lord is supposed to be really good, but I haven't read it, and it's different than her other stuff......
I was just talking about this the other day, actually.

Anne Rice has nailed her vampire novels into a coffin.
"I will never write those kind of books again -- never," Rice said, referring to three decades of work that include bestsellers like "Interview with the Vampire" ...Her books about witches and dark angels, she said, "were reflections of a world that didn't include redemption."..."In 2002 I made up my mind that I would not write anything that wasn't for Christ," .... "Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt" tells the story of a young Jesus from his point of view: a 7-year-old boy who is discovering his powers and his identity.
full text of the article here: http://www.beliefnet.com/story/178/story_17806_1.html

[Bastet]

I've only ever read two books about vampires - Dracula and Interview with the Vampire.

However, I ended up really regretting reading Interview with the Vampire. It was very disappointing.


Hello! Could you please develop this thought? I'm writing my phd project on Interview with the Vampire and I'm very interested in other people's opinions about it, even though they're not positive. Thank you!

[Bastet]

"What I'm trying to say is that its a good thing to read everything but we should always be able to evaluate what we read" (QUOTE FROM SAMAH)

That is a good thought

[mtpspur]

Fred Saberhagen has an excellent series of Dracula novels starting with the Dracula Tape. I personally consider Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Count Germaine series superior to Anne Rice but my opinion is biased plus as well written as they are they left me feeling creepy. Plus somewhere on the internet the original Varney the Vampire is available to read for free--important more for historical then quality reading. I tend to find things on the net by typing a title into Yahoo and following the trail which is how I found this site.

[Pendragon]

Yes, I should have mentioned Fred Saberhagen. His Séance with a Vampire brings him and Sherlock Holmes together, and The Holmes/Dracula Files reveals a startling relation between the two. Both excellent books. :nod:

[Bysshe]

Hello! Could you please develop this thought? I'm writing my phd project on Interview with the Vampire and I'm very interested in other people's opinions about it, even though they're not positive. Thank you!

Well, where to begin?

The reason I read it in the first place was because it inspired one of my favourite songs, so I think perhaps my expectations were a little too high. Somehow, I just couldn't get into it. I didn't like any of the characters, I found Anne Rice's style of writing slightly irritating, and it wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be. The plot seemed to drag on really slowly, and I ended up losing patience with it. After I got a quarter of the way through, I found myself thinking "I don't care what happens next - what's the point in carrying on?", so I gave up.

Maybe it's a bit unfair to judge, seeing as I never read it all the way through, but for me, it just wasn't worth it

I hope my views are of some use, and good luck with your project.

[kathycf]

Hello! Could you please develop this thought? I'm writing my phd project on Interview with the Vampire and I'm very interested in other people's opinions about it, even though they're not positive. Thank you!

I will sneak in here and give my opinion as well. I originally read Interview with the Vampire as a kid, and it was... ok. Rice's style is a bit melodramatic and overly "wordy". she does tend to build a good atmosphere, but she loses me with her storytelling. I tried reading the first book in the "Mayfair" series. Snooze....

[Bysshe]

Yes, there's definitely a good atmosphere in Interview with the Vampire, but sadly, it's not enough to hold up a plot.

[Satine]

I was just talking about this the other day, actually.

full text of the article here: http://www.beliefnet.com/story/178/story_17806_1.html


Wow. That was fascinating. Who knew? A friend of mine actually recommended Christ the Lord to me, but I was skeptical... now I will definitely add it to my list. Once it comes out in paperback, lol. Funds are a bit tight at the moment... it's paperback or nothin' for me. :p

[poetru_fanatic]

I've only ever read two books about vampires - Dracula and Interview with the Vampire.

However, I ended up really regretting reading Interview with the Vampire. It was very disappointing.

Really? I have yet to read the book. I saw the show and I must admit I really liked it and I was hoping there was a book of it. When I found out there was I've been trying to get a hold of it but I never can. So was it really that disappointing? I guess I'll c...

[poetru_fanatic]

I know a good vampire book... It may be a young adultish type book but I found it.... imaginative and interesting. It's called Midnight Predator. I'd give you the author but as if I know.....

[kathycf]

I know a good vampire book... It may be a young adultish type book but I found it.... imaginative and interesting. It's called Midnight Predator. I'd give you the author but as if I know.....

I love Google! :) This does sound like a good book, has gotten very good reviews.


Midnight Predator is a vampire novel written by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, published in 2002 when the author was 18. The novel was an ALA Quick Pick and “a must-read” according to School Library Journal, who also wrote that “the plot and characters are so skillfully intertwined that each one moves the story to its thoughtful ending.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_Predator

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385327943/002-4457322-3431237?v=glance&n=283155

[Bastet]

Bysshe and Kathycf, thank you for your opinions on Interview with the Vampire, they're definitely helpful when thinking about the way the story flows and how some readers perceive it. I obviously like the book, but I can see how many people might find it slow. Also, the book is the memoirs of one character after many centuries have gone by, so you would expect a lot of reflection on the acts that happened. I guess there's more reflection on the events narrated than actual events.

[earthboar]

I recently read, "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova. I found it a lot of fun as a vampire mystery that drew on a large historical base, and even echoed Stoker's Dracula in form to some extent through use of various letter narratives introduced into the linear narrative. Great literature it is not, but a definite GOOD read.

The Historian was more fun than Interview With The Vampire. But, it was hard to take it too seriously. It was directly related to Dracula, a sort of modern extension of Bram Stoker. It read like a Harry Potter for adults, and almost as long.

Interview was one of my least favorite Anne Rice books, I like the Mayfair Witches, the Tale of the Body Thief. But, interview was a good metaphor for what happens when you think you can get close to evil by objectifying it--you get bit.

[Idril]

Hello! Could you please develop this thought? I'm writing my phd project on Interview with the Vampire and I'm very interested in other people's opinions about it, even though they're not positive. Thank you!

I liked it enough to read the other Vampire Chronicles, there were times when the action was very slow but then again, Louis is the main character in Interveiw and Louis is...one of the least dynamic of the vampires. :rolleyes: After having read several of the other Vampire Chronicles, I look at that first one as being a typical 'first of the series' book, it was finding it's place, it was finding it's focus and sometimes it went in odd directions but I think the it set up the world of Anne Rice vampires very well and I think it made that world intriguing enough, at least for me, to want to go back there...and it had Claudia who was incredibly creepy and disturbing and fascinating, she was really the highlight of the book for me.

[Bastet]

Hello Idril, it was great to hear you say that about Claudia on your previous post. I am writing my project on her, so you can assume I definitely agree with you. Many people focus on Louis and Lestat (great character by the way, especially if you read The Vampire Lestat), but Claudia doesn't seem to have caught many people's attention

[kathycf]

Actually, I felt Claudia was much more interesting and poignant than both Lestat and Lewis. She never had a chance to be anything but a vampire. I always thought it was so sad (and yes, very creepy) to have the mind of a sophisticated woman literally trapped in the body of a young child.

[Bysshe]

Claudia was the only character that really interested me, and I contemplated finishing it just to see what happened with her.

The song which made me want to read Interview with the Vampire in the first place was all about the character of Claudia:

"She wanders alone through the night
A child with eyes burning bright
She extends her arms for an embrace, a tiny smile
Ruby lips on a doll like face

The danger's a mystery here
As she invites you to hold her near
Her mirrored image could not be linked to
A woman's mind, so sharp and so distinct"

I thought the character sounded intriguing, and I was right - Claudia was the best thing about the book.

[mir]

i didn't really like the book. i read it just a few days ago, and it was okay, but . . . nothing special. i did like the charater Louis, though . . . he has a great psychology. and claudia was cool too. the characters' thoughts and emotions and the way Anne Rice showed them was the only really good thing abut the book.

[Bastet]

The song which made me want to read Interview with the Vampire in the first place was all about the character of Claudia:

"She wanders alone through the night
A child with eyes burning bright
She extends her arms for an embrace, a tiny smile
Ruby lips on a doll like face

The danger's a mystery here
As she invites you to hold her near
Her mirrored image could not be linked to
A woman's mind, so sharp and so distinct"

Hello Bysshe, where did you read this song?

[Bysshe]

Hello Bysshe, where did you read this song?

The lyrics are from a song by The Damned, if that's what you mean. The song's called "The Dog", and it's from the 1982 Damned album "Strawberries", if you were wondering.

It's a beautiful song. :)

[Bastet]

Thank you Bysshe, I was definitely wondering all those things! :)

[Loveless]

Another good Vampire Novel would have to be the Vampire Lestat, Queen of the Damed, Tale of the Body Thief, and pretty much all of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. Although I really did not like the first one, Interview with the Vampire, it was truly dissapointing, as well as the chacter Louis.

[Loveless]

Okay to add on to what I posted ealier, Louis is very irratating to me. He tries to find himself by over thinking, and thus confusing himself, He tries to hang on to his morality and it's not really working, well it does in a way. Partly Lestat is to blame for this to, but he he is a chacter that is used to knowing what to do, and thinks that others also already know what to do, and so he figures he dosn't have to teach them. Armand, don't even get me started on him, I really don't undersand him, he is just to full of suprises, one of thos chactcters that I really don't want to think about. Claudia, a evil witch, to put it simply, she minulpuates any one and everyone in her path. Look at what she did to Louis, she forced him to choose between her, or Lestat. And then, emotionallly blackmailed him in to creating another vampire, somthing I might add, he swore never to do again. I guess it's all realaive to what you look at and from there determining her chacter and nature. Granted, she is a great chacater, and to me she's one of those chacters that I love to hate. But, I guess the same thing can be said about Lestat, after all he is '...the damest thing.'

[avari]

I believe that the first one was Dracula by Stocker...
I think it was Polidori's The Vampyre actually. and my favorite vampire novel is I am Legend by Richard Matheson (I'm really surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet), although I'm reading Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire right now and *so far* I like it.


Actually, I felt Claudia was much more interesting and poignant than both Lestat and Louis. She never had a chance to be anything but a vampire. I always thought it was so sad (and yes, very creepy) to have the mind of a sophisticated woman literally trapped in the body of a young child.
that's what's interested me, too. although, I have to admit I kind of like Louis' moping.

[Idril]

...although, I have to admit I kind of like Louis' moping.

I really didn't mind it that much in the first novel either but believe me, it gets old after awhile. :rolleyes: I guess I just kept expecting Louis to progress at some point, that we would either delve a little deeper into his character so that we would care a little more about him, have a deeper emotional stake in him and his life or that he would eventually come to some kind of peace about his state of being but neither of those things ever happen, he, as a character, never progresses past Interview.

[avari]

he, as a character, never progresses past Interview.really? that's depressing, considering I was hoping he would.
oh well! I'll keep reading and maybe have some epiphany about life myself!

[Idril]

really? that's depressing, considering I was hoping he would.
oh well! I'll keep reading and maybe have some epiphany about life myself!

He's not featured in any of the other books, he's always a kind of afterthought, like she gets through the whole story without him, then realizes it so tries to go back and stick in a mention of him here and there. I don't think she herself knew what to do with him which is too bad because I certainly feel he had potential.

[Countess]

Hey Bastat, funny you should ask that question, given your name. My Queen Noctor (Noctors are the top of the food chain in Black Panther and consume vampires) will adopt this title as her identity later on in the book.

How's that for wrapping everything neatly together under one post?

BUT as to your question, IWAV was a better movie, I think. Anne Rice's style is not my favorite. The character of Lewis, however, was compelling, given his angst. Once he accepted his nature though, he became quite droll.

T

[Bastet]

Hey Countess, I didn't know about Queen Noctor, could you develop a little, please? I adopted this name from Bastet, an ancient Egyptian goddess basically worshipped as a goddess of joy and protector or women. She was always identified with the cat, which also happens to be my favorite animal.

I also think the character of Louis in Interview was more interesting due to his existencial angst. But like I think I've said before, he's my least favorite character, the firt one being Claudia closely followed by Lestat (anyone who likes Lestat should read the Vampire Lestat).

[kathycf]

I think it was Polidori's The Vampyre actually. and my favorite vampire novel is I am Legend by Richard Matheson (I'm really surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet), although I'm reading Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire right now and *so far* I like it.


that's what's interested me, too. although, I have to admit I kind of like Louis' moping.

I believe you are correct about Polidori, although that book was never as widely read as Stoker's. Goodness, I forgot all about I am Legend, (it had some sci/fi elements to it) I read that years ago. It was a good story, but I found it very "claustrophobic" and depressing (imagine being the last person on earth and all your friends, neighbors and loved ones are either dead or even worse...) Thanks for reminding me of this story. :nod:

[Azazello]

There is also Sergei Lukyaneko's Others trilogy. Night Watch was based on this book. I believe 2 of the books are translated: Night Watch and Day Watch, not sure about the last one as I only have it in Russian. Brilliant read and has so much more than just vampires. The whole Good vs Evil debate takes completely different proportions there.

S.

[Pendragon]

Well, you want to go way back, the text for Varney the Vampire is probably availible somewhere on the net. It's an oldie (predated Dracula), but not bad. Try a few websites devoted to vampire literature, or just Google Varney. http://www.cosgan.de/images/kao/figuren/g065.gif

[Danika_Valin]

I've read a few vampire novels, but the only one that met my expectations was Dracula by Bram Stoker. I've read Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice, and while I thought some of the characters were interesting, her writing style makes me cringe. It may be her motive to dull the wonders of the vampire world to make it more beliveable, but even though the narrator in TVL and QotD is a vampire and would not find his life as extraordinary as the reader would, sometimes I feel like Anne writes about spectacular events as if she were writing about brushing her teeth. The fact everything comes across as being so mundane makes me feel awkward. A perfect example of this is when Lestat introduces himself to the reader at the beginning of the books. I flipped through those pages without reading them.
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova was an interesting take on the vampire novel, and even though I know little about the Ottoman Empire and Mehmed II's relationship with Vlad Tepes, I thought it was neat to give the vampire legend a historical foundation. It was very unique, and I think it was entertaining. My only complaint with the book is that it ends in a deus ex machina. I don't want to give any spoilers. The problem that continually builds through 500 some pages of text is resolved very quickly, and in my opinion, too easily. It was almost like Kostova said, "enough of this already," and finished the book just so she could get it over with.

Also, Salem's Lot by Stephen King was a disappointment. I hoped the book would give me some thrills. It didn't. I wouldn't say it was a "bad" book, but it didn't meet my expectations. Well... what can I say? It's Stephen King, after all...

[Bastet]

I had the same feeling about Kostova's The Historian. So many pages building expectation for something that in the end seemed to resolve itself so easily... It was a good book overall though, especially for those who are interested in some historical background as well as in the thriller part of a book.

[Taliesin]

If some wants there is a really good book series called Ravenloft..
the first book is called Vampire of the Mists by Christie Golden.
REally really good..

There are book series about Ravenloft?
Well, we should have guessed. There are lots of books about Forgotten Realms and Ravenloft as a world is way better than FR.

We know Ravenloft as a gothic horror RPG world. One of the best we have ever seen. (we think that it is the best published one) Truly beautiful. It is very demanding for a Game-Master, though. We run a session of Mordent combined with the Cube, but we think the traps were too ineffectual and didn't manage to almost-kill them (they were newbies to DD, still). The end result wasn't dread and horror, but surrealism, as our games tend to go.

[Bastet]

I just finished reading Anne Rice's The Tale of the Body Thief. Is there anything the Vampire Lestat cannot do? hahaha! I do love that character, but I think at this point in the Vampire Chronicles he's a little too full of himself... anyone who read this book would like to give me their opinion?

[Loveless]

I just finished reading Anne Rice's The Tale of the Body Thief. Is there anything the Vampire Lestat cannot do? hahaha! I do love that character, but I think at this point in the Vampire Chronicles he's a little too full of himself... anyone who read this book would like to give me their opinion?

Bastet, I have read The Tale of the Body Thief, and love it, and if I am not mistaken there really is nothing Lestat can't do. I do also belive at one point or another in the Vampire chronicles he does become a saint and is worshiped as one, of course, after he goes and gets his eye out by an Angel.:smash: have fun and enjoy reading the rest of the seris.
:wave:

[Bastet]

Hi Loveless, in Tale of the Body Thief I liked the contrast between that amazing sense of physical power Lestat has and his sensitivity when it comes to emotions, not only when he's a mortal, but also when he's a vampire. He's definitely an extreme being! I don't wanna spoil the ending for anyone but, what happened between him and Marius caught me completely by surprise.

[stinger]

I'd have to totally agree with your rating of the "Historian". I thought it was a really enjoyable read and i'm a big vampire fiction fan.
I admit the ending appeared slightly rushed, but everything previous was pretty impressive. On the Anne Rice theme, i'm currently reading Queen of the Damned and can identify with some of the criticisms. overall she's a decent author, but does have a tendency to bore her characters.

[underground]

if you're saying that people are liking books because everyone else is doing it, then you're right. unfortunately, it'll happen all the time. just take harry potter and the da vinci code.

i've only read dracula and interview with the vampire. i find anne rice's style so dull i wonder why everyone else is into her. i'm sure i'd like to read more vampire novels if they are any good. i just find supernatural creatures fascinating.

i'd also like to see novels about hopping vampires.

[willie.meikle@b]

I've noticed recently from the internet that there are a lot of books about vampires ,I believe that the first one was Dracula by Stocker and the other writers found this book as an access for hundreds of other stories about vampires , Vlad Tipes , Transylvania ...etc.
I know that a lot of people believe that this is not good literature but lets admit it these things are successful and somehow fun .
I'm 20 years old in the last a few years I started to believe that maybe vampires are real ! every time I watch T.V theres a series or a movie about vampires, deamons
and who didnt watch Buffy anyway ?!
Its like Vampires and more other things are apart of a new culture we are forced to be part of especially if you are young , when you go to school you find everyone is reading these things and talking about it , but you dont see too many people reading books for Destoevsky or Tolestoy for example ,
, I'm not saying that all the vampires books are bad and unfortunatly I've never read anyone of them just because english is not my first language and actually I'm not so good in it and I couldnt find other books in my language .
What I'm trying to say is that its a good thing to read everything but we should always be able to evaluate what we read .


Can I be permitted a plug? If you like the historical bits of Anne Rice, you'll like this....

The Watchers Series is my retelling of the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion in Britain. Bonnie Prince Charlie, and all his highland army, are Vampires and are heading south to claim the British throne. The "Watchers" of the title are the guards of the old Roman wall built by Hadrian, now reinforced to keep the vamps out. It is constantly patrolled by officers of the Watch, two of whom become the main protagonists of the series.

I got the idea on a walk along what is left of the wall, and by the time I'd had finished my walk and had a few beers the first part of the trilogy was fully formed in my head. Think "ZULU" or "Last of the Mohicans" with vamps and you'll get a feel of what it's all about.


Book 1: The Coming of the King
Book 2: The Battle for the Throne
Book 3: Culloden!

Get them from
Black Death Books
AMAZON.COM
AMAZON.CO.UK

There's "taster" excerpts to read at the Black Death Books pages

khpindustries.com

[mockingbird]

Salem's Lot by Stephen King is based to some extent on Dracula.

[Idril]

i've only read dracula and interview with the vampire. i find anne rice's style so dull i wonder why everyone else is into her.

Not that I'm a huge fan of hers or anything, but not all the Vampire Chronicles are as dull as the first. They do tend to get a little repetitive after awhile but those middle few are worth a read.

[driftwood]

the palace by chelsea quinn yarbo - historical vampire novel, set on 15th century italy. try it.

[Alexei]

Hello! Could you please develop this thought? I'm writing my phd project on Interview with the Vampire and I'm very interested in other people's opinions about it, even though they're not positive. Thank you!

I am reading "Interview with the vampire" now. I have read "The vampire Lestat" and "Queen of the damned" before, so the first think that impressed me was how different are these books; not only the point of view showing us Lestat but everything. The style of writing is a bit different too. In general I like Anne Rice's novels. Actually I don't really like her style of writing, but when it comes to vampires I become surprisingly modest. I like her stories and the way her vampires see reality. It is interesting to see how someone who loves life is living it since he has become a dead man forever.
As for the other vampire books… I don’t really like “Dracula” it is too much melodramatic, there are too much garlic and crucifix. But I love the style of Bram Stoker. It is so good prose. I like the idea with journals; it is really confusing sometimes, so it is in the line of gothic horror novels. And they are very good – everything is so beautiful and gloomy in the same way. Everything is a bit sinister and veiled with mystery and fear. “The Historian” is one of my favorite vampire books, so I recommended it warmly.

[the Last 13]

although I havn't finished the series yet I enjoy it enough to mention it....

Vampire Hunter D.......they have been translated from Japanese to english

Salems Lot.......good story....but I tend to think he drags on about stuff much like Anne Rice .....

Anne Rice .....great writing creates the characters and settings like nothing... but she drags on about it all .....she takes pages to tell us what they saw....and how they saw it....what they feel and how they feel.....but never are both done simaltaneously/ or well enough to convey anything....she leaves too much incomplete in her writing ...which is funny when I honestly think she could've afforded to lose a page here or there...

[Alexei]

although I havn't finished the series yet I enjoy it enough to mention it....

Vampire Hunter D.......they have been translated from Japanese to english

I didn't there is a book! Or you talk about the manga? I myself like the "Hellsing" manga. It is great!

[liesl]

“The Historian” is one of my favorite vampire books, so I recommended it warmly.

i read that book over christmas but sadly couldn't get enough into it to connect with the characters or enjoy the plot. It seemed to drag to me so unfortunately i could not recommend it. I certainly agree with the earlier comments that the book was resolved suddenly after being very drawn out.

As for Anne Rice i have read 'Interview with the Vampire', 'Queen of the Damned', 'The Vampire Lestat', 'Blood and Gold', 'Violin', 'Pandora', 'The Vampire Armand' and 'Vittorio the Vampire'. My favourite was 'The Vampire Armand' purely because i like this character more than the others. I would recommend all but as for me i lost the enjoyment of her style of writing after reading so much of her work, after a while it all began to seem similar and i simply became bored of her way or writing.

[Alexei]

Oh, I love Armand too. However her new books are not so good as her oldests \I mean the first three of them).

[Bastet]

Oh, I love Armand too. However her new books are not so good as her oldests \I mean the first three of them).

Well, if I'm not mistaken, it was the first trilogy which called the readers and the critics' attention... and the fact that those were the books she had written when the movie Interview with the Vampire came out, right? :lol:

I'm trying to read them chronologically and I must say that I've only gotten to The Tale of the Body Thief (the fourth in the Chronicles), since I had to read Interview with the Vampire so many times for the PhD project. I liked The Tale, but there came a point when I was thinking the character of Lestat, although still retaining his characteristic charm, was getting "a little out of hand", even not so as much as in The Queen of the Damned. I liked the more realistic style (if any realism is possible when speaking of vampires) of the first two novels (Interview and The Vampire Lestat).

[Alexei]

Oh, there are so many differences between the first trilogy and other books. In another forum, dedicated to her vampires, one of the members has made a list of them. I shall ask her for her permission to post it here and I shall post it if she don't mind.

[Bastet]

Thanks Alexei, that would be great to read! ;)

[truth_forest]

I've only ever read two books about vampires - Dracula and Interview with the Vampire.

However, I ended up really regretting reading Interview with the Vampire. It was very disappointing.

I've never read Interview with the Vampire. I just watched the movie that I really love it, although my friend told that it's a gay film.
Do you think it's Gay?

[kathycf]

I don't think the movie is aimed at a gay audience, per se, but certainly there are some undercurrents of homosexuality in there, more so in the book. Even with our culture being more open minded about homosexuality, I think it would be very uncommon for mainstream Hollywood actors and film makers to make a film aimed soley at a gay audience.

Without even delving into the whole Lestat/Louis relationship, you can read between the lines when Rice writes about the relationship between Louis and Armand.

People sometimes say something is "gay" if they want to denigrate it, which I feel is not a very nice thing to do. (Of course, I am not implying that is what your friend's intention was.)

[Alexei]

"Look at the differences...

Early Lestat: Wept for witches burt at the stake becaue Church and state were connected making religious fears into laws.
Later Lestat: In Blood Canticle he says chuch and state should not be seperated.

Early Lestat: (Memnoch The Devil) Lost his left eye
Later Lestat: (Blood Canticle / Blackwood Farm) It's his right eye...

Early Lestat: Helped create what is today Goth Culture.
Later Lestat: Following Goth trend and even refers to himself as a Goth... So much for his individuality and unwillingness to conform.

Early Lestat: Speaks like a cross between Sam Spade and a flatboatman in 1984
Later Lestat: In Blood Canticle he speaks like a Ninja Turtle...

Early Lestat: Food is poison to him.
Later Lestat: In Blackwood Farm he eats a communion wafer.

Early Lestat: Wanted to be a teaching brother but never really believed God was in those halls but rather believed in the goodness of the men there and the cleansliness and order of the place.
Later Lestat: Wants to be a Saint for religious reasions instead of actual ethical ones...

Early Lestat: Questioned everything.
Later Lestat: In Blood Canticle said The Pope can never be wrong. And this is odd because he represents Anne Rice's beliefs and The Pope is against gay marriage, Anne is pro-gay marriage. There have been Popes who said all Jewish people are evil and that the crucades were good and Mary Magdoline was a prostitute (The vatican only recenlty corrected this last one but a lot of people don't even know that she was only possessed of seven demons, not a prostitute.

Early Lestat: wrote on a computer word processor and hacked into a police data base in Tale of the body thief.
Later Lestat: In Blood Canticle he is afraid of computers and doesn't know how to send an E-mail.

Early Lestat: loved how people walk almost naked in the Southrn heat. And was basically a slut.
Later Lestat: In Blood Canticle he chastises Mona for being slutty.

Early Lestat: was a rock star
Later Lestat: sang a country song composed by a homophobe and is a Dixie Chicks fan...

Early Lestat: was in love with a woman from Washington named Gretchen and a New Yorker named Dora and never spoke as humans as divided into races.
Later Lestat: says only Southerners know how to treat blacks and yankees are all racist (So I guess being black means you're not Southern or Northern?)

Early Lestat: 'Tell me how bad I am, it makes me feel so good.'
Later Lestat: 'I want to be a saint.' and 'I DON'T WANT TO BE BAD ANYMORE!'

Early Lestat: Felt pity even for Armand. (It's why he didn't decapitate him in The Vampire Lestat)
Later Lestat: In Blood Canticle he shouts at Mona to get off his property when she starts crying after a fight with him.

Early Lestat: Wept for people like Baby Jenks
Later Lestat: Not only kills his own kind that love him but even those that beg for their lives.

Early Lestat: Rogue and rule breaker
Later Lestat: Kills rogues and rule breakers

Early Lestat: Started poor and was content that way and know artists and musicians and actors who were poor, they were his friends.
Later Lestat: Considers poor people, and those in 'trailer parks' to be the bottom of the latter in humanity...

Early Lestat: A rock super star who publishes books.
Later Lestat: Forbids quinn from buiilding a website because of the exposure risk. (Uh, huh...)

Early Lestat: Fed on murderers who feel no remorse.
Later Lestat: In Blood Canticle he is in love with Rowan who murdered her daughter who had been saving her life and still wants a live version of her daugher's species to dissect.

Early Lestat: Acts impulsively.
Later Lestat: Won't make Rowan a vampire because he is patient and it's 'wrong' when she has work that must be done as a mortal...

Early Lestat: Didn't mind his mother dressing as a man.
Later Lestat: Seems to hate it and apparently condemned her for it in The Vampire Lestat according to Mona. Umm... Where?

Early Lestat: Saw optimisn in a secular age of innocence and himself as an unnecessary evil in the world wanting to be good.
Later Lestat: Sees evil everywhere but in himself. (Frollo from Hunchback of NotreDame anyone?)

Early Lestat: was 'innocent' for his lack of forced beliefs that he did not use distorted truths to reinforce. - paraphrasing Marius
Later Lestat: In Blood Canticle he subscribed to a Catholic news letter and says The Pope is infailable.

Early Lestat: Believed in The Savage Garden
Later Lestat: In Blood Canticle he renounces The Savage Garden and only believes in the maker.

Early Lestat: Said nothing justifies the suffering of a child
Later Lestat: Actually implied that Roger in Memnoch The Devil, when just a child, should have let The old captain have his way with him sexually.

Early Lestat: Remembered his mortal life viviedly and told us his first kill was the old man in Magnus's castle.
Later Lestat: It seems that, according to Memnoch, as a mortal he killed someone in a bar fight. Now considering Lestat's obsession with death when he was mortal wouldn't he have told us about this if it was true?

Early Lestat: In The Vampire Lestat he lost is virginity to an actress when he ran away with the troupe before his brothers dragged him home. Then he became anti-social until he met Nicki.
Later Lestat: In Memnoch The Devil he claimed that fathers came to the castle complaining that he got their daughters pregnant. Would Lestat really be indifferent to getting someone pregnant when he was concerned he might have gotten the waitress pregnant in Tale of the body thief? Seriously, with his obsession with goodness and the value of life that doesn't sound like him.

Early Lestat: Wanted to be an actor.
Later Lestat: In Blood Canticle has embraced a religion that condemns the theatre as being tained by The Devil.

It seems to me he lost the better faith, the faith in humanity and goodness and gained something cold and actually fundimentally meaningless. It also seems to me that what I'm discribing are direct opposites of character nature."

This is part of the list I have promised.
NB! IT IS NOT MADE BY ME!!! I want to Tatsel from the English forum in the Lestat's Savage GArden website. lestat.de.lioncourt1.free.fr/lestat.html

[Alexei]

Here is the second part of the list! It is also made by Tatsel.

"Recent mistakes in The Vampire Chronicles that I've noticed:

1. In The Vampire Lestat and The Queen of the damned it's claimed that Marius' big mistake was making Armand a vampire before he was an adult, that he had done it because he was too impatient and felt terrible about it. But in The vampire Armand novel it's obvious that he had no other choice or Armand would have died from poisoning. Would he have rather Armand died than make him young? If it was to save his life why did he react as if he had done it out of impatience?
Also, Armand made it very clear to Lestat that Marius never, ever laid a hand on him to hurt him so what was with all those whipping scenes? Anne Rice only wrote that for those who could not bear the boy-vampire burning himself in Memnoch The Devil. He was dead and gone (Not that I hold much validity for the chronicles after the third installment). She only wrote that because people complained about him dying. She, herself,
never liked Armand. And the novel still doesn't explain how or why he lived.

2. The Vampire Companion book and any Vampire Chronicle after The Queen of the damned says that Lestat was either nineteen or twenty when he became a vampire. This cannot be possible because on the first page of The Early education and Adventures of The Vampire Lestat he says that it was the winter of his twenty-first-year that he went out to kill the wolves. A year later he goes to Paris and he stays there for about a year before he is forcibly made in a vampire. He should be at least twenty-three, not nineteen or twenty, which is actually younger than the year he went to kill the wolves. And there are some young Anne Rice fans who insist he was twenty because they'd rather he had been closer to their age and tell me that the twenty-first year could have been age twenty, it's his first year as a twenty-year-old, even if I humour this, he'd had to have been at least twenty-one when he was made a vampire.
But under the assumption that he was twenty-one when he went to kill the wolves,
he'd be around twenty-three. The only explanation is that Lestat himself is rounding down.

3. In Memnoch The Devil it was Lestat's left eye that got ripped out and was then given back. (Trust me, this is not something I'd forget or get confused- Believe me.) In Blackwood Farm and Blood Canticle Anne says it's his right eye. The only explanation for this would be that Quinn has no sense of left or right and Lestat's extremely forgetful.

4. Pandora was nearly catatonic at the end of The Queen of the damned and by Pandora she's completely all right without any explaination as to what might have drawn her back to reality.

5. In Blackwood Farm Lestat, Quinn and Merrick all take a communion wafer and really do eat it. But it's supposed to be such a small amount of food that it doesn't effect them because it dissolves in the mouth. All food is supposed to be poison to a vampire. If because the food dissolves in the mouth it can be digested by Anne Rice's vampires all of a sudden that means they can eat chocolate, cream of wheat, life savers, altoids, and should be able to drink normal beverages, which contradicts all of her mythology. I don't care if the wafer is supposed to represent the body of Christ. It's not really magick. The Vampire Lestat novel tells us this. It's still just a wafer and therefor should be indigestible to the vampires.

6. The vampire's are becoming too saintly. Lestat's been through Heaven and Hell and all of creation, or at least the character thinks he has, we're supposed to assume he has and trust it. And Vittorio sees angels. Vittorio reminds me of the little boy in The Sixth sense. 'I see dead people. This isn't exactly a mistake but with all the spiritual content the angst from the vampire's uncertainty about the fabric of reality and the nature of good and evil his horribly compromised. A certain human-ness is gone. Anyway, didn't Anne hint once that she wanted to do a story where the government or a laboratory might learn about The vampires and capture them and try to figure them out or worse. That could have been a good novel, maybe even more believable than Memnoch The Devil. The novels are just getting too spiritual and history orientated and not so much story orientated. And People are now just buying them, no matter what happens in them, just because it has Anne
Rice's name attached to them and out of loyalty they feel they should love them, especially if Anne Rice says that Memnoch The Devil is her greatest work and that she is no longer happy with what she had done with The Queen of the damned- even though that novel had explained what happened in The Vampire Lestat, it told what became of the boy reporter, it united all the vampires, it explained where The vampires came from and it introduced The Talamasca- all and all I'd say that's pretty damned good!

7. Anne now said that Lestat's eyes were violet in Blackwood Farm, in Blood Canticle they're electric blue, in The vampire Lestat they're gray-blue. I wish she'd make up her mind and acknowledge these are different colours. Originally they were gray-blue and reflected violet very easily. This is mentioned on the very first page of The Vampire Lestat novel.

8. In Blackwood Farm, Quinn is terrified of Lestat because supposedly Lestat has been haunting New Orleans and killing all rogue fledglings he comes across. That was Armand, not Lestat. But somehow in The book Merrick Armand persuaded Lestat this must be done. Lestat must kill the rogues and rule breakers. Umm... He IS a rogue and rule breaker.
I'm aware that Armand (an annoyingly contrary and vicious boy-vampire) convinced Lestat that he must kill the rogue vampires in the novel Merrick but it makes no sense that Lestat would ever be convinced of anything by Armand! If you know anything of their history this would be obvious. Also Lestat's killing rogues and rule breakers, those who break his rules. It's an hypocrisy! He is a rogue and rule breaker! This is the vampire who wept for Baby Jenks, of all people (a vicious and extremely ignorant young vampire who gets killed in the novel The Queen of the damned), and yet now in The novel Blood
Canticle, Lestat just killed a handful of fledglings who LITERALLY worship him! That's not Lestat! And he's grown cold. When Mona asked him 'What if they beg for their lives?' he replied with 'They usually do.' Lestat used to at least have some compassion for his own. He's spared Armand's life and he's done a little of a lot worse than any of these rogues. We're talking about the ultimate rogue and rule breaker killing rogues and rule breakers!
Doesn't Anne Rice see the hypicricy here? Lestat's the one who wept for Baby Jenks of
all people...
And let's not forget that in Memnoch The Devil Lestat vowed never to raise a hand to anyone, human or vampire ever again.

9. In The Vampire Armand novel, Armand claims that he tried to 'help' Claudia by sewing her head on to the body of an adult female vampire. Is Armand really supposed to be that unintelligent that he'd think a tiny four-year-old head, sewn on to an adult body with black thread like a Frankenstein doll would be better than being trapped as a child? If he had done it it would have only been out of cruelty. Also in Interview with The vampire Louis saw
Claudia's body. Armand did say he had put the head back before burning her so
Louis never knew what he had done but Louis said her body was just like
charcoal, he'd have noticed if the head had been removed and put back, wouldn't he? If
Armand had so badly wounded Claudia she would not have been able to have
clutched to Madeline as she died the way she had. Being as weak as Claudia was, she
would have needed the time to heal to even move.

[Alexei]

The part three. It is too long for only one post!

"10 That's another little inconsistancy of Anne Rice's. Decapitation CAN kill a vampire. Ignoring the fact that Akasha was dying when she was decapitated and the only thing that saved the vampires was Mekare eating her heart and brain as the vampires wilted and lost consciousness around her- Anne Rice now has it (since The vampire Armand) that a vampire's decapitated head can be reatatched IF it's put back in place within a few seconds of it being removed. After all, a human head lives five seconds after it's chopped off. So I guess she twisted this scientific knowledge for vampire physiology. But seriously, could Armand sew a head onto a body in under five seconds? Seriously. That's a delicate opporation, even with preternatural speed, sewing flesh. She seriously goofed with this nonsense. Armand could not have conducted his experiment on Claudia in The Vampire Armand.

11. Armand could never have done the 'sewing Claudia's head on to an adult body that he discribes in The Vampire Armand. Louis, Madeline and Claudia were captured in the pre-dawn. There was little time for the mock trial and then sealing Louis in the wall, and shoving Claudia outside. Certainly not enough time for an elaborate torture to 'help' her. Armand would pass out at dawn.

12. In Tale of the Body thief and Memnoch The Devil Lestat claims that he had slept with many villagers by the time he was fifteen. Yet I could swear he was sixteen when he lost his virginity to the female actress in the troupe he had almost run away with. He never spoke of making love again in his autobiography but it was ambiguously implied what he and Nicki must have done together. I'm sure Lestat WISHES he had been that promiscuous as a mortal but it seems to me he had been very anti-social until he had gotten to Paris was able to truly be himself and let himself go. You saw what it took for him to make his ONLY friend, Nicolas. Also, in Memnoch The Devil Lestat said that many villagers came to the castle claiming he had impregnated their daughters. But in Tale of the Body Thief Lestat became very concerned that he might have accidentally impregnated that one woman. So I doubt he would have simply ignored it if he had gotten someone pregnant in his mortal life.
On the same note, in Memnoch The Devil, while in Hell Lestat had a vision of himself accidentally killing someone in a bar fight while drunk as a mortal. Considering Lestat's mortal obsession with mortality and goodness, somehow I doubt this would have happened without him telling us before. Also, it seems like Anne Rice is confusing him with Louis. Lestat never got into bar room brawls as a mortal. When he got drunk he got maudlin and sentimental, not violent, that's a different type of drinker all together.

13. Lestat's own mother wore men's pantaloons two hundred and twenty years ago. He liked eighties androgyny and was a rock star but in Blood Canticle he yells at Mona to change her dress because it's 'slutty'.

14. In Blood Canticle Lestat keeps praising The Pope and out right said The Pope can do no wrong because he is The Pope. And that even if the Pope does say something that isn't true it automatically becomes true, having happened in some form because the Pope said it did because God ordained that The Pope must always be right. What about the Pope who started the inquisition? Or how about the ones that said Jewish people are evil or the current one who says all rock music and Harry Potter are evil? Lestat would really agree with this? I don't think so! Lestat loves rock music!
Lestat questioned everything! He didn't even believe for sure there was an after-life in his 'autobiography' (The Vampire Lestat). What happened to the rebel
iconoclast who questioned everything and everyone?
Also Anne Rice claims Lestat's opinions are her own. So she feels The Pope can never be wrong yet Anne Rice is pro-gay marriage. The Pope is against gay marriage, Anne Rice is for it, but in her / Lestat's opinion The Pope can never be wrong?

15. What happened to that musician Lestat made into a vampire? And I don't mean Nicki here. I mean the musicain in Interview with the vampire, who was caught in the fire with Lestat as Louis and Claudia fled to Europe in the novel. Why is he never mentioned again by anyone?

16. Page 41 of my paper back edition, chapter 3 of The Early Education and adventures of The Vampire Lestat in The Vampire Lestat novel. It's in the bottom of the third paragraph.
'And now, after eight children, three living, five dead, she was dying. This was the end for her.' This clucludes for me that Lestat being the seventh son and the youngest to survive that one of these children had to have been a daughter. And considering Lestat only says he's the youngest son, it could have been a younger sister. And this contradicts anything later that said Gabrielle had seven children. Seven sons maybe but eight children.
In The Vampire Lestat, first page of Chapter 3 in The Early Education and Adventures of The Vampire Lestat, it's said that Gabrielle had eight children. Everyone always says she had seven. She had seven sons, eight children. This tells me that one was a little girl that did not survive, since her only surviving children are three sons. Also, supposedly each letter in Lestat's name is the first letter of his older brothers. If there are eight children that means there must have been an unmentioned sister. Anne Rice said Lestat was the seventh son, and at one point claimed his initails are each of his brothers first letters to their names. So this means the eighth in the 'three living, five dead' comment is a sister. Lestat had a younger sister we know nothing about.

17. Mistake in The queen of the damned novel. 'My autobiogrpahy was selling well among the dead and the undead.' The DEAD and The Undead, not the living and the undead. Did he mean the living people who read his book were doomed to die or did Casper buy a copy?

18. In Interview with the vampire The reporter was older than Louis in appearance. Louis was twenty-five. This means the reporter is at least twenty-six. Twelve-years-later in nineteen eighty-five the boy is made a vampire. He should be at least thirty-eight but The Queen of the damned novel says he's thirty-two.

19. Gretchen's Stigmata is historically inaccurate. Stigmata is when someone gets the wounds of Christ's crucifixion on their own body. The truth is, in Ancient Rome when they crucified slaves and thieves the nails went through the wrists, not the hands. The bones and flesh of the hands could not support the rest of the body and the hands would have torn and the body would have slumped down. The nails went through the wrists, right through the middle of the wrist, causing the nerves in the thumb to make the thumb collapse in on the palm. Crucifixions never were with nails through the hand. Someone like Anne Rice, with all her religious obsessions, should know this, that the image of the nails through the hands was a result of it simply being easier to replicate in art a thousand years ago. I notice this same mistake in the new movie about Christ's last days. In Memnoch The Devil Lestat observes that the nails go through the wrist, not the hands, as the classic and crucifixes often depict. Was Gretchen's stigmata psychologically induced? Mind ovet matter, belief effecting the physical body?

20. Louis was made the summer of 1791. He had to have been born in 1765 (Contradicting the companion book and websites) because his birthday is October fourth. If he was twenty-five and that October he would be twenty-six he had to have been born in 1765, otherwise he'd have been twenty-four when made a vampire, not to turn twenty-five for another four months. Louis said he was twenty-five when he was made a vampire so he had to have been born in 1765, because he was made a vampire in the summer of 1791 and his birthday isn't until October, if he was born in 1766 then he would not have been twenty-five yet.

21. Anne Rice used to claim that the name Lestat was a mistyping of LeStan since Lestat was based on Stan Rice. Then she claimed it was the first letter of each of Lestat's brothers names yet on the third paragraph of chapter three of The Vampire Lestat it said that Gabrielle had eight children, not seven. Was there a daughter? It so happens that the name Lestat is Old French according to some baby name books which means Gray sky (though some say red, this could be confusion because of the vampiric use of the name by Anne Rice).

22. In The Vampire Lestat, Lestat used a computer word procesor. In Tale of the Body thief Lestat hacked into a police computer data base to track his killers. Yet by Blood Canticle, twelve-years-later not only does he not know how to send an E-mail but he doesn't know what one is! And he's intimidated by technology, admits to this. This from a vampire who used pyrotechnics in his concert, loved synthesizers, video cameras, brightly coloured shampoo, television, movies and most especially eighties rock music? And since when does Lestat admit to fear of anything? It's almost like whoever wrote Blood Canticle never read The Vampire Lestat yet Anne Rice has the gaul to say Blood Canticle practically connects to The Vampire Lestat."

[seasong]

Has anyone mentioned Charles De Lint. He has an amazing approach to vampires in his short stories. He writes contemporary fantasy, and the vampires are quite possibly my favorite characters.

[Alexei]

Part Four. The final part!

"23. In Blood Canticle Lestat insults all Notherners saying a comment like 'He was from the South and Southerners know how to treat blacks. Not like intolerant yankees.' This not only implies that an African American can't be considered a Southerner but also that all people from the North are racist. Ummm... Lestat was involved with two girls from the North. Gretchen from Washington and Dora from New York. Oh, yes, and Akasha was African and 'his' little comment was also demeaning to Africans. Anne Rice told one of my friends she wrote that because of some racists she met while visiting the north while on tour for Memnoch The Devil. What does that have to do with Lestat's opinion? He didn't come across racists in his stay in New York.

24. Lestat feeds on killers who feel no remorse. Rowan Mayfair murdered her daughter because of what her father was and how she was concieved. Rowan considered her a freak even though the girl was saving her life and nursing her back to health. Rowan shot her three times. And even after this she still wanted a Taltos specimen (her INNOCENT daughter's species) to dissect. Yet somehow he falls in love with this woman in Blood Canticle and he's killing vampires who just happen to enter his territory. There's something wrong this this picture. It seems to me she'd be his ideal victim, not lover.

25. Anne Rice based Louis on herself, Lestat was based on Stan, Anne based Rowan on herself but by Blood Canticle she says she is the voice of Lestat. No wonder he's so changed! The Lestat we love was Stan Rice.
Drastic change in personality counts as an inconsistancy when it's abrupt and happens over night. She claims the personality change is a result of what happened in Memnoch The Devil. This isn't true. He was still rebelling against it, still behaving like himself. He wasn't even that bad in Blackwood Farm, which takes place a night before Blood Canticle. The change is literally over night.

26. In Memnoch The Devil Louis requires a magnifying glass to view the details of illustrations drawn by mortals. I know Louis is weakest of the vampires but he still is supposed to have eyes stronger than a mortal. What happened to all his talk of vampire eyes?

27. In Merrick Lestat said It requires 'that you take from me and that I give to you' when discribing a blood exchange to Louis. Now if you take from Lestat and he gives to you... That's the same thing! It only discribes the part where Louis drinks from him!

28. Personality inconsistancy: Marius went from the kindly father figure character to a whining, child-like character in Blood and Gold. Not to mention the S and M whippings in The Vampire Armand when in The Vampire Lestat Armand told Lestat Marius would never harm him. Now he's coming off as a pervert. Also he blames Lestat for Akasha rising. How could he? It was Akasha who told Lestat her name when Marius took Lestat to the island. It was Akasha who opened the tabernacle and planted the idea in his head to play Nicholas' violin for her. And it was Marius who had Lestat's music videos video taped for her to watch yet he blames Lestat for her rising? I can't believe he's become so illogical so quickly.

29. In Memnoch The Devil Lestat made a vow never to kill anyone, human or vampire, ever again. But by Blood Canticle he's developed Armand's personality traits in that he kills rogues and rule breakers who need guidance even when they beg for their lives. Anne Rice has forgotten this vow."

30. In The Vampire Lestat Marius said he met Pandora when she came to him, as a grown woman, recalling a past life of being a vampire and begging to be a vampire again. But by the book Pandora it's claimed that he knew her as a child and even tried to have her betrothed to him.

31. It's not exactly a mistake but in the Interview with the vampire movie Daniel (the reporter) Louis says that Daniel is older than him. So this means he has to be 25 or older. Yet in the novel The queen of the damned he's only 32, ten or so years after the Interview. I know it is possible he was 21 or 22 when the Interview took place but I just think he's older than that.

32. In Blood and Gold Marius claims vampires to be immune to dirt yet the Satanic vampires under Les Innocents in The Vampire Lestat were filthy and Lestat is quoted as saying Eleni would be pretty if she would be forced to stand undre a water fall to wash the dirt off of her. Also, Marius himself was filthy aftre being trapped in the ice in The queen of the damned novel. And Lestat was filthy when Marius pulled him out of the Earth in The Vampire Lestat novel.
I'd like to thank Kirsty0775 of The Internet movie data base for adding this mistake for me. I had known of it but let it slip my mind when writing the list.

33. In Blood and Gold Maharet takes the eyes of a fellow vampire yet in every chronicle befor this, for supposedly six-thousand-years she would never take the eyes of any vampire, thinking it too cruel and disloyal to do that to her own kind. There is really no explaination for this change of heart.

34. In Blood and gold we find out the chains that held Lestat in Memnoch The Devil had Maharet's hair woven into it. Are we really to believe just because she's the oldest vampire that her hair is indestructable? Wasn't it plausable enough that heavy chains held Lestat? Also if her hair is indestructable how did she cut it to weave it into the chains?

35. In The Vampire Lestat Armand says he was too young to know the name of his own country. By The Vampire Armand novel it's implied he was in his mid teens when Marius claimed him. Why the abrupt change?

36. Drastic personality changes in Marius. Up until about Tale of the Body thief we see Marius as the kindly father figure who called Lestat the damned creature. Yet in The Vampire Armand when re-told a story told to us in The Vampire Lestat it's implied that Marius physically whipped Armand and was into S and M with young boys. There is no such mention of this in the earlier books. Then by Blood and Gold he's a whining child in that he blames Lestat for things Lestat could not be accountable for. Marius is the one who took Lestat to the island. Akasha is the one who planted the idea in Lestat's head to play Nicki's violin for her. She opened the tabernacle for him. Then he, himself, was going to play Lestat's music videos for them and yet when Akasha rose to Lestat's music videos Marius blames Lestat. It was all Akasha's choosing. Why would the wise and patient Marius suddenly act like a child and not think logically? Why would his life in the past suddenly be described differently from The Vampire Armand on ward? He, like Lestat, and Maharet are basically behaving like their own opposites.

37. If older vampires turned to dust in Memnoch The Devil how did Louis survive going into the sun in Merrick without an infusion of more powerful blood to begin with?"

[Mugwump101]

The Historian? My friend read it and she loves it! basically a girl goes on a quest to find out about the truth of Vlad The Impaler (The true Dracula)

[M.Koriakine]

The Historian is a great book that focuses on European history and cities, all in reference to Vlad the Impaler. It has a new perspective on Dracula that is more intellectual than violent and this might make some readers disappointed. It is overall a quality book that makes the reader want to visit Europe and all its great cities.

[metal134]

How could this thread go on this long without anyone mentioning Carmilla? Excellent short vampire story.

[Alexei]

I have never heard about this story. Please, tell me more!

[Bastet]

Right, metal134! LeFanu definitely deserves a place in this thread! ;)

[metal134]

I have never heard about this story. Please, tell me more!
It was written by J.S. LeFanu and predates Dracula. It is about, and how do I put this delicatley, a female vampire of the Ellen Degeneres persuasuion. It is rather tame, sexuality is merely hinted at, but for the time, it was quite sensational. In any case, it's a very good story.

[Alexei]

I have something new for this topic.
http://www.bloodtears.co.uk/img/cover.gif
Blood Tears. That’s my new obsession, or at least part of it, because this is just the beginning of one interesting book trilogy. The legacy of the Dark Kind by Raven Dane. I finished it just yesterday evening, but I didn’t write because I was still too fascinated to share my thoughts.
Where to start from? Ah, yes, this is a vampire book and actually a really good one. Vampires here are definitely different form Anne Rice’s but they are not less interesting and fascinating at all. At contrary they are simply gorgeous. Creatures like vicious predators and still marvelously beautiful and with great sense of honor Raven’s vampires are extremely bewitching and real. As I have already mentioned the conception is quite different – her vampires are another race – the Dark Kind, witch in its origin has nothing in common with humans. Even when they are less human than Anne Rice’s characters, they are still very distant from Count Dracula and the old myths and ideas strongly connected with the garlic and the crucifixes.
As for the plot line – it is really interesting and intriguing. The action is set up in the time of the World War II (with the exception of the beginning it is a decade before the war. The whole action is between 1925 and 1946) in Europe mainly (we have some exceptions here too – there are some countries which do not actually exist). There are quite known elements, the book remind me of The Historian, very little of Dracula (in my opinion the resemblances are insignificant, may be mainly in the place of the action) and of the Hellsing manga.
It is unbelievably enjoyable reading and I warmly recommend it. If you have already read it, I will be glad to discuss it with you.
These are some sites I found; I think they could give you good idea of the book.
http://www.bloodtears.co.uk/
http://legacy-of-the-dark-kind.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_archive.html

[UltimaHybrid]

have you ever read any of the Anne rice series.... my favorite is Blackwood Farm.. but i'm more of a werewolf person>>Lycanthropy is my thing i enjoy reading

[manolia]

Has anyone mentioned the "Necroscope" series by Brian Lumley?? I've read these books a few years ago and i found them very nice. Do try them.

[Alexei]

have you ever read any of the Anne rice series.... my favorite is Blackwood Farm.. but i'm more of a werewolf person>>Lycanthropy is my thing i enjoy reading

I am currently reading Anne Rice's Vampire chronicles. There are really good, i am on Memnoch the Devil. Althought i am trying to read them in the most appropriate order i have read Blackwood Farm and Pandora first, Pandora was the first Chronicle I read and after that Blackwood Farm. I like BF, it's interesting, but in my oppinion it is not as good as the very first books .

[Gunslinger]

"Lilith's Dream" and "The Hunger" are decent, both by the same author in whose name escapes me...but i like vampires and such, but not to big on the constant erotic theme in the literature

[Alexei]

I've just checked it on Amazon, the author is Whitley Strieber. I shall try to find them and read them.

[Stieg]

George R R Martin wrote an excellent vampire novel that takes place on the Mississippi River and riverboats. However the title escapes me.

I also loved Kim Newman's vampire novels Anno Dracula and The Bloody Red Baron set during Jack the Ripper's reign of terror in London and WWI featuring Baron Manfred von Richthofen (the Red Baron) as one of Dracula's vampires. I believe these two are still out of print.

[UltimaHybrid]

any books out there about Werewolves or that has werewolves in it??? i know its a Vampire thread i was just curious cuz i'm more of a Lycanthrope person

[Stieg]

Oh, that GRRM novel is titled Fevre Dream.


any books out there about Werewolves or that has werewolves in it??? i know its a Vampire thread i was just curious cuz i'm more of a Lycanthrope person

Here are few exceptional ones:

The Howling by Gary Brandner (yes, the novel the film is loosely based on)
Wolf's Hour by Robert R McCammon
Shapes by Steve Vance
The Hyde Effect by Steve Vance
Night of the Werewolf by Harry Shannon (great creature feature shoot'em up)
Saint Peter's Wolf (can not recall the author or if I even enjoyed the book but it had made quite a noise when it was released which I immediately snapped up.)


SPOILERISH recommendation:


Ghost Road Blues by Jonathan Maberry (has a werewolf amongst other ghouls and creatures of the night)

[Alexei]

any books out there about Werewolves or that has werewolves in it??? i know its a Vampire thread i was just curious cuz i'm more of a Lycanthrope person

Hmmm, I am not sure, but I have heard something about a book called Blood and Chocolate, there was even a film, based on it. I think it was about werewolves. But I didn't menage to read the book or watch the film, so i am not sure.

[Stieg]

Ultima,

S.P. Somtow's Moon Dance is back in print. It's been described as an epic werewolf novel. Essentially the "Gone with the Wind" of lycanthrope horror.

[Alexei]

On March 15 the second volume of The Legacy of the Dark kind by Raven dane was finally published!
This is the cover of the book:
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/1905108168.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_V45279863_.jpg

And these are two extracts from the book:

A burning cigarette bounced across the tarmac, flaring briefly in a mini meteor shower of tiny sparks. Jazriel paused at the edge of an unknown world. Modern Europe, an alien land. He had been incarcerated in Isolann for more then sixty years. ..

He sat back on the Ducati, his face and clothing filthy from travelling across the back roads of the Upper Balkans, a world little changed since the Second World War and therefore familiar. The unknown lay before him in the darkness, as dangerous as the edge of a bottomless abyss.

The vampire gazed on in fearful wonder as vast ground-shaking machines and cars as swift as arrows roared past him on a massive route of many lanes, a confusion of engine-thunder, stinking exhaust fumes and flashing bright lights. The huge lorries battered him with the earthquake power of their passing, he felt insignificant, lost, abandoned. A piece of roadside rubbish, an unwanted dog left to the mercy of the traffic.


***
Motorway madness

Jaz leant at an insolent angle against his new bike, yet another high powered Ducati. A metallic purple one this time. Took a long languid draw on a cigarette and waited. The fury of the police officers was volcanic. Just as he had planned. Running from their hard-driven patrol car to the hard shoulder of the motorway, their nerves were shredded, bodies shivering from adrenaline overload from the hair-raising chase. They struggled to be heard against the roar of the onrushing traffic, the brutal buffeting from passing jugganauts.

"Why the hell were you riding up the motorway on the wrong side?" shouted one patrolman, " Are you raving mad? High on something?." The man was fighting loss of self-control, barely able to stop his fists from battering the exceptionally handsome face of the black clad young man. It had taken an hour to trap the crazed bike rider, an hour of terrifying cat and mouse along one of Britain's busiest motorways.

The vampire gave an elegant shrug of disinterest, he had played chicken with this patrol car for long enough and was already bored with the game. He dropped his cigarette onto the road, ground it out with his heel, retrieved another from a packet in his breast pocket and lit it up.

...

"Time to play…."

[Misterman]

Sorry to be a pedantic pain as a new forum member, but I have just read Raven Dane's Blood Lament. It is awesome, brilliant....I loved it. But the passage Motorway Madness is not part of the book. It is an entirely new piece of work posted by the author on Jazriel's myspace profile to keep Jaz fans (like me! ) happy till they get the new book.
I met her a fortnight ago at a local book signing for Blood Lament. She assured me she is working hard on the next in the Legacy of the Dark Kind series, Blood Alliance. Phew !

[Alexei]

Sorry to be a pedantic pain as a new forum member, but I have just read Raven Dane's Blood Lament. It is awesome, brilliant....I loved it. But the passage Motorway Madness is not part of the book. It is an entirely new piece of work posted by the author on Jazriel's myspace profile to keep Jaz fans (like me! ) happy till they get the new book.
I met her a fortnight ago at a local book signing for Blood Lament. She assured me she is working hard on the next in the Legacy of the Dark Kind series, Blood Alliance. Phew !

I didn't know. I can't find it and so I have read only Blood Tears. They are not available in my country. And I just try to share what I know, that's why i post it here.
Well, tell me more about Blood Lament, please! It seems I will never read it :bawling: :bawling: :bawling: :bawling: :bawling: :bawling: :bawling: :bawling:

You have met Raven Dane? Wowwwwww!

[DeathAngel]

hey those vamp books are out there
one of the popular ones: Vampire huntress series by LA Banks
I've read a couple of them
a lot of inapropriate goodness, but it's fresh and nice
Anne Rice, ancient but still good
and Salems Lot, Stephen King, a classic; and a good moive too
too bad they don't make as many movies as they do books
I think they shoudl've done the whole Anne Rice series
they're awesome...
yummay

[EAP]

I am Legend - Richard Matheson
Sunshine - Robin McKinley
Fevre Dreams - George R. R. Martin

[Alexei]

I think they shoudl've done the whole Anne Rice series
they're awesome...
yummay

With this disaster they menage to transform Queen of the Damned? I am a bit scared what was going other books to look like.

[Misterman]

Alexei, I am so sorry you have trouble getting the books you want. I found a Danish online book seller that has both Blood Tears and Blood Lament for sale. Its called Saxo.com Would that be more helpful for you?

[Alexei]

Alexei, I am so sorry you have trouble getting the books you want. I found a Danish online book seller that has both Blood Tears and Blood Lament for sale. Its called Saxo.com Would that be more helpful for you?

Not much, really. Well, who knows, may be I shall find it someday. There always has a way.

[Stieg]

More great vampire titles without the operatic and romanticism of Anne Rice and her ilk. These are exceptional horror novels besides beating the tar outta most anything written by King and Koontz...

Summer of Night by Dan Simmons (GREAT coming of age tale)
Children of the Night by Dan Simmons (the author revisits vampire lore this time set in Romania)
Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons (not the bloodsucking variety but still remarkably ghoulish)

The Keep by F Paul Wilson (forget the semi-lame, semi-disasterous very weird loosely based film, GREAT BOOK!)

Vampire$ by John Steakley (forget the lame disasterous loosely based film adaptation by John Carpenter starring James Woods, the book is a highly entertaining romp where the hunters become the hunted, GREAT BOOK!)

I loved them all more than anything written by Anne Rice (can't stand her btw).

[AC_fan]

I am not a vampire book's fan, but I read one recently that I liked: Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. That is the first book of a trilogy.

[Stieg]

The vampire genre undoubtably has contributed some great works to literature. I just don't dig what one horror author accurately dubbed this current trend that began with Rice of "tortured romantic aesthetes".

Vampires and werewolves in literature are now turning in genre-bending fantasy/thrillers. Popularized by Hamilton, Huston, etc.

[BroadwayBaby]

Twilight, New Moon, and soon to be out Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer are AWESOME! and they're translated into different languages for people who English isn't their first language, and they are awesome, I cannot wait for the 3rd (and it's really funny because my cousin got me Twilight for christmas one year and I thought I would hate it and now it's like my obsession...)

[Xtian]

The greatest vampyre story of all would have to be VAMPIRE LESTAT. I believe they should have that in film instead of going to QUEEN OF THE DAMNED but there you go.

I have written several Vampyre tales and published a few, To me there is no better character archtype for human kind then that of the undead. One of the classes I teach is that of The Vampyre in Literature: here is a brief section of a paper I wrote on Vampyrism in Literature and real origins of the myth in literature as we now accept as stereotypical vampyre written by Dr. John Polidori,

Dr. John Polidori’s 'The Vampyre' because of the attraction and influence it held to inspire later writers of vampire fiction, notably Sheridan le Fanu, Edgar Allan Poe and most famously Bram Stoker.

John Polidori was born on September 7th 1795 in London, the son of the former secretary to the poet/dramatist Alfieri. Polidori junior studied medicine and by the age of 20 had become personal physician and traveling companion to Lord Byron, on the suggestion of a mutual friend. Initially the two got on well but the ghost story competition and Polidori's success there must have angered and frustrated Byron and their friendship gave way under the pressure.

Polidori was dismissed in September and returned to England, where he practiced medicine once more, began studying for the Bar, and fairly soon afterwards died. The truth about his death may perhaps never be known.

After his death, the journal covering the period in Switzerland (where both Le Vampyr and Frankenstein were written) was published by one of his nephews, William Michael Rossetti. It is from this initial report that we gain our truest picture of the relationship between Byron and his physician.
The competition of the ghost stories was simply one between Byron and Shelley. What is certain is that the input to the competition of the other two, and the literary works which sprang out of that encounter, can scarcely have been expected to gain any kind of status, either with the 'real' writers of the party or with the general public. Even as the daughter of two celebrated writers and political theorists, it cannot have been imagined that Mary Shelley had much to offer compared to her husband and his illustrious friend.

Polidori's case was surely even more deplorable. He had only his literary aspirations with which to gain favour as he was in real terms playing more the role of the servant than the friend on an equal level with such poetic genii as Byron and Shelley.

What was it then that inspired Polidori to create a short story, taking their inspiration direct from Bram Stoker without being aware of his own influences – have admired and sought to emulate? The answer is Lord Byron. 'The Vampyre', to give it its proper credit, was inspired by a tale told in the evening by Byron, which bears startling theoretical and literary similarities to Polidori's piece. The influence of Byron was such that when 'The Vampyre' was originally published in 'The New Monthly Magazine' in April 1819 it was attributed to him.

The rift between the two men having widened in the interim few years however, Byron denied all authorship and a month later Polidori stepped out of the shadows and claimed it for his own admitting the influence of his great friend in its conception. "I beg leave to state that your correspondent has been mistaken in attributing that tale in its present form to Lord Byron. The fact is that though the groundwork is certainly Lord Byron's, its development is mine." As all great writers draw influences from those around them, from Nature, from God, so Polidori had adapted a tale of his then friend and perhaps hero, the original basis of which he might not, as a doctor, have felt able to provide convincingly.

It undoubtedly took the civilized world by storm, being translated into French, German, Spanish and Swedish and adapted into a stage play all in Polidori's own lifetime. Considering that he died just two years after its publication that is quite some achievement. In contrast Anne Rice's 'Interview with the Vampire' (1976) took nearly 20 years to get onto the screen.

The notoriety of the tale was unquestionable: many great commentators of the day declared it a fine work, and it would probably be rather cynical to imagine that all of the praise came while people still laboured under the misapprehension that it was the work of Lord Byron, Goethe's famous comment about 'The Vampyre' being the best thing Byron had ever written.
What then of the text, and the characteristics both physical and psychological of the vampyre, Lord Ruthven, who so inspired later generations of vampyre writers? This is not as might have been suggested the seminal vampire text although it does lay claim to being the first such text in the English language. In continental, Europe, a great tradition of vampyre literature had been blooming, and the folkloric tales of the undead had centuries of history.

Goethe's 'Die Braut von Korinth' (1797) and Southey's 'Talaba the Destroyer' (1801) carry on the themes discussed in Bürger's work. All these texts may be seen as mediaeval or gothic works, the core difference between these and Polidori's work is not so much in the setting but in the character of the vampyre.]

The vampyre is characterized in folklore: from the peasant classes, living a rural existence, uneducated, dirty and quite frankly having no appeal whatsoever for its victims. This is clearly the Nosferatu, a violent scavenger, a brainless revenant seeking only for the blood it needs to survive. The fact that in many cases the Nosferatu returns to kill members of its own family may perhaps be put down more to a familiarity with the landscape than to any emotional or romantic attachment to its loved ones.

Subsequent treatments of the Nosferatu legend have attempted with some success to infuse a little of the 'Dracula magic' into the Nosferatu character, creating a being hideous to see but with rather more imagination and intelligence than earlier accounts allowed it.

At this time however the Nosferatu was the familiar shape for the vampyre to take. Max Shrek of the 1933 Murnau film captures the image of the Nosferatu in the film by the same name.

Shrek’s Character Count Oarlock is very tall and wiry. He has pointed ears and is completely hairless. His face is shrunk in so that the bones of his cheeks are exposed. However most prominently are the two large rat-like teeth, which protrude over his lips. His hands are withered with the long bony fingers that he rubs together nervously. This is the image of the peasant vampyre; it is not the vampyre of Bram Stoker or Polidori.

With the advent of Polidori’s story the figure of the vampyre took a dramatic leap forward, leaving behind the shabby, stupid, blundering image of the Nosferatu for a more sophisticated and refined social animal, the Toreador or Byronic vampyre. Here is a creature in strictly human form, with no huge teeth in the front of its mouth, and no bald head or pointed ears, a creature with human emotions and human drives, a creature that can pass freely in the world of men and need not fear detection in the enlightened society through which he stalks.

The aristocratic figure who mingles in high society, delighting and thrilling all with his strange mannerisms and moods, is a far cry from the lonely beast rampaging through the forest tearing out the throat of any passing creature in order to carry on his vile existence. Here instead we have a creature altogether more terrifying in its sheer plausibility: it looks human, acts almost human, talks like a human, and moves among the highest echelons of society. Surely the menace inherent in such a creature is of a more insidious and horrifying kind than that of the weird, supernatural entity of the Nosferatu.

Even the term 'Byronic vampire' shows the influence of Polidori's master, and the fact that Lord Ruthven was based on his benefactor has been taken by some critics to point to a homosexual liaison between the two men. Personally, though this is a fascinating explanation for the character and appearance of Polidori's vampyre, this is an assumption that is hardly borne out by the text itself. After all, though the central point of the text is the pursuit and persecution of Aubrey by Ruthven, there is no sexual conquest involved and all of Ruthven's victims are decidedly female.

Working chronologically backwards, the physical side of Polidori's Ruthven is
immediately recognizable in the knowledge of Stoker's Dracula, but it is just as obvious in the emotional and psychological motivations of both the characters. Ruthven and Dracula both pursue one main heroic figure – Aubrey pre-shadowing Harker in more ways than one – and both take advantage sexually and emotionally of someone close to that hero – Aubrey's sister parallels Harker's wife in the later work.

The character of Ianthe could also by this means be said to mirror Lucy Westenra. Ruthven is aristocratic, wealthy, a stranger to the society in which he finds himself, cold, aloof, physically different to the men around him, sexually tempting and alluring, often violent, and remorseless in his quest for the fulfillment of his desires. Dracula is all of these things, and Polidori's influence on Stoker is more then evident.

The importance of the vampyre's physical attractiveness is a strong one: 'In spite of the deadly hue of his face... its form and outline were beautiful.' The pallor of course is the most immediately visible sign of preternatural, and Stoker too takes up this image.

Vampyrism is not exclusively of a physical nature of course, and the psychological emphasis of Polidori's work has a powerful effect. The mental decline of Aubrey, firstly on the 'death' of Ruthven, then the death of Ianthe, and finally on seeing Ruthven once more alive – 'Lord Ruthven again before him... he could not believe it possible... the dead rise again! It was impossible that it could be real' – is mirrored in Harker's mental collapse in the face of the horrors he unearths in Castle Dracula.

The conflict between the rational if somewhat fanciful man of logic and the man bewildered by supernatural phenomena which he finds it impossible to believe in – even though he has the proof of his own eyes in which to trust – enmeshes the reader just as much as the physical violence of the vampire. This character, so completely rounded in emotional terms, is a far advancement from the ravening monster of earlier vampyre texts.
The similarities between the text of 'The Vampyre' and its source material, Byron's 'A Fragment' – published with 'Mazeppa' in 1819 – are startling, leading many people even now to overlook Polidori's work in favour of Byron's. After all, Byron is the internationally renowned poet, the celebrity, the fiery spirit of the age; Polidori by contrast is a shadowy, little-known figure, and a man of medicine with literary pretensions but no great literary output.

It would be easy to simply denounce Polidori as a plagiarist and be done with it, but is it truly just to put the authorship of the final tale down to a strange quirk of Fate? Polidori may not have the status or weight of Byron, but his literary aspirations still led him to adapt a fragmentary tale, which his great companion did not wish to develop. Perhaps Byron felt such a task beneath his capabilities; perhaps he grew bored with the concept. Whatever the reason, Polidori took it to heart and chose to work on it to the best of his abilities. That his creation inspired so many writers of a later age right down to the present day is surely the mark of some small genius.

The first major writer of later vampire fiction is undoubtedly Edgar Allan Poe, although his works tend to focus more on the psychological vampyrism of people, objects and even buildings than on the blood and fangs of what may be termed modern vampire literature. Stories such as 'Morella' (1835), 'Ligeia' (1838) and 'The Fall of the House of Usher' (1839) all demonstrate this fascination. Although Poe doe’s not have a figure like Lord Ruthven, the fundamental elements of psychological vampyrism as propounded by Polidori are clearly to be found.
The first truly modern era vampyre tale is the rambling 'Varney the Vampyre' (1847) in which the eponymous antihero takes on a vaguely Byronic form in which to terrorize his victims. A minor character is named Count Polidori: could there be a clearer hint of the writer's debt to his predecessor?
To all of these writers, Polidori, and Lord Ruthven, was clearly something of a benchmark. Never before had a text been so widely available which dealt with such a disturbing yet fascinating matter. There was an instant and enduring challenge to write something in, excuse the pun, a similar vein. I would in fact argue that the creation of Polidori's Lord Ruthven had a similar effect upon the writers of the 19th century as the creation of Bram Stoker's Dracula has had upon writers and filmmakers of the 20th century.

To rank Polidori with Stoker is perhaps no great accolade – Stoker was never exactly famed as a writer in his own lifetime either – but to compare his creation to arguably the most famous horror figure of all time is surely the greatest praise with which one can honour a writer. The honour is all the more noteworthy as it belongs to a little-known, little-recognized doctor, whose literary talents were confined to that one brief exploration of the art.
George Gordon Byron, better known as Lord Byron, was nothing if not the
prototype of the conflicted Romantic hero. His persona has influenced artists, from Beat writers to rock stars (think of dark rock icons like Jim Morrison and Trent Reznor), possibly more than his art itself.
Bram Stoker’s fable Dracula written to illustrate the free will man has and the extent that unrequited love might be achieved. Dracula had fought in the wars in the name of God. He had killed in His yet on returning home to Carpathia he found his bride to be dead by her own hand. Reportedly, his wife committed suicide by leaping from the towers of Dracula's castle into the waters of the Arges River rather than surrender to the Turks or to live her life without him.

At that point Vlad Tepes Dracul spits his venom in the face of God, rejected His love and called down his wraith. Vlad like Cain or the Roman who pierced Christ’s side were punished with immortal damnation. Dracula was always my favorite.

Bram Stoker penned his immortal classic, Dracula, he based his vampire villain on an actual historical figure. Stoker's model was Vlad III a fifteenth century viovode, or prince, of Wallachia of the princely House of Basarab. Dracula was born in 1431 in the Transylvanian city of Sighisoara. At that time Dracula's father, Vlad II Dracul, was living in exile in Transylvania. Vlad Dracul was in Transylvania attempting to gather support for his planned effort to seize the Wallachian throne from the Danesti Prince, Alexandru I. The house where Dracula was born is still standing. In 1431 it was located in a prosperous neighborhood (of the fortress town Sighisoara, ed.) surrounded by the homes of Saxon and Magyar merchants and the townhouses of the nobility.

Little is known about the early years of Dracula's life. It is known he had an elder brother, Mircea, and a younger brother named Radu. His early education was left in the hands of his mother, a Transylvanian noblewoman, and her family. His real education began in 1436 after his father succeeded in claiming the Wallachian throne and killing his Danesti rival.

His training was typical to that common to the sons of the nobility throughout Europe. His first tutor in his apprenticeship to Wallachia is a Provence of Romania bordered to the north by Transylvania and Moldavia, to the east by the Black Sea and to the south by Bulgaria. Knighthood was an elderly boyar whom had fought under the banner of Enguerrand de Courcy at the battle of Nicolopolis against the Turks. Dracula learned all the skills of war and peace that were deemed necessary for a Christian knight.

The political situation in Wallachia remained unstable after Vlad Dracul seized the throne in 1436. The power of the Turks was growing rapidly as one by one the small states of the Balkans surrendered to the Ottoman onslaught. At the same time the power of Hungary was reaching its zenith and would peak during the time of John Hunyadi, the White Knight of Hungary, and his son King Matthius Corvinus.

Any prince of Wallachia had to balance his policies precariously between these two powerful neighbors. The prince of Wallachia was officially a vassal of the King of Hungary. In addition, Vlad Dracul was a member of the Order of the Dragon and sworn to fight the infidel. At the same time the power of the Ottomans seemed unstoppable. Even in the time of Vlad's father, Mircea the Old, Wallachia had been forced to pay tribute to the Sultan. Vlad was forced to renew that tribute and from 1436-1442 attempted to walk middle course between his powerful neighbors.

In 1442 Vlad attempted to remain neutral when the Turks invaded Transylvania. The Turks were defeated and the vengeful Hungarians under John Hunyadi forced Dracul and his family to flee Wallachia. Hunyadi placed a Danesti, Basarab II, on the Wallachian throne.

In 1443 Vlad II regained the Wallachian throne with Turkish support, on the condition that he sign a new treaty with the sultan that included not
only the customary annual tribute but the promise to yearly send contingents of Wallachian boys to join the sultans Janissaries. In 1444, to further assure to the sultan of his good faith, Vlad sent his two younger sons to Adrianople as hostages. Dracula remained as a hostage in Adrianople until 1448.
In 1444 the King of Hungary, Ladislas Poshumous, broke the peace and launched the Varna campaign under the command of John Hunyadi in an effort to drive the Turks out of Europe. Hunyadi demanded that Vlad II fulfill his oath as a member of the Order of the Dragon and a vassal of Hungary and Join the crusade against the Turk. The Pope absolved Dracul of his Turkish oath, but the wily politician still attempted to steer middle coarse. Rather than join the Christian forces himself he sent his oldest son, Mircea. Perhaps he hoped the sultan would spare his younger sons if he himself did not join the crusade.

The results of the Varna Crusade are well known. The Christian army was utterly destroyed in the Battle of Varna. John Hunyadi managed to escape the battle under conditions that add little glory to the White Knight's reputation. Many, apparently including Mircea and his father, blamed Hunyadi for the debacle. From this moment forth John Hunyadi was bitterly hostile toward Vlad Dracul and his eldest son.

In 1447 Vlad Dracul was assasinated along with his son Mircea. The boyars and merchants of Tirgoviste apparently buried Mircea alive. Hunyadi placed his own candidate, a member of the Danesti clan, on the throne of Wallachia.
Wallachia first emerged as a political entity during the late thirteenth century from the weltering confusion left behind in the Balkans as the Eastern Roman
Empire slowly crumbled. The first prince of Wallachia was Basarab the Great (1310-1352), an ancestor of Dracula. Despite the splintering of the family into two rival clans, some members of the House of Basarab continued to govern Wallachia from that time until well after the Ottomans reduced the principality to the status of a client state.

Dracula was the last prince of Wallachia to retain any real measure of independence. In order to understand the life of Vlad Dracula it is first necessary to understand something about the nature of Wallachian society and politics. The throne of Wallachia was hereditary but not by the law of primogeniture; the boyars, or great nobles, had the right to elect the voivode from among the various eligible members of the royal family. As with most elective monarchies during the Middle Ages the power of the central government tended to be dissipated among the nobility as various members of the ruling family vied for the throne. Wallachian politics also tended to be very bloody. Assassination was a common means of eliminating rivals and many of the voivodes ended their lives violently and prematurely.
By the late fifteenth century the House of Basarab had split into two rival clans; the descendants of Prince Dan and those of Prince Mircea the Old (Dracula's grandfather). These two branches of the royal house were bitter rivals, both Dracula and his father, Vlad II Dracul, murdered rivals from the Danesti upon reaching the throne. The second ascendant fact of the fifteenth century Wallachian political life was the influence of powerful neighbors. .

In 1431 Vlad II was invested with the Order of the Dragon by the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg. The Order of the Dragon was a knightly order dedicated to fighting the Turk. Its emblem was a dragon, wings extended, hanging on a cross. From 1431 onward Vlad II wore the emblem of the order. His coinage bore the dragon symbol. The dragon was the symbol of the devil and, consequently, the alternate meaning of 'drac' was dragon. (Note: "dragon", noun, Middle English from Old French, derivation of the Latin, "draco"; served as the emblem of the Roman Cavalry.)

Under this interpretation Vlad II Dracul becomes Vlad II, the Dragon and his son, Vlad III Dracula, becomes Vlad III, the Son of the Dragon.

In 1453 Constantinople and the last vestiges of the Byzantine, or Eastern Roman Empire, which had blocked the Islam's access to Europe for nearly one thousand years, succumbed to the armed might of the Ottoman Turks under Sultan Mohammed the Conqueror. Long before the fall of the Imperial City the Ottomans had penetrated deep into the Balkans. Dracula's grandfather, Mircea the Old, was forced to pay tribute to the sultan early in the fifteenth century. The Hungarian Kingdom to the north and west of Wallachia reached the zenith of its power during the fifteenth century and assumed Constantinople's ancient mantle as defender of Christendom. Throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the princes of Wallachia attempted to maintain a precarious independence by constantly shifting allegiances between these powerful neighbors.


Dracula ruled as Prince of Wallachia on three separate occasions. He first claimed the throne with Turkish support in 1448. On this occasion he ruled for only two months (October-November) before being driven out by a Danesti claimant supported by Hungary. Dracula dwelt in exile for several years before returning to Wallachia to kill the Danesti prince, Vladislov II, and reclaim the Wallachian throne with Hungarian support. Dracula's second regal period stretched from 1456 to 1462. It was during this time that Dracula carried out his most famous military exploits against the Turks and also committed his most gruesome atrocities.

In 1462 Dracula fled to Transylvania to seek the aid of the King of Hungary when a Turkish army overwhelmed Wallachia. Instead of receiving the assistance he expected the Hungarian king imprisoned Dracula. He remained a prisoner of Matthius Corvinus of Hungary for several years.

For most of the period of Dracula's incarceration his brother, Radu the Handsome, ruled Wallachia as a puppet of the Ottoman sultan. When Radu died (ca. 1474-1475) the sultan appointed Basarab the Old, a member of the Danesti clan, as prince. Eventually, Dracula regained the favor and support of the Hungarian king. In 1476 he once again invaded Wallachia. His small force consisted of a few loyal Wallachians; a contingent of Moldavians sent by his cousin Prince Stephen the Great of Moldavia, and a contingent of Transylvanians under their prince, Stephen Bathory (a common ancestor of both Vlad II and Countess Elizabeth Bathory, the Blood Countess who personally murdered 650 virgins).

The allies succeeded in driving Basarab out of the country and placing Dracula on the throne (November 1476). However, after Dracula was once again in control, Stephen Bathory returned to Transylvania taking most of Dracula's army with him. The Turk's soon counter-attacked with overwhelming force. Dracula was killed fighting the Turks near Bucharest in December of 1476. His head was sent to Constantinople where the Sultan had it displayed on a stake to prove that the terrible Impaler was really dead.
Vlad was called Tepes (the Impaler) only after his death in 1476. Impalement was considered a particularly gruesome form of execution, the victim was stuck on a sharp stake usually the width of a big burly man's arm. Vlad was said to especially enjoy mass executions, where several victims were impaled at once, and their stakes hoisted upright. As they hung suspended above the
ground, the weight of their bodies would slowly drag them downwards, causing the sharpened end of the stake to pierce their internal organs causing a slow painful death. In order to better enjoy these mass spectacles, Vlad routinely ordered a banquet table set up in front of his victims, and would enjoy a leisurely supper amid the pitiful sights and sounds of the dying. It is estimated that Vlad killed some 20,000 men, women and children - the amount of people he killed varies from anywhere 20,000 to 500,000. He showed no mercy and tortured his enemies before killing them.

At the same time that Vlad became notorious for his sadism, He was a respected as a warrior and a stern ruler who tolerated no crime against his people, and during his reign erected several monasteries. He was a hero that was both worshiped and feared by his people. In 1459 on St. Bartholomew's Day, Vlad had 30,000 of the merchants and nobles of the Transylvanian city of Brasov to be impaled. In order to enjoy the entire experience he commanded that his table be set up and that his boyars join him for a feast amongst the forest of impaled corpses. Whilst dining, Vlad noticed that one of his boyars was holding his nose in an effort to try and avoid some of the smell of blood and emptied bowels of the surrounding bodies. Vlad took it upon himself to impale the man higher than all the rest so that he might be above the stench.

The man was an envoy of the Transylvanian cities of Brasov and Sibiu sent to appeal to Vlad to spare those cities. Whilst hearing the man's appeals Vlad took great enjoyment walking amongst the stakes with some of the bodies still alive.
He always thought up some excuse for these executions. He killed merchants who cheated their customers. He killed women who had affairs. Supposedly he had one woman impaled because her husband's shirt was too short. He didn't mind impaling children, either. Afterwards he would display the corpses in public so everyone would learn a lesson. It's said that there were over 20,000 bodies hanging outside his capital city. Of course, his enemies might have exaggerated the stories about Dracula’s cruelty.

In 1462 Dracula attacked the Turks to drive them out of the Danube River valley. Sultan Mehmed II retaliated by invading Walachia with an army three times larger than Dracula's. Dracula was forced to retreat to his capital, Tirgoviste. He burned his own villages and poisoned wells on the way so that the Turkish army wouldn't have any food or water. When the sultan reached Tirgoviste, he saw a terrifying scene, remembered in history as "the Forest of the Impaled." There, outside the city, were 20,000 Turkish prisoners, all impaled. The sultan's officers were too scared to go on - Dracula had won again.

Although the sultan retreated, Dracula's little brother Radu did not. The Turks had provided him with an army in hopes that he could seize Dracula's throne. Many of Dracula's boyars abandoned him to join Radu. Radu's army pursued Dracula to his fortress at Poenari. The Turks seized the castle, but Dracula managed to escape through a secret tunnel. There were still some peasants around he hadn't impaled, and they helped him flee from Walachia. He became a Catholic to please the Catholic Hungarians. He ingratiated himself with the Hungarian royal family, and even married one of its members. But he was still the same old Dracula. He impaled rats and birds for fun. Once a thief broke into his house and a Hungarian captain followed him to arrest him. Dracula didn't kill the thief - he killed the officer, because the officer was a gentleman, and should have known not to enter a house uninvited.

[melissa martin]

if you base your ideas of vampire books on the twighlight series, then you are really mising out. There are so many better books and series on vampires than twightlight. btw, i think it was written badly, but you, of course, are entitled to your opinion as we all are.

[1n50mn14]

Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles are pretty good for the most part. I think her first few books were genuinely good (e.g. Interview with the Vampire, the Vampire Lestat, and Queen of the Damned) but beyond that, she's just suckling all the money she can out of the cold, hard teat of her publisher. They went downhill.

There CAN be good vampire literature, it's the same as any other genre- it all depends on the author and how it is written, not what it is about. It seems though, that vampirism is becoming an extremely trendy, cutting edge, slightly risque fad that is exciting, romantic and dangerous for all of the button down, goody two shoes teens. (I am NOT in any way saying that these are the only people who read vamp. lit.) and it is becoming exceedily easy to capitalize on that fad, which floods the market with crap books.

[AshleyEliz]

I work with a woman, her name is Barbara Ross, and she wrote a vampy novel called "A Mortal Indiscretion." (There are two volumes)

I recommend it.

http://barbraeross.com/

Just checking out the site helps, so, check it out!

[haraf_ish]

For me, Anne Rice's vampire series is still the best. Her vampires are both hateful and adorable characters. The author has a way of making you hate and fall in love with the characters. I like her portrayal of vampires as creatures who are not bad and not good either.

[oopsycandy]

I have read quite a few of the books mentioned, and do agree with some points. Personally I love some of the Anne Rice vampire chronicles with the vampire Lestat and Merrick being favourites but I do find myself drawn to the historical backgrounds sometimes more than the characters!

I would also recommend I am Legend, Poppy Brites Lost Souls and Carrion Comfort(cant remember author) as being very different treatments of the vampire story.

I do love vampire short stories and the cross over with sci-fi, erotica, lycanthropy horror and gothic stories by writers like Ray Bradbury, Steven King, and Le Fanu in anthologies makes it very interesting,

I didnt have chance to read all the posts fully but I didnt notice any mention of Ezrabet Bathory who like Vlad Tepes is a historical figure often linked to vampire mythology, there are also many old mythologies concerning 'pshycic vampirism'

A strange one also that I havent seen mentioned is The Vampyre by Tom Holland, which features Lord Byron and gives a nod to the Polidori/Byron debate x