That sounds really good. Ironically I recently added I Am Legend to my reading list because I was looking for zombie fiction and it came up in my search. But a dark take on vampires sounds better. I did think they looked more like vampires on the book cover.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. ~ Edgar Allan Poe
I Am Legend sort of skews the line for zombies and vampires, since there are feral vampires and smarter ones. It breaks with a lot of the newer conventions since it was published in 1954. Don't think of it like the 2007 Will Smith movie. The old Vincent Price The Last Man on Earth, or Charleton Heston's Omega Man were actually closer to the book. It's really, really good. Much better than say Dracula. A real classic of the horror genre.
"So-Crates: The only true wisdom consists in knowing that you know nothing." "That's us, dude!"- Bill and Ted
"This ain't over."- Charles Bronson
Feed the Hungry!
In general, it's hard to go wrong with Matheson. He also wrote the original stories for The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Legend of Hell House, Stir of Echoes, and Duel., as well as several classic Twilight Zone episodes.
You must be the change you wish to see in the world. -- Mahatma Gandhi
As mentioned by others here, you'll probably enjoy just about anything by Richard Matheson.Originally Posted by Dark Muse
Unlike most mid-century pulp science fiction/fantasy/horror, his stories are much less dated. The only problem is, when you read Matheson for the first time his work all seems very familiar... which is because it now is familiar because so many writers and film makers were inspired by his work.
The only modern writer I can think of that's had a comparable impact on genre fiction/movies, would be Michael Crichton... and Matheson was a superior writer.
Last edited by Iain Sparrow; 04-15-2015 at 01:27 PM.
I will have to look into him. I am always looking for good horror writers.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. ~ Edgar Allan Poe
I definitely agree with Matheson being a superior writer to Crichton (of whom I'm not a fan), but I'd say a closer parallel would be Ray Bradbury. Both wrote piles of stories and many novels, and also wrote movies and TV scripts themselves in addition to having much of their work adapted by others.
You must be the change you wish to see in the world. -- Mahatma Gandhi
You know, some of the old cool stuff doesn't fit into the modern categories. A friend once recommended John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids to me. He's a big fan of sci-fi/horror. After I read it, I mentioned to him that the plants, the triffids, function exactly like zombies would in modern narratives, except Wyndham was writing before zombies became popular. My friend concurred. So in the same way that you can read Matheson's I am Legend as either a zombie or a vampire book, you can also read Wyndham's book as a zombie book or as a parable about modern political structures.
"So-Crates: The only true wisdom consists in knowing that you know nothing." "That's us, dude!"- Bill and Ted
"This ain't over."- Charles Bronson
Feed the Hungry!
The Day of the Triffids sounds really good to. I have heard the name before but haven't read it.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. ~ Edgar Allan Poe
"Bones and I" by Whyte-Melville is (or includes) a vampire story, published a few years before "Carmilla"
Voices mysterious far and near,
Sound of the wind and sound of the sea,
Are calling and whispering in my ear,
Whifflingpin! Why stayest thou here?
If you like naturalist vampire films, Abel Ferrara's The Addiction and (especially) Larry Fessenden's Habit are both excellent.
I' m pleased to see that Salem's lot is a suggested by many. It's also my favorite when it comes to vampires. A few years back I actually had a go with all of Anne Rice's vampire books! I wasn't that thrilled actually with the plots, just had a thing for Lestat I guess
Wyndham's another good hand. He wasn't especially prolific, but his work is aces. Day of the Triffids is the most popular, but most of his works have been adapted (often repeatedly) for film, TV, and radio. There's a couple of good DotT movies out there, but your best bet is probably the '80s six-part BBC miniseries. I've also heard a six-part BBC radio adaptation that I enjoyed.
You must be the change you wish to see in the world. -- Mahatma Gandhi
Anyone read Beauty of The Beast by Viktoria Faust?
I too love vampires, I'm fascinated by the general aspects of them fell in love with the idea of such a creature when I was little. I like most books and movies that have been written or filmed about vampires. I'm not too keen on then sparkles and glitter or the very erotic strange, but they have their place. I recently found a book on Amazon that caught my eye and thought I'd give it a read. It's not hocus pocus or sparkly, I actually found it a fairly good read. Like most books they have slow parts and great parts. It has some different definitions of a vampire and how they became to exist. It was written back in 1997 by Joni Jovani and titled The Journal: The Fugitives of Tyryonus and the Secrets of Vampires.
Saw this old post and revisited and I saw where I recommended Yarbro but it occurred to me -for historical purposes a sampling of Varney the Vampire might entertain you as a primeexample of early vampire novels in a pulp style. Only other thought is Fred Saberhagen's Dracula series of novels written back in the 1980s or so. The Dracula Tape is a fun read giving HIS version of how Stoker got it all wrong. From there the series gets more serious about itself and it an interesting read.--Just saying.
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