Vampire novels

MaryJanice Davidson writes some terrific and fun vampire novels. The main character, a tall, leggy blonde, is named Betsy Taylor and is the reluctant queen of the vampires. It's part romance, part chick lit.

Oh, and according to her website, P.N. Elrod is editing a short story collection called My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding with a drool-worthy list of writers including Jim Butcher and Charlaine Harris (and I presume herself, too).

Definitely more in the romantic vampire genre (and YA) but Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series is really good and the second one is coming out this summer. (And, of course, she's fabulous and wonderful and one of my good friends , but I also think she has a really good series.) Check it out.

Maprilynne

I resisted adding my own, but what the hell -- Broken Sword (e-book, Torquere Press). Anyone posting a review on amazon goes in a draw to win my upcoming novella 'Journey's End (set in the same world, upcoming from Torquere Press).

I am also reading The Historian. I like it. It makes me feel like learning history and traveling.

I would certainly recommend I Am Legend - Richard Matheson. I hate the word unputdownable, but it is.

I've ready mostly vampire romances, but Maggie Shayne's Wings of the Night series has an interesting take on vampires.

If you're into vampire romances I highly recommend Lynsay Sands, Katie MacAllister, and Amanda Ashley.

elzoria said:

Anyone read any good vampire novels, besides Anne Rice's collection and Dracula? I'm trying to do research on the history of vampires in literature.

Am I posting this in the right place?

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Err, those were good novels(I would be referring to the Anne Rice Collection)?

Anyway--you could read my vampire novel---of course, there's the little issue with it not being published yet...

If you want to do research on vamps in literature, here's a great site: http://www.biblioinfo.com/vamp/VampReadOnline.html

Otherwise, I've been a bit fan of L.J. Smith's Young Adult series, the Vampire Diaries. The Law of the Blood series by Susan Sizemore. And the Twilight Series by Maggie Shayne (That's just a start. My bookshelf is full of vampire books). If you want a non-fiction forensic look at vamps, Read The Science Of Vampires. I found that very interesting.

Hope that's some help.

Cindy

www.twilightdreamz.com

If you're looking for a different spin on vamp books, Christine Feehan's Dark series isn't bad. I'm not much on romance novels, but this series goes into rituals of Carpathians. (My SIL convinced me to read the first in the series. Good read, just not my style.)

These are older books but....

I highly suggest trying to get a copy of Light at the End by John Skipp & Craig Spector---Lots of snark I loved it to pieces and Lee Killough's Blood Hunt and Bloodlinks were good and you may be able to find both of the Killough in a combined edition.

Michael Talbot's Delicate Dependency was also a favorite as was the Yarbro Saint Germain series.

Try The Delicate Dependency, by Michael Talbot. It's out of print, but can usually be found at used book stores (on-line and off-line), and is in a class by itself, imho.

Christine Feehan with her Dark Series used to be amusing to read when I was younger.

I am now done with the Historian. The beginning is good and then the book drags a bit. Then the story picks it up and becomes really interesting and great for at least the last half of the book. The ending is great. Overall I really enjoyed it and it was different from any other vampire story I have read.

Hope you guys don't think I'm cheesy...but I really enjoyed this vampire series: The Last Vampire (6 part series) by Christopher Pike. They're YA novels, and I read them as a YA. They had a very unique approach to vampirism and lots of historical & cultural references throughout. (I was mad at the last installment, however). He also wrote an adult one called The Season of Passage, which was vampires from a sci-fi/folklorish perspecitve, (one I also enjoyed).

The Historian is on my bookshelf...I'm looking forward to reading this one, but that probably won't happen until Fall semester ends. Ugh!

I just joined a bookclub called the Mystery Guild. One of those 'get six books for a dollar then buy four more within two years' deals. I got some good books. One of them was a two in one set of I Am Legend and Hell House by Matheson. I'll report back when they arrive and I read them.

If you want a good romance vampire fic you should read Twilight. You wont be able to put that book down. It will take you a day if that if you have the free time to read it. I believe there is going to be three books to it...the second one comes out in October. It's called Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. They might even becoming out with a movie.

"Softly he brushed my cheek, then held my face between his marble hands. 'Be very still,' he whispered, as if I wasn't already frozen. Slowly, never moving his eyes from mine, he leaned toward me. Then abruptly, but very gently, he rested his cold cheek against the hollow at the base of my throat." - Taken from the book!!!

Anyone read Sunglasses After Dark by Nancy Collins? I just LOVE the Sonja Blue character.

(psst... thanks for the plug, Ted! Glad you're enjoying the books! )

My dad has read most of the Sonja Blue novels by Nancy Collins. They're his favorite vampire stories and he's always trying to get me to read them. I'll have to take a look at those someday too.

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned this one yet: I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson.

caw.

But someone did already mention that book...Bmwhtly did actually...but I haven't read it...though now I might...

If you like humor together with the blood, try Richard Laymon's The Travelling Vampire Show. Brilliant.

I've become obsessed with Robin McKinley's Sunshine. Due to packing space, I had to pick one fiction book to take with me for 4 months, and I took Sunshine. I read and reread it for 4 months (as my only fiction book, remember) and I didn't get sick of it. Not even one little bit. Re-reading it for four months means about once a week, if not more often.

There's blood, gore, humor, just a touch of romance, and... chocolate. LOTS of chocolate. Everything an extremely stressed out girl looking for a fun read could hope for!

BarbaraSheridan said:

I highly suggest trying to get a copy of Light at the End by John Skipp & Craig Spector---Lots of snark I loved it to pieces and Lee Killough's Blood Hunt and Bloodlinks were good and you may be able to find both of the Killough in a combined edition.

Michael Talbot's Delicate Dependency was also a favorite as was the Yarbro Saint Germain series.

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Thanks for reminding me of Light at the End.
Light at the End launched a new sub-genre, "splatterpunk" that survived and thrived for several years. Skipp and Spector eventually became known as the "Splatter-punk Twins." I think the short story, by the same name, appeared in Locus magazine in 1984 and the novel came out in '86. I haven't checked recently, but I believe it's still in print. The story features a seriously malevolent antag, and a group of equally seriously (damn, I just had a grammar and syntax pain) dysfunctional protags.

Recommended reading for the horror fan.

I normally avoid vampire stories, but couldn't resist Kitty and the Midnight Hour, which raises some interesting ethical questions for the paranormally equipped. Also read the sequel, Kitty Goes to Washington. And right now, on my reading stack is a book that looks really interesting, called Benighted.

Twilight. Just read it. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD.

For a bunch of short vampire stoires, excerpts, and true accounts all rolled up into one book, I suggest Vampires, compiled by David J. Skal. It has some great stories in there (and a hilariously terrible one called "Varney the Vampyre Or, The Feast of Blood").

Hey, are there any books out there (besides Anne Rice's) where the vampires aren't entirely straight? I always found the idea a completely straight vampire kind of hard to buy. They just don't seem like they'd be that picky as to really notice/care about gender. (I speak of course of the modern day, non asexual vampires, of course)