Good day to one and all, I hope you are all well. My thoughts this week are not overly deep, but have turned to vampires ... as they do every now and then. I think it is a great shame the genre is so maligned in some quarters and this is why.
The Much Maligned Vampire Genre
If there is one genre that will induce scorn, even faster than the romance genre in general (and that's not deserved either) it's the vampire genre. Thanks to the media people equate everything with Twilight and dismiss it.
Now whether you love Twilight or hate it, you have to admit that not every vampire novel out there is the same.
I've had vampire stories, both fanfiction and original compared to Twilight and they have absolutely nothing to do with it. Just because a protagonist has fangs, they are not Edward Cullen. Tarring an entire genre with the same brush as one book series is silly, especially when it breaks down into so many sub-genres anyway.
There are so many to choose from:
- Paranormal Romance - the protagonist is usually gorgeous and sexy
- YA vampire - there is often romance in here as well, but more innocent
- Horror - the vampires tend to be nasty, nasty beasties
- New Adult vampire - similar to YA, but with older characters and slightly grittier plots
- Dark Fantasy - fantasy with elements of horror
- Urban Fantasy - contemporary fantasy in modern settings
I'm not a Twilight fan, but if you are, I hope it brings you great pleasure, because that's what reading is all about.
When it comes to reading about vampires, I have found that I prefer them to be on the more blood thirsty side:
- Salem's Lot by Stephen King
- Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
- Dracula by Bram Stoker
- They Thirst by Robet R. McCammon
Just like any genre, vampires and all their many sub-genres have some great books and some truly terrible ones. It is very likely that vampire fandom will never agree on which ones deserve to be at which end of the spectrum :).
Publishers and retailers like to have books packaged neatly into genres so they can flog them to their customers by saying 'come, look at this. if you like x you'll love y', but this seems to have given the media carte blanche to try and do the same thing, when they often don't know what they're talking about. And, of course, because the most famous recent vampire book series was popular mainly with teenage girls, it must be maligned - which is a whole other post - don't get me started :).
I have read and will continue to read vampire novels of all the sub-genres. Some are fun, some scary and some are just nice. This is a genre that covers many others with its net and deserves far more respect than it often gets.
Three cheers for vampires, is what I say!
What about you? Do you love vampires? Have you given up looking because there are so many bad vampire novels out there? What is your favourite vampire novel(s)?
My Vampire Books
| Wittegen Press |
 |
| $0.99 | £0.99 Amazon | Other |
| Wittegen Press |
 |
| $3.98 | £2.98 Amazon | Other |
Hip, hip, hooray!
ReplyDeleteI love vampires - I write them as well as read them. I have written Lost Boys fanfic and I rather like the book of that movie as well as them movie itself. Big fan of Dracula on screen, but I find the book tiresome. Salem's Lot is a big book, but worth the read, and I love the two TV mini series based on it.
I'm actually not sure what my fav vampire novel actually is...hmm...oh, I know, Blood Sacrifice: Vampires The New Age. Not just 'cause you're my sister, but because you hint all my fav vampire traits in the story.
Awww, I knew there was a reason I loved you :D *hugs* Well that and all the other things :)
DeleteI love vampire stories. From YA to horror. If there's fangs, I'm there. I like writing them too and have so many stories with different takes on the myth.
ReplyDeleteMe too :) So many people seem to think there is only one way to do vampires, but when you look into it there are so many possibilities.
DeleteI do sometimes find that vampire movies and books are a little hit and miss. I like the Anne Rice book series partly because of the fact that they are set in different time periods. I know that I've read Salem's Lot, but don't remember anytime about it as it was probably 20 years ago :D Bram Stoker's Dracula is another that I read about 20 years ago (after the movie came out).
ReplyDeleteOh yes, totally agree with you that it can be hit and miss. I collect vampire films and I have some truly terrible ones amongst the gold :). I have no probs with people calling out the dross - it's when they blanket label the genre I get heated :).
DeleteI really enjoy the first three Vampire Chronicles books; they are very well written, Queen of the Damned if my favourite. I think I must have read Salem's Lot at least eight times by now, if not more. I also re-watched both TV versions of it this week :).
Ah Bram Stoker's Dracula, Keanu Reeves, the most bizarre choice for Jonathan Harker ever :) I do enjoy that movie. I assume that's the movie you mean?
That's the one! Yes, Keanu Reeves wasn't really engaging, but I remember being really interested in Gary Oldman's portrayal of Dracula.
DeleteI think the only book in the Vampire Chronicles that I didn't really like was the Body Thief. I was excited to hear today that there is a new book coming out at the end of November!