If you have read this comic before, you know that we don’t follow the typical European vampire mythologies. Instead, we are taking inspiration from the Sumerian myths and legends for Love is in the Blood. The rules for this tale will differ from all other vampire stories you have probably read to date.
However, Greg and I are both fans of “regular” vampire movies and literature. I am personally a big fan of the The Southern Vampire Mysteries, aka the Sookie Stackhouse Books, by Charlaine Harris. They are the origin of the True Blood HBO series. They’re great for curling up on the couch and spoiling yourself with a good romantic, sexy, mystery book. The first four books in the series are by far my favorites. I am still following the series, but so far the first four are the tightest as the cast hasn’t expanded too far at this point. One of the things I really respect about this series is the main character, Sookie Stackhouse. She is an incredibly strong, self-reliant woman with a disability that makes it troublesome to interact with normal people. She reads minds whether she wants to or not and that leads to a frustrating life of ALWAYS knowing what something is thinking, even if it’s about her. Imagine dating someone and knowing what they were thinking all the time. She’s not always waiting for someone to come to her rescue her, but instead will try to take you down herself. She’s also not afraid to dump a guy who treats her poorly. That’s an extremely respectable trait for a fantasy heroine!
So, what is YOUR favorite vampire novel, series, and/or movie? What is it about the story or characters that makes it your favorite? With so many different vampire tales out there I am excited to hear your answers!
My favorite vampire novels are the “Blood books” by Tanya Huff. These are the six novels that inspired the Blood Ties TV series. The show was good, but the books are GREAT. The lead character is Vickie Nelson, a private detective who left the Toronto police force due to failing eyesight. She bumps into Henry Fitzroy, who just happens to be a vampire and bastard son of King Henry VIII. In the books he is also a romance novel writer, but in the TV show they changed it to graphic novelist. So of course Vickie becomes a specialist in occult cases. This does not sit will with ex and sometimes current flame Mike. Especially since he is still on the police force. I like that Vickie saves Henry and Mike at least as often as they save her. She’s not the damsel-in-distress type but sometimes her bullheadedness gets takes her a little too far without backup. It’s a lot of fun.
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I’m a big fan of True Blood as well. Haven’t read the novels though.
“Already Dead” by Charlie Huston is very cool, too. The story is much more gritty than most of the stuff out there.
And people will stone me for this, but I think Twilight is competent too, as cheesy romance novels go.
I agree with you on the Sookie Stackhouse books. I’m on the fourth one right now (aaah, Eric goodness) and I just love this series. Sookie is a fantastic heroine, and though she sometimes makes decisions that make me groan, she’s self-assured, independent, and keeps on going despite all the hardships that her involvement in the Supernatural world brings her. Because of that, she feels real and it becomes very easy to root for her.
Another bit of Vampire awesomeness is the “Vampire: The Masquerade” RPG system. It’s older, but White Wolf recently re-released it in an anniversary edition via DriveThruRPG.com and updated it for modern times. If you like Vamps, it’s worth checking out. I think it might appeal to you given your interest in the Sookie books. It’s a fantastic RP system that really treats vampires well, IMO. And by that, I mean that the vampires are both fantastic and as believable as they can be.
I’m loving the Sookie Stackhouse series as well! I’m still a typical Anne Rice princess…I truly admire how she manages to write a story where you fall in love with a character and loath another, yet when you read another book of hers, it does a 180!
Nothing beats good old classic Dracula either, funny enough the obsession started playing that old amiga turn-based game…I have several other authors that have written some vampire books that I’m dying to tackle, but if anything they seem more porno…
Twilight makes a different read, a nice change from the typical vamp books out there…by far one of the best books I have ever read is Elizabeth Kostova’s “The Historian”. A lady is chasing up on her father’s work and discovers his involvement with a particular Count…and the results of her trying to solve the mystery unravel in many crazy ways!
Okay LAST one! The Vampire: The Masquerade RPG by White Wolf – !! They are in the process of making an MMO called “World of Darkness” where you can play your favourite Malkavian (yay!) or sadistic Tzmitze! Cannot. Wait.
My favorite vampires are the ones from The Dresden Files. What I love about them is the fact that there are several different types, or “courts” within the same universe. You have the White Court, which are your typical succubi/incubi/emotional vampires, the Red Court, which are your blood-sucking bat-creatures, and the Black Court, which are your undead, Dracula-type vampires. (Fun in-universe fact, Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” was apparently published by the White Council of Wizards as a sort of “How to Kill Black Court Vampires” instruction manual.) There is also a Jade Court that has only been mentioned once, in passing, but are theoretically based on Jiang Shi, or Chinese vampires.
And the vampires are just one part of a universe that includes wizards, faeries, angels (both arch- and fallen-), werewolves (4 kinds, as well), ghosts, and various other spookies.
P.S. I cannot hear the name “Sookie” without picturing Lauren Graham’s best friend on “Gilmore Girls”.
P.P.S. Yes, I’m a guy. Yes, I watched “Gilmore Girls”. Yes, I actually enjoyed it.
I’ve enjoyed P. N. Elrod’s Vampire Files books. http://www.vampwriter.com/NOVELS.htm
The most wicked vampire story I know of is The Kingfisher, and that’s because of the very creepy animal features that the vampires sometimes get when they transform. Plus the insane and evil older vampires, juxtaposed with the bright, ‘young’ challenger who also seems to be quite abnormal. And while the comic isn’t focused on blood and sex, it doesn’t shy away from showing gore and nudity when it’s called for. Which is how I like it. There’s also a lot of homoerotic guy-on-guy stuff, since both the main character and the authors are gay. That doesn’t tickle my fancy, but I’m not complaining.
For a more traditional type of vampire I’d like to recommend Underwood & Flinch, an excellent podcast by the awesome entertainer Mike Bennett. Lord Underwood spends most of the early episodes in his vampire coma, but he eventually gets up and is forced to deal with his new guardian, who unlike most of his ancestors isn’t all that keen on being an accomplice to a murdering bloodsucker. Not that Lord Underwood isn’t the suave gentleman you’d expect a vampire to be, but he does consider his need for blood to be more important than human lives.
OK, since nobody else has mentioned her, I’m going to suggest Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. Her vampires are… different than the usual. The main character is the Comte de Saint Germain, and we see him (& other vamps that he changed) throughout several periods of history. The books aren’t published in chronological order, so you really can pick up pretty much wherever you like. (First published was Hotel Transylvania, but that’s definitely NOT the first chronologically.)
Yarbro’s vamps don’t have to kill to feed, they can walk in sunlight & cross running water (with proper preparation), and they are very erotic (more so IMO than most of the current crop of paranormal romance). Yarbro doesn’t use the typical, ridiculous, cliche phrases (no “muscle of love” here, thank all that’s holy). Come to think of it, I think she may be using either the Sumerian model or something very like it. Oh, and the history? EXTREMELY well-researched.
If you’re interested in a more science-fictional take on how non-supernatural vampires might have evolved and operated, check out Octavia Butler’s Fledgling. Peter Watt’s Blindsight also has something like vampires that have been “tamed” imperfectly. Very imperfectly.
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’ St. Germain series was the first non-horror vampire stories I read and it quickly became my favorite. The fact that she brings the history to life makes this history buff love them all the more.
My own. I created mine back in the mid 80s, and don’t really read about others. And werewolves either. Created at the same time.
I will admit to also being an Anne Rice vampirist! I grew up on Lestat and Louis and had a MASSIVE crush on Lestat when I was 14. Saying that though that was almost half a lifetime ago… I wonder how I’d feel about them now.
I did like how she incorporated certain standard vampire elements (sun and fire no good) but left out religious aspects (e.g. Church and crosses are fine). She had some logic to the vampirism thing, and I liked her backstory too.
Sure her writing degenerated over the years but that still doesn’t detract from her originals.
Oh yeah! I definitely like the early Anne Rice books. Interview with a Vampire, The Vampire Lestat, Queen of the Damned… and then I burned out on her style. I still have Interview, I should try reading it again.
Surprised, and yet not, that no one has mentioned Laurel K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series. That’s another one that I loved at first but became less interested as it became more pr0n-y. I like the idea of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s The Dark-Hunter series, but it’s a little too… erotic… for my tastes. The graphic novel adaptations are good though. I need to make a separate post about vampire GN’s. Lots of good stuff in these comments. I’m checking them out.
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro has been announced as a guest at Dragon*Con here in ATL on Labor Day weekend. Guess I better read some of her books between now and then.
The Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward is hands down my most favorite vampire series in the whole wide world. I even got my husband addicted to them. 🙂 The books have a great story line, and you can get lost in the world that J.R. Ward created when she wrote this series. There are 10 books so far, with more set to release. 🙂 They are amazing!! I have reread the series 4 times now.
My favorite Vampire is Ivy Tamwood from the Rachel Morgan series. I read the Yabro novels some 20 years ago (the ones that had been published at that time and can recommend them higly too.
Definitely Blindsight vampires, they are truly scary. Tall, pale, near-autistic sociopaths you CAN’T out-think, who can in fact run rings around you mentally and play cat-and-mouse with your attempts to escape.
I know most of the ones mentioned above. Sookie Stockhouse, Olivia Clemens and her sire and of course the WoD.
My favorite series is also the Rachel Morgan series. Her living vampires are bred by their undead overlords, and become undead and loose their soul in the process when they suffer their first death.
Though the protagonist is a witch, there are several vampires in the series and Ivy Tamwood, a living vampire is her best friend. I really recommend it.