Books Blog : Vampires

Sunshine & Bloodsucking Fiends

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:20:00 GMT

I've avoided Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series and put off trying Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series but I haven't steered clear of all vampire novels. Several years ago, I read Sunshine (see also) by Robin McKinley after a friend recommended it. It was so good I picked it up and read it again recently. Rae, or Sunshine, as she is known to her family and friends, had a fairly ordinary life baking for the coffeehouse her stepfather owns, spending time with her family and her boyfriend, Mel, who cooks at the coffeehouse. Her world is very much like our world, at first glance. The differences are written in a little at a time. Sunshine wasn't expecting to run into vampires at the lake, but she knew vampires existed. People protect their homes and businesses with wards and charms. There is an FBI-like organization that focuses on finding vampires, werewolves, etc. I'd love to tell you about the plot, but I don't want to risk giving anything away. Sunshine is a very detailed, dramatic and sometimes funny. I remember the first time I read it, I was almost sorry to reach the last page. One thing I must warn you about before you read Sunshine, is that since Sunshine is a baker, you may find yourself craving various muffins, pastries and especially cinnamon rolls while you read.

After I re-read Sunshine, I remembered I'd been meaning to read Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story by Christopher Moore. So I finally picked it up and read it. It's not nearly as good as Sunshine, but it's also completely different. Bloodsucking Fiends takes place in San Francisco, California. Tommy and Jody neither one have ever been particularly lucky in love until they meet each other. There's a catch, though: Jody is a vampire. In fact, their relationship begins because Jody finds out Tommy works nights stocking at a Safeway, which means he's free during the day to run errands for her. Tommy and Jody's nontraditional romance get rocky, wild and dangerous. As with any Christopher Moore novel, there are funny moments and disgusting, disturbing moments... sometimes simultaneously. If you like it, there are two sequels, You Suck and Bite Me.

Robin McKinley's website: http://www.robinmckinley.com/

Christopher Moore's website: http://www.chrismoore.com/

Abraham Lincoln - Vampire Hunter ---- better than it sounds

this.is.not.here@evpl — Thu, 27 May 2010 03:43:00 GMT

Yes I know it sounds awful. But------surprisingly it held my interest. I downloaded the book Abraham Lincoln - Vampire Hunter from Overdrive and listened to it on my mp3 player. There was just enough historical information so that it stopped short of being totally ludicrous. Once you got past the vampire backstory where Abraham Lincoln was avenging his mother's death not from the alleged "milk sickness" but actually from a vampire's bite, the tale became quite the page turner. Grahame-Smith has produced a novel full of action, suspense and intrigue. It even touched on the mysterious disappearance of the Roanoke settlers who vanished without a trace. In fact that story provides a bit of sympathy for one vampire in particular who saves Lincolns life and then helps him identify and destroy the bad vampires.

The author Seth Grahame-Smith also penned Pride and Prejudice and Zombies which I have not read. Now if anyone ever read any of my earliest blogs you will find that I am really afraid of Zombies. Especially flesh-eating Zombies. I walked out of the movie Dawn of the Dead in the mid 70's and most recently after about 10 minutes I walked out of Zombieland. I guess the reason I'm not as afraid of these vampires is that they attack very quickly and violently and just as quickly they are destroyed with one blow to the head by Abe's axe. Whereas zombie's are just so slow and sneaky and dare I say it ----eat the living. So Gross!!!!!!!!

"Called Out of Darkness: a Spiritual Confession" by Anne Rice

MediaPhile@evpl — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:34:00 GMT

I have long been a fan of Anne Rice's legendary vampire and witch series so was intrigued enough to pick up this short autobiography. Rice describes the reasons behind her return to Christianity after 38 years as an athiest.

She details her parochial school upbringing in New Orleans and her strong attachment to Catholicism that got derailed during college and subsequent years living in the San Francisco area.

Her discovery 10 years ago that she had Type 1 diabetes, followed by the death from cancer of her beloved husband Stan 4 years later led her to resolve that she would only write works praising God.

Thus she began her "Christ the Lord" series of biographical novels. First came "Out of Egypt", in 2006, followed by "The Road to Cana" this year.

Visit Rice's website for more information on all her works -- as well as further explanation of her changed world view. Wikipedia also has an informative article.

"Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer

myzticrhythmz@evpl — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 19:09:00 GMT

Okay; I admit it. I have never liked vampires. From a very young age, I have been really very scared of them.

So when the Twilight books came out, I was reluctant to take them on. Sure, Harry Potter had his Dementors, but you could be pretty sure Harry would come out okay. With vampires, though, you never know.

But folks kept requesting the books, and other adults were telling me how good they were. So, as if drawn by the proverbial apple on the cover, I bit.

This is a well-written book for teens that has some appeal for adults as well. Bella is the quintessential misfit, the new girl at school. When she sees Edward, she is instantly enthralled by him, as are most of the other girls. That Edward and his family have a somewhat "unconventional" lifestyle doesn't seem to bother Bella. How the vampires cope in the human world, as well as with other supernatural beings, kept me reading on, and also sets the stage for other books in the Twilight series.

I'm glad, ultimately, that I read Twilight. The author has a very lyrical style, and seems to deal with the supernatural in ways that people can relate to - it's not gory or sensational. And, setting aside my cynical-adult hat for a moment, I have to say that the misfit teen/grand, eternal passion theme had a familiar, wistful resonance for me, as well.