One Lovely Blog
The other day I was so pleased to see that WANABlogger Ellen Gregory nominated me for the One Lovely Blog award. She did it in the context of a post listing her seven all-time favorite fantasy reads, which has totally added to my TBR pile. The game is, you link to the person who nominated you, list seven things about yourself, then nominate other bloggers for the award.
In the spirit of Ellen’s post, I thought it would be fun to list my seven all-time favorite vampire novels. For a while I kept an eye on Charlaine Harris’s website, where one of her discussion threads had to do with really good books about vampires, and I regularly read her suggestions. Because of that, my Top 7 list pulls from novels written over the last thirty years. I know you’re dying to see what I’ve come up with…
Disclaimer…I tried to stick with books/series where the vampire was either the main character or one of them. Sadly, that didn’t include many of my favorite vampires, like Thomas (Harry Dresden’s half brother, who I totally want to meet some day), Steven (Mercy Thompson’s friend and yes, I’d like to meet him too), and Lord Akeldama (Alexis Tarabotti’s friend, who’d be fun to have cocktails with). These characters are all well worth reading about…
#7 Wicked As They Come by Delilah Dawson. Steampunk and Criminy. Yum. This is a recent release with a unique take on the vampire myth.
#6 Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison. You can’t put together a list of vampire novels without including Ivy, and some might argue that this book should be higher up on my list. It’s at #6 because Ivy doesn’t really come into her own till later in the series, and I don’t think Kisten’s in this one at all, or maybe he’s just a passing mention. The Hollows series is pretty much a must-read in the world of paranormal fiction, though. Just sayin’…
#5 Halfway To The Grave by Jeaniene Frost. I recently blogged about how much I loved this book HERE. It rocks, and Bones reminds me of Spike. Do you need another reason to read this one?
#4 Those Who Hunt The Night by Barbara Hambly. First and foremost, Barbara Hambly knows how to tell a story, whether it’s vampires or early 19th century New Orleans in her fabulous Benjamin January mysteries. Those Who Hunt The Night was first released in 1990, so it predates the “vampire as love machine” fad. Her vampire, Don Simon, is seductively creepy, with an emphasis on mysterious. There are no naughty bits, but even so it’s a solid contributor to the vampire genre. She wrote a sequel in the 90′s, and then just a couple years ago the 3rd book came out. When I looked on Amazon for the link for this post, I saw there’s a couple more in the series. Yay!
#3 The Vampire Lestat by Ann Rice. I don’t know if it was a mistake or not, but I read this book before I read Interview With A Vampire, and as a result have always thought Louise was a bit of a whiner. I also think this book shows how much Ms. Rice LOVES words, and playing with words, and spinning them into glittery threads and taking us into a world that’s way more fun that the one we’re stuck with. I didn’t enjoy Queen Of The Damned (well, it was okay, just lots of words telling a weaker story), but Lestat and Interview are pretty much essential reading if you claim to be into vampire fiction.
#2 Fledgling by Octavia Butler. This is a complicated book, with as much to say about race, bigotry, and what it means to be an outsider as it does about vampires. There are moments that make me uncomfortable in ways that few other works of fiction accomplish, and Ms. Butler’s writing is as strong as any other author I know. Reading her work always inspires me to be a better writer, and this book inspires me with the possibilities for what a vampire novel can be.
#1 Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. I read this book in one sitting, and then said to myself, “I wanna DO that.” This book about Sookie, the telepathic waitress to falls in love with Vampire Bill, is imho, the pinnacle of the current vampire fiction fad. It’s the book that inspired Season 1 of the HBO series True Blood, which has taken vampires into the stratosphere. The book has a strong plot, clever characters, and a love story to die for. Heh. If you haven’t read it, you’re really missing out.
#1 Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton. Um, oops. Yeah, I got two #1′s. So sue me. The Anita Blake series is 21 books long, and I’ve read every one. The stories change dramatically over the course of the books (particularly the adult content), but they reflect the development of Anita’s character, and at the end of the day, she’s still going to shoot first and apologize never if someone she loves is in trouble. Anita is arguably the first true urban fantasy heroine, and some of the elements first presented by Ms. Hamilton have become pretty standard in the genre (special paranormal task force, kick axx main character, human hate groups). And as much as I like Jean-Claude, it’s her minor vampire characters that I really like. Wicked and Truth, anybody?
So there you have a list of 7 – okay, 8 – really good vampire novels. If you think I missed something important, leave me a comment – and you’ll get extra points if I haven’t already read it. Heck, extra points AND a copy of my own vampire novella, A Vampire’s Deadly Delight. So try to stump me, and good luck!
Peace, Liv
Oh, and here are seven bloggers who I’m tagging for the next round of the One Lovely Blog award: Jami Gray, Jillian Chantal, W. Lynn Chantale, Emmie Mears, Kristin McFarland, Shannon O’Brien, and Christine Hughes. Give them some love by checking out there blogs, okay?
