Toothless Vampires
I find it rather difficult to read modern vampire fiction, and I'm trying to work out why. I think it's a reaction to how the author tries to humanise them.
In paranormal romance and urban / dark fantasy, there are so many clans of rich, handsome, powerful, possessive vampire men capable of taking any woman to multi-orgasmic heaven... which, I guess, is, well... Mmm. Okay, but apart from all the, ah, orgasms, why is this interesting? If blood drinking is reduced to an erotic pleasure, the essential curse of vampirism is corrupted.
Which is not to say it can't or shouldn't be erotic. I love Razor Blade Smile, despite its daftness. Lilith is a killer, with little compassion for her victims, and even when she chooses to embrace the erotic, the end is the same...
Urban fantasies where vampires are moral creatures but completely uninterested in human society, where humans are simply food and servants, bother me for the same reason. Once again, there is no moral tension in the act of feeding.
Where vampires live on blood from blood banks or on bottled substitutes, well, it may as well be hot chocolate. (Nutritious, tasty, addictive, arguably better than sex...)
For a character to be interesting as both a vampire and a moral creature, the psychological impact of feeding off humans needs to be clear.
In paranormal romance and urban / dark fantasy, there are so many clans of rich, handsome, powerful, possessive vampire men capable of taking any woman to multi-orgasmic heaven... which, I guess, is, well... Mmm. Okay, but apart from all the, ah, orgasms, why is this interesting? If blood drinking is reduced to an erotic pleasure, the essential curse of vampirism is corrupted.
Which is not to say it can't or shouldn't be erotic. I love Razor Blade Smile, despite its daftness. Lilith is a killer, with little compassion for her victims, and even when she chooses to embrace the erotic, the end is the same...
Urban fantasies where vampires are moral creatures but completely uninterested in human society, where humans are simply food and servants, bother me for the same reason. Once again, there is no moral tension in the act of feeding.
Where vampires live on blood from blood banks or on bottled substitutes, well, it may as well be hot chocolate. (Nutritious, tasty, addictive, arguably better than sex...)
For a character to be interesting as both a vampire and a moral creature, the psychological impact of feeding off humans needs to be clear.
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Megan
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Oct 18, 2012 04:47PM
I agree with what you say. If a group of creatures live separately from humans and use them for nourishment, then how can they view humans in a moral stance? Such detachment can create a big indifference to another group. Unless, somehow, seeing humans as people as well as food is another part of a vampire's supernatural abilities.
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One way to think about it is like relationships. It's easier to feed off humans you don't know. Like having a one night stand, where it's just sex, no emotions, and let's not meet ever again... (I speak not from experience.)Whereas humans you get to know become friends, perhaps lovers.
This post comes ages after the last one but I'm new to the group so.... I liked the way vampires have been portrayed in The Vampire Diaries. Instantly attractive to their prey, distant and mysterious. Yes the whole turning off the humanity is pretty much equivalent to a human being in depression but the whole concept has been put together decently enough. Having said that, the idea of a glittering vampire with too much of make up (from the Twilight series)is repulsive to a vampire fan like me :)
I don't know. Essentially the glittery thing is fine, but saying the reason they avoid the sunlight is because it makes them ethereally beautiful... Well, it's pure romantic fantasy.
I think what they meant to say was that they avoid the sunlight so that no human can recognise them as anything other than regular humans. However, for me a vampire embodies a certain dark side that entices fear and curiosity at the same time. They're supposed to be entities of the night, not glittery trinkets. Making them glittery is like equating them to unicorns.
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