Good Books About Vampires

[SomethingUnrelated]

A couple of years back, I'd have easily said 'Darren Shan', but no longer...

Having a look at what others have suggested, I'd recommend 'Carpe Jugulum', simply because of how good Terry Pratchett is.

 

[ThaBenMan]

I really like Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin (yep, the same author as A Song of Ice and Fire). It's about a riverboat captain in the American South in the 1800's. He befriends a vampire, who hires him to be captain of his private riverboat, the Fevre Dream. Eventually they run afoul of a rival group of vampires. Really good book.

 

[Meggiepants]

Okay, I have a bunch, so I hope you are ready. And if you are wondering, no, I did not like Twilight. I read it all the way through, and found it dull. Never read the rest of the series, as I don't care for Meyer's storytelling style.

So, here are some of my favorites.

Sunglasses After Dark by Nancy Collins - This is the first book in the Sonja Blue series. These are very dark vampire books. Lots of violence and death. But an excellent series all around.

Guilty Pleasures by Laurel K Hamilton - the first six books in the Anita Blake vampire hunter series are quite excellent. Again, lots of violence and death. After book 6, Hamilton took a right turn and decided she liked writing sex scenes. A lot. So if you aren't interested in that, stick to the first 6 books.

The Vampire Files by P.N Elrod - a little bit lighter than the first too, but still a pretty good series.

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice - the first in Rice's Vampire chronicles. These are good gothic vampire stories. But like Hamilton, Rice also decided she liked to write about sex after the 5 or 6th book.

Those Who Hunt the Night by Barbara Hambly - This is an interesting vampire story about a man who is creating vampires. A very suspenseful book. I believe it has a sequel, though I have not read it.

Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist - a good teen vampire story.

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson - notable for being not only excellent, but one of the first vampire stories with an urban setting.

There are more, but this should get your started.

 

[Meggiepants]

I really like Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin (yep, the same author as A Song of Ice and Fire). It's about a riverboat captain in the American South in the 1800's. He befriends a vampire, who hires him to be captain of his private riverboat, the Fevre Dream. Eventually they run afoul of a rival group of vampires. Really good book.

I forgot about this one! I also really liked it!

And you saying this reminded me of another. The Hunger by Whitley Strieber.

 

[Sethzard]

I say Darren Shan, and the new series about Mr crepsley

 

[AhumbleKnight]

Hm. I'd recommend Terry Pratchet's "Carpe Jugulum," because it's a good vampire story AND it preemptively deconstructs the Twilight saga (as in, like a decade before the first Twilight book). Also, I kind of like Jim Butcher's versions of vampires, so you could check out The Dresden Files (For the record, Bram Stoker's Dracula was commissioned by one of the vampire courts to exterminate another court. It's that kind of a universe).

I will second you on "Carpe Jugulum". That was a really good vampire story.

On a side note. My wife descided to write a vampire story after reading Twilight. Her reasons? TO SHOW THE STUPID ***** HOW IT IS DONE. She hates Twilight as much as the rest of us.

 

[A Raging Emo]

The Day Watch, the Night Watch, and the Twilight Watch.

Russian Vampires. Russian Vampires!

 

[Kaisikudo]

Darren Shan Saga was awesome when I was younger.

There are plenty cool Graphic Novels about vampires too, if you feel like a change. I know that's not what you were asking for, but it's all I can suggest.

 

[the_maestro_sartori]

Let the right one in, and the cliche, Dracula, are the best I've read.
The Historian was good, too.

 

[Senor Smoke21]

I am legend definitly. That has to be one of my favourite books ever. The film was not particularly brilliant but the book I can just read over and voer again.
And obviously Dracula =p

 

[NIHILHATE]

Anything by Anne Rice, especially The Queen Of The Damned and The Vampire Armand. Also, Vampirates. It's only a kids book and you'll probably read it in a day, but it's a wicked concept.

 

[Flamingpenguin]

I'd have to agree on the Darren Shan saga, and Thirsty by M.T. Anderson was pretty good too.

 

[hermes]

Bram Stoker's Dracula is almost the only one I would recomend. Anne Rice was the predecesor of the trend Twilight is a part of, so I can't recomend her work.

I also remember a friend recomend me a book about an alternative Victorian past where Dracula actually won, and a lot of people in the british high class were vampires. It involved Jack the Ripper hunting down vampires and a vampire detective hunting him down. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the book.

 

[Chunko]

Since the release of those piles of shit books known to the masses as "Twilight", I've noticed it has become rather difficult to find any good fiction (or nonfiction for that matter) books having anything to do with vampires.

If you search "Books on vampires" the only thing that will be shown are the Twilight books and since I don't have any interest whatsoever in those, I ask the Escapist to recommend any books worth reading on the subject of vampires or even Dracula himself.

Try not to name the obvious like "Bram Stroker's Dracula"

I am legend is a really good book, my only complaint is that it's a little short.

 

[Julianking93]

If you're tired of the "I'm so goth I shit bats" vampire stories, here's a couple:

For a lighthearted, fun read: Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore

For a more serious one: Agyar by Steven Brust

 

[muckinscavitch]

Other than the classics, I would strongly recommend "Let the Right one In".

 

[Tinneh]

The Nymphos of Rocky Flats by Mario Acevedo.

It's exactly about what the title makes you think it's about. And it's awesome.

Seriously, go read it, it's hilarious.

EDIT: Also, to pseudo-quote Unskippable: "Mario Avocado."

 

[Nerf Ninja]

The Vampyre by Tom Holland is excellent, it's about lord Byron Becoming a vampire. Byrons doctor (John Polidori)was the first writer of the fictional "Gentleman" vampire as we know them today.

 

[deadlydeadlybees]

If you want something that is basically the exact opposite of Twilight, read Lost Souls by Poppy Z Brite. Horny filthy booze drinking vampire slut men drive around in a dirty van and molest a young boy who ends up being related to one of them, and also turns him into a vampire or something. I read it in highschool (many years ago) and thought it was the bees knees. I'm not going to say it's good, but if you want something to wash the shiny Twilight crap off your soul, Lost Souls is perfect.

 

[tiredinnuendo]

Stephen King wrote a vampire book called Salem's Lot that I remember liking when I was younger, though I'm not sure how well I'd enjoy it now. I seem to recall that it did vampires correctly, which is to say "complete monsters who look human". Too many vampires nowadays either aren't monsters or don't look human.

Also, it's written from the perspective of the humans with vampires as the clear enemy, so we never need to deal with that whole, "Why is a thousand year old creature acting like a somewhat suave 30-something at best?" bullshit that we get so often nowadays.

Note to horror writers. I stopped hanging out with teenagers when I hit my mid-20's. There's no excuse for someone several hundred years old to have ANYTHING in common with a human. The most positive possible relationship you should get there is something similar to a human and his pet dog.

- J