Heather Brewer, author of The Chronicles of Vladimir Todd, explains the allure of writing about vampires and suggests some of her favorites.
From a post on the Guardian...
Many people have asked me why I think that vampires are currently so popular, and to me, it's a mixed-bag of reasons. For one, in many ways, a vampire is the eternal bad boy. He's dangerous, sexy, and can offer us an escape that no one else can or will. Plus, nobody but we understand him, that beneath the fangs, he's something more. For two, people are inextricably drawn to The Thing Under The Bed. We fear It, but at the same time, we're peaking under there to see what It's up to. Vampires are an excellent metaphor for many things, which contributes to people wanting to read about them in order to explore the human condition. But what it boils down to is that we, as a society, have tasted the dark side, and we liked the flavor of it so much that we can't stay away. This isn't the first trend of vampire love, and it certainly won't be the last. Vampires will always turn back to popularity over time.
My bookshelves are overflowing with various vampire tales, but one definitely stands out above the rest. It's a book that I nudge my Minions to again and again, and one that many younger readers have yet to discover. DRACULA by Bram Stoker.
While it can be argued that the book had issues, I love the story for what it is: a dark, twisted journey of corrupted innocence and the undead.
1 comment:
Personally, I've never been one for vampire fiction. I mean, I adored Dracula, and I'm always looking for a new vampire-themed book to read, but I feel like recently, they've been more like Twilight and less like the classic Count.
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