Saturday, October 17, 2009

5 Of The Best Vampire Books


5. Hellsing Volume 1 - Kouta Hirano
Even though Hellsing is a graphic novel I'm still putting it in my Top 5 due to its sheer genius in terms of plot line. The Hellsing series is loosely based around the original Dracula by Bram Stoker. It makes a lot of references to Stoker's novel but also has a modern twist on it. The character's are all part of the Hellsing Organisation which tracks down vampires and kills them. the organisation is Protestant and working on behalf of the Queen Of England who believes vampires are unholy creatures that should be sent to hell. The twist is that Alucard that vampire is helping them to execute these creatures. If you read farther into the series you will start to uncover hints about Alucard's past and some Nazi involvement in the sudden surge of Vampirism.


4. Guilty Pleasures - Laurell K. Hamilton
Guilty Pleasures is the first book in the Anita Black Vampire Hunter Series. The series itself is excellent but there is something about Guilty Pleasures that allows me to reread it again and agin and still find meself completely absorbed by it. The book is action-paked with fighting and a mysterious crime that Anita is helping the police solve. Like most other vampire stories these days werewolves are a huge part in Guilty Pleasures but so are zomies, a rarity nowadays. Anita is constantly being harassed by guys and feels a need to constsntly confirm her own power in each situation she's in, so expect a lot of shooting and one-liners.

3.The Darren Shan Series - Darren Shan

I couldn't pick just one of the books from this series as each book is just an extension of the storyline - so they don't actually make sense when they are read separately. The series has been written for a young teen audience but many adults read it (mostly in secret). The Darren Shan Series is one if the most original I have ever read, with some of the most intriguing characters I have ever encountered. The series begins around a freak show; The Crique Du Freak, but Darren eventually ends up reigniting a 200 year old vampire war and finds himself on a quest to end it once and for all.


2. Interview With The Vampire - Anne Rice


This is a modern classic, although it is a little to mature for the new generation of Twilight fanatics. This book is perfect for anyone who wants the vampire genre to mix with a sprinkle of action and some romance. Romantic is actually the perfect adjective for Rice's style of writing. All of her books portray New Orleans in a sensuous and reminiscent manner, drawing the reader into the story and making you feel a part of it. The book literally is an interview with a vampire - Louis, who describes LeStat recklessly turning him into a vampire ina n attemp to become part of Louis' expensive lifestyle.

1. Dracula - Bram Stoker

Often claimed to be the definitive novel that began the vampire genre. Nearly every vampire writer cites Stoker's infamous classic as being their biggest influence. The book is written in diary-form by various characters in the story. The plot line is original and so ahead of its time, several movies have been based on its characters and it has seen Van Hellsing become one of the most famous vampire hunters in history.

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