We've been fascinated with vampires from the beginning of the written word.
In every culture they've found their way into our psyche. Both in a fearful and sexual way, they're the object of our nightmares and fantasies. They're the monsters in the dark we want to be.
When people in the publishing industry say paranormal is dead... I laugh.
The hold vampires have on the human mind hasn't gone away in almost six thousand years. SIX. THOUSAND. YEARS. And saying we've gotten over our fascination with them just now. 😂😂😂😂😂
Shit that's... 😂😂😂 gimme a minute... 😂😂😂
No seriously. What people have gotten over, just like in music, is badly written, genre-flooding bullshit flooding the market designed to ride the coattails created by someone else who caught lightening in a bottle. And that's true of ANYTHING. Everyone loves a trend until all the copycats ruin it.
So lets take a look at some great vampires... some you don’t know, some you love... and some you hated so much you loved them. 🧛♂😋😂
The Original Vampire
The first vampire appears in the second book ever written, and comes to us in The Mahabharata.
The great Hindu hero is never referred to as a vampire, but it’s clear he is one. The second epic is still the longest one, and while the book isn’t about him, he plays a major role as the son of a demi-god.
In the initial introduction to the blood drinkers, it isn’t a curse, but a mark of his divinity. He's special, and it is BadAssery when he’s around.
As the son of one of the Pandavi Brothers, he participates in the very real civil war in India by helping his fathers and uncles combat their enemies. He is beloved.
The Mahabhrata is a fantastic war song and should be read more in the west. The Hindu epic gives us our first vampire, one that inspired awe, fear, and fascination, and appears so early in the stories of man the vampire has larger meaning then merely a character.
Something inspired his introduction, and it’s clear mankind loved and feared a man with fangs with equal fervor. 😎
To buy the Mahabhrata: https://amzn.to/2q7fHc6
Modern Romance Vampires
Felicity Heaton has supplied several shorty sexy books in the Vampire Erotique Theatre series. They're powerful and capable of normal life within an established society that’s detailed and complex.
The idea that vampires would be loyal to blood relatives and are subject to a curse, much like the curses of mental illness suffered by mankind, humanizes Heaton’s vampires.
You should read all of them, but here's my favorite: https://amzn.to/2Pk1HKg
Dystopian Vampires
The Blackthorn Series by Lindsay J. Pryor is one of my all-time favorites, and the vamps take a center stage.
In a vastly different world, after the supernaturals reveal themselves, the complex nature of different kinds of vampires are revealed. As Man, not supernaturals, become the ugly danger we connect with the different vampires that are fighting for themselves and others.
What would we do if we knew supernaturals were real?
Pryor has an idea, and it isn't pretty. In this story, not only does the vampires' humanity come out, but so does mankind's inhumanity. Because we fear what we can’t control, and are willing to do horrible things when afraid, the Blackthorn shows the failure of man's ideals and values.
The very nature of the vampire is uncontrollable, and it becomes clear that we could be more of a problem than the ones we fear.
To buy the first on for free: https://amzn.to/2yVhTrb
Teen Vampires
Vampire obsession has bombarded us with various brands of vampires highlighting teen issues. There're too many to review, but one the best, that appeals to the daydream aspect our love of vampires, is the Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead.
The vampires face all the pain of growing up and earning a place in world that we as humans face as we age.
Without being absurd, she walked the line of camp and seriousness expressing the alienation and pain of growing up.
To find the first: https://amzn.to/2PQbCV2
The Power Vampires
J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood is the epitome of power.
They're strong, dangerous, and violent things we feared in the dark recesses of our minds.
The vampires of the BDB are alphas, angry, broken and cracked from trauma, fighting what feels like a losing war, and yet, they're the ultimate partners to the people they love. ❤️
Her vampires have a complex history and society of their own, yet have all the faults and failures of man.
They're the modern versions of the Mahabhrata vampire. Descended of great blood, fighting a war no one else can, and are worthy of worship; something the Eastern European cursed versions of blood-drinkers could never be.
To get the first in the series: https://amzn.to/2yRAuV8
The new versions of the vampire in romance lead back to the early vampire, and prove we're still fascinated, still yearning for something more, and still hoping for eternity to live and love.
These are some of my favorites, how about you tell me who you love, fangs and all.