The Reader's Shelf—Bloody Good Reads: Vampire Tales with Bite

Among the things that go bump in the night are vampires—those evil, immortal creatures with superior strength and the ability to change into a bat. But forget the Bela Lugosi stereotype. Anne Rice's groundbreaking Interview with the Vampire (1976) paved the way for the undead to be portrayed as complex, even sympathetic, characters.

The 1993 release of Guilty Pleasures (Berkley: Penguin Group USA. 2002. ISBN 0-425-18756-X. $21.95) marked the debut of Laurell K. Hamilton's bestselling "Anita Blake Vampire Hunter" series. A tough-as-nails kind of gal, Anita has made her name hunting vampires. Now, the undead have constitutional rights just like mortals, so Anita can only kill them when she has a court order. Otherwise she works in St. Louis as an investigative consultant to the police's newly formed Regional Preternatural Investigation Team ("the spook squad"). When master vampire Nikolaos demands that Anita investigate the murders of local vampires, she reluctantly agrees because the life of her dear friend Catherine will be forfeit if she doesn't comply. Despite her aversion to vampires, Anita feels a strong attraction to the provocative and handsome Jean-Claude, and their relationship becomes quite complicated as the series (so far 11 titles) progresses. The first six books are the best because they feature complex, intriguing mysteries mixed with a strong air of eroticism. The later novels place more emphasis on sexual situations and less on story.

Charlaine Harris's popular "Southern Vampire" series is an interesting mixture of mystery and the paranormal. In the debut, Dead Until Dark (Ace: Berkley. 2001. ISBN 0-441-00853-4. pap. $7.95), vampires share the same legal rights as humans, although until now none had bothered to come to sleepy Bon Temps, LA. Cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse, who can read human minds and emotions, is thrilled when handsome vampire Bill Compton comes into her bar. It is soothing to be near someone whose thoughts are hidden from her. Sookie and Bill are instantly attracted, but just as their romance blossoms, the murder of two female vampire groupies throws suspicion on Bill. The duo set out to prove his innocence.

In Jim Butcher's "The Dresden File" series, Chicago's only professional wizard ekes out a meager existence as a private investigator of the paranormal. Although Harry Dresden's first outing, in Storm Front (ROC: NAL. 2000. ISBN 0-451-45781-1. pap. $7.99), features only one vampire, she is an especially nasty character who promises to continue to harass Harry for several adventures to come. In Blood Rites (ROC: NAL. 2004. ISBN 0-451-45987-3. pap. $7.99), Harry is hired to rid a film production's set of a vicious curse that targets the many women in the producer's life. Meanwhile Harry is drawn into the intrigues of a vampire family to whom, it turns out, he has close personal ties. Harry narrates his tales with more than a dollop of humor. It's what keeps him going when all seems lost.

Who says vampires can't be funny? Meet Jules Duchon, the 400-pound hero of Andrew Fox's wry Fat White Vampire Blues (Del Rey: Ballantine. 2003. ISBN 0-345-46333-1. pap. $13.95). Jules loves his home town of New Orleans, especially its blues music and the spicy, fat-filled diets of its inhabitants. His size slows him down, he worries that he might have diabetes, and he knows that intellectually he is not a rocket scientist, but somehow he manages to get by until the day a new vampire, Malice X, decides that the Big Easy would be a better place without Jules. A wacky cast of characters help Jules muddle his way out of a desperate situation. An equally entertaining sequel, Bride of the Fat White Vampire (Del Rey: Ballantine. 2004. ISBN 0-345-46408-7. pap. $14.95), brings Jules's story to a happily-ever-after conclusion.

For a rollicking, laugh-out-loud experience, read David Sosnowski's Vamped (Free Pr: S. & S. 2004. ISBN 0-7432-6253-0. $24). Bored with his humdrum undead existence, Marty discovers that he still has his soul when a human child, Isuza, enters his life. No brooding Anne Rice vampire is he. Marty's zany sense of humor and offbeat way of looking at his own foibles as well as those of others make this a wonderfully engaging story.

For traditionalists who prefer their undead evil and scary there is Elizabeth Kostova's best-selling The Historian (Little, Brown. 2005. ISBN 0-316-01177-0. $25.95), which neatly combines the historical Vlad Dracul, the 15th-century prince of Wallachia, with the myth of the vampire. But if you like your vampires really terrifying, then pull out a copy of Bram Stoker's 1897 classic, Dracula (Signet: NAL. 1997. ISBN 0-451-52337-7. pap. $4.95), and keep plenty of garlic nearby!

This column was contributed by Patricia Altner, a Maryland bibliographer and writer who reviews vampire fiction for LJ. She is the author of Vampire Readings: An Annotated Bibliography (Scarecrow, 1998) and maintains a related web site (www.biblioinfo.com/vamp/vamp/html)