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Recommended Vampire
Fiction Novels
personally chosen
selections from DDD Founder, MemoryandDream
Hello and welcome to the DrinkDeeplyandDream.com official list of good vampire reads. There's a LOT of vampire novels out there, and they remain my not-so-secret guilty pleasure, and over the years I've read quite a few. Some are great, some are not so this list should help sort out the winner from the losers. Enjoy! (books listed in no particular order)
'The Silence in Heaven'
What a neat book. If you like angels and vampires, this is the one. In this book, the story centers on an angel who is cast from heaven, alone and immortal. He ends up giving birth to vampires through his golden, angelic blood. Very original and ends with a cliffhanger, though no sequel yet to be seen.
'Bloodlist'
The Vampire Files
This is the first book in meant-to-be-fang-in-cheek series. The books take place back in the 30's in Chicago and follow once reporter, now undead vampire Jack Flemming. Ignore the cheesy cover art, these books are actually good reads and never take themselves too seriously.
'Covenant With the Vampire: The Diaries of the Family Dracul'
The Diaries of the Family Dracul
This is another first (of a trilogy) which takes place before Bram Stoker's "Dracula" and adds a deep, dark
back story. These books were very unique and highly enjoyable reads.
- #1: Covenant with the Vampire
- #2: Children of the Vampire
- #3: Lord of the Vampires
'Of Saints and Shadows'
The Shadows Saga
Another first in a trilogy, these books are set in a modern, real-world reality with a twist on the classic mythos of vampires. These vampires are not all the evil beings they've been
portrayed and they actually act as protectors to humanity. Look past the fact Christopher Golden mainly deals in fluff like "Buffy" books and comic books, this series is great.
- #1: Of Saints and Shadows
- #2: Angel Souls and Devil Hearts
- #3: Of Masques and Martyrs
- #4: The Gathering Dark (new!
Have not yet read)
'Dead Until Dark'
The
Southern Vampire Series
What a fun little book this is. I generally try to avoid books that are as short as this because I read them far too quickly. (They're a snack *grins*) But, this series is just well-written and all-around enjoyable. Worth the investment and worth your time.
- #2: 'Living Dead in Dallas' I jumped on it when it came out and quickly read through this one as well.
- #3: 'Club Dead'
This one ends leaving some pretty big questions, so there will be more. I
read through it in a day.
'Midnight Blue: The Sonja Blue Collection'
The three Sonja Blue books printed together in one volume. A different take on vampires, Sonja is a vampire - but also a vampire hunter. She searches for the man who made her what she is. She lives in a half-world, neither dead nor alive. Dark and with a hard rock/punk edge to it, this series is a winner. (This book includes "Sunglasses After Dark," "In the Blood," and "Paint it Black" - the only place to get the third book in the series is in this collection)
'The Dracula Tape'
The Dracula Tapes
Now this was a neat book. It is the retelling of Bram Stoker's Dracula - by Dracula himself. He sets the record straight and points out how all the bad things said about him were misunderstandings. Again, look past the cheesy cover, it's a fun read.
'I, Vampire'
II really enjoyed this book. There are several others after the first and I only liked the first three. The rest stopped being about the main character and wandered off into half-done
clichés. This one is well worth reading however and really had a spark of believable truth to it. (Another where the vampires are not the mindless/evil/undead creatures of myth)
- #1: I, Vampyre (great)
- #2: Vampire Papers (great)
- #3: Vampire Princess (eh and goes downhill from here)
'The Angry Angel (Sisters of the Night)'
So far, I've only read the first one, but the story focuses on the briefly-mentioned "three sisters"/"Dracula's Brides" from Bram Stoker's "Dracula" This one is the tail of the first of the three. It's a little slow and sometimes I got a bit frustrated at the airy-headedness of the main character, but overall, it was interesting.
'The Vampire Tapestry'
This is an odd book. Much different then most, it's not like a vampire book so much as it is three, smaller books in one where you follow one man (who happens to be a vampire) reinvent himself after being discovered. Strange, but many people would like it. I neither liked nor disliked it.
'The Vampire Sextette'
Six original novellas, these run the range but overall were a good read. Some are better then others, but they're great for quick
snippets of vampire fiction.
'The Best of Dreams of Decadence'
Want even shorter bits of vampire fiction? This is for you. It's poetry and very brief stories from a vampire-based publication. Many items were quite good, though some of the poetry, I felt read like it was written by children.
'Complete Vampire Chronicles
(Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat, The Queen of the Damned, The Tale of the body Thief)'
Anne Rice's Vampire
Chronicles
Classic pieces of work. I enjoyed her first few books the best - the newest and the spin-offs I thought were hollow and rather pointless. She really did hit the nail on the head with the early books though and they are indeed worth the hype.
'Guilty Pleasures'
The Anita Blake: Vampire Executioner
The series starts here. Hamilton has a good thing going with these and each book introduces another supernatural aspect to the Anita world. (Vampires, werewolves, faeries, oh my!) It's a strong series, though it gets more and more sexual as the books go on. (Despite the "out of print" notice, these books are EASY to find and have been reprinted in a couple editions)
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