Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Vampire Book-Related News
A transfusion of new blood (Washington Post)"A descendant of Dracula's creator is managing the 2009 comeback tour. Dacre Stoker, Bram Stoker's great-grandnephew, and Ian Holt, a screenwriter and Dracula fanatic, have co-authored 'Dracula the Un-Dead.'"
Bram Stoker Film Festival
Scheduled for October 14-17, 2010 (Whitby, England)
Monday, October 26, 2009
Mana from Ebay
Don't you love Ebay? While I am sure it has had a bad effect on some second hand book stores, I am just amazed how I can find rare books and great deals on large lots of books like this one :)
Monday, October 12, 2009
Cheesiest spin off book: Barnabas Collins In a Funny Vein
I have seen some pretty bad novelisations of vampire TV shows, but this is surely a new low. In a transparent effort to cash in on the then newly popular Dark Shadows series, this book of jokes was released. This 1969 paperback is appalling, and not in the good way.
Here we have a random page of the so called jokes, also displaying the haphazard formatting in a large point courier font, with no page numbers. To quote the back cover text: "groovy".
Not.
Here we have a random page of the so called jokes, also displaying the haphazard formatting in a large point courier font, with no page numbers. To quote the back cover text: "groovy".
Not.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Requesting a review
If you have a book that you would like reviewed on the Fleam:Authors: please email veinglory at gmail.com with the subject line [FLEAM] and include the title of the book, a synopsis or blurb, and a link to the point of display or sale. Ebook review copies are preferred, paper copies are also accepted.
Publishers: may choose to attach the complete book rather than send a query--however in these cases a review is not guaranteed.
I am interested in most areas of vampire fiction and non-fiction and associated subjects such as immortals and other life-force depleting paranormal creatures. Special areas of interest include poetry, anthologies, gay fiction, erotica, romance and psychological non-fiction.
I am particularly interested in any book that uses the vampire archetype to investigate complex issues such as codependency, libido/thanatos, moral or ethical dilemmas and/or realistic consequences of power, immortality or the need to harm or kill others to survive.
Example of this type of fiction would include:
* Blood is Not Enough edited by Ellen Datlow
* I am Legend by Richard Matheson
* Running Dry by M Christian
* Sabella by Tanith Lee
Monday, September 28, 2009
RUNNING DRY by M Christian
This post is part of the book review blog chain. The previous post is [Review: "Equus"] and the next post is [Review: Dewey].
When asked to post a review of the book I loved, I decided to talk about Running Dry. A full review of the book can be found here on my personal blog. The executive summary is that Doud and a female friend are involved in a chase-slash-road trip-slash-memoir dealing with a monster who is tracking Doud down.
The story, to be honest, is no longer all that clear in my memory. But to me the idea of the vampire is not about the plot, or even about the character, is is about the dilemma. You see Doud is also a monster, the same kind of life-force sucking monster as the man that is hunting him--the only difference is that he has a conscience.
When it comes to vampires it seems that there are two main camps. Some people like horror with the vampire as the cursed, evil monster. Some people like romance or adventure with the vampire as the handsome hero with supernatural superpowers. But, to me, both of these concepts completely miss the essence of the modern vampire.
And by modern I mean over the last 150 years or so. You see it in Varney, Dracula, Carmilla... the vampire is a deadly, ambiguous, baffling combination of of libido and thanatos. He (or she) can be powerful, seductive, influential and irresistible--and in equal parts vulnerable to simple light or water, hideous, soulless and murderous. The best vampire stories to me are about trying to resolve that enigma.
M Christian rediscovers this storyline from the point of view of the vampire who tries not to abuse his powers, and who tries not to harm others. But Doud cannot help reaching out to others any more than he can avoid destroying them, and that is the theme that turns yet another adventure story into a new vampire classic. That is why, more than two years later, I chose to revisit this book from hundreds of vampire tomes I have read, and in most cases forgotten.
This book struggles with the essential conflict at the heart of the vampire archetype and does not evade or glibly resolve the unavoidable tragedy that flows from the contradictions of undeath.
When asked to post a review of the book I loved, I decided to talk about Running Dry. A full review of the book can be found here on my personal blog. The executive summary is that Doud and a female friend are involved in a chase-slash-road trip-slash-memoir dealing with a monster who is tracking Doud down.The story, to be honest, is no longer all that clear in my memory. But to me the idea of the vampire is not about the plot, or even about the character, is is about the dilemma. You see Doud is also a monster, the same kind of life-force sucking monster as the man that is hunting him--the only difference is that he has a conscience.
When it comes to vampires it seems that there are two main camps. Some people like horror with the vampire as the cursed, evil monster. Some people like romance or adventure with the vampire as the handsome hero with supernatural superpowers. But, to me, both of these concepts completely miss the essence of the modern vampire.
And by modern I mean over the last 150 years or so. You see it in Varney, Dracula, Carmilla... the vampire is a deadly, ambiguous, baffling combination of of libido and thanatos. He (or she) can be powerful, seductive, influential and irresistible--and in equal parts vulnerable to simple light or water, hideous, soulless and murderous. The best vampire stories to me are about trying to resolve that enigma.
M Christian rediscovers this storyline from the point of view of the vampire who tries not to abuse his powers, and who tries not to harm others. But Doud cannot help reaching out to others any more than he can avoid destroying them, and that is the theme that turns yet another adventure story into a new vampire classic. That is why, more than two years later, I chose to revisit this book from hundreds of vampire tomes I have read, and in most cases forgotten.
This book struggles with the essential conflict at the heart of the vampire archetype and does not evade or glibly resolve the unavoidable tragedy that flows from the contradictions of undeath.
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