Less vampires please...

[Cruel2BKind]

Its kind of disgusting, I'm probably not the only one who has noticed the increasing flow of shitty vampire novels, especially after the Twilight books. For me the Twilight books were interesting, but not very well written, just something to read when you were bored.

But now we have a bazillion series of badly written melodramatic pieces of shit that make me never want to read another vampire novel again, and I'd love to say that the trend doesn't exist in lit, but it does. It REALLY does.

I only read vampire stories if they are done by SadieRose and SumofAllThings, and I have one or two stories that I still read that I dont remember the name of. Most stories though, especially if it has some dumb line like 'Evan gets seduced by a sexy creature of the night' (if you have to include the word 'sexy' you're trying too hard) I just walk away.

Has anyone else been disappointed by bad vampire literature?

P.S. Werewolves are a different story, I scour this site looking for any stories about them, no matter how bad ^_^

 

[jdnunyer]

I thought vampires were overdone BEFORE twilight. I blame Anne Rice.

I still appreciate True Blood, thanks to the high production values you expect from HBO. But 99% of the time, I steer clear of any fiction, film, or TV show about vampires.

But obviously there are plenty of people who do not agree with us. <shrug>

 

[beatrice_dreams]

I've always been a big fan of Robin McKinley, and her one vampire story (that I know of), 'Sunshine' is one of my favourites. But that is a book - alas she doesn't write on here (that I know of!).

I have to admit I haven't read the Twilight series...or any other vampire fiction other than one random vampire romance I vaguely recall reading as a teenager...

 

[lovecraft68]

Its kind of disgusting, I'm probably not the only one who has noticed the increasing flow of shitty vampire novels, especially after the Twilight books. For me the Twilight books were interesting, but not very well written, just something to read when you were bored.

But now we have a bazillion series of badly written melodramatic pieces of shit that make me never want to read another vampire novel again, and I'd love to say that the trend doesn't exist in lit, but it does. It REALLY does.

I only read vampire stories if they are done by SadieRose and SumofAllThings, and I have one or two stories that I still read that I dont remember the name of. Most stories though, especially if it has some dumb line like 'Evan gets seduced by a sexy creature of the night' (if you have to include the word 'sexy' you're trying too hard) I just walk away.

Has anyone else been disappointed by bad vampire literature?

P.S. Werewolves are a different story, I scour this site looking for any stories about them, no matter how bad ^_^

I am with you! Well I don't know if I would go so far as to say disgusting, but it is annoying. It's also the type of story that gets to me. Gone are good old fashioned bad ass evil vampires.

We are now plagued with pretty, sexy and 'sensitive vampires. They are every where. Like any other fad there are some good writers turning this out, but a lot of copycat crap out there as well.

I am old school and enjoy Brian Lumley's Necroscope novels (now those are some bad ass vampires) Robert Macammon's They Thirst is awesome as well.

Lit like everywhere else is being swamped by these stories as well as a lot of werewolf stuff, but at least the werewolf stories seem to still have an aura of bad ass around the wolves. The vampires are just pansies.

P.S. if you are looking for a great werewolf tale pick up Robert Mcammon's Wolf's Hour. IMO the greatest werewolf story I have ever read.

 

[Dazzle1]

It's the latest trenda right now.

and like most literature, a great dealof it is bad.

Eventually it will run out of steam just like virtual reality stories did a few years ago.

I read 1 supernatural series by Carrie Vaugn and thats it.

 

[lovecraft68]

I thought vampires were overdone BEFORE twilight. I blame Anne Rice.

I still appreciate True Blood, thanks to the high production values you expect from HBO. But 99% of the time, I steer clear of any fiction, film, or TV show about vampires.

But obviously there are plenty of people who do not agree with us. <shrug>[/QUOTEI}]



I also blame her. I had the unfortunate experience of reading most of her novels to humor my wife-who I was dating at the time- and they are awful.

If "Lestat wept" one more time I was going to burn the book. They are pussies in plain english. I will say that her 'mythology' was good but Rice would not know how to write a true evil character if her life depended on it. This carried over in her ridiculously inconsistant Mayfair witches.

You know another influence that flies under the radar-and another thing I suffered through while wooing the Mrs.- is Angel from Buffy. Dark, brooding but gorgeous and sensitive. I kind of see him as the "prototype" for a lot of these whiny little dweebs.

On the other hand credit where credit is due. From the same show I thought Spike was fantastic. Maybe the last really bad ass vampire we'll see in the 'kiddie' genre for awhile.

 

[jdnunyer]

I thought vampires were overdone BEFORE twilight. I blame Anne Rice.

I still appreciate True Blood, thanks to the high production values you expect from HBO. But 99% of the time, I steer clear of any fiction, film, or TV show about vampires.

But obviously there are plenty of people who do not agree with us. <shrug>

I also blame her. I had the unfortunate experience of reading most of her novels to humor my wife-who I was dating at the time- and they are awful.

If "Lestat wept" one more time I was going to burn the book. They are pussies in plain english. I will say that her 'mythology' was good but Rice would not know how to write a true evil character if her life depended on it. This carried over in her ridiculously inconsistant Mayfair witches.

You know another influence that flies under the radar-and another thing I suffered through while wooing the Mrs.- is Angel from Buffy. Dark, brooding but gorgeous and sensitive. I kind of see him as the "prototype" for a lot of these whiny little dweebs.

On the other hand credit where credit is due. From the same show I thought Spike was fantastic. Maybe the last really bad ass vampire we'll see in the 'kiddie' genre for awhile.

Agreed completely. Angel was a pansy, but Spike was cool. And he had depth too. He was a hopeless romantic, often pathetic, comic relief in a show that had plenty of humor to begin with, and yet, despite all that, still a MF-ing bad ass. And that only made Angel even more annoying.

 

[LettersFromTatyana]

Oh yippee. I was beginning to wonder if we'd have our monthly thread complaining about vampires.

Good this one snuck in just in time.

 

[lovecraft68]

Oh goodie. I was beginning to wonder if we'd have our monthly thread complaining about vampires.

I am not complaining about vampires in general, just the overwhelming flood of the "teenie" generation of them.

It's like anything else most things are good in moderation but once something becomes trendy it wears out it's welcome quickly.

There are some good authors on here who pull it off, and when all the copycats get tired Of pushing out their watered down crap those authors will still be around.

Besides trust me when I tell you that nothing can be compared to the regular doses of nasty e-mails I (and all other authors) get for writing incest, if this is the worst the Vamp writers get they are doing okay. Besides no one here is being derogatory, it's just annoying when everywhere you look (TV, books, movies, even erotica) you keep seeing the same damn thing. I used to own a comic book store and I'm sick and tired of the movies they're pushing out, so anything can get sickening to anyone.


Your just upset because nobody has started writing about roosters yet. But no worries someday they will and if someone can make money on it then soon everyone will be.

 

[LettersFromTatyana]

Don't mind me. I'm just in a fowl . . . er, foul mood today.

In my defense, the in laws are visiting.

 

[sr71plt]

Its kind of disgusting, I'm probably not the only one who has noticed the increasing flow of shitty vampire novels, especially after the Twilight books. For me the Twilight books were interesting, but not very well written, just something to read when you were bored.

Thanks for sharing. I think every writer should try a vampire piece, though. They're fun.

When I've written mine, I haven't read anyone else's, so if they are just like the others, it must have something to do with the vampires themselves rather than copy catting.

I think you can control your disgust by not reading them. I've never even seen a copy of Twilight and I don't miss the loss.

Oh, and it should be "Fewer Vampires, Please." ("less" is for degree, "fewer" for units you can count)

 

[lovecraft68]

Thanks for sharing. I think every writer should try a vampire piece, though. They're fun.

When I've written mine, I haven't read anyone else's, so if they are just like the others, it must have something to do with the vampires themselves rather than copy catting.

I think you can control your disgust by not reading them. I've never even seen a copy of Twilight and I don't miss the loss.

Oh, and it should be "Fewer Vampires, Please." ("less" is for degree, "fewer" for units you can count)

I have a bunch of Vampire stuff lying around from when I was in my early twenties and still in my horror phase. Maybe I should resurrect one and toss some sex into it, give it a shot. I just don't think I can stomach to make the vampire either sensitive, tragic, or noble.

 

[lovecraft68]

Don't mind me. I'm just in a fowl . . . er, foul mood today.

In my defense, the in laws are visiting.

Ha ha! I'm a sucker for a good pun! And yes the in laws can do it every time.

Mine are old school proper Italian Catholics. Needless to say my pagan ass says very little while they are around.

So do you know the difference between in laws and outlaws?

Out laws are wanted!

Sorry couldn't resist.

 

[Cruel2BKind]

oops...

Sorry about the fewer/less thing.
Let me rephrase what I meant. I don't mind vampires, as long as they are INTERESTING vampires. The major flaw in twilight (just about the vampires themselves, not the plot or character flaws, lot more of those) is that the vampires are practically invulnerable.
--Superstrong
--Invulnerable to sunlight
--Invincible to anything except their own species teeth.

The only thing that could kill a vampire is another vampire, so they are like the superman of vampires, BORING. My favorite vampires always had interesting traits, like having a normal human lifespan, being shapeshifters, in one story I read, Vampires created the AIDs virus.

Vampires are such a fun and creative category, what I hate is how recycled they are!

 

[cloudy]

I despise Twilight, and Anne Rice's vamps were truly pathetic whiners, but I LOVE True Blood.

The vampires are bad ass, the main werewolf makes me want to howl at the moon (he's a man vs. these babies you see elsewhere), and the show doesn't have any problem laughing at itself.

Plus, it's on HBO, so there's plenty of sex.

 

[lovecraft68]

Sorry about the fewer/less thing.
Let me rephrase what I meant. I don't mind vampires, as long as they are INTERESTING vampires. The major flaw in twilight (just about the vampires themselves, not the plot or character flaws, lot more of those) is that the vampires are practically invulnerable.
--Superstrong
--Invulnerable to sunlight
--Invincible to anything except their own species teeth.

The only thing that could kill a vampire is another vampire, so they are like the superman of vampires, BORING. My favorite vampires always had interesting traits, like having a normal human lifespan, being shapeshifters, in one story I read, Vampires created the AIDs virus.

Vampires are such a fun and creative category, what I hate is how recycled they are!

Thank you for that Superman comment! As a lifetime comic collector and fan, I have always thought he is the phoniest character there is and even in the modern era DC has done nothing to 'weaken' him.

He has two alleged weaknesses (aside from kryptonite), the supernatural and psychic powers. Yet in JLA/Avengers Thor, a supernatural character, still could not beat him. Give me a break.

Oh and thanks for bringing my geek out.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

 

[GinaTina]

Dracula = vampire.

Edward Cullen = sparkly fag.



Vampires aren't my thing either. Never have been. Ugh.

 

[3113]

Agreed completely. Angel was a pansy, but Spike was cool.

And, alas, both were right out of Soap Operas (the unattainable "good" guy and the bad guy you hate at first, but learn to love and turns out to be not so bad once the heroine he's fallen for makes him want to be less evil), and both fighting over the heroine who can't make up her mind (talk about a woman's romantic fantasy)--and this has infiltrated all vampire stories since. Including--hey, whadda know?--True Blood. I'm not arguing that it's badly done, just that it's there: Angel (Bill) vs. Spike (Eric). Again. Ditto in Twilight where it was vampire vs. werewolf.

I'm as sick of that cliché in such stories as I am of the vampires themselves.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Grammer Police checking in, the title should read Fewer Vampires, Please. 'Less' refers to size, when you want to talk about numbers use 'fewer'. Thank-you for your attention.

 

[jdnunyer]

And, alas, both were right out of Soap Operas (the unattainable "good" guy and the bad guy you hate at first, but learn to love and turns out to be not so bad once the heroine he's fallen for makes him want to be less evil), and both fighting over the heroine who can't make up her mind (talk about a woman's romantic fantasy)--and this has infiltrated all vampire stories since. Including--hey, whadda know?--True Blood. I'm not arguing that it's badly done, just that it's there: Angel (Bill) vs. Spike (Eric). Again. Ditto in Twilight where it was vampire vs. werewolf.

I'm as sick of that cliché in such stories as I am of the vampires themselves.

Yeah, that's a good point. Can't argue with you there.

 

[jdnunyer]

Ha ha! I never saw or read Twilight, but that would be awesome.

 

[cloudy]

And, alas, both were right out of Soap Operas (the unattainable "good" guy and the bad guy you hate at first, but learn to love and turns out to be not so bad once the heroine he's fallen for makes him want to be less evil), and both fighting over the heroine who can't make up her mind (talk about a woman's romantic fantasy)--and this has infiltrated all vampire stories since. Including--hey, whadda know?--True Blood. I'm not arguing that it's badly done, just that it's there: Angel (Bill) vs. Spike (Eric). Again. Ditto in Twilight where it was vampire vs. werewolf.

I'm as sick of that cliché in such stories as I am of the vampires themselves.

Yeah, it's there, I won't argue that at all, but it's not quite as cliche as some...the characters aren't quite that simple and one-dimensional. Bill started off as the "good" guy, but as the series has progressed, Bill's become a power-tripping asshole, while maintaining the morally "good" position.

Eric started out as the "bad" guy, but the character also has a very vulnerable and gentle side that we're just now getting to see (in the tv series....read the books ages ago), but the way it's written you wonder if that "good" side is another of Eric's schemes or if you can believe what you see...he still does morally questionable things.

So...yeah, the whole good vs. evil trope is there, but its not quite as simplistic as you make it out to be. What really saves True Blood from being just another *yawn* vampire show is that it pokes fun at itself, doesn't take itself seriously at all, especially when compared with Vampire Diaries, or god help us, Interview With the Vampire, with all those emo vampires, werewolves and hormone-y teenagers. Whoever writes the dialogue does a great job keeping it from becoming trite and overdone.

 

[Stella_Omega]

I'd rather read vampire stores than incest stories.

So, that's what I do. I don't read incest stories, and I do read a few vampire stories if I want to.

Likewise, I prefer my vamps to be written by certain authors, so those are the authors I read. If I try someone else's vampire story and I don't like it, I don't blame it on the vampires, I blame it on the writer.

 

[Cruel2BKind]

One pet peeve...

I read Twilight before the series got launched into rancid popularity by the movies, and I think that people diss it way too much. I'm probably going to get a lot of hate-posts for this, but I LIKED twilight. I know that it wasn't good, and that Bella is a conniving little bitch that should be a twisted villain in a shakespeare play, and not the 'average teenage girl'.

The books were a nice read when bored and the urge to read cutesy romantic novels struck, and the movies were also good to watch when I felt the urge to watch tween porn. I never mistook them for good movies, they were simple eye-candy.

If you have seen or read twilight, you can call it the worst piece of shit you have ever had to touch or see or listen to, and I wont care. What bugs me is when people laugh at them and call them terrible movies when they haven't seen them. Anyone can do that, and right now, since twilight is a popular thing to hate, they conform and say they hate it, even though several people specifically said that they HADN'T read or seen twilight.

Please give your honest opinion, and I don't care if you hate it or not, as long as it's your opinion. Otherwise you are just conforming to the group of people that hate the popular things to hate.

POPULAR THINGS TO HATE
--Twilight
--Justin Bieber
--Lady Gaga
--Country Music
--Rebecca Black
--Amy Winehouse

To be perfectly honest, I love some of the people and things on that list, others I think are ok, and only one is worthy of our contempt and pity.