Friday, 30 January 2009
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Love Vampires but Hate Twilight?
I read the Twilight Saga over the summer and it really piqued my interest in vampires. I never really explored that area of fantasy/mythology before and I kept reading the books to satisfy my desire to learn more about them and their culture.
But, as some as you know, the Twilight books aren't the most well-written books ever. I mean, take Stephenie Meyer's bad grammar, add in an over-protective vampire and a personality-less heroine and then throw in some cheesy dialogue and focus-less plots and you have the Twilight Saga. Sure, the books are a fun guilty pleasure and the movie has totally hot actors but there's a sense of shame that goes with being a Twilight fan.
So what's a vampire-lover to do?
The Sookie Stackhouse Novels (and the HBO series based on them, True Blood) are a much more sophisticated alternative to Twilight. The books are very well-written, Sookie Stackhouse actually has a backbone and there is a whole lot of mystery and sex (which are missing from Twilight). The show is also really, really good. It's faithful to the books, has some moments of genuine terror, stars two very sexy and talented people (Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer, pictured above) and just isn't as cheesy as the Twilight movie
Have you read the books or seen the show? What are other examples of vampire pop culture? What do you think make vampires so appealing to audiences?
By Mr. M
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Comments (42)
I thought Buffy the Vampire Slayer was pretty good... but Firefly was better.
Hate vampires, hate Twilight. I don't see the fascination with them, I mean I see why people like them but I only got 5 pages into the first book (which is my sister's) and already disliked Bella and gave it back to her.
I love love love True Blood.
=]
Can't wait for the second season.
I love vampires but have never heard of these. I will have to check them out. Some vampire books I liked are the Night World series, Vampire Diaries, the House of NIght series, the Morganville Vampires series, and some others too. These are all books targeted for teens so older readers might not like them as much. I have a low reading lever for my age so these were good reads for me.
YES YES YES YES YES!I love Sookie, I think she's exactly what you've written. Course, i was into vampires ages before the atrocity that is twilight. You can thank Bram Stoker for introducing me and Anne Rice for fueling the fire. But I love the Sookie series and how the supernatural world is portrayed. True blood is fantastic and pretty true to the books (thank god!) MMm southern accents.
True Blood is like Twilight for adults haha. Love that show! Buffy was pretty good as well back in the day. They need to start showing that show on reruns somewhere.
i've never read or watched the show but i'm definitely gonna check it out now. thanks!
eh, i don't like true blood either. it's like cheap cable vampire-human porn :P
vampires are cool though. the first two underworld movies are my favorite vampire movies. i saw the 3rd one and didn't like it too much. underworld is not the same without kate beckinsale.
twilight just ruins vampires.
oouu ouuu ouu. i read the book. only the first book. i just cant seem to find the other book series. i rather read the book than watch the show. you can take the book whereever you want. but thats off topic. the book is a really good book. i have to say. the first book is better than twilight. but thats my opinion. :D
Well, I've never read the Twilight books, or watched the True Blood show. But, I've watched a lot of vampire movies and read books. The Blade movies are really good and Angel is my favorite show.
In my honest opinion. That Twilight movie sucked more then a vacuum does.
If you want to read a real vampire book here is what one should look for.
Anne Rice books
Things on Vlad the Implaer a.k.a Dracula
Things on Elizabeth Bathory-even though technically she is/was a blood countess.
I mean I think all these people getting hyped up about this crappy excuse of a vampire moive is rather depressing.
I have to agree with dulce_am0r, that Movie/ books ruin Vampires completely.
First off you do not use the term 'vegiterian' to describe the sucking of animal blood.
Yeah I saw the movie. I feel asleep, made fun of it as it was playing, and complain about how terriable it was.
Sorry but this pisses me off the most....
VAMPIRES DO NOT SPARKLE IN THE SUN!!!!!!!!!
They just don't.
I don't really care about who doesnt agree with me. In my opinion that dumb Twilight movie ruined Hottopic and so dod the 'emo + skater' kids but no one cares about them.
So all these people who are obbessed with this movie, need to get a life seriously, and learn about real vampires.
vampires took a hit in their badassocity from twilight. :-\
Anyone ever heard of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series? It's pretty good.
Hellsing (the anime and manga) is the best vampire series I have seen. Trinity Blood is also pretty decent. If you want good vampire series look towards Japan.
The Twilight books made me laugh to no end. Try reading them aloud. It's super hilarious.
I fell asleep during the Twilight fight scene.
I'm not really into vampires but from Dracula I think they're pretty badass.
@AriaxFrostxAyame@xanga - as much as i dont like twilight i have to disagree with your statement "vampires do not sparkle in the sun. they just don't." vampires are mythological which means what they do or don't do isn't written in stone. stephenie meyer tried to put a fresh spin on vampire-ology...and yeah it was a failed attempt, but she tried.
If you want vampire novels...
Darren shan's Vampire saga...
Bad decision making and hardly any love plots.
Great really
<3333 Charlaine Harris, Trueblood, and of course Eric, the sex viking vamp (omission of y intended). I was so excited when I found out the Stackhouse books were going to be on TV!
Twilight is awful, as are the striking similarities between the Sookie Stackhouse books and the Twilight ones- a friend listed them out. Twilight did remove the general bad-assness of vampires.
The only thing i love in Twilight is Edward Cullen..
I was a huge Buffy fan, still love it.
Vampires are appealing to audiences because they're depicted as very sensual and mysterious creatures overtly driven by primal instincts. They often seem duplicitous and complex, battling "good" and "evil" within themselves, which makes them fascinating to watch and read about and think about.
I've never read the Sookie Stackhouse books. I have read the Twilight series, though. It is the epitome of suckitude.
I really haven't read too many vampire novels. It's not really my cup of tea. Before Stephenie Meyer's crapfest, I'd really only read Amelia Atwater-Rhodes' books... and despite being written by a teenager, I don't think they were quite as bad. At least her vampires didn't sparkle.
While it is true that the Twilight books are not what many would consider well-written, it is important to consider Stephanie Meyer's target audience. She did what she set out to do - grabbed and held the attention of teenage girls. It's a fun read for many of the rest of us, but my point is that she did not set out to create a vampire series to rival Anne Rice's.
I think the idea of immortality appeals to many people, and we enjoy exploring the endless possibilities of what life would be like if we were not simply fragile humans. In my opinion, Genevieve the Vampire (by Jack Yeovil) is a good read, and gives a unique spin on the vampire mystique.
ugh, Anne Rice and this series are part of the reasons why i no longer think vamires are scary
>>>I mean, take Stephenie Meyer's bad grammar, add in an over-protective
vampire and a personality-less heroine and then throw in some cheesy
dialogue and focus-less plots and you have the Twilight Saga.<<<<
Very nicely put. You are going to receive some hate I'm sure though... hah! But yes, Twilight is very amateur-written.