The Sonja Blue books- who are they by? I may check them out.
I’m putting The Lost Boys and The Addiction on my list of movies to check out this weekend. And i’m adding Agyar (sp?) to my list of amazon.com books to buy eventually.
i’ve always thought Anne Rice’s books were alright, just that they seemed overdone with explanations. It just feels there should more plot. I don’t know- something along those lines. They seem overrought with emotion. But obviously you can’t judge an entire genre on one writer…
Yeah, or before. Then you can catch a lot of the in-jokes. But, if you do rent it, make sure you’re actually renting it and not the remake. Argh! A few years ago, I hadn’t seen Nosferatu in quite a while, so I figured I’d rent it. Got it, and imagine my surprise when I got home and it was in colour, and a completely different movie! :mad:
It might not be that bad, but I was just stoked to see Nosferatu again. It was a major disappointment.
Anyway, yeah. Nosferatu is an awsome vampire. Too bad there’s not more known about the actor that played him (Max Shreck; Shreck meaning something similar to “shriek” in German).
I’ve always liked the Ricean vampires, and I considered Le Croix the most interesting character in “Forever Knight”. They’re a little too grim for me most of the time, though. My current favorite is Jack Fleming (from P.N. Elrod’s Vampire Files novels)–he’s just a regular guy in post-Repeal Chicago who happens to be a vampire. He’s more often baffled than grim (in a “Where am I, and why are there bullet holes in both sides of my shirt?” kind of way), and often creeps himself out when he does something vampiric. The books are pretty light reading, but I like the character.
Damn! Someone beat me to “Shadow of the Vampire!” I just saw it this weekend, heartily recommend it. Willem Defoe is terrific as the vampire “Max Schreck/Count Orlock.” Interestingly enough, even though he’s “copying” a classic vampire act, he is the most original blood-sucker to show up in a long time.
Just as a trivial sidenote [SPOILER ALERT] I rented the original Nosferatu to compare it to the new version. In the final scene of “Shadow”, when Catherine McCormack’s character realizes “Max” doesn’t cast a reflection? In the original movie, there IS a mirror on the wall in the exact same place as in the set on “Shadow,” but the real Max Shreck very obviously DOES reflect in the mirror! Maybe you had to be there, but I thought it was amusing…
“Zoggie
The Sonja Blue books- who are they by? I may check them out.”
I’d suggest trying to find “Midnight Blue” by Nancy A. Collins. It’s the first three Sonja Blue books all together,
Sunglasses After Dark, In The Blood, and Paint It Black. You may need to order it but I found it a whole lot more fun than most of the Anne Rice stuff. (I also think that Interveiw was the only book of her’s worth keeping. But that’s not to say I didn’t read them… ) I had a huge crush on Louis from that book, but none of the others. Guess I have a thing for melancholy characters. (And, I didn’t think Brad Pitt captured him in the movie!)
I’ve always had a fondness for Max, but it’s a bloodline thing, mainly. (Vampire puns here not intentional.) Family folklore says that he was a distant cousin of our particular line of descent. (Schroeck = Schreck; the “oe” is actually an “o-umlaut” and got various different transcriptions.)
I’m also looking forward to seeing how William Dafoe portrays him in “Shadow of the Vampire.”
My vote goes for Brian Lumley’s version in the “Necroscope” books. There are 13 books in the series and I have read the first 5. The best concept on what vampirism is IMHO. Lumley mixes a bit of several different genres into his books.
I’ve never played Castlevania, but the original Alucard, as played by Lon Chaney Jr. in Son of Dracula, was one of the better cinematic vampires.
A few years ago, there was a TV movie called Blood Ties that had an interesting take on Carpathians. “Don’t call us ‘vampires’. That’s an ugly racial slur.”
At the moment, my favorite is Cassidy. Particularly in his encounter with the Lestat wannabe in Blood and Whiskey.
Eccarius: We are a dark mirror to them, reflecting back their self-doubt and self-loathing. We are–
Cassidy: Yeh’re a wanker, aren’t yeh?
Miriam did it for me without a doubt - from The Hunger by Whitley Strieber. Not necessarily as portrayed in the film, but more as she’s been written. It’s a damn shame that Strieber went off half mad about alien abductions - he was a fine author until Communion. Although if he had written it as fiction I’d have likely eaten right up, too.
She’s so outside the normal vampire mythos. I felt so terrible for her by the end of the book.
I play Masquerade as well, although my GM has allowed me to incorporate a werewolf character (a BSD) into the game instead of playing a leech. I come in real handy to the group but only play on a part time basis to even out the advantage that I bring.
I can’t BELIEVE no one’s mentioned Chelsea Quinn Yarbro! Franchot Ragoczy, St. Germain is THE sexiest, most alluring vampire in fiction (and much better than anything Ann Rice ever dreamed up!) I’m also very partial to Atta Olivia Clemens and Madeline de Montalia, other Yarbro creations.
As for the best Film Vampire, my vote goes to Frank Langella in “Dracula” – Oh, those lips! those eyes!!
Well, I can’t say I’ve ever heard of Ann Rice, but I think Anne Rice is pretty good. She does write a lot of emotional angst into her books, but I think that is mostly to counteract your regular vamps, who do nothing but drink blood all night. Given the choice, I definitely prefer Anne Rice’s vampires, Armand and Pandora in particular. Granted, the casting of Armand in the movie was horrible, but I love the character in the books.
The Vampire Chronicles, I believe, consist of four books – Interview, Lestat, Queen of the Damned, and Tale of the Body Thief. Memnoch the Paperweight does not count, and the other books are the New Vampire Chronicles. Worth reading, by the way.
I think the camp is pretty much split evenly – you either really really love Interview, or you really really love Lestat (the book). As for those who can’t appreciate the beauty of Anne Rice’s writing… well, there is not accounting for taste.
I am not into horror too much but Count Strahd vonZarovich from “I Strahd” by P.N. Elrod would have to be my favorite. Quite the tragic hero.
But he’s only fiction. My favorite vampire would have to be a guy I went to college with. We called him Vlad. He drove an Impala which we called the Impaler. I am sure he drank more Denny’s coffee than blood but he was pretty fun to hang out with. Nice, dry sense of humor worthy of many long-time posters around here.
) I had a huge crush on Louis from that book, but none of the others. Guess I have a thing for melancholy characters. (And, I didn’t think Brad Pitt captured him in the movie!)
She does write a lot of emotional angst into her books, but I think that is mostly to counteract your regular vamps, who do nothing but drink blood all night. Given the choice, I definitely prefer Anne Rice’s vampires, Armand and Pandora in particular. Granted, the casting of Armand in the movie was horrible, but I love the character in the books.