We're not gonna die. We can't die, Bendis. You know why? Because we are so very pretty. We are just too pretty for God to let us die.

Mal ,'Serenity'


Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.

There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."


Typo Boy - Jul 31, 2009 11:54:11 am PDT #9750 of 28388
Calli: My people have a saying. A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.Avon: Life expectancy among your people must be extremely short.

Yeah is is not just Meyer or Hamilton being kooky, ignorant and showing an oversized ego here. Rice is being pretty kooky when she claims to have pioneered the "beautiful seductive" vampire thing. In addition to Jilli's 19th century cites, what about Barnabas Collins. I seem to remember him being seductive long before Rice wrote Interview over a long drunken weekend. And I seem to remember a book called "Dark Angel" or something as a kid that was all about the sexy teenager saving the beautiful vampire and his tortured guilt-ridden soul. Genuinely evil vampire, killed many innocents, but redeemable. Hell the theme was already widespread enough for Polanski to make fun of in "The Dance of the Vampires" back in 1967. (Also called "The Fearless Vampire Killers" in the U.S.)


Volans - Jul 31, 2009 12:02:58 pm PDT #9751 of 28388
move out and draw fire

Yeah, Hammer Horror vampires were definitely sexualized.

However, Rice could say she popularized it. Hamilton can't say anything but that she cheapened the genre.


DavidS - Jul 31, 2009 12:09:35 pm PDT #9752 of 28388
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."

The whole point of Lugosi's breakthrough performance as Dracula was that it was sexualized. That's where it changes from the previous Nosferatu presentation.


Typo Boy - Jul 31, 2009 12:12:16 pm PDT #9753 of 28388
Calli: My people have a saying. A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.Avon: Life expectancy among your people must be extremely short.

However, Rice could say she popularized it.

Sure, we still have a lot freedom of speech in this country. But I don't think she can say it truthfully. Did more people read the book or watch the movie "Interview with the Vampire" than watched The Adams family? I wonder how Rice's popularity compares to Dark Shadows at its peak. I wonder how the total viewership (including Video rentals) for old Hammer films compared to that for Rice's (including rentals of course.) Heck, while Vampirilla probably never quite reached Lestat levels of popularity, I wonder how close she came.


DavidS - Jul 31, 2009 12:13:03 pm PDT #9754 of 28388
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."

I wonder how Rice's popularity compares to Dark Shadows at its peak.

Rice is much more popular. A much bigger phenomenon.


Typo Boy - Jul 31, 2009 12:15:12 pm PDT #9755 of 28388
Calli: My people have a saying. A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.Avon: Life expectancy among your people must be extremely short.

And The Adams Family?


Polter-Cow - Jul 31, 2009 12:29:18 pm PDT #9756 of 28388
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!

John and Abigail weren't vampires, to my knowledge.

Oh, shit, someone's going to write that book now.


Barb - Jul 31, 2009 12:31:56 pm PDT #9757 of 28388
“Not dead yet!”

But the Addams Family was comedic. It was a broad parody, to me.

With Dark Shadows, I certainly recall the idea of Barnabas being seductive, but it was still seemed to hew closely to the dark image of the vampire. I think "glamour" is actually a good word for Rice's vampires. Lestat was a very lush, colorful vampire to me.

But-- like I said, very limited in my vampire genre reading.


Barb - Jul 31, 2009 12:32:18 pm PDT #9758 of 28388
“Not dead yet!”

Oh, shit, someone's going to write that book now.

::making notes...::


Polgara - Jul 31, 2009 12:40:53 pm PDT #9759 of 28388
Karma is a cat, sleeping in my lap cuz it loves me. ~TS

In trying to be fair, much as it pains me, I wonder if Laurell wasn't referring to the vampire romance subgenre-- which, even there, she DID NOT PIONEER IT, but still, I wonder if that's what she was referring to.

I agree with Barb here (including the 'much as it pains me' part). I don't think it's the 'vampire genre' Hamilton is claiming so much as the wisecracking, butt-kicking spunky female protaganist battling the supernatural. Of course, in this case, Buffy (the movie) was first, but only by a year, and we all know how long a book is 'in production' before its publication date. I remember discovering Anita Blake with the sixth book. I burned right through it, bought the previous five and devoured those too, then raced to the bookstore to find similar books--and there weren't any (or any that I could find, at least). Now they're a dime a dozen, but back then, not so much. I think that's the genre Hamilton is claiming, not vampires in general.