Ten Must Read Vampire Novels

As an avid reader I'm far more likely to dig out a book than I am to reach for a movie over the Halloween period, so which vampire books are on my must read list?

Dracula. An obvious choice. Bram Stokers Dracula novel was the first vampire novel I read as a child. The story dragged me in hook like and sinker, though as an adult I'm well aware that the people of Romania look upon the novel with a mix of horror and relief. Horror because Dracula is based upon a real life Romania hero, Vlad the Impaler, and relief due to the money the tourist trade surrounding the book and resulting mythos, has brought into the region.

Interview with a Vampire, by Anne Rice. It's been a few years since I picked this one up but one of the things that attracted me to the book was the way the vampires were portrayed. Yes, some are tragic figures, but others are quite frankly the monsters in the night that we love to be afraid of. Interview is a good mix between the romantic aspects that have become so familiar in current literature, and the darker all humans are food aspects that fit the mythos well.

Vampire Earth by E.E. Knight. This is a series of books rather than a single title. Imagine an earth taken over by aliens, except the aliens are vampire figures. Dark, dangerous, turning humans into ghouls, or worse. Using them for their dark pleasures, food, sources of energy, all this and more combines in E.E. Knight's well written series. The story follows the path of Valentine, one of the resistance fighters, and doesn't hold back on the sheer horror of an earth under the control of these monstrous creatures.

The Physic Vampire Codex by Michelle Belangar. I stumbled over this book after watching a show on history channel about vampires, the myths and reality. The Codex provides information on how modern day energy vampires live and follow their path. It's written by a modern day vampire and I actually read it, originally, as research. Though my copy has now gone missing and I need to pick up a new one, I do recommend this book for those who have an interest in vampires, or who write vampire related novels.

Guilty Pleasures, by Laurell K. Hamilton. The first of the Anita Blake novels, this one and those leading up to Obsidian Butterfly are well worth reading. Especially if you like your vampires as power hungry beings. After Obsidian Ms. Hamilton changes her style and it lost a lot of interest for me. The series starts off as very kill junkie almost gun porn, and shifts into erotica. To me she writes the gun porn, kill junkie far better than she does the erotica.

The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead by J. Gordon Melton. Now this is a must have for the vampire fan. Mr. Melton has put together a collection of history, myth, biographical and contemporary information about vampires. Everything from the terms used to the types of vampires that have been believed to roam the earth. I picked up this gem for research and it's been an amazing source of information for me. A definite must have.

Not all of the vampire books I have are primarily horror and the last four on my list are vampire romances as I have succumbed to the thought of a handsome vampire creeping up on me to claim me as his one for all eternity - well not entirely but the following four books are well worth the read.

The Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward. I adore this series. Ms. Ward writes vampires as dark, dangerous and strong warriors. Imagine a group of SEALS, facing off again Marines in the same bar. The ones that make it out in one piece, drinking and ready to fight all over again, would be the warrior vampires of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. They're fast, dirty, love women, and see nothing wrong in going out to drown a few beers before or after a fight.

The Dark series, by Christine Feehan. There are two types of vampires in this series. The alpha male heroes who search for their one true mate in order to keep them from losing their soul - the Carpathians, and then the real vampires of the series. The blood drinking, murdering, soulless beings that male Carpathians become if they give up hope. Ms. Feehan serves up a healthy dose of both types in her novels, with the Carpathians as heroes and the vampires, their kin, as the dark, evil beings that bring a touch of sickening terror to the stories.

Flesh and the Devil by Devyn Quinn. An erotic dark romance with a vampire heroine. Only in this book the vampires are turned by a demon being taken into the body of a human. A type of symbiotic relationship. I loved this book. Ms. Quinn is an addictive read and I tore through the book. The story is masterfully written but be warned, this book is both dark and extremely erotic, so not for the faint of heart. I'd rate it as deliciously evil.

The Master series, by Angela Knight. Imagine a world where the Knights of King Arthur had been turned into vampire protectors of earth and you have the basis of Angela Knight's well written and highly sensual series. I've loved this series since the first book, and would recommend it to anyone who likes their vampires as champions of the light.