Comments | syntart: Feeling Better

syntart

Feeling Better

Dec 10, 2008 23:13

Well, it's been a couple weeks, the cycle of antibiotics is done, and I'm beginning to feel good again. I actually had energy today. That was brilliant. I missed that. I do have to stay on claritin and the nasal spray, though; apparently, allergies have caught up to me. Boo, hiss.

FYI, St Patrick's Day ... the Pogues ... 9:30 Club ... a match made ( Read more... )

Comments 36

jasonfranks December 11 2008, 05:30:13 UTC

I liked Dan Simmons' psychic vampires in CARRION COMFORT when I was a teenager, but they're a bit different. Simmons also wrote CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT, which explores vampirism as a retrovirus... but I really can't remember much else about the book.

I don't know, either. An artist asked me to write her a vampire short to draw and I've been really reluctant about it. The best idea I have revolves around a band of emo college vampires being exterminated by some well-organized hunters because they're so unthreatening and ill-prepared.

-- JF

maroonmd December 11 2008, 06:11:52 UTC

Have you read any Poppy Z Brite? Lost Souls? Her books are pulpy, if you like that sort of thing. They're also pretty gruesome and filthy. :)

From Wikipedia about Lost Souls:
The vampires of this novel are quite dissimilar to those of traditional lore. Rather than being transformed humans, they are a separate species who are born vampires. [...] Vampiric infants kill their mothers in the womb.

I'd also recommend Drawing Blood (Following a comic book artist, battling mental ties to his Father who committed murder-suicide.) and Exquisite Corpse (Following a serial-slayer, who believes murder is art).

syntart December 12 2008, 14:13:41 UTC

Those, especially the last one, sounds really interesting. I'll give them a try.

maroonmd December 12 2008, 17:42:31 UTC

FYI- These are technically "Horror" novels. Definitely not action, but there is a romance element to them (though absolutely not "romance" novels). But despite some of the graphic gore, and pulp-fantasy elements, I would probably categorize them as drama.

joechummer December 11 2008, 06:24:26 UTC

I always thought vampires in the Shadowrun RPG universe (and thus its novels) were interesting. Shadowrun vampires were humans infected with a strain of the Human-Metahuman Vampiric Virus (or HMHVV for short), a paranatural virus that had lain dormant for thousands of years until the return of magic to the world brought it back to its previous state. These vampires tend to retain most of their humanity and intellect and only do unsavory things if the need to feed on life essence in the form of blood becomes too strong for them. Some Shadowrun vampires are evil and feed on anyone; others are more altruistic and choose to feed on animals or make a point to only drink blood they obtain from blood banks to keep them from preying on humanity ( ... )

syntart December 12 2008, 14:13:07 UTC

I remember enjoying Shadowrun quite a bit, though it's been a very long time since I've interacted with the world. Shadowrun was one of the first urban fantasy RPGs out there, and at the time, it really fed into my burgeoning love of the genre. I didn't even remember that they had vampires, though it doesn't surprise me that it would.

kadymae December 11 2008, 14:33:12 UTC

Glad that you're feeling better.

(The comment has been removed)

syntart December 12 2008, 14:04:45 UTC

Oh, WW was definitely urban fantasy. There was very little "personal horror" in it. The problem is that when you create protagonists out of the villains, you create an empathic relationship between the audience and the characters they're supposed to be playing. By assimilating the Other into ourselves, we remove that very concept of the foreign. Therefore, the fear of Others and the fear of monsters fades, and without fear, there's no way to do horror.