Twilight Rant #1

It is a wonderment to me how the literary community honors and respects those that do not deserve it. Particularly one genre really angers me, the shitty vampire romance. I am speaking, of course, about the Twilight craze that has swept the nation. I honestly don’t understand why so many love it. Let’s put aside the obviously bad writing style and complete lack or grammar for a minute (did she even have an editor?). Instead, let’s focus on the subject matter.

For some reason, we have gotten it into our head that vampires are a sexy “other” that humans aspire to be. Yes, they reach out to the need for immortality in our present powers, and preserving the body in young and healthy ways. It is a pleasing concept, to think of the knowledge you could possess, all for giving up solid food and sunlight. But it is a lie. Vampires, for all their appeal, are monsters. As inhuman as the zombies or sea-monsters that terrify our nightmares.

Vampires are terrible beings that feed on life force. The monster that has risen above all the rest to become the king. The most brutal and destructive creatures; the most powerful force for corruption that exists in our myths. But I see the market flooded with passionate romance between vampires and humans, when they should be looking at their next meal. There’s nothing sexy about it.

Beyond that, there is the like of the romance itself. Set up as a romance, it is nothing short of an abusive relationship. Don’t believe me? Check the figures: Twilight

With the onset of people like Anne Rice and Stephanie Myer, vampires are becoming a joke. If you want my opinion, there are a few books a tales out there that correctly portray how vampires should be considered. As monsters of terror. They are few a far between in this saturated market of sap, but I believe I have found the most relevant. Let me tell you what you should be reading if you value horror as I do.

1) Dracula- Bram Stoker (obviously)
2) The Historian – Elizabeth Kostova
3) 30 days of Night (comic) – Steve Niles/ Ben Templesmith
4) I am Legend – Richard Matheson
5) The Strain – Chuck Hogan, Guillermo del Toro
6) Salem’s Lot – Stephen King
7) Hellsing (manga) – Kihoto Hirano

I’m sure there are others out there, but I have yet to find them.