Intelligent vampire books

Lysander said:
I've read quite a few vampire books, mainly from the 19th century. I'm on the lookout for a modern book or preferably a series which is adult in content and with ideally no element of romance at all. If the vampire is the main character, even better.

I've nearly finished Julie Kagawa's The Immortal Rules but am on the lookout for something more gritty.

-Not Twilight!
-Not Dracula or similar, obviously that's been done
-Not anything which focuses on romance as a main theme. Sleaze is fine.

Anyone have any ideas?
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Did you ever play "Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines?" (PC game). Story-wise it sounds right up your street. It focuses more on complex vampire societies, rather than romance (there's none at all). However there is plenty of sleaze.

Fantastic plot, with many twists/turns/mystery, and absolutely packed with atmosphere. Highly recommended to all vampire fans.

(Just make sure to use the latest fan patch, as the original is buggy without it).
 
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I think the best vampire book i have ever read was,,THEY THIRST, by Robert R McCammon,
Published in 1981, you can still pick up a copy if you look around:)
 
Van Hellseek said:
Did you ever play "Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines?" (PC game). Story-wise it sounds right up your street. It focuses more on complex vampire societies, rather than romance (there's none at all). However there is plenty of sleaze.
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Yeah I did get it when it came out. I didn't get far with it though, I don't have the patience for RPGs.
 
+1 for Anne Rice

You should try the Sookie Stack house ones from Charlaine Harris,
they are a million times better than the TV show (true Blood)
 
I'm not normally a fan of reading but I loved 'Let the right one in' its maybe not your typical vampire book and although it does technically have a main theme of friendship its not like normal

Just avoid the American film its not great, original one is good though.
 
Agreed. Let the right one in was a decent book.

Also Salem's lot by stephen King: A nice traditional vampire story.

His "Dark Tower" series also includes a few vampires, but is more of a general fantasy epic, without much focus on the vampires until later on.
 
Look at the Charlie Huston series, The Joe Pitt books.

Quite brutal vampire books but in a kinda film noir setting, really really good.
 
Van Hellseek said:
Did you ever play "Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines?" (PC game). Story-wise it sounds right up your street. It focuses more on complex vampire societies, rather than romance (there's none at all). However there is plenty of sleaze.

Fantastic plot, with many twists/turns/mystery, and absolutely packed with atmosphere. Highly recommended to all vampire fans.

(Just make sure to use the latest fan patch, as the original is buggy without it).
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I was going to suggest this, a game like no other!!
 
Thank you to all who suggested the Necroscope series. After a lot of research I bit the bullet and bought the first one off Amazon. What really sold me in the end was the writing. Writing quality always wins out.
 
Like I said, Necroscope starts off really well, then throughout the series too much other things are going on and interfere with the vampire element.
Plus some of the stuff like how he does calculations to get into the morbius loop is just utterly retarded.

Having said that, Brian Lumley is an excellent writer.

Twelve by Jasper Kent is the first in a series of 5 books.
 
panthro said:
Like I said, Necroscope starts off really well, then throughout the series too much other things are going on and interfere with the vampire element.
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For me, writing wins over plot every time. I remember in "Ladders To Fire" Anais Nin spends four pages talking about how much she hates white shirts on men, but it's written so beautifully that it's captivating.
 
I agree to a certain point, but I guess that its down to personal preference. Let us know what you think of Necroscope.
 
Finished reading Necroscope 1. Enjoyed it quite a lot, nicely written, great characterisation. Some magnetic dialogue there.

I especially loved Dragosani as a character. Thankfully, in spite of the ESPionage elements, it didn't get too political, which was what I was afraid of. My one criticism is that for horror, the horrific parts are very spaced out but this makes them more effective, I suppose. The Mobius thing is slightly out there but it's still within acceptability.

Currently on Necroscope 2. Really enjoying the "history" parts especially. Love Thibor.
 
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