Showing posts with label vampire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vampire. Show all posts

Wednesday 4 November 2015

Book Review: Das Vampir by Tom Reinhart


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Synopsis: A short horror story from the author of Saint Monolith and Hegemonian, Das Vampir is an exciting tale with a different perspective on vampires. It's a dark and old school monster story; more akin to Bram Stoker or Nosferatu than the glitzy vampires so common today. It's told from two perspectives: The vampire's, with the loneliness of being undead, the fear of the sun, the hiding in nasty places, the uncontrollable need to feed on the living; and that of the victims, as they fall to a bloodthirsty predator. 
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For I have become evil, and I have become death, and I fear only the light of day." 


Review: Das Vampir is a welcome throwback to the true essence of the vampire. The author pays a generous homage to Bram Stoker, and you can see in his writing a real authority in understanding the vampire's true nature. 

The immortal existence is not played out for laughs, indeed Tom Reinhart makes us understand that it is not necessarily cool to be a vampire, and the story is all the better for it. The story is short but packs no less a punch of a full novel. I would have liked a little bit more character development of the non-vampire characters, but then again, the author makes no apology (nor should he) for the reason as to why they are there in the first place.

They merely serve the purpose of being fodder for this most evil creature. 

With this author's take on vampire lore, do not expect sparkles or seduction. It feeds, it kills, it yearns to, needs to do it all over again. In this respect, the character development is bang on. 

Mr Reinhart's vampire is a winner because it is a truly terrifying entity. And now onto the sequel!

Saturday 24 January 2015

Book Review (BBC Edited Audio Version) - Carmilla by Sheridan le Fanu


I haven't read this book in many, many years. So I was delighted to hear this special audio version on BBC 4 over the Christmas holiday.

The book is famous for being published ahead of the even more famous Bram Stoker's Dracula, but Carmilla is no less powerful.

I read this book as a teenager, but saw the film version called The Vampire Lovers which could be said to be a loose interpretation of the book.

I felt that the Carmilla of the book was much younger in appearance than Ingrid Pitt's sultry vampire.

But this review is about the audio version, and our heroine, Laura, is acted well; showing her elation at the vampire being in her room, to a great show of fear when she realises the young woman is nothing short of a monster.

Carmilla is a short read, at just 108 pages long. The story does not need any more length, as it is a powerful, unsettling story. I would argue that it is far more frightening than Dracula.

Carmilla harkens back to a time when vampires were truly frightening. If you are in Laura's position, hearing people around you dying of a fever, knowing that you too are unwell, and yet unable to resist the vampire makes for an interesting spectacle.

I believe there is a modern day tv series featuring this character. I wonder can it work? For me, Carmilla is a throw back to those Victorian periods, and I am not sure I would work in a modern setting.

When Laura ends up in the house of Carmilla, she has already been warned not to ask Carmilla anything regarding her heritage.

Carmilla is rather too forward on Laura, and yet, when Laura finally plucks up courage to ask the reason as to why she cannot know about her past, the vampire naturally gets annoyed. Of course, she holds power over the young girl.

Laura could hardly get Carmilla out in the daytime. This book puts paid to the thought that vampires are burned to ash in the daytime sun. It is handled extremely well, with the vampire complaining of headaches because of the sun.

As other young girls start to die, the net begins to close in on Carmilla. In the end, she cannot outrun them, or can she?

Expect thrills, (blood) spills and drama aplenty in this brilliant adaptation. Seek this story out in whatever format you can, and enjoy it.






Monday 8 December 2014

GoodReads Giveaway: Murderous Little Darlings (A Tale of Vampires #1)

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Murderous Little Darlings by John    Hennessy

Murderous Little Darlings

by John Hennessy

Giveaway ends January 01, 2015.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win