Realm of the Vampires
Realm of the Vampires
Welcome to the Simegen.com vampire fiction review page. "Enter freely and of your own will." Recent releases as well as a selection of
recommended older books will be reviewed. Our goal is to inform vampire fans about the best novels in the field, whether horror,
mystery, romance, humor, or any combination thereof.
List of Books Reviewed by title.
NEW in June 2004: Vamps for a New Millennium, an overview of the current state
of vampire fiction.
NEW in Fall 2006: Multi-Book Vampire Series, a checklist of fictional vampire universes from the 1990s and beyond that every vampire aficionado should be aware of. I'll add to this page from time to time.
As an introduction to vampire fiction for the novice in the realm of the Undead, we offer a checklist of classic novels and short stories,
plus especially memorable or influential works from the past 25 years, most of which are currently available in print:
- John Polidori. THE VAMPYRE. 1819.*
- Theophile Gautier. "The Beautiful Vampire." 1836.
- Thomas P. Prest (or James Malcolm Rymer). VARNEY THE VAMPYRE; OR, THE FEAST OF BLOOD. 1847. (Has been excerpted in anthologies.)
- J. Sheridan Le Fanu. CARMILLA. 1872.*
- Guy de Maupassant. "The Horla." 1887.**
- Bram Stoker. DRACULA. 1897.
- F. Marion Crawford. "For the Blood Is the Life." 1911.*
- Algernon Blackwood. "The Transfer." 1912.*
- E. F. Benson. "The Room in the Tower." 1912.*
- E. F. Benson. "Mrs. Amworth." 1923.**
- Arthur Conan Doyle. "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire." 1927.
- Fritz Leiber. "The Girl with the Hungry Eyes." 1949.*
- C. M. Kornbluth. "The Mindworm." 1950.*
- Richard Matheson. I AM LEGEND. Fawcett, 1954.
- Theodore Sturgeon. SOME OF YOUR BLOOD. Ballantine, 1961.
- Stephen King. 'SALEM'S LOT. Doubleday, 1975.
- Fred Saberhagen. THE DRACULA TAPE. Warner, 1975.
- Colin Wilson. THE SPACE VAMPIRES. Random House, 1976.
- Anne Rice. INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. Knopf, 1976.
- Les Daniels. THE BLACK CASTLE. Scribner's, 1978.
- Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA. St. Martin's, 1978.
- Suzy McKee Charnas. THE VAMPIRE TAPESTRY. Simon and Schuster, 1980.
- Robert R. McCammon. THEY THIRST. Avon, 1981.
- Whitley Strieber. THE HUNGER. Morrow, 1981.
- George R. R. Martin. FEVRE DREAM. Simon and Schuster, 1982.
- S. P. Somtow. VAMPIRE JUNCTION. Donning, 1984.
- Lee Killough. BLOOD HUNT. Tor, 1987.
- Brian Lumley. NECROSCOPE. Tor, 1988.
- Barbara Hambly. THOSE WHO HUNT THE NIGHT. Ballantine, 1988.
- Jacqueline Lichtenberg. THOSE OF MY BLOOD. St. Martin's, 1988.
- Elaine Bergstrom. SHATTERED GLASS. Berkley, 1989.
- Nancy Collins. SUNGLASSES AFTER DARK. New American Library, 1989.
- Dan Simmons. CARRION COMFORT. Dark Harvest, 1989; Warner, 1990.
- P. N. Elrod. BLOODLIST. Ace, 1990.
- Mercedes Lackey. CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT. Tor, 1990.
- Tanya Huff. BLOOD PRICE. DAW, 1991.
- Dan Simmons. CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT. Putnam's, 1992.
- Poppy Z. Brite. LOST SOULS. Dell, 1992.
- Kim Newman. ANNO-DRACULA. Carroll and Graf, 1992.
*In VAMPIRES, ed. Alan Ryan. Doubleday, 1987. (Reprinted as THE PENGUIN BOOK OF VAMPIRE STORIES.)
**In THE DRACULA BOOK OF GREAT VAMPIRE STORIES, ed. Leslie Shepard. Toronto: Citadel Press, 1977. (Has been reprinted in paperback.)
A selection of other recommended anthologies:
- BLOOD IS NOT ENOUGH, ed. Ellen Datlow. Morrow, 1989. (Contains both reprints and original stories.)
- A WHISPER OF BLOOD, ed. Ellen Datlow. Morrow, 1991. (Companion volume to the above.)
- UNDER THE FANG, ed. Robert R. McCammon. Pocket Books, 1991. (Original stories on the premise of a vampire-dominated world.)
- THE ULTIMATE DRACULA, ed. Byron Preiss. Dell, 1991. (All-original anthology.)
- VAMPIRES, ed. Jane Yolen. HarperCollins, 1991. (All-original anthology, mainly for teen readers.)
- DRACULA, PRINCE OF DARKNESS, ed. Martin H. Greenberg. DAW, 1992. (All-original anthology.)
- A TASTE FOR BLOOD, ed. Martin H. Greenberg. NY: Dorset Press, 1992.
- WEIRD VAMPIRE TALES, ed. Robert Weinberg, et al. NY: Gramercy Books, 1992. (Classic stories from the pulp magazines, esp. WEIRD TALES.)
- TOMORROW SUCKS, ed. Greg Cox. Baen, 1994. (Science fiction vampire tales.)
- THE BEAST WITHIN, ed. Stewart Wieck. Stone Mountain, GA: White Wolf, 1994. (Based on the role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade.)
- LOVE BITES, ed. Amarantha Knight. NY: Masquerade, 1994. (Erotica.)
- LOVE IN VEIN, ed. Poppy Z. Brite. HarperCollins, 1994. (Erotica.)
Check this page for recommended new titles, placed in the context of a hundred years of vampire fiction.
Click here for an expanded list of recommended, rereadable novels from the 1990s, including a few notable reprints.
Margaret Carter's Gravedigger's Dozen, an essay on the best vampire novels of
all time, concentrating on the 1970s through the 1990s.
Jacqueline Lichtenberg's comments on vampires in horror and science fiction, and her novel THOSE OF MY BLOOD.
Essay by Margaret Carter on classic vampire novels and writing vampire fiction.
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro discusses the origins of her vampire, the immortal Count Saint-Germain.
Home page for Suzy McKee Charnas, author of THE VAMPIRE TAPESTRY
and THE RUBY TEAR. Read her essays on vampires and other topics.
Visit Dr. Elizabeth Miller's DRACULA'S HOME PAGE with information on
Bram Stoker, Dracula, many vampire links, and her books, including DRACULA: SENSE AND NONSENSE, an expose
of popular misconceptions about Stoker, his novel, and Vlad the Impaler -- both scholarly and entertaining!
Check out FOOD FOR THE DEAD by Michael Bell, an
in-depth exploration of vampire folklore in Rhode Island.
A sample of books reviewed on the Sime~Gen Vampire Romance Page:
- THE BLEEDING SUN by Stephanie Bedwell-Grime
- DARK CHANGELING by Margaret L. Carter
- DARK PRINCE by Christine Feehan
- NIGHT'S IMMORTAL TOUCH by Cheryln Jac
- OBSESSION by Lori Herter
- OBSIDIAN BUTTERFLY by Laurell K. Hamilton
- SHADOW'S EMBRACE by Astrid Cooper
- A TERRIBLE BEAUTY by Nancy Baker
- WICKED ANGELS by Michele Hauf
...and a host of others, old and new.
Carol Castellanos' Midnight Reviewer site,
including Author Spotlights.
Jacqueline Lichtenberg's review of THE RUBY TEAR
with important information on the current state of publishing and how it got that way.
This site maintained by Margaret L. Carter,
keeper of CARTER'S CRYPT.