The Last American Vampire by Seth Grahame-Smith

I don't remember if the movie, Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter was a huge hit or not. I remember seeing it in theatres (with I think Josh), and really enjoying the movie. It was smartly done with that "tongue-in-cheek" undercurrent, which was the only way that movie could have been pulled off.

I first heard about the author, Seth Grahame-Smith from the book, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (which by the way, I need to actually see the movie. Quick, was it any good? I didn't hear much about it after it came out, but that's probably a bad sign) and loved the fact that it didn't take the whole zombie or the Austen book very seriously. I know Austen fanatics had mixed feelings about it, but since Pride and Prejudice isn't my favorite Austen book (I prefer Sense and Sensibility more. Yes, a lot of my classmates in my women's lit class had a real problem with that too), so I thought the insertion of zombies was a good touch.

He's one of those authors that kind of fly under the radar for me, personally. After reading Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, which I enjoyed, I didn't really keep an eye out for his next books. He's a good writer, but to be honest, I didn't really remember much from both PPZ and Abraham Lincoln, only that I enjoyed it.

So, when Audible threw The Last American Vampire by Grahame-Smith into their $5 dollar sale, like most purchases from that sale, I figured, why not? The voice actor (reader? I still don't know) wasn't annoying (I'm still bitter from Magnus Chase) and like I said before, Grahame-Smith always produced pretty good material.

Honestly, after listening to this book, I want to go back, purchase PPZ and Abraham Lincoln and listen to it... because this book was awesome!

It's definitely fantasy. But what I think makes good fantasy (or bad fantasy) different from great fantasy, is when the "world" or concept, like vampires, is just a tool to to really tell a great story, instead of using said fantasy concept to be the story itself. Grahame-Smith does just that.

Audiobook are really dependent on the voice actor they enlist to read the story. If the actor doesn't get the character correctly, or just blows (I'm still bitter), then the whole story is ruined, no matter how good the book is. MacLeod Andrews (what a name!) is phenomenal. The story is meant to be sort of a transcript. The main character, Henry Sturges, is telling his story to the writer of the novel. The listener feels as if Henry Sturges is actually talking to them and recounting his incredible life story. The powerhouse between Smith's writing and Andrews acting is what made the audiobook such an enjoyable listen.

The story itself is ironic, and tongue-in-cheek, creative, funny and sad. The story is about the journey of the vampire mentor who trained Abraham Lincoln to be a vampire hunter. The book starts with Henry bringing back Lincoln after he was assassinated, and the confrontation between the two right before Lincoln kills himself by jumping into sunlight.

Smith uses British and American history characters such as Abraham Lincoln, Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR and JFK and many others. He also uses the Romanovs, Rasputin and Nikola Tesla to implement Henry into very well known historical events and lace them with realist fantastical touches. The idea that Rasputin was a vampire (and therefore unkillable) isn't so far fetched.

It's a fun book that shouldn't be passed up because it has the word vampire in it. It's almost reminiscent of early Rice's works, where it's not about the vampires, but state of humanity and the never ending fight between good and evil. Highly recommended.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Well, with the movie and the TV show, it was bound to happen. It seems I always am behind the trends of YA, but I do end up reading some of them.

But man, Cassandra Clare is infamous. Like, Anne Rice infamous. Though, instead of declaring the Lestat series are finished and she would write exclusively Christian themed novels, Clare is rumored to be a plagiarist during her time as a fan fiction writer, as well as parts of her books to be taken from other works.

Now that I've read her books... I don't think she really hides the fact that she definitely uses folk tales, myths, legends and other public fantasy ideas in her works. I mean, come on, "All the stories are true..." is a running theme throughout the books, and she doesn't make it a secret that she uses everything from vampires, to Norse mythology, to fairy tales, even Star Wars (finding out they were siblings?! Come on.), so I don't think any authors who accuse her of stealing her work really has a leg to stand on, because even though she basically uses everything under the sun in her books, it seems it's a work completely her own.Clare creates an imaginative world where she packs everything she can, all the folklore and urban fantasy into almost an unlimited book series.

Man, again, I have to put Clare in with "people whose careers I wish I stole" because she doesn't pretend to think up all of this stuff on her own. She takes it all and her theme is, "all the stores are true." Brilliant. I would take the haters any day of the week.

I do give her mad props for her extensive world building, which led her to numerous books. How many books does she have out now with different series stemming from The Mortal Instruments? 20? She definitely put time and effort using all she can and she's made a career out of it.

The real question is... is it any good? I'm not sure if I'm qualified yet to answer that question, because I feel like I stumbled into a real Hannibal situation, where I am so saturated with the TV show and the movies, that when it came to reading the books, there was nothing new. The books were almost like the movies, and the TV show added much more to the books. The first book, the City of Bones, definitely follows the movie of finding the Mortal cup, though I'm still confused about the big round blue portal in the movie.

However, her downfall are the characters in the books. She creates a very extensive world with alternative realities and universes, and the "rules" of the universe are practically nonexistent, that she leaves barely any room to introduce any real characters. I was deeply confused when it was revealed that Valentine was also Jace's father. Just to move plot along and create conflict between Clary and Jace, Jace, who was deemed a quick thinker, smart and almost wise beyond his years, absolutely took Valentine, who was deemed a psychopath, at his word, and was immediately obedient to him.

What also didn't work for the book was the snappy dialogue between the characters. It had a very Joss Whedon flair to it, which is admirable, but... since I didn't feel a connection to any of the characters, I thought the dialogue fell flat. I also don't buy that 15 year olds talk like that at all. I taught 15 year olds... they are way dumber. Apparently her writing improves greatly, which I'm looking forward too.

Was it riveting? No. Now that I've seen the terrible movie, and I am watching the TV show on free form which leaves me feeling more confused (I still don't know what's happening and I've read the book now) everytime I watch it. Overall, it took me a bit to get through. I found it boring and I also realized that not much happened (which is an awful realization when you are holding a monster of a book). However, I'm reserving my judgement about this book series with the second book because I definitely watched the TV show and the movie before the book.

Violin by Anne Rice

So if you followed me on twitter, tumblr, facebook or goodreads, you know how I already feel about this book. I got this book a few years ago at the Book Fair in Baltimore, and only now have I gotten to it. Reviews on goodreads were brutal and I went into it with very, very low expectations.

It did not disappoint. It provided me with troll gold as I dubbed Triana "Brann Brice" and her ghost, Stephan, "Mestat." Now, before I get into my review of the book, it's always interesting to think about the state of the author's mind or what the media has covered about their lives as they wrote this book. Ann Rice is notorious for being in the public eye and her views publicized. She notoriously declared that she wasn't going to write any more Lestat books and that her books were going to be strictly Christian. is As I read her books, (a project that inevitably started this blog), it's very easy to tell when she became more committed to Catholicism and when she decided to chill out with said Catholicism. Rice is one of those authors that use her real life to inspire her books and it's very obvious.

When I started reading Violin, I assumed it was when her husband died, and needed to write a book about her feelings and emotional turmoil about the loss in her life. It's cool, I get it and it allowed me to dub the main character Brann Brice, cause... come on. However, as I read the back flap of the cover, it also revealed that at the time, her husband was alive at the time. Nevertheless, after some wikipedia-ing, I found out that like the main character, her daughter died when she was very young of cancer. Incredibly sad, and excellent source material.

But... regardless, this is an awful book. The main female character, a definitely reflection of Anne, mourns over the loss of her husband (who btw, was sick when they married and restored her house and left her a shit ton of money in his will) and runs into a violin playing ghost, who for some reason, puts up with Brann, I mean, Triana's abusive nature. Now, I wish this was the synopsis of the book, but it's literally the entire book. I just spoiled it for you. She goes on and on about how she's so depressed (again, which I get), but then steals Mestat, I mean, Stephan's violin  and pretends to be a great violin player.

Oh, there is side plot for 20 pages about Stephan's journey and how he come to be dead with his violin, but then it's tossed to the side for Triana... and they end up in Vienna, which I don't understand why or even how, truly, and I love far fetched fantasy and time travel, and she's now a renown violin player and everyone is rushing hear her play...

It became such hot garbage that it was then I decided to stop reading. I don't known the end of the book and honestly, I don't care.

Rice will continue to be one of my favorite authors but her writing is so inconsistent. Someone should have vetoed this book. Eventually, I will read Prince Lestat and her The Wolf Gift Chronicles, someday... when I have forgiven Anne for tricking me (YES TRICKING ME) into reading this book.

What are your opinions of Rice's books? Love them? Hate them?

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (or, this was definitely written during the Twilight Craze)

What a stupid name for a novel. What a stupid name for a first book in the beginning of the series, a series that I'm excited about reading. Yes, I know the title is pretty self-explanatory, yes, it is a vampire school and yes, I know it's written for YA, but damn... does it have to be so on the nose? Even Twilight has a semi-alluring name that doesn't really give the entire book away and make you roll your eyes (you probably do anyway because of the content), but whoever thought Vampire Academy was a good title needs a slap or two.

I'm quite sure that's why the movie didn't do so well, but that's for another post.

Vampire Academy is told through the eyes of Rose, who is a dhampir (half-vampire, half-human) and is training to be a guardian for the Moroi, the "good" vampires to defend them against the Strigoi, the "bad" vampires. The story opens with Rose and Lissa on the run from the "Vampire Academy" or rather, the school's guardians. They have been on the run for 2 years, moving around and attending high school across the U.S. Now, the probability that adults, who have superpowers, are unable to find children, is quite low, but I buy into it because within the first 10 pages, they are caught by a dreamboat of a man and bought back to school and the story kicks up.

Vampire Academy is a perfect blend of showing and telling, telling the reader without preamble about the vampire culture and history in the book and Mead shows the rest, revealing the mystery why the girls ran away layer by layer, until it all comes to a head in the last 50 pages of the book. I love how Mead picks her battle, choosing instead to show characters instead of the world of Vampire Academy.

There is also your typical highschool drama with friends, popularity and finding oneself that are recurring themes in a lot of YA novels. It was silly, but with a name of Vampire Academy, the reader should expect it. It's also kind of fun to relive from afar a time where navigating the social sphere is the bane of your existence. It also wrestles with rumors, friendships and loyalty and Mead actually turns the book from a fantasy YA novel into almost a guide for girls starting high school, which, honestly, needs to be more of.

I love the relationship between Lissa and Rose. They are fiercely devoted to each other and even though it's almost easy to slide into resentment (I mean, becoming a Guardian must absolutely blow), both Rose and Lissa shake it off, using their love and friendship for each other to conquer all. Even when they have a falling out, Rose comes to Lissa's rescue and the pair are thick as thieves again by the end of the book. Lissa isn't helpless by any means and the pair rely on each other socially and emotionally.

Finally, I also like how Mead resolves, or puts a period on the blossoming relationship between Dimitri and Rose. There is attraction between the pair, and they even get hot and heavy during one point of the book, but when it is all resolved, Dimitri actually encourages Rose to report him. There is a huge age gap between the two and it's addressed repeatedly in different ways and conclude that Rose and Dimitri will not enter in a forbidden romance, which is a relief. I wonder how it's going to play out in the rest of the books.

One last little tidbit of the book that I was unsure of, but I was glad that Mead went in the direction she did. The idea of "blood whores" or dhampir women who have affairs with Moroi men. They live in different communities, and there is an awful reputation surrounding them due to the fact that Moroi men sleep with dhampir women and then go home to their Moroi wives. When Rose brings it up while training with Dimitri, he casually tells her that he grew up in such a community and the worst part was his dad, a Moroi, coming to visit them. It opens Rose's eyes a bit more to the vampire world and suddenly, the "blood whores" stance isn't so black and white.

I have a lot of other books to read (Star Wars! The Martian! 11.22.63! The 5th Wave! Comics!), so I don't know when I'll be able to read the second book in this series. This year is already amping up to be a busy year in books, so I'm excited!

Which is better? Queen of the Damned

Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat and The Queen of the Damned, without a doubt, are Anne Rice's best work. Despite being completely different books, Interview, Vampire and Damned are eloquently written, bringing to life Rice's vampires and the lore surrounding vampirism. Though the series does not open up with Lestat, the "Brat Prince" clearly steals the show in the next two books. However, he does not overshadow Rice's supporting characters and adversaries. The reader isn't bothered to read about others besides Lestat, but when he comes back into the picture, they are overjoyed.

"Queen of the Damned" movie starring Stuart Townsend,  Marguerite Moreau and R.I.P, Aaliyah, however, doesn't hold a candle up to the books. I can handle campy, low budget movies (and this movie was defo LOW budget), but this movie does a disservice to the books. 

Side note: Stuart Townsend must have the most tragic film career. He turned down the role of Aragorn in "Lord of the Rings" to play Dorian Grey in "League of Extraordinary Gentleman." He used to date, maybe even be married, to Charlize Theron, who is now the biggest superstar in the world. According to google, he has a secret family in Costa Rica. Oh, Stuart, what are you doing, man? 

I watched "Queen of the Damned" with my writing partner in crime, Ashley. Now, I read the books, I know what is supposed to happen, and who are all the characters, but it's a bad sign when someone who hasn't read the books turned to you during the movie to ask for clarification. She watched the movie before, so even now, after watching the movie the second time, she still has questions! 

"Queen of the Damned" movie adapted two books, The Vampire Lestat and The Queen of the Damned and meshed it into one movie. Ok, I would argue it's very hard to do something like that, but it can be done. What they did next, never the less, was water it down to the point where characters were making choices that had no basis in logic or reason just to move the story along. The movie also took a crap load of characters out of the book and focused on Jesse, who is a character in the book, but minor at best. So in order to go step by step in what the movie missed, I'm going to go by the characters. 

Lestat: What made The Vampire Lestat and The Queen of the Damned so compelling was the first person point of view of the antagonist from Interview with the Vampire. Lestat is "the brat prince" but is torn between his own selfishness, his love of immortality, but also, what it means for his existence in a place that was not meant for him. In order to find other vampires, namely, 'Those who Must be Kept', he decides he will become a rock star. He is self-destructive but curious to meet the original vampires. It is very clear in the books what motivates Lestat. Lestat in the movie, you don't quite get where he's going. There are a few monologues but I found them to be lacking. To be honest, I just saw the movie a few nights ago, and I have no idea what they were about. Townsend does OK as Lestat, but he has some big shoes to fill with Tom Cruise as the original Lestat (wow, I can't believe Scientologist Tom Cruise actually played Lestat and did a great job of it). Also, Lestat is supposed to be blond. This fact is mentioned several times in the books and also, one of the reasons why he was made a vampire to begin with. COULDN'T TOWNSEND HAVE WORN A WIG? 

Maharet: Alright, not only does the movie chopped the twins in half, they also make Maharet, who is one bad ass bitch in the books, play second fiddle to Jesse, who I will discuss later. You see her briefly looking at a literal family tree (uh... ok, script writers, we get it, there is a great family), telling Jesse to "stay with her own kind" and then you see none of her until the end where Lestat is about to play at the concert. At the end she defeats Akasha but you don't know why, or how... and then they turn her into stone. Literal stone. "Those Who Must be Kept" aren't literally stone... which is also a point that is driven home by Rice several times in the book. Rice's vampires don't turn to stone. If they had gone into her backstory with her twin, Mekare and the start of vampirism, the whole 'last blood' deal would have made far more sense... and they wouldn't have had to turn Maharet into stone. It would have also clarified the conflict between the vampires and Akasha. Mekare is also such a cool character and what happened to them would have underlined what a terrible Queen Akasha is.

Marius: Alright, so Marius is very eye-roll-y in the books as well. He's like a super old vampire who is very angsty (like Louie on steroids) and reallllly likes young boys. There is this whole backstory with Armand, but I digress. I'm not sure if they knew what to do with the character of Marius in the movie, because his character is all over the place. One minute he's super serious, and then he's super silly. Marius, like all of Rice's vampires, is supposed to be gorgeous. Marius, at best in the movie, is OK. He's not terrible looking, but he does have a 5 head that he needs to fix. It would have helped the story immensely if they capitalized on the complex and ultimately treasonous relationship he has with 'Those Who Must be Kept' and Lestat. Though Marius protected the stoned original vampires for centuries without ever a thank you, Akasha gives Lestat her blood within a few days of Lestat staying with Marius. When Akasha awakes, she almost kills Marius when she destroys his home without a second thought.

Akasha: I'm sad that the singer's life was cut short. I never really understood the hype surrounding Aaliyah's death (recording studios had memorials about her and her face on tee-shirts and stuff for YEARS) since she only had a few hit songs and acted in 2 films, but after actually seeing her in this movie, Aaliyah had so much potential. When she was on screen, she outshined her cast mates, even Townsend. At one point in the movie, Ashley turned to me and stated, 'Now, I believe she's a vampire.' Now, in the books, she is a force to be reckoned with and her master plan is truly diabolical. If the movie showed more of what she could do and even revealed her plan of destroying vampire kind and mankind in order for women to worship her, then the drive for the vampires to destroy her would have made a ton more sense.

David Talbot: I have to keep reminding myself that he doesn't become a bigger character until later on in the Vampire Chronicles. That being said, I'm so disappointed with their casting choice. He is an old man. He lived a full life in the Talamasca and when Lestat and David start their relationship later on, this theme is poignant. They casted a man who's clearly in his 40s who then tells Jesse that he's 'too old' to be a vampire. Sigh. Then at the end, they have Marius go to him? Why? Is Marius going to turn David or eat him? Weird.

Jesse Reeves: It's very clear who Jesse is meant to represent in the movie. She is meant to represent the viewer, who is entranced by the vampire world and of Lestat. Now, it's important to note that here, Ashley also asked the question, 'wait, why is Jesse obsessed with Lestat?' We could argue that she's obsessed with Lestat just like everyone else is; he's a beautiful rock star vampire. However, in the books, this is not so. Jesse is a minor character at best, who helps the others track down Lestat and defeat Akasha. She is the point of reference for Maharet and Mekare and really, Jesse is the focus of the family that Maharet followed for generations. However, the viewer gets none of that in the movie. At one point, another vampire mentions that Akasha wants to destroy Maharet's "great family" but that's where it's left off. There is much more to why Maharet and Akasha are at odds with each other, which again, if the movie added that to the plot, would have made more sense to why they all want to kill Akasha.

Talamasca: This organization appears in several Anne Rice books, with the Mayfair Witches, the cross over books and the Vampire Chronicles. I'm happy that they used it, and had David and Jesse apart of it. I think the Talamasca organization is so cool. Maybe Anne Rice would just write a book or two about their adventures? I have no qualms with how the movie depicted the organization. I'm delighted it was even mentioned at all.

"Interview with the Vampire" is such a good movie, with a top notch cast. "Queen of the Damned," it's sequel, is a joke. From the horrible casting (besides for a few noted actors, Aaliyah included) and the absolutely shot-y script that takes 2 books, and gutted both of them to come up with a watered down movie that makes no sense, the movie isn't even good to watch ironically. Even though Aaliyah's charisma and enthusiasm is shines through, it's a shame that this movie was dedicated to her. 

Townsend... what are you doing, Man?! 

Blood Canticle By Anne Rice

I am not going to lie. After Blood and Gold, I was hesitated to get back into Anne Rice books. The last couple of books, Merrick, Armand and good Lord, Mnemoch the Devil, I was afraid that Rice lost her touch. However, when I read Pandora and Vittorio, I thought that she got her stride back, but I was sorely mistaken. Where was the writer who wrote Tales of the Body Thief and Vampire Lestat? I have to admit, I liked most of the Mayfair Witches books, though I read them out of order. Fair warning (or maybe it's a selling point?), they were almost soft core porn. Racy, indeed.

However, ye faithful Baltimore Book Fair delivered Blood Canticle for 3 dollars (in hardback!) and I couldn't resist. I have Violin  as well, but that is farther down the book stack. I knew that there was another book, Blackwood Farm before Blood Canticle, but I couldn't find that book to read before this one. When it came time to choose a new book, I figured that if I really didn't know what was going on, I would stop reading and buy Blackwood Farm before starting up Blood again. 

I didn't need to read the book. I figured out the story of Blackwood perfectly within the context of Blood Canticle. 

I also have to say...

Anne Rice is back! 

Oh man, I love snarky Lestat more than anything else. I know Rice was trying to explore other vampires, but snarky and over dramatic Lestat is my favorite vampire. Other than Mnemoch, he makes any story compiling. 

So in the Vampire Chronicles, Rice created a world in which Lestat has written and sold "Interview with the Vampire," "Queen of the Damned," "The Vampire Lestat," "Mmemoch the Devil" and "Tales of the Body Thief." Readers think that vampires are fiction, though he says again and again, that they are not. 

Rice comes out shooting when she addresses the vicious criticism of Mnemoch the Devil.  Lestat breaks the fourth wall and laments on how the readers didn't want to hear the truth of his adventure to Heaven and Hell. I was hoping. I was praying that she wasn't going to go veer off into God territory, discussing Angels and Demons, but she didn't! Lestat, in all of his snarky glory, wants to be a good person, but realizes that he truly isn't a good person. He struggles with this standard, and not meeting it, throughout the entire book. 

Blood Canticle combines both the Mayfair Witches and the Vampires Chronicles in one book. Taltos was the first book I read of the Mayfair witches series, and with The Witching Hour as a close second, Taltos was my favorite book out of the three. The reason Taltos is my favorite is because of Ms. Mona Mayfair, who is one of the main characters of Blood Canticle.  The set up is that Lestat just defeated Goblin from Blackwood Farm and Quinn Blackwood was turned into a vampire. Merrick dies in defeating Goblin, and everyone is upset over losing Merrick Mayfair (of the "colored" Mayfairs. Oh yes, "colored.")

Meh. She wasn't that cool anyway. 

Then, they get a visitor. Mona Mayfair. After giving birth to the "Walking Baby," they call it, she falls seriously ill. Rowan Mayfair vows to heal her, but Mona hates and fears Rowan for her powers. Mona is about to die, and Quinn, who is now a vampire and loves Mona, wants to give her the Dark Kiss. Lestat, understanding the extent of the Dark Kiss, agrees to give it to Mona. Mona becomes a Vampire, and slowly reveals her story about the Taltos, another species on Earth that somehow bred with the Mayfairs and there are more since Mona birthed Morrigan and she left with another Taltos. 

Mona wants to know what happened to Morrigan, and Lestat and Quinn agree to help her. Oh, Rowan Mayfair is there, and Lestat falls in love with her, much to Mona's dismay. Mona is jealous though I don't understand why. 

Here is the thing about Rowan in all these books... she's kind of boring. I get it, Anne put herself in Rowan, with the way she describes Rowan Mayfair (the hairstyles are the same, their fashion is similar, no makeup) and how her husband, Michael Curry, is utterly devoted to Rowan, despite Rowan head over heels for Lestat. It's just... Mona Mayfair is a much better character than Rowan and I was glad that Rowan wasn't in much of the story. 

I wish there were more Mayfair Witches/Vampire Chronicle crossovers, because the old Mayfair family and the Talamasca are really interesting. Rice is fascinated by rich, old New Orleans families, and the Matriarchal Mayfairs are it! However, the ending of Blood Canticle was very definitive with Quinn and Mona going away to be taught by another vampire. 

Oh Lestat, how I missed you.