Books like Interview with the Vampire

I read this trilogy in 1998 when I had just finished high school.

Even then, I understood the book presented Frodo as the main hero, but I was always aware that without Sam, Frodo couldn't go far. He was just a gardener in the beginning, but when the books were over, he proved himself and even became the mayor of the Shire.

Seeing a regular guy carrying the main hero on his shoulders is something else. The decisions he made and his forcing himself to do more transformed him into a natural hero and a leader.

I have loved this book since it first scared me as a young reader.

And I think this is still the best of all bloodsucker books ever published. While this classic novel didn’t create the myth of vampires, it sure made them iconic. With his fangs and flowing bat-wing cape, Dracula sets the standard for things that go bump in the night. His single purpose is to scare us, and he is good at his job. He has no redeeming values.

This vampire is no charismatic bad boy hoping to win the girl’s heart—he just wants to drink her blood! The original Dracula is a fiend—horrible, frightening, and dangerous. Which is why the book still works after more than a century.

I first loved Rebecca for its atmosphere, but what stayed with me was something more unsettling: how completely another person’s version of the past can shape the present.

I remember finishing it and thinking about how easily we accept a story when everyone around us seems to believe it. As a writer, I keep returning to that idea.

Du Maurier showed me that an absence can dominate a novel as powerfully as a living character, and that what people refuse to say can matter as much as what they reveal. That has stayed with me in my own writing about memory, silence, and family secrets.

I adore reading atmospheric adventures of mystery, supernatural, and ghostly powers; this book has these values in abundance. Noemi’s alluring character is smart, savvy, and admirably vulnerable. Loved her. At High House in the Mexican countryside, Noemi discovers ghostly entities repeatedly forming blisters across the walls. How mysterious and threatening; I was fascinated.

The best part of the novel for me was the emotional intelligence of the characters because their behavior is both suspiciously rational and heart-stopping clever. Gripping as all heck. This family was obsessed with a relentless desire to rule and control their destiny at all costs via Otherworld powers. Absolutely compelling. I was breathless along with Noemi at every step as she was drawn into the dangers and treacherous family secrets that threatened to kill her.

This book combines two of my favorite genres—horror and science fiction.

It was written in the early 1950s when science ruled, and the Atomic bomb threatened. The end of the world was a favorite science fiction topic back then, but Matheson (who wrote in both horror and sci-fi genres) did the unthinkable by combining classic vampire tropes with an apocalyptic thriller. 

The fun for me is that there is not just one vampire, but a whole world of them! And the vampire hunter (always part of a team in most horror stories) is all alone in his fight for survival. The vamps are still nasty critters—they die but can reanimate by drinking human blood.

It’s a classic vampire fight throughout, until there is a surprise ending! It’s a Vampire-zombie-plague. How can you resist?

This is hands-down a standout for me in its unique portrayal of the Asian-American immigrant story. Set during the California Gold Rush, the novel tells the tale of Lucy, a young, orphaned Chinese-American woman, and the adventure she and her sister embark on to carve a new, secure future for themselves.

It is at once an unforgettable adventure and an unflinching exploration of sisterhood that made me consider how the female bildungsroman is often not so much about a woman growing up but rather growing into the self she wants to be, despite the confines of the society in which she lives. Plus, Zhang’s original, gleaming prose is just a delight to read.

While I didn’t set out to copy this novel, I have to admit that unconsciously this mashup of chick lit and horror with a vampire protagonist probably spawned my idea to write a romantic comedy/horror mashup with a protagonist who has just become a ghost. If you enjoyed Restless Spirits, this book has a similar vibe, albeit one that’s quite a bit more, ahem, spicy than you’ll typically find in my own writing. At turns hilarious, frightening, poignant, and steamy, this is probably the book that put paranormal chick-lit on the map.

Terry was not only a master at reflecting true human nature and touch upon many current issues within his Discworld novels but also a true wordsmith. Thoroughly entertaining, filled with an array of wonderful characters but now also, just when I thought his books could not get any better, vampires. This book has one of my all-time favourites characters in it namely Granny Weatherwax, the best witch that ever lived. She and her fellow witches and a befuddled priest take on the bloodsuckers who threaten the peaceful town of Lancre but be aware you will find yourself laughing out loud while reading this or any other of the disc world novels and incurring worried glances from the strangers around you. A great series to chase away the blues.

It’s been many years since I read this book, but I recall the moment I fell in love with Sookie’s story so clearly; it was like last week.

It was a usual busy night. I was making dinner for my family, and while I kept an eye on what was cooking on the stovetop, I flipped this book open to the middle, curious if I’d enjoy it. I quickly read about half a page, and I was immediately amused and sucked right in. Just those few lines hooked me, and I especially loved how the author told the story. I couldn’t wait to start from the beginning and make my way through the series. That night, I started book one of Sookie’s story and continued devouring each book as quickly as possible.

It’s been years since I finished Sookie’s story, and I often think about her and the world I… show more.

Zecharia Sitchin makes a lot of crazy-sounding claims. He talks about faraway planets and NASA-style rocketry. He doesn't provide references, and he doesn't make convincing logical arguments. Nevertheless millions of people believe his claims. My own research shows that most of Sitchin's conclusions are pretty unfounded—but, there is a thread of evidence within the ancient literature that seems to indicate that at least some of Sitchin's core ideas might be at least partly correct.