Vampires abound in fiction. The success of the “Twilight”
series indicates that there is a large market for depicting vampires as strong
love-interests with something of a dark shadow on their souls. In essence,
vampire chic lit. As a guy, I don’t find such vampires very interesting. As a
guy, I’m usually looking for a subtext of violent conflict in my vampire
stories, and with few exceptions (one being the Underworld movie series), I’m
not much interested in romantic stories involving vampires.
Though there was some romance hinted at in the original
“Dracula” by Bram Stoker, that was typically “proper” Victorian human-human
romance. Dracula was not seen as a love interest in anyway. There may have been
some repressed sexual overtones—I’ve seen references that claim the book was
about homosexuality, and others saying it was about rape (I think the latter is
somewhat more plausible)—but I see the book as primarily a work of horror.
Count Dracula was a monster; he had no redeeming features. He did not sparkle,
like Edward Cullen, he did not ruminate like Anne Rice’s Lestat. He simply fed,
killed, and damned.
It’s been several years since I’ve read Dracula, but I seem
to recall the action was kind of tame by modern standards. Still, his is the
character that I, as a male reader, want to see in a vampire. Anne Rice’s Louis
and Lestat held some interest for a brief period of time. Conceiving of a
vampire as a reflective killer torn apart by angst was an original twist when
it first came out. But nowadays that has become almost cliché, and in ways, it
was the first step to humanizing the vampire which eventually gave us
“Twilight.”
No, as a guy, when I read about vampires I want to see evil
explored. The vampire as the prototypical villain with a host of supernatural
powers to aid his fell designs. When one humanizes the vampire, as much vampire
chic lit does, one has a tendency to lose many of the supernatural traits that
mark them and make them interesting. At the very least, the powers in question
become reduced in significance. The fact that a vampire can be incinerated by
sunlight makes it a potentially beatable foe. How does that compute with
sparkling? All the original powers (and weaknesses) of the vampire gave it a
unique and compelling flavor that is slowly being whittled away by the process
of humanizing them.
I, for one, prefer the vampire as a monster. It’s my “inner
dragonslayer” perhaps. The beast that can control the weather, transform into a
wolf, and escape as mist presents the hero’s challenge. It is a foe whose
diabolical nature reverberates through the ages. It is a foe that leaves
destruction in his wake. It is a foe that must be defeated or else all is lost.
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Drasmyr
By Matthew D Ryan
We vampires do not make easy prey. Our weaknesses are few, our strengths many. Fear is something we do not know, and death but a distant memory. So tread softly, pray to your god, and gird yourself with silver when the moons arise and night’s dark prince awakens. We fear not the wizard, nor the warrior, neither rogue, nor priest; our strength is timeless, drawn from darkness and we know no master save the hot lust of our unending hunger. We long for blood, your blood and no blade, nor spell, nor clever artifice, can keep us long from our prize. Feel our teeth at your throat, your life ebb from you, and know as darkness comes to claim you that the price of your folly is your everlasting soul.
Author’s Smashwords Page: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/matthewdryan
About the Author
Matthew D. Ryan is a published author living in upstate New York on the shores of Lake Champlain. He has a background in philosophy, mathematics, and computer science. He also has a black belt in the martial arts and studies yoga. He has been deeply involved in the fantasy genre for most of his life as a reader, writer, and game designer. He believes he saw the legendary Lake Champlain Monster (a.k.a Champy) once and he has a cat named Confucius.
Blog: http://www.atoasttodragons.com
Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000038781652
Twitter Handle: MatthewDRyan1
2 comments:
Thanks for hosting me on your blog, Wenona. I really appreciate it. My "inner vampire" needs an outlet, and you've provided the perfect medium.
Thanks for being here Matt
I am a vampire fan from way back. I love reading about them in all forms.
I definitely see the differences between male and female perspectives.
Men like the monster- the evil beast of the vampire. Blood,violence, testosterone at it's best
While women love the romantic side- the romantic yet tragic, immortal lover all filled with tortured history and angst
It's funny how the sexes pick out what appeals most to them in the vampire- and how extreme the differences are
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