Book #46 DEAD UNTIL DARK By: Charlaine Harris

Vampires are the new black. Twilight, True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, Blue Bloods, etc. Sure, society seems to have gone through it's vampire phases what with Anne Rice and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but this time it just seems that everyone wants in on the bloodsucking action. Don't get me wrong- I've read a lot of those vampire novels, seen the films, watched the television shows- but I was told that I just had to read the Sookie Stackhouse books. After reading this this is what I've learned about vampire novels: if you've read one you've read them all.

A few things to know about vampires according to popular fiction: They are always ridiculously good-looking; they are usually rich; they often have a thing for humans that they're not supposed to have; there always seems to be a character that can read minds; werewolves and shape shifters are usually part of this universe; vampires are rockstars in bed; there is always human-female who is whiny, lovesick, tough, and more often then not- in no way three-dimensional; it is not unusual for a vampire to be bi-sexual or gay; there's always at least one vampire who can play the piano.

This is not to say that I have not thoroughly enjoyed vampire stories over the years because they are indeed great fun. Dead Until Dark was a very fun read and it did beat out the Twilight crowd in many ways: I appreciated that it was racier- I mean COME ON- what is a horror story without some sex and violence? And I appreciated the diversity of the characters; I was actually interested in the supporting players. However- with all the vampires in pop culture in the past twenty years I think it's safe to say it's time to stop reading/watching these stories cause one is almost never much more unique than the next.

C

*Agatha Award Nominee

*Dilys Award Nominee

SIDENOTE: It may be worth mentioning that despite all of the theoretical similarities that the Sookie Stackhouse series had with Twilight- Charlaine Harris's series was published first.