The best vampire books: 10 novels for those tired of Twilight

Autumn is the perfect time to re-read Stephanie Meyer’s books. Unless, of course, you’re bored of them already.

We’ve collected 10 fascinating books about vampires that will help you discover these creatures from a different side. You’ll find classic stories, satire, and revisionist yang-edalt.

The Vampire by Alexei Tolstoy

Briefly: a vampire story from a Russian literature textbook

Plot. The events begin in the best traditions of Russian classics – with a dinner party. The protagonist, nobleman Runevsky, finds out that among those present there are guests from the otherworld. “Restless dead” communicate with each other by clicking sound. Gradually, the reader, along with Runevsky, learns of other devilishness that surrounds the guests.

Why it’s worth reading. “The Vampire” is based on another classic novel, John William Polidori’s “The Vampire.” It was in this text that the near-contemporary image of the vampire first appeared. However, thanks to its unique reading of the character and setting, “Ghoul” remains interesting.

The text is imbued with the atmosphere of 19th century Russian literature: aristocratic society and otherworldly guests, small talk and Slavic mythology. At the same time “Ghoul” is constructed as a tale-case, in which several plot lines are placed at once.

Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

Briefly: gothic novella, an ancestor of vampire stories

Plot. When Laura was a little girl, she was confronted with mystical events: one night she woke up suddenly to find a young woman on the edge of her bed. The stranger embraced the girl, she safely fell asleep, but woke up again when her chest as if pierced by two needles.

Many years later, the heroine meets this woman again: her name is Carmilla, and she is to spend three months in the castle of Laura’s family. Three months filled with new nightmares and a strange intimacy with her guest.

Why it’s worth reading. Like The Vampire, Carmilla is also considered one of the originators of the vampire horror genre in literature. Sheridan le Fanu beat out Bram Stoker – author of “Dracula” – by 25 years.

“Carmilla” collected all the tropes of the Victorian Gothic text: high castles, pale virgins, dark legends and troubled dreams. But the more cliched and predictable the plot, the more fascinating it is to read “Carmilla” – to find its genre origins, double meanings and to consider one of the first female heroines in the role of a bloodthirsty killer.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Briefly: a richly interpretive epistolary novel

Plot. Jonathan Harker, a young lawyer, arrives at the castle of the mysterious Transylvanian Count Dracula. It soon becomes clear that this is not just a lonely old man, but a bloodsucker. Dracula captivates Jonathan, while he himself heads to London for more victims.

Why it’s worth reading. For one thing, Dracula can be read as a prime example of the Gothic literary tradition – and as a true classic, it’s not outdated in the slightest. Stoker deliberately documents the novel through the epistolary genre. There is no authorial judgement in the work, so it seems that the events really could have taken place somewhere in the 19th century. That said, who survivor of a pandemic doesn’t have a storyline about a man locked in a house?

On the other hand, as in any great literature, there are many meanings to be considered in “Dracula”. It is a story about the confrontation between rational and magical thinking, between the West and the East, and between the middle class and the privileged class.

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

Briefly: an erotic-psychological thriller with a famous film adaptation

Plot. The protagonist Louis de Pont du Lac tells the story of his life to a young journalist. And there is a lot to tell, given the 200-year age of Louis. Once upon a time he suffered depression after the suicide of his brother. Later, the hero met the vampire Lestat. The latter turned Louis and changed his life forever.

Why it’s worth reading. After some lull in the world of vampire literature, Interview with a Vampire was a definite rebirth of the genre. Vampirism is now less a way to talk about social conflicts and more about underlying human flaws. Anne Rice’s novel is emphatically sexual. And while one might have argued with this before, in the last years of her life, Rice completely reclassified herself as an author of the erotic genre and removed all doubts.

Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons

Briefly: a monumental three-volume book about vampires and their role in the life of mankind

The plot. There are people in the world who can control the will of others. They are very few in number and include, for example, Willie, Nina and Melanie. They call themselves “The Trio.”

Since World War II, the Trio has been competing in the ability to make people kill themselves and each other. It could be a random person they meet, or it could be, for example, John Lennon. And this famous murder is one of many examples of how vampires change human history.

Why it’s worth reading. The vampires in Dan Simmons’ novel aren’t quite vampires: they don’t feed on blood, but on energy. Except that the most energy you can get is from killing.

The story of “Trio” is only a small element of Simmons’ large-scale universe. The author creates an alternative world in which history is created not by people, but by those who have abilities. One of the translations of the novel’s title is “The comfort of the carrion”, and it is the carrion that humanity appears to the all-powerful vampires.

Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

Briefly: a languid Scandinavian yang-edalt about cruelty and love

The plot. 12-year-old Oskar is the victim of constant bullying by his classmates. He can’t fight back, so he takes out his anger on the trees in the forest and stabs them with a knife. But one day the usual loneliness is broken – Ali settles in the neighbourhood. The girl behaves strangely: she does not feel the cold, smells rust and does not leave the house during the day.

Why it’s worth reading. The events of the novel take only three weeks to unfold, but the text is by no means compact. Lindqvist carefully dissects the life of a small Swedish town and does not miss a single detail – including scenes of bloody violence.

All this helps to create an atmosphere of grim social disadvantage: Stockholm’s suburbs are drowning in drunkenness, crime and poverty. It is in this world, filled with hopelessness and loneliness, that an unconscious, still quite childish love for the monster is born.

Empire V by Victor Pelevin

Briefly: satirical fiction from a legend of Russian-language literature

The plot. Roman Shtorkin’s life will never be the same, because he has been turned into a vampire. True, just drinking the blood of another vampire is not enough – you need to change your way of thinking. To succeed in this difficult transformation, Shtorkin will have to understand the two main vampire sciences. The first is “glamour”, that is, “sex expressed through money”. The second is “discourse.” It’s “sex that’s missing, expressed through money that isn’t there.”

Why it’s worth reading. One of the key concepts in Empire V is “dough,” through which Pelevin describes the mid-noughties. In this novel, the notorious consumer society is in his crosshairs, but with a post-Soviet flavour.

Vampires in Pelevin’s world are not just immortal, but literally omnipotent. A kind of shadow government that rules humanity. At the same time they don’t have to drink blood at all. This is an interesting and witty look at folklore creatures.

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

Briefly: a dark fantasy that’s been called African’s Game of Thrones

The plot. From the first sentence of the book, we know that Malec is dead. However, it is in search of him that an unusual company is sent, including two main characters: the hunter Pathfinder and the werewolf Leopard.

A confusing and sometimes excessively cruel journey begins, because this world is inhabited not only by humans. There are also diabolical sorcerers, demons-roofed omoluzu, winged monsters and even a vampire in the guise of the lightning bird Ipundulu.

Why it’s worth reading. First and foremost, “Black Leopard, Red Wolf” entices you with the world – the African forests with their witchcraft and myths, witches and magical creatures. The book comes with a map of the Northlands – with all the lakes and swamps. Following the map comes an impressive list of characters, and for good reason.

James’s characters and James himself speak allegorically and ornately – in the best esoteric traditions, which even modern tarologists have inherited. However, it is a pleasure to understand their riddles and folklore.

Even the vampires here are not the standard languid young men, but Ipundulu, half-men, half-birds. Only a man can become an Ipundulu, and with the ability to command lightning comes wings.

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

Briefly: A crossover between Desperate Housewives and The Vampire Diaries

The plot. Patricia and her friends are typical housewives. They make the kids’ lunches for school, keep the house in order. They also go to book nights, where they discuss mostly true-crime novels. But the usual routine of American suburbia is disrupted by a new neighbour, James Harris. A seemingly friendly bachelor, but Patricia and her friends are convinced that behind his guise lurks a bloodthirsty vampire.

Why it’s worth reading. Although Hendricks chooses a satirical tone, this story is much more than just a genre bestseller. Using the stereotypical housewives’ struggle with a vampire as an example, the writer shows their dependent and vulnerable position. Men don’t believe their wives, and the main character is easier to call lost her mind than to admit the existence of the supernatural.

Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite

Briefly: a provocative novel that could bring back 2007

Plot. a 15-year-old who calls himself Nick is the child of a vampire and an ordinary woman. His mother died in childbirth, and now the hero lives unhappily in a foster home. One day Nobody escapes and meets an unusual trio: they are travelling around the country in search of blood and thrills. It is among them that No-one finally feels he belongs.

Why it’s worth reading. Probably the most extravagant yet most interesting book in the selection. That said, it’s hard to really recommend it to anyone and everyone.