The Vampire Memoirs
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Average customer review:Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #2732178 in Books
- Published on: 1991-03-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
Customer Reviews
not a complete waste of time, not a great one either
I'd say this falls into the category of, summer reading, or when you have nothing better to do. If you are just getting interested in vampire books, there are LOTS better.
The story is disjointed, to some extent. We start out in the 4th century, but not a whole lot of historical details, and questionable accuracy on what's there. If you are used to the finely done historical periods laid out in Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's books, this book is sadly lacking. We skip centuries with no particular explanation as to why our character's powers did not develop over the centuries, the way other vampires' seem to. And our villain pops up again in the 20th century, with absolutely no explanation for how our heroine managed to miss finding him, or how he didn't find her, in all that time. Nor is any plausible explanation offered for WHY he should choose the 20th century to pop up and bother her again.
Our vampire characters are superficial and shallow, no great depth of personality, none of them doing anything terribly interesting. They don't regard lifespans of centuries as being any opportunity to keep learning or to influence things. What is the point of being immortal if all you're going to do is be a waitress or aerobics instructer in the evenings, go to parties, and do NOTHING else? That's about what these characters do.
Some of BunRab's Standard Vampire Classification: - Do our vampires drink blood literally? Yes, usually human blood, doesn't seem to make much difference to them whether willing or not. - Is drinking blood intrinsically tied to sex? No, in fact there's not much sex in the book at all. - Does the vampire hold a job? Yes, but a pointless one; many of the other vampires in the book don't, and a few seem to be of the sort where being an evil creature of darkness is all they do. - Is the book serious, or is there a sense of humor? No noticeable sense of humor, either in the writing, or in the personalities of our characters.
In summary: if you're reading all vampire books, then this won't be the worst you've ever read, but it won't be anything worth re-reading; if you are trying to get a feel for the best the vampire genre has to offer, go elsewhere, such as Tanya Huff, P.N. Elrod, or Chelsea Quinn Yarbro.
A pageturner!
This is the second time I have read this book, I was happy to find it's been reprinted! It has excellent pacing and good character development--and it's REALISTIC; also with humor (very hard to find a quick wit in the average horror novel). The authors obviously studied up to make it accurate, historically and culturally (I hope they don't know from experience! ha ha). I am most impressed with this book! Cheers to Mara and Traci!
This was one of the most vivid books I have ever read.
I found this book in a used bookstore in the back of a shelf, covered in dust. I really loved it. Never have I read a vampire book that felt so real. I really do reccomend it.