The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

We`ve all read the original 'Dracula', however, after Daddy Stoker, which writers would you say portray vampires most realistically? Anne Rice is all very well and good; her vampires are awesome and beautiful, but are they what you waould call realistic? Which other writers would you recommend and why?

my personal favorite is Jeanne Kalogridis, who wrote "Covenant of the Vampire", "Lord of the Vampire", and "Children of the Vampire"-all excellent books. Also Andrei Codrescu wrote "The Blood Countess" based on Elizabeth Bathory-were he to write a vampire book I would be all over it

Poppy Z. Brite if i have spelled that right

This one has been done ad nauseum. Please amplify your answers with WHY you like the author.

I have never read any vampire book I thought was realistic. I do love Anne Rice though because I find her work entertaining and very descriptive.

I would recommend reading John Milton's Paradise Lost and Anthiny Masters Natural History of the Vampire. I am currently reading Paradise Lost. It is intriguing.

Gerry conway who wrote for marvel comics. He started the comic book Tomb of Dracula in the early 70's. He also created Blade through this comic. I don't beleive that it is a very accurate dipiction of vampires, never the less they are very entertaining to read. And although I don't condone slaying vampires, Blade is the man.

I highlly recomend Laurell K Hamilton. The vampires are perhaps a bit over romanticised but the concept is original.
Her Anita Blake series is based in a world where vampires are real, evry one knows it, and they have civil rights now.
There's gore, lots of shooting, lots of sex, and zombie raising.

What more can you ask for?

I can remember cruising through the paperback section at the local K-mart waiting for my parents, and as I was rushing past the Harlequin romances *shudder* I saw a book at the bottom of the rack that had a black cover..not exactly indicative of a romance novel, so I backed up and pick it up to have a look...such was my introduction to Stephen King, and that book was Salem's Lot-we went to visit my grandmother in a small country town, and I finished the book in a weekend...we were in the middle of nowhere, no lights, no sound, just the wind through the trees that I could hear through the open window...I have never been so addicted to a book as I was that one...and THAT was 30 years or so ago

well i think that Jeanne Kalogridis has done a great job with her books

You will find a lot of references to Vampire literature in the, "Book" section of the database here. I hope that handy hint helps you some in your quest :)