Twilight and Vampires

After hearing my sisters-in-law and various other mormon sources rave about the "Twilight" series by Stehenie Meyer I decided to see what all of the fuss was about and bought the first book in the series last Saturday. Just like Christine, I then had to run to the store on Monday to purchase the other two books in the series. I just finished the third (after a couple of 3am nights up reading) and I'm glad for the experience. I was reluctant to read these books at first since all of the excerpts available on Amazon made them seem very juvenile.

SPOILER WARNING

If you do not want to spoil the plot of these books stop reading this post right now and suffice it to say that I enjoyed them and they're worth reading....you can scroll to the bottom for a list of other vampire-themed books/series that I would recommend if you're interested.
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Okay...as I was saying they seemed very juvenile. The protagonist, Bella, is in highschool. Now this isn't a deal breaker in and of itself as I really really like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and she was in highscool for the first three seasons in that show. My concern was that the vampires were also in highschool. Now vampire lore varies depending on the author and I had read books in which, while you can make someone a vampire through biting and other methods, some vampires are born that way. They are born as infants with superhuman strength/speed/ etc...and a craving for blood. They continue to age until they are ready to become a full vampire and "die". After this they live solely on blood (before they ate food and stuff) have even greater super strength etc, and can no longer go out in the sun. So I was concerned that the 17 year old vampire love interest was actually only 17 years old. This made the books seem incredibly less interesting to me, age-ist that I am. However, rest assured that though Edward and his "siblings" attend highscool, they are not actually teenagers (ie, he became a vamp in 1918) and have a good reason for going to highschool when they don't technically have to. Also while the first half of the first book is greatly concerned with silly things like science, calculus, the lunch room and dances, the rest of the book (and series) does not dwell on these issues at all.

One issue I had with the books was the author making the vampires all so young. I know, I know, it's supposed to be a Young Adult book, but you could have made them in their mid-twenties or at least looking like they were in their mid-twenties or so (you know if the issue was people died younger back then...they also seemed to age faster as I recall...30 looked like 50 in some places). I didn't like how Bella had only been with Edward a few days before she suddenly wants to be a vampire too. I realize that the issue is that Edward looks so young and she didn't want to look like his mom by the time she turned, which is why I think it was dumb to make him so young, but still! You'd think she'd give it a little more thought...no more of her favorite foods for one thing...that would be hard to give up. On Buffy, Angel could pass for anything from 22-36 if he wanted. So if she wanted to join him in the ranks of the undead (which wouldn't happen in Buffy-land since vamps there are inherently evil) she would have ten plus years to decide and to live her life without worrying about looking too old. I also didn't like how Bella doesn't seem to see the need for college. So let's say he makes you a vamp after graduation...then what? You'll just go "be a vampire" for the next century? Don't you think his multiple degrees and your lack of knowledge would get on your nerves after awhile? This is like people I knew in highschool that just wanted to get married...and that was why they went to college at all. Then once they snagged a husband they dropped out. Yeah, so you're married, but what are you going to do now? Sit around "being married?" The kids will only occupy your time for so many years and then what? Get a hobby? I don't know, I guess I have strong opinions about college. Okay, moving on.


What I find absolutely hilarious is the Mormon following that these books have. There was even an article about them in Meridian magazine today. This is greatly due to the fact (I'm assuming) that the author is LDS and attended BYU. This also had me concerned about reading the books as I've met several mormons who have very strong opinions about this genre of literature and I wasn't sure how the author would handle the whole blood/killing/living forever/ soul v. no soul issues that are inherent when dealing with vampires. It's been my experience that when an author is mormon members of the church assume that the book will then of course be up to church standards in dress, language, sexuality, etc. So I was very interested to see exactly what kind of vampire series this would turn out to be were that the case here. Now I'm not saying that it isn't...the main characters never have sex or dress overly provocative (that they said anyway) and I think there were maybe two or three swear words in the entire series, which was pretty remarkable for books these days...but it's not that different from many, many other vampire books I've read.

The whole werewolf/vampire/human love triangle thing is explored in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter (by Laurell K. Hamilton) series (and many others I'm sure). Anita does not have sex with her vamp/wolf boyfriend(s) and must choose between them. However this only lasts for the first six books...but after that the sex isn't too explicit and she only has sex with whoever she has decided on at the time (it changes later)...but by books ten/eleven the series has completely degenerated into something closer to porn literature loosely held together by a very thin plot...so my recommendation is to stop after six if you don't like the sex, and after ten if you actually want to read an entertaining, non porno story. (I went through eleven, bought twelve and have never made it past the first 40 pages though I've had it for years...I think there are 14-15 books in the series now).

The whole non-human blood drinking thing, the soul v. no soul, idea of a vampire counsel, "imprinting/soulmates", mind reading, "special abilities", etc...is also explored in many other books I've read. So really the only unique aspect of this series is the way in which it has led normally vampire resistant mormons into the growing culture of "vampire chic lit." I have heard of ward members passing the books between each other, holding twilight themed parties, and waxing rhapsodic about the intrigue, mystery and romance these books hold. Again...I liked them. I bought the series, I would probably read them again. However as a 13+ year fan of the genre I say if you're looking for something new and uniquely mormon, look elsewhere. If you like this type of book, then this is a good series to explore. There are some plot holes that the author has yet to fill, but she is still writing (next book released in Fall 2008) and will hopefully answer these questions in subsequent books.

I was going to write a list of vamp books along with a short synopsis of how they differ from the Twilight series, but I'll try to keep it short. So here is a list of vamp books I like and/or would recommend. I'll try to post mormon-type warnings if you are interested in other books like Twilight etc.. but are leary of the genre. Okay so here they are:

"Women of the Otherwold" series by Kelley Armstrong: Not necessarily 'vampire' books, but do have vampires and werewolves and such. Some sex and strong language, but very very low key...(no incredibly graphic, goes on for pages sex scenes) I don't remember exessive bad language either. One of the characters is a witch, so if you are offended by paganism, then maybe skip those parts.

Undead and Unemployed(wed,appreciated, etc...) series by Mary Janice Davidson: These are a very light hearted series about a ditzy blond who becomes a vampire on her 30th birthday and finds she's immune to the things that normally hurt other vamps; holy water, sun, etc.. They're funny but do have explicit sex. I don't remember the language being that bad though I'm not sure the average mormon would appreciate these.

Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice: I read these when I was 14 and very into vampires and death and such. They seemed prolific to me and any serious vampire fan should probably read at least the first three. However, that said I have never been able to re-read these. Rice's version of God/ the universe/etc...is very different then mine and I found it a little harder to get through as I got older. However I don't remember any bad language (or very little at least) or explicit sex in the first three books. However I later heard a theory that all of Rices' vamps are bisexual, but I did not get this vibe while I was reading the series.

Blood (debt, pact, lines, etc..) series by Tanya Huff. The protagonist in this series is a human P.I. that discovers vampires exist on a case she's working. She soon has a whole love triangle thing going between Henry Fitzroy (a vamp, the bastard son of Henry VIII (?) who writes romance novels for a living) and her former partner (I think), human investigator Mike Cellucci. I enjoyed these books and don't remember any explicit sex...more the type to fade into the darkness and then the next day get out of bed together then describe the act sex. I think they've actually made this into a tv show on Lifetime, but we don't get that channel.

Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn. Protagonist is a werewolf, but there are vamps in here. Very little, if any, sex that I remember. Some language...but not too much.

Urban Shaman series by C.E. Murphy: These aren't really vampire books, but have the same feel as some of the other series I've listed. The protagonist discovers that she is a shaman and has to go save the world and such.

The Hollows series by Kim Harrison: Protagonist is a witch, but her BF is a vamp. It's a world in which fairytale creatures have come out after half of the human population was wiped out by a supervirus in the 50's. Otherwise it's not a fantasy world or anything. Some sex, violence, language...I think maybe the sex would be the most worrisome thing, but she only sleeps with her boyfriend...and I think they only describe it once in the five books I've read, which is pretty good.

Laws of the Blood by Susan Sizemore...not to be confused with her vamp romance series which I haven't read. Again little to no sex, some language and violence. Protagonist changes from book to book, but all in the same world.

Diana Tregarde series by Mercedes Lackey: there's a vamp in the first book, not so much the other two, but still good. I don't remember any sex, but I think there was some language.

Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris: I really enjoyed these books, has vamps, weres, telepaths, etc.. But there is sex and language in these...however they are not the main plot, but may be too much for some. I think they're making this into a series on HBO.

Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton: Like I said above, these are good to a point. No sex until the sixth book, but lots of language. Wouldn't recommend at all past book ten.

Garnet Lacey books by Tate Hallaway: Protagonist is a witch, vampire boyfriend. Some sex/language, but okay.

Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Biggs: Protagonist is a 'skinwalker' (ie changes into a coyote) raised by werewolves has some vamp friends. No sex, some language. These are very good.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley: Protagonist is a human with 'talent.' Kind of falls for a vampire...kind of. No sex or language that I remember. This is a stand alone book as far as I know, but the author could totally make a series out of it if she wanted to.

Okay so that was like the longest post ever, but I thought I'd let the mormon twilight fans know of these other series. Sorry if you got bored halfway through and had to stop. ;)

PS: Christine; you were Jane and Brian was Jacob at the party am I right?