Twilight and True Blood are Grabbing Readers’ Attention! Listen to a Bloody Good Audiobook Today!
You can’t go anywhere without running into a headline trumpeting the latest from the set of New Moon, the sequel to the Twilight movie. The movies are based on a series of incredibly popular novels featuring modern day vampires.
True Blood, a stylish series on cable television, is also based on a series of vampire books. Never wanting to be left out of a good thing, my next audiobook adventure will definitely feature vampires.
Old School
When I was a teen, vampires had a brief rise in popularity thanks to Stephen King. Salem’s Lot was my introduction to King. The story revolves around a small town that is gradually taken over by vampires. The supernatural creatures are, without exception, evil.
I was also completely obsessed with Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. The novel was released in 1976 and was incredibly successful. Several sequels followed, comprising The Vampire Chronicles. In 1994, Interview with the Vampire was made into a movie with Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. For the most part, these vampires are also unsympathetic creatures.
Both of these titles are available on audio for anyone interested in a more traditional vampire story.
Stephen King Salems Lot
Enter Twilight
In 2005, Stephanie Meyer unleashed a new breed of vampire into our midst. In this young adult vampire romance novel, Edward (a vampire) and Bella (a human) face the struggles of their differences to be together. Edward protects Bella from being bitten and becoming a vampire even though she is tempted to become one.
Twilight is a huge hit, especially among teens. The brooding romantic hero’s love for a forbidden girl is confounded by his vampirism. I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that the actors in the movie are gorgeous.
True Blood
Well before Ms. Meyer brought vampires back into the light of day, Charlaine Harris had introduced readers to Sookie Stackhouse, a telepath who is attracted to vampires because they seem immune to her mind-reading. The first of The Southern Vampire Mysteries is Dead Until Dark, which takes place in the fictional town of Bon Temps, where vampires (and other supernatural beings) no longer live in hiding.
The vampires live on a synthetic blood product that allows them to resist feeding on human blood. The novels have a new audience thanks to the HBO hit based on the books, True Blood. The first season is based entirely on Dead Until Dark.
Listen Up!
I have some catching up to do! Vampires that don’t have to hide from sunlight and drink fake blood? I’m downloading Dead Until Dark (read by Johanna Parker) right now… Doesn’t it sound like a bloody good time?
By Dorothy Distefano
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