Hate Twilight, but like vampire fiction? Search no further. Here's a list of different vampire novels, along with their audience rating (C for Child, T for Teen, and A for Adult), a general summary, a link to more information about the book, and, in some cases, an asterisk*** beside it, meaning it's ATM administrator approved.
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⌦ Dracula, by Bram Stoker (A)***
Dracula has been attributed to many literary genres including vampire literature, horror fiction, the gothic novel and invasion literature. Structurally it is an epistolary novel, that is, told as a series of diary entries and letters. Literary critics have examined many themes in the novel, such as the role of women in Victorian culture, conventional and conservative sexuality, immigration, colonialism, postcolonialism and folklore. Although Stoker did not invent the vampire, the novel's influence on the popularity of vampires has been singularly responsible for many theatrical, film and television interpretations throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.
⌦ The Vampyre, by John William Polidori (A)
A short story written by John William Polidori and is a progenitor of the romantic vampire genre of fantasy fiction. The work is described by Christopher Frayling as "the first story successfully to fuse the disparate elements of vampirism into a coherent literary genre."⌦ Sunshine, by Robin McKinley (A)***
Rae, nicknamed Sunshine by her stepfather, is the baker at her family’s coffeehouse. She’s happy getting up at 4 am to make cinnamon rolls for the breakfast rush, and dealing with people and food all day. But one evening she needed somewhere she could be alone for a little while, and there hadn’t been any trouble out at the lake for years. She never thought of vampires. Until they found her.
⌦ Peeps, by Scott Westerfeld (T)***
A novel by Scott Westerfeld revolving around a parasite which causes people to become cannibalistic and become repelled by that which they once loved. It follows the protagonist, Cal Thompson, as he lives with this parasite and tries to uncover a possible threat to the whole population of the world.
⌦ The Vampire Chronicles, by Anne Rice (A)
A series of novels by Anne Rice that revolves around the fictional character Lestat de Lioncourt, a French nobleman made into a vampire in the 18th century. 10 books in the series.
⌦ The Silver Kiss, by Anette Curtis Clause (T)
A mysterious teenage boy harboring a dark secret helps Zoè come to terms with her mother's terminal illness.
⌦ Uninvited, by Amanda Morrone (T)***
Since his funeral, Jordan’s ex-boyfriend Michael has sat outside of her window every night, begging her to let him in. It’s now three months later and Jordan’s resolve is wearing thin. She can’t sleep and she’s starting to think maybe opening the window isn’t such a bad idea. The problem is Michael is dead, and Jordan doesn’t know if letting him in would be the answer to her prayers or the end of her.
⌦ In the Forests of the Night/Demon in My View, by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes (T)
In the Forests of the Night centers on the story of the transformation of the innocent Rachel into the vampire Risika, and her 300 year-old conflict with Aubrey, which started when he "killed" her twin brother Alexander, while Demon in My View is a followup to to it.
⌦ Tantalize, by Cynthia Leitich Smith (T)
Quincie Morris has never felt more alone. Her hybrid-werewolf first love threatens to embark on a rite of passage that will separate them forever. And just as she and her uncle are about to debut Austin’s red hot vampire-themed restaurant, a brutal murder leaves them scrambling for a chef.
⌦ The Sookie Stackhouse series, by Charlaine Harris (A)
The series is a first-person account of Sookie's life as a barmaid and telepath in the fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana. 9 books in the series.
⌦ Vampire Academy series, by Rachell Mead (T)
St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger. . . . 3 books in the series.
⌦ Let the Right One In, by John Ajvide Lindqvist (A)
Oskar is a 12-year-old-boy who is being bullied at school. He befriends a mysterious child, Eli, who moves in next door with an older man, Håkan. Eli is revealed to be a vampire, but the two children develop a close relationship and Eli helps Oskar fight back against his tormentors.
⌦ The Night Flier, by Stephen King (A)***
The story concerns a deeply cynical and jaded reporter and photographer named Richard Dees, who works for a fictional tabloid magazine called The Inside View. Dees' current subject of investigation is the Night Flier, an individual who travels between small airports in a Cessna Skymaster, gruesomely killing people in a way that leads Dees to think the man is a lunatic who believes himself to be a vampire. After only a few days of interviewing witnesses and following the killer's trail in his own Cessna, Dees overtakes the Night Flier during a violent thunderstorm, and quickly learns that he is badly mistaken about his would-be quarry: it is, indeed, a vampire.
⌦ Salem's Lot, by Stephen King (A)
Ben Mears returns to Jerusalem's Lot, Maine, to write a new novel and exorcize his childhood fears of the old Marsten House. But two other strangers have moved into the Lot as well - and evil once again takes up residence in the house that gazes balefully over the town. Ben and his small circle of new friends watch in disbelief, then horror, as vampires begin to outnumber the living in Salem's Lot.
⌦ I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson (A)
I Am Legend is a 1954 science fiction/horror novel by Richard Matheson about the last man alive in Los Angeles. It was influential on the developing modern vampire genre as well as the zombie genre, in popularizing the concept of a worldwide apocalypse due to disease, and in exploring the notion of vampirism as a disease. The novel was a success and was adapted to film as The Last Man on Earth in 1964, as The Omega Man in 1971, and as I Am Legend in 2007.
⌦ The Morganville Vampire series, by Rachel Caine (T)
The series takes place in the small college town of Morganville, Texas. Claire finished high school early and is attending Texas Prairie University (aka TPEwww) at the tender age of 16. Her parents wanted to keep her close to home rather than shipping their young genius off to MIT or Yale. Claire is having trouble adjusting to college life, because of a gang of girls that keep tormenting her. One day it goes too far and Claire is pushed down the stairs and badly injured. She has to find someplace else to live other than the dorm or her life could be at risk. 7 books in the series.
⌦ Lost Souls, by Poppy Z. Brite (A)
Basically, it's about a bunch of kids: 15-year-old babygoth Nothing, who runs away from his suburban home to seek his (God help me) favorite band; the band members themselves, Steve and Ghost, a redneck and a psychic from Missing Mile, North Carolina; and Molochai, Twig, and Zillah, a roving band of freaks who end up being Nothing's real family. There's a plot in there somewhere, involving trips to New Orleans during which the noxious green liqueur Chartreuse is consumed, love and betrayal, babies who eat their way out of the womb, and lots and lots of blood, sex, drugs, cheap wine, and Twinkies. Basically, it's about vampires.
⌦ Carmilla, by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (A)
A Gothic novella, published in 1872, that tells the story of a young woman's susceptibility to the attentions of a female vampire named Carmilla. "Carmilla" predates Bram Stoker's Dracula by 25 years and has been adapted many times for cinema.
⌦ Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire, by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden (A)
When Lord Henry Baltimore awakens the wrath of a vampire on the hellish battlefields of World War I, the world is forever changed. For a virulent plague has been unleashed -- a plague that even death cannot end.
Now the lone soldier in an eternal struggle against darkness, Baltimore summons three old friends to a lonely inn -- men whose travels and fantastical experiences incline them to fully believe in the evil that is devouring the soul of mankind. As the men await their old friend, they share their tales of terror and misadventure, and contemplate what part they will play in Baltimore’s timeless battle. Before the night is through, they will learn what is required to banish the plague -- and the creature who named Baltimore his nemesis -- once and for all.
⌦ Bunnicula, by James Howe (C)
A children's book series about a vampire bunny that sucks the juice out of vegetables. The story is centered on the Monroe family and their pets and is told from the perspective of their dog Harold. The Monroes find a bunny at the theater where they were watching a Dracula film. Because of this, they name him Bunnicula. Their cat Chester, however, is convinced Bunnicula is a vampire and attempts to get Harold to help save the Monroes from the perceived menace.
⌦ Night Road, by A.M. Jenkins (T)
For a heme like Cole, life is a tightrope existence in which sunlight is his deadly enemy and one mistake could trap him underground, staring at the inside of a coffin lid, for eternity. After a century of wandering he may still look like a teenager, but he's known in the heme community for being observant, meticulous, and controlled—a master of life on the road. When Cole is asked to take a newly created heme out for training, however, his usual caution may not be enough. If Gordon, the rookie who really is in his teens, can't cut ties with his old life and accept his new limitations, Cole will have to discreetly dispose of the kid—the same way a mad dog would be put down for the safety of society. Cole thinks he can handle it. But no matter how carefully he plans, or how much he thinks he's in control, accidents still happen. . . .
⌦ Blood Ties, by Jennifer Armintrout (A)
The books chronicle the life of Dr. Carrie Ames, an emergency room doctor who must adapt to life as a vampire after being attacked by one of her patients. 4 books in the series so far.
⌦ Anno Dracula, by Kim Newman (T)
Alternative history of the characters from Stoker's Dracula and Jack the Ripper; Dracula has married Queen Victoria and vampires are accepted into everyday society, and Newman provides an alternative history of what happens to Stoker's characters after the events in Dracula during the time Jack the Ripper operated in London.
⌦ Gil's All Fright Diner, by A. Lee Martinez (T)
Not a vampire novel, per se, but one of the main characters is a vampire. This is more comedic than a serious vampire novel. It is a more light-hearted view of the supernatural. Basically, a werewolf and vampire duo are hired to take care of a zombie plague in a small town, and they encountered more than meets the eye.
⌦ Vampire Kisses (Series), by Ellen Schreiber (T)
In her small town dubbed "Dullsville," sixteen-year-old Raven, a vampire-crazed goth girl is an outcast. But not for long... The intriguing and rumored-to-be haunted mansion on top of Benson Hill has stood vacant and boarded-up for years. That is, until its mysteriously strange new occupants move in. Who are these creepy people—especially the handsome, dark and elusive Alexander Sterling? Or rather, what are they? Could the town prattle actually ring true? Are they vampires? Raven, who secretly covets a vampire kiss, both at risk of her own mortality and Alexander's loving trust, is dying to uncover the truth. 6 books in the series.
⌦ Vampire Kisses (Manga), by Ellen Schreiber (T)
The absolute last thing goth-girl Raven and her vampire boyfriend, Alexander, need is another hitch in their nighttime-only romance--but dark trouble hovers on the horizon when Raven and Alexander discover four freshly doug graves filled with empty coffins. When a crew of sketchy vampires takes up residence in Dullville's lonely graveyard, Alexander finds this motley bunch led by his very own blood-sucking cousin, Claude Sterling. Shocking! Claude and his creepy crew can only spell out more problems for the pair, especially when Raven finds them in daylight in the very least place she could ever imagine. What could Claude and his invaders be doing--or searching for--in Dullsville?
⌦ The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova (A)
The Historian interweaves the history and folklore of Vlad Ţepeş, a 15th-century prince of Wallachia known as "Vlad the Impaler", and his fictional equivalent Count Dracula together with the story of Paul, a professor; his 16-year-old daughter; and their quest for Vlad's tomb. The novel ties together three separate narratives using letters and oral accounts: that of Paul's mentor in the 1930s, that of Paul in the 1950s, and that of the narrator herself in the 1970s. The tale is told primarily from the perspective of Paul's daughter, who is never named.
