For the previous instalment, click here. This latest round-up pleases me greatly: it seems there's a shift toward academic vampire works. As there bloody well should be! If I was to pick a theme, I'd say they embody the vampire's formative process. Take a look-see.
30 November 2012
The Twilight mind: Twilight saga psychology skills / Julie-Anne Sykley
Amazon says the book was already released on 16 November, but the publisher site gives the 30 November date. Take your pick. According the publisher site, 'The Twilight Saga is not just a vampire tale. It is a powerful psychological thriller about deep desire, self-discovery defying misery and achieving happiness against all odds.' I'll bet. I do wonder how many more Twilight tomes will be released in the wake of the series' final (?) film instalment, Breaking dawn–part 2. I'm guessing they'll start drying up.
Also, good to see this one's written by a fellow Australian. There are very few in the non-fiction vampire book stakes. Only Ken Gelder and David Keyworth spring to mind.
Also, good to see this one's written by a fellow Australian. There are very few in the non-fiction vampire book stakes. Only Ken Gelder and David Keyworth spring to mind.
24 December 2012
Transnational and postcolonial vampires: dark blood / Tabish Khair & Johan Höglund (eds)
To all intents and purposes, an academic vampire work with an ethnic flavour. The book's description is a bit of a mouthful, though: 'Transnational and Postcolonial Vampires is a unique and timely collection that examines the past and present vampire narrative as a postcolonial and transnational phenomenon. Through a series of important contributions by well-known scholars in the field, it illustrates how vampires have mapped and continues to map the fear of the Other, the ravenous hunger of Empires and the transcultural rifts and intercultural common grounds that make up global society today.' Sure, ok. Nonetheless, it does sound intriguing.
8 January 2013
The modern vampire and human identity / Deborah Mutch (ed.)
Going by the book's description–'The essays offer readings of the modern vampire as a complex consideration of our modern human selves. Now that we no longer see the vampire as essentially evil, what does that say about us?'–it sounds Mutch has followed in the footsteps lead by Nina Auerbach's 1995 book, Our vampires, ourselves.
1 February 2013
The rise of the vampire / Erik Butler
Though not stated in its description, I can't help wondering if this book serves as a sequel to Metamorphoses of the vampire in literature and film: cultural transformations in Europe, 1732-1933 (2010). If it's anything like that one, get it. Butler knows his stuff when it comes to the undead.
It's published by Reaktion Books, the same guys behind Matthew Beresford's popular 2008 book, From demons to Dracula: the creation of the modern vampire myth.
It's published by Reaktion Books, the same guys behind Matthew Beresford's popular 2008 book, From demons to Dracula: the creation of the modern vampire myth.
4 April 2013
Who was Dracula?: Bram Stoker's trail of blood / Jim Steinmeyer
This book says it will be 'Hunting through archives and letters, literary and theatrical history, and the relationships and events that gave shape to Stoker’s life, Steinmeyer reveals the people and stories behind the Transylvanian legend . . . he shows how Stoker drew on material from the careers of literary contemporaries Walt Whitman and Oscar Wilde; reviled personas such as Jack the Ripper and the infamous fifteenth-century prince Vlad Tepes'–which, as anyone who's familiar with Elizabeth Miller's work will know, sounds a helluva lot like literary guesswork. We'll see.
