True Blood Author Charlaine Harris on the Current Vampire Epidemic
by Maria Ricapito at Vanity Fair
Dead in the Family is the latest bestselling vampire fantasy novel from Charlaine Harris, and the 10th book in the series that inspired the hit HBO show True Blood (now in its third season), starring Anna Pacquin as telepathic barmaid Sookie Stackhouse.
“I didn’t want to write about being a vampire,” she continues. “I wanted to write about people who were interacting with vampires. I thought it would be fun to write about a woman dating a vampire, so I imagined what kind of woman would do such a stupid thing. It’d have to be a woman who couldn’t date humans for another reason.”
Harris wanted to bring the vamps in her fictional world down to earth. “They’re just like everyone else,” Harris says. “Some of them are good; some are bad.” She adds, “I wanted to kind of anchor them in reality and make them unromantic, since I just thought that would be funny.”
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Why Robert Heinlein is one of the best science fiction writers
via Fiction Books
[Robert A. Heinlein] wrote all his books of fiction classic science decades ago and died in 1988 at the age of 80 Grand. He lived a good life, and has written over 32 books of fiction full of his writing career.
And if you read his books, meet some of his ideas. Robert is very eloquent and passionate conflict that comes with powerful governments. Like the book, “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. “Without ruining the story for you, I just set it up. This is a people living in the moon. Most of them were from the land of [banish] one reason or another. And the Earth is an economic force dominant and have been handled successfully by the work and efforts of people living on the moon.
Did They know that science fiction writers are really a better government to predict the future, when all the thinkers think tank? Well, that’s certainly true in my faith.
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Vampire, Werewolf, Ghost, or Soulless?
Alex Lencicki at Orbit
Gail Carriger has a delightful little quiz up to help you figure out where you would fit in the world the Parasol Protectorate.
Here at Orbit NY we seem to have a preponderance of Vampires and Ghosts — seems about right.
Sample Question:
4. The character I’d most like to be friends with is:
–Ivy Hisselpenny: It’s all about the gossip, she also makes me laugh, and could anyone ask for a better shopping companion?
–Madame Lefoux: She’s easy to talk to and always comes up with nifty solutions, plus I can borrow her glassicals for the opera.
–Professor Lyall: I’d find his air of quiet competence wonderfully relaxing, and he gives great advice on waistcoats.
–Alexia Tarabotti: I’d find her practical approach to life invaluable, she’d help keep me grounded, and help clean out my closet.
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“PS Showcase 8 – The Library of Forgotten Books” by Rjurik Davidson
by Liviu Suciu at Fantasy Book Review
INTRODUCTION: Once in a while a book comes out of nowhere and impresses me so much that I either have to review it on the spot if it is relatively current, or write a “pre-review” post… The Library of Forgotten Books is a collection published under the PS Showcase imprint from which I thoroughly enjoyed Impossibilia (Showcase #5) by Douglas Smith.
The Library of Forgotten Books starts with two alt-history tales, one set in France of the 60’s and one in an Australia with an inland sea that made it a superpower in the late 40’s and early 50’s and then come the pieces of resistance, four stories set in the Caeli-Amur milieu of rival houses that have magicians and geneticists – including the title story set in Varenis a totalitarian rival of Caeli-Amur.
ANALYSIS: The themes of the collection are the star-crossed lovers against a harsh and unforgiving world, deception and survival, intrigue and murder, all against a noirisih city background, whether in France, Australia or in Caeli-Amur’s universe. And now the stories with their first several lines and my take on each.
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What did you think of the Parasol Protectorate quiz? Do you love the Sookie Stackhouse books, or do you prefer True Blood?
