The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

Yeah, okay. I'll just use this section of the journal to share some nerdyness. I am a gamernerd. And a booknerd. And just randomly nerdy.



Over winter break, I renewed my subscription to WoW. Yes, I play WoW, and I have great fun with it. I play Magic the Gathering, which is a fun casual card game, that doesn't force you to spend loads of money on cards that will rotate out in a couple of months *coughufscough* as long as you're just a casual player. I enjoy console-based rpgs of the Japanese kind, and have been playing the Final Fantasy games since VII was released. I like boardgames, too, like Betrayal at the House on Haunted Hill, and Arkham Horror. Which leads to me being a horror and fantasy nerd, with the movies and the pen and paper gaming and the occasional weekend-long LARP. Card games are fun, too, everything from Fluxx to Munchkin.



Books, let's see. I, obviously, have a thing about gothic vampire novels, and I generally feel that very few good reads have been published the last thirty years, or so, if you're not counting game-related works. I've read tons about vampire legends around the world, and how the vampire has been portrayed in fiction and art, and I'm very fascinated with how Varney is actually a lot like Lestat, and how Carmilla and Leonore seems to be almost unknown among a lot of vampire-enthusiasts, or whatever they're calling themselves now that the horror that is Twilight pushed vampires to new lows.



Yes. I abhor Twilight. Reading the books took hours from my life that I will never have back. I can see the appeal, but let's not be stupid; the language of the books is horrid coming from an adult native speaker, the themes are doubtful, and it's basically a huge Mary Sue fantasy. If people want the romantic vampire, they should look to Anne Rice or something. The first three Vampire Chronicles were okay, and I liked Armand's book too. Pandora's story was also okay. But really, even I, a non-native speaker, might well produce a better written story, just improving the language. I only saw the first movie, with my cat, and she has excellent taste. Whenever Edward appeared, she hit the screen with her paw. Good girl.



What else. Hm. Fantasy. I'm not much for high fantasy or epic fantasy nowadays. I used to be, but there isn't very much good going on with the genre right now. I am totally in love with Kerr's books about Deverry, and it really is the series that taught me to feel for fictional characters in a way that I didn't before I picked it up, almost (wow) fifteen years ago now. It's sad that it's ended, but it feels good, too. I'm not so sure about her new work, that urban fantasy thing, but I think I'll give it a try some day in the future.



I do like stuff that leans toward dark and/or urban fantasy now. Charles de Lint was a great discovery some years ago. Ah, and Neil Gaiman, of course. I read Neverwhere in 97 (I think it was) and Stardust about three years later, and was blown away. Lately, I'm kind of into Miéville, though I haven't read a lot of his stuff yet.



I took a dive into TSR and other game-related novels about a year ago. I've worked my way through a lot of the Warhammer Fantasy novels (mostly because I was a WAR nerd for some time, and wanted to know more more more, and yeah, I did get into the 3rd ed while at it. Haven't built any armies, though, haha), and I've gotten halfway through the Horus Heresy series (that is, five books into it? Nah, that's more like one third, haha). But that's space opera/military science fiction.



Mmh, and obviously I've read almost everything from Warcraft. Golden is the Abnett of WoW novels.



Hmm. Ah, also a lot of White Wolf stuff, but mainly Vampire. Dark Ages, Victorian Age, Masquerade (clannovels) and Requiem. I've played all of them, as well, and was part of an ongoing LARP based on Masquerade for a couple of years. It was GREAT FUN. I want to do something like it again!



Mmh, I'll continue to add to this, maybe venturing into games and comics next time. Or whatever I feel like.



Tataa