Average customer rating:
- Book was great
- Much more than a Vampire Book
- One of the best "vampire" novels ever
- Horror with bonus Classic Short Story
- Original and thought-proking
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I Am Legend
Richard Matheson
Manufacturer: Orb Books
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Binding: Paperback
 Matheson, Richard
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ASIN: 031286504X |
Amazon.com
One of the most influential vampire novels of the 20th century, I Am Legend regularly appears on the "10 Best" lists of numerous critical studies of the horror genre. As Richard Matheson's third novel, it was first marketed as science fiction (for although written in 1954, the story takes place in a future 1976). A terrible plague has decimated the world, and those who were unfortunate enough to survive have been transformed into blood-thirsty creatures of the night. Except, that is, for Robert Neville. He alone appears to be immune to this disease, but the grim irony is that now he is the outsider. He is the legendary monster who must be destroyed because he is different from everyone else. Employing a stark, almost documentary style, Richard Matheson was one of the first writers to convince us that the undead can lurk in a local supermarket freezer as well as a remote Gothic castle. His influence on a generation of bestselling authors--including Stephen King and Dean Koontz--who first read him in their youth is, well, legendary. --Stanley Wiater
Book Description
Robert Neville is the last living man on Earth....but he is not alone. Every other man, woman, and child on Earth has become a vampire, and they are all hungry for Neville's blood.By day, he is the hunter, stalking the sleeping undead through the abandoned ruins of civilization. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for dawn.How long can one man survive in a world of vampires?
Customer Reviews:
Book was great.......2007-10-10
I liked how he was basically trapped in his house and how he adapted to at has happened to the world. And my favorite part was when he told of the peek hole to watch the vampires outside. And the lude acts the women vampires would do cause they knew he was watching.
Much more than a Vampire Book.......2006-12-29
This is really a gem of a short story - on par with really the best of American fiction. While it uses horror conventions and mythos as the props, on a deeper level the story is a seering examination of isolation, loss, and, perhaps most interesting, the way in which the perspective of object-subject impacts ethics and norms.
Frankly I think a movie CAN'T be successfully made of this book - it is written in the first person and it relies on the thoughts of the narrator to drive its plot forward.
One of the best "vampire" novels ever.......2006-11-15
Being such an avid reader of "horror" and "suspense" stories I am pretty much open to reading anything that falls within the abovementioned categories. However, I usually distance myself from stories about, or centering around, vampires. Why? Well, it seems that more often than not vampire novels are usually cheesy, gothic melodramas that turn the character of the vampire from something sinister into something romantic. I'm not sure if they're all like that but in my experience that seems to be the case.
However with "I Am Legend", Richard Matheson managed to take the formula of the vampire story and turn it into something different and enjoyable. The story centers around Robert Neville, the LAST man on an earth that is overrun by vampires. Now I don't know about you but the very idea of being the last human being on earth is a terrifying thought in and of itself. I think what I like most about "I Am Legend" is that it centers less on a guy killing vampires and more on a guy doing the best he can to live from day to day. Isolation, depression, happiness, desire and pretty much every other emotion that a human being can experience is touched upon in this book. You don't have to be a die hard horror fan to enjoy "I Am Legend", just someone who appreciates a great story.
Horror with bonus Classic Short Story.......2006-11-11
The title story is amazing - shocking how contemporary his writing is considerign our view of the 50s and the horror is both types: action-packed and psychological. But the real gem is in the bonus short stories: "PREY". Anyone who has seen the movie "Trilogy of Terror" with Karen Black will never forget the terrifying Zuni Devil Doll! This is THAT short story - it and the other bonus ones are phenomenal.
Original and thought-proking.......2006-11-10
This is a book that is supposedly about vampires, but in fact it really ends up being about normality and stereotypes. If you are interested in a book that turns normal genre roles on their head this will not disappoint. I am not much interested in vampire nonsense but this was so highly recommended by a friend I had to read it and it justified the praise. Interestingly enough it also deals with the question of boredom: What would you do if you had all the time in the world and no one to talk to? The extra stories at the end are quite short and look more like aborted attempts at novels, skim read over them, one or two are worth a read. However, the main feature deserves the reputation it has.
Customer Reviews:
very fun romp.......2007-09-16
Such a cute story. I can just imagine that women far and wide will fall in love with Sebastian, if they haven't already from the two previous books. He's sweet, funny, sexy, and with a boyish grin to boot. I loved the fact that even those he love (like his family) assume the worst of him...but only in that we love him, anyway sort of way...and he is flabbergasted upon discovering this. He's definitely found his match in Mina. The meetings of super-everythings (given like an AA meetings) were hilarious. I feel this book has definitely surpassed the first two.
WOW if i could give it 6 stars I would.......2007-02-24
This book (the 3rd and last of the Young Brothers)was full of twist and turns. First the heroin was not typical. The bad guy well you just aren't sure to the end. And the end well let's just say it wasn't.
You will enjoy this book and fall for the Young brothers all over again
Kathy Love makes you "love" her!.......2007-02-21
There is nothing really to say except READ THIS SERIES! The writing flows, the characters have soo much personality and the storyline is great! I have all her books and intend to keep it that way! You should too!!
I Only Have Fangs For You-Joyfully Recommended!.......2007-02-06
Sebastian loves being a single vampire. What's not to like? He always looks young and women love him. Sebastian even runs one of the hottest nightclubs, Carfax Abbey. Mina Weiss is working at as a waitress at Carfax Abbey, only being a waitress is not Mina's real job. She and her organization are out to close Carfax Abbey in order to protect the unsuspecting human patrons. When Sebastian finds out Mina's true mission, he's determined to convince her that he's not a monster. He offers her a challenge, he'll refrain from biting anyone for a month if she'll let him show her just how much fun it is to be a vampire. Let the challenge begin!
I Only Have Fangs For You is more than a just a treat, it's a complete four course meal! Constantly the ladies man in his brothers' books, Fangs For The Memories and Fangs But No Fangs, watching Sebastian finally meet his match was hilariously funny. Kathy Love has a true gift for delivering sexy romance with a side of comedy that will keep me coming back again and again for another serving!
Melissa
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed
Super Fang Gets his Story!!!.......2007-01-22
Sebastian Young loves being a vampire and he hasn't met a neck he doesn't like. The only lady he's truly serious about is Carfax Abbey a nightclub with attitude. So when he catches a look at the newest waitress Wilhelmina Weiss he wonders what on earth this mousey little thing is doing in his club. She's clumsy and doesn't know much about being a vampire. So why doesn't he fire her and move on? Because like it or not he's drawn to Mina and then they make the "deal" and Super-Fang is in big trouble.
Mina is on a mission to shut down Carfax Abbey because they need to put the number three most dangerous vampire out of business. Mina has no idea just how dangerous this man is not to the mortal population but to her heart. Is it possible she has it all wrong and that Sebastian is one of the good vampires...and does she hold the key to his playboy heart?
I have loved this series from the very beginning and have patiently been waiting to see Sebastian find his happy ending. Trust me it was worth the wait. Mina is not what I expected for his match and as a result she was PERFECT for him. As per usual Ms. Love has included her trademark wit and humor as well as a sensual setting for this hugely entertaining romance. This is one author I highly recommend, she knows exactly what the romance reader is looking for and she delivers. If you are looking for a different kind of vampire read look no further then Ms. Love's "Young Brother" series. I can't wait for her next release.
Book Description
There's a new breed of soccer mom in town-with fangs.
Does drinking blood make me a bad mother? That's the question single mom Jessica Matthews faces when she wakes from a savage attack sucking on the thigh of Patrick O'Halloran, a super-hot Irish vampire who'd generously offered his femoral artery to save her from death...only to make her one of the undead.
Jessica can't rest until the beast that did this to her is caught. Meanwhile, she's having trouble committing to Patrick (in the vampire handbook, physical intimacy costs you several hundred years of being bound together) and keeping her kids in line.
Customer Reviews:
Oh, how the mighty have fallen........2007-10-09
The problem with "I'm The Vampire, That's Why," is that it's a bad book.
The hero is the most boring man ever written (he's so perfect in the feminine ideal that he made me roll my eyes--why should I care if he and the heroine get together if I don't care about him?); the writing style is choppy; scenes meant to be funny usually aren't and pages of terrible exposition turn interesting concepts into yawn-eliciting bores.
The real shame is that this book had potential. Our heroine is interesting, the vampire housewife concept is fun, a couple of scenes were genuinely funny, and there's a mildly interesting subplot involving our heroine vs. the woman who stole her husband (which is why this book gets two stars instead of one).
But the rest is so predictable, badly written and boring that it's impossible to enjoy the interesting bits that are there. Check this one out at a library or skip it.
A fun read.......2007-10-05
I picked up this book for the title and the fun concept - a vampire mom. It's a unique idea and having two kids of my own, I thought it would be an amusing read. It didn't disappoint! The characters are unique. The story has a lot of cute touches, things that made me smile.
I did wish that the main character was a mom more. The kids spent most of the book asleep. But I'll definitely buy the next book - Michele Bardsley has a wonderful sense of humor and characters I enjoy spending a book with.
Fun Rollick.......2007-08-05
A Fun book with some silly premises, but it rolls along like a mad party. Well written our male hero is your usual to die for Vampire and as usualy our heroine fall for him the lead vampire. Now who would fall inlove with a junior vampire? The book has a society that sets up in the town and tracks maveric vampires. A little sickly give at a friend who is depressed. 9/10
Pleasant but.......2007-06-20
So many books come out each week and the prices keep going up. So, why buy this one? Well, it's pleasant, amusing (werewolves chasing cats for the fun of it) and can be finished in an evening. But the research is faulty and the better stories are published every day. Would I keep this book? No. Would I buy the sequel? Yes, but only in a used bookstore.
Fun new vampire series........2007-05-10
How's a mom to tell the kiddos that she's a vampire, and that's why she sleeps all day? Add in a cheating hubby that dies before you can divorce him, and his former mistress who also is a new vampire, and you have a recipe for disaster!
Book Description
In this first book of an all-new trilogy, life proves stranger than the movies when a Hollywood underground coven of vampires comes to light-and gets targeted by the tough-as-nails daughter of a sexy screen siren.
Stuntwoman Dawn Madison hasn't been on the best of terms with her father since her movie star mother died. Still, he is her dad, and when he vanishes while investigating the bizarre sighting-caught on film-of a supposedly long-dead child star, she comes home to Tinseltown to join the search for him. Working with his odd colleagues, she discovers an erotic and bloody underground society made up of creatures she thought existed only on the screen.
Customer Reviews:
Perfect for collections where patrons relish new vampire-themed novels........2007-08-09
Hollywood after dark is filled with more than just stars these days, as stuntwoman Dawn Madison finds when her father vanishes and she begins investigating. Dawn finds his colleagues mysterious - and uncovers a strange underground society made up of vampires that are deadly and dangerous. Humor and intrigue blend with mystery and the supernatural to make for a gripping detective science fiction tale hard to put down, and perfect for collections where patrons relish new vampire-themed novels.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
This. Book. Sucks........2007-08-09
Errr, BTW, the above rating is about half a star too high. It was as low as I was allowed to go.
Flat characters, unimaginative plot, banal use of language, let me count the ways. I slogged through about 1/3 of it, by sheer force of hoping to get my dime back. No go, sadly. I finally gave up throwing good minutes after bad.
I have read this genre forever. I recently (oh, five books ago) gave up on the Anita Blake & Merry Gentry books. This makes those look like "War & Peace" crossed with Stephen King.
You know it's bad when you realize that you do not care if any or ALL of the characters die in the next chapter, the next page or the next paragraph. Let alone how the story ends.
Great Book!.......2007-07-05
I expected a little more...well a little more attitude, a little less self pity, and a lot more self control from the main heroine, Dawn. I was almost disappointed that she had any part of my name, but I see room for character development and a little more maturity. The book really kept me hopping, with good spins on old vampire ideas and legends. It's pretty obvious who "The Voice" really is or rather what he is. But still very readable. After reading the book, I immediately started hunting for the next in the series, but it wont be out til Feb of 2008. All in all, the book was well worth the price and a lot was packed into the larger format book.
Definitely worth reading........2007-06-28
Dawn Madison, a young stunt woman, is summoned to L.A. to find out what has happened to her father, Frank, who has disappeared. She is introduced to the Limpet Agency, whom her father worked for, and meets Kiko and Breisi, paranormal investigators. Dawn has issues concerning her mother, Eva, who was Hollywood royalty before she was murdered one month after Dawn was born. Dawn feels she will never compare to her beautiful mother. In the course of the hunt for her father, she finds out the Limpet Agency is investigating a sighting of a young Hollywood child star, Robby Pennybaker, who died at the age of 12. During the investigation for her father and the reason for the sighting of Robby, she is brought into the world of vampires and the Underground.
For the most part, the book was entertaining, but didn't entirely grab me from page to page. The ending is left open for a continuation of the story and many loose ends are left dangling. But all in all, a good effort and worth reading the next book to find out what happens.
Very good start.......2007-05-23
I'm not going to write a long review to this book as I am not a very good literary critic. All I really want to say is that the book kept me very interested the whole way through and this book ended in a way that most series books seem to not end these days. This one left a lot of unanswered questions. I was shocked at how much was unknown at the end. It makes me long for book two. I love to read book series and every other one I read does not make me want to read the next book nearly as much. None. Sure, I get excited about the next chapter but I am just ready for the next adventure, not answers. That is why I enjoyed this book and look forward to the sequel.
Book Description
Valentine Drakul longs for a mate, someone to share eternity with who won't be totally grossed out living on a diet of steak tartar. Could the sexy girl living upstairs fulfill his every fantasy?
Customer Reviews:
A fun read!.......2007-09-02
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I picked it up as recent sci-fi/fantasy convention, and where many vampire romance novels tend to be a little on the serious side, "Help! I'm Falling for the Vampire Next Door!" is funny without being campy. I really enjoyed reading about down-on-her-luck Melynda and super-sexy Valentine.
Not Worth The Money........2007-07-04
Poorly written. Uneven flow. Ditzy heroine, hero was dull. It is noted that the 1st review was done by the author using another name.
I really enjoyed this book.......2007-05-13
Melynda Kerpanik is lovely, strong and capable. She is not the kind of woman that breaks a heel and falls down so the bad guy can catch her. These qualities of strength are what endeared me to her from the moment that I met her on page one. She is also extremely funny in a way that made me laugh. I liked her. I enjoyed her company and I immediately missed her when the book was done.
Valentine Drakul is plain and simply HOTT in that dark and moody vampire type way. But there is something light, airy, naturally sexy and fun about Valentine that pulled him into a different realm for me. Torn between what he is and what he longs to be (human), Valentine is the perfect mixture of man and night creature. Valentine would be oh so sexy whether he was human or a vampire. Combined, and slightly tortured, he's irresistible.
And then there's Leo Van Helsing--who appealed to me even though I knew I should be running away from him at light speed. There is just something about a gorgeous guy who can get all up in your head...
Help! I'm falling For The Vampire Next Door is filled with likeable characters and hot, sensual romance between two people that I found myself really rooting for. Ms. Celine Chattillon did a marvelous job of drawing me into Val and Mel's world. The side characters are just as interesting in their own ways as the main characters.
Maybe I'm just bad...but the bad guy in this tale did interesting things to my mind. I'd be sensible enough to run from him, but I may have snapped that heel and took a tumble on purpose so he could catch me. I'd be sorry, oh yes...but oh well...
(Since I'm not a reviewer) I can't give Help! I'm Falling For The Vampire Next Door stars or angels or cups or anything, but I can tell you this...I really enjoyed this book.
Raquel Taylor, erotic-romance author of "Death and the Maiden"
Book Description
The Simplest Path, Step One: Free Your Mind delineates, in one slim volume, a complete system for achieving personal spiritual awakening, along with a straightforward, no-nonsense plan individuals and groups so enlightened can follow to awaken Humanity en masse and positively transform the world. This book contains keys to awakening. Awakening from our personal dream shatters the solid "box" of limitation memes have built around our lives, and frees us to fluidly craft our personalities, environments, relationships, careers, etc. as an artist paints a landscape or a sculptor teases form from formless clay. All of us awakening together from the shared dream of the planet will mark the birth of our species out of our current global nightmare of decline into a limitless future literally beyond our present ability to imagine, even in our "wildest dreams," indeed.
Customer Reviews:
Way Beyond "Socrates Revisited".......2007-08-22
After reading the commentary attached to the one star rating given by the young man from Texas, I feel compelled to step forward in defense of this very fine book. With only one exception, every point made in that negative review is simply wrong. Just not factually correct. The reviewer identifies himself as a young man (... "to my young mind"), and since all of his other Amazon reviews are of TV episodes on DVD, video games and rock music CDs I take him at his word. Well, I am an "old man," closing in on my sixty-third birthday, and I came to Mr. Casspriano's book after six decades of life experience, the last three of those decades a zealous practitioner of Zen Buddhism. I say this not to "brag," but simply to qualify myself as a reviewer before beginning.
I'll start where the one star reviewer closed his argument, with his statement that the simplest path reduces to two Socratic concepts: "Admit that you don't know anything" and "know yourself."
The first part is nominally true (the exception). Like Zen Buddhism, a central tenet of the simplest path is working to release the false notion we all hold that we know ourselves, other people, the world around us. But identifying and releasing our attachments to our illusions is a life's work, not some brash "I don't know nothin'!" as the young Texan seems to imply. Under normal circumstances, we go about our daily lives with no idea we are deluded about anything, as Maya (the illusion of the phenomenal world around and even inside us) is so convincing that most of us never even think to question its validity. Casspriano did not invent the notion of human beings being trapped in illusion, as this truth was known to the timeless authors of the Hindu Vedas and is central to all schools of Buddhism (not just Zen). But his scientific/spiritual exploration of the mechanism by which Maya ensnares our minds and can, with effort, be overcome is among the best "plain English" explanations of this process I have read. There is no "inscrutable mystery" in the simplest path (a criticism that has been accurately leveled toward Zen Buddhism, as a lot of Eastern thought truly does come off as "inscrutable" when translated into English and/or the metaphors of Western culture). Casspriano lays out in no-nonsense American English exactly what our brains are doing when they create the illusion we mistake for reality, then shows the reader in the same clear terms how to train his or her brain to break free of illusion and taste reality as-it-is. In just 216 pages, that is no mean feat. After thirty years of Zen practice and numerous kensho experiences (of varying depths and intensities), I can say from personal experience that Casspriano is correct. Enlightenment comes as the fruit of a long, incremental process of retraining the mind to touch reality in a new way, and the process described in the simplest path is the same as that followed in Zen practice, especially Rienzi Zen koan study (I'll have more to say about this in a later paragraph). Casspriano's approach and language is very different from traditional Zen (more "scientific," and no sitting meditation is required), which I think would appeal to Americans and other Westerners seeking to experience "awakening" without necessarily committing themselves to a religion like Buddhism, but the internal mental/spiritual process and final destination are the same.
"Know yourself," on the other hand, is not in this book at all, at least not in the way the young reviewer, or Socrates for that matter, uses the phrase. As in Buddhism, Casspriano takes pains to demonstrate that "self" is as much of an illusion as our misapprehension of the phenomenal world, and is a byproduct of exactly the same mind process that creates outer Maya. A core teaching of Buddhism is that our "self," our personality/ego, is nothing more than an aggregation of outside influences that cluster together in our minds like shiny stones gathered into a pile, and which we mistake not only for something "real," but tragically, for our essential selves. Yet this "pile" has nothing really to do with who we are at all. Buddhism teaches "no-self." Belief in the illusion of a unique and independent "self" is our greatest obstacle to enlightenment. Wasting time and energy getting to "know yourself" in the Western sense is foreign to Eastern thought. Casspriano again does a great job of translating the Buddhist concept of "no-self" into Western scientific/spiritual terminology. He shows the process by which our ego/personality aggregate "piles up," as well as how to take the pile down, stone by stone. Enlightenment is what the pile was covering up, and so it naturally appears as soon as the pile is removed - but oh how we cling to our personal pile of stones! "Self" is what we must trade for enlightenment, what must be surrendered, and Casspriano returns to this truth many times in the simplest path. My point is that the one star reviewer's reduction of the simplest path to "know yourself" has no basis at all in the actual book.
As to the book being "gimmicky": Yes, the words "The Simplest Path" recur frequently throughout the book, but not in reference to the book itself (at least that's not how I took it), but rather to the system of understanding the mind and working toward "awakening" Casspriano is describing - and it is a complete system that deserves to be considered as a whole, on its own. At times the repetition does have a feel of "branding" in the commercial sense, so I understand where the reviewer may have taken his impression. But the simplest path, while resonant with Zen Buddhism (and apparently, according to Casspriano, with the Toltec philosophy espoused by Carlos Castaneda, of which I have no personal knowledge, so I'll have to take the author's word for that) is far enough different that it needs its own "name" to set it apart from other schools of similar but not identical thought. The reviewer's criticism is like saying that every use of the term "Zen" in a book called "Zen Buddhism" should be taken as a reference to the book, and not to the larger practice of Zen Buddhism as a spiritual discipline that the book is describing. Casspriano's point in repeatedly linking The Simplest Path, Zen Buddhism and Toltec Shamanism throughout the book, at least as I understood it, is to highlight these three spiritual practices as related reliable paths through a dark forest of illusion, a forest in which many apparent (and more popular) paths, including most (all?) religious beliefs, actively vie to mislead travelers toward deeper ensnarement in the dream, rather than leading them toward "awakening."
I want to say a word about koan study in Rienzi Zen and how it relates to the simplest path. Koans are those quirky Zen sayings and stories like "what is the sound of one hand clapping?" or "what was your original face before you (or your parents) were born?" that have no rational answer, and which Zen students turn and turn in their minds like the tumblers of a combination lock until their imprisoned psyches "explode" in a "super-rational" experience of reality beyond the illusion ("irrational" would be the wrong term, as that implies "nonsense"). That "super-rational" vision of reality is called "kensho." I have experienced it myself, more than once in my lifetime. I have come to think of Casspriano's "Key Questions" in the second half of the simplest path, especially the later seven of the ten, as "cultural koans" designed to trigger "collective kensho" for the whole human race at once. Like "what is the sound of one hand clapping?", unflinching consideration of the value of human life, of how our beliefs about the future shape the present, of the true origin and destiny of life on Earth, etc., especially as seen through the lens of Casspriano's "Key Question Technique," reveals that none of these questions have rational answers, yet all require our active and immediate response. Successful resolution of these larger riddles that impact everyone will require us all to eventually "explode" into reality, together, in a "super-rational" way. We'll have to break through the illusion and wake up together, as one (which has been the goal of Mahayana Buddhism, of which Zen is a sect, since around 200 BCE). That is the "Planetary Awakening" addressed in this book, and I believe Casspriano's "Key Questions" are a concrete step in that direction. I'm glad I spent my fifteen dollars.
This is my "old man" take on the simplest path, having encountered it after 30 years of Zen Buddhist practice (I'm not veering off my chosen path here, just bowing respectfully in passing toward Casspriano's). From a Buddhist perspective, the simplest path is true Dharma, though I do not get the impression from reading his book that Vincent Casspriano is himself a Buddhist or a follower of any religion. That to my mind makes his book all the more interesting.
True, but gimmicky.......2007-08-09
Casspriano's book is scientifically and philosophically sound as best as my young mind can tell, but I don't recommend this book. Its scattered with numerous pages of advertising about how his "program" works and how it compares to other religions and spiritual movements. Why must this author physically write out "The Simplest Path" in reference to his book every other page, and talk about his second volume? Perhaps because he's not out for pure truth, but for our money.
All this book comes down to after you strip away the nonsense is two things. First, admit that you don't truly know anything. Second, know yourself. Do those two things (they essentially both mean to question EVERYTHING), and you'll have Casspriano's "Planetary Awakening," with 15 bucks still in your pocket. And you'll be following the fundamental truths already said by Socrates.. so do yourself a favor and pick up Plato's "Apology" and read up on the Socratic dialogue on how to live a good life. And don't stop there, because you can't be sure he's right.
And I have 10 bucks that says these other couple of reviews were written by the book publisher. In any case, ignore the hype.
A Unique and Inspiring Wake-up Call.......2007-05-15
This is one of the most clear-headed books I've read in years on the subject of real, nitty gritty, get your hands dirty spiritual development (as opposed to the fru fru New Age variety). So much of what passes for "spirituality" in our time amounts to some author, celebrity, priest, philosopher or self-appointed guru telling us what to "believe," sight unseen, if we want to reach heaven, attain enlightenment, achieve "ascension," etc. Casspriano takes an at times startling opposite approach. For Casspriano, such unquestioned/unquestionable beliefs are not only NOT the path to spiritual awakening, they represent the chief obstacle blocking our realization of higher consciousness. And it's not just religious beliefs ("faith") he's talking about, but all our beliefs about reality, especially those that enclose our thinking in "boxes" that limit our freedom to find solutions to real-world threats like Peak Oil, overpopulation, Global Warming, etc. Though much of the book focuses on individual enlightenment, for Casspriano, these larger planetary issues are "spiritual," as well. Whether the issue is our personal inability to find happiness or Humanity's collective rush toward physical extinction, the cause is the same - our wrong-headed beliefs about what's real. The solution is the same, as well - continuous, deep questioning. Using Richard Dawkins' concept of "memes" as a central metaphor, Casspriano first breaks down the basic process of belief, showing the mechanism in our brains by which beliefs misdirect and control our psyches, then he walks the reader through an exploration of a series of ten "anti-meme questions" aimed at breaking down the walls of our mental "boxes" and setting our minds free. With each question, he supplies an exercise designed to allow the reader to attain a personal taste of reality "beyond the box," especially as flavored by that chapter's "Key Question." For the most part, this formula works very well (with a few rare moments of over-exuberance on the author's part, as already described in other reviews, though as a card carrying vegan environmentalist, I can't say I particularly minded), delivering a cumulative series of death-blows to some of the most basic "pillars" of our present human consensus reality. Beyond the walls those pillars supported lies real reality, where we are all interconnected and interdependent, and, in Casspriano's view, mutually destined for greatness, if we can just wake up and grab the reins of our runaway culture in time. This is not a book for spiritual "feel gooders" seeking soft assurances that they're perfect just they way they are and everything's going to be all right, no matter what. This is a wake up call, a tool kit and a concrete action plan for becoming individually enlightened and collectively saving the world, all rolled up into one. That, I think, is a cause well-worthy of exuberance.
Challenge Consensus Reality!.......2007-05-10
This is a thoughtful book that addresses how we may go about developing a process to question our everyday consensus reality. I suppose if I have learned anything in 49 years of life, it is that all personal and social problems stem from our fundamental views on the nature of reality itself. Vincent Casspriano uses the concept of a "meme" as a fundamental unit of ideas, assumptions, etc. that often block our understanding of reality itself. One such meme, for example, may be that we have to "fight for our freedom" or the world's a "fearful" place and hence, we have to be ready to kill to protect ourselves. I suppose you could also use the word "paradigm" here as well, but the essential point of this book is that we "unconsciously" function in our life with many limited points of view that block our ability to solve problems on both a personal and a social basis.
While Vince Casspriano is to be congradulated for producing a book that presents both a methodology and a motivation for personal transformation, there are a few pitfalls here that the potential reader should be aware of before tackling this material. The author has some rather strong views on fossil fuel consumption, meet consumption, and the role of humans in the cycle of procreation. While I generally agree with his analysis on fossil fuel consumtion and meat consumption (as I have viewed large tracks of deforrested grazing land in developing countries), these viewpoints can distract the reader from the essential point here which is to rigourously question consensus reality. Since I am single, and have no motivation to have children, I definitely disagree with his views on the necessity of human procreation on this planet, but here again, it is important to extract the essential meaning rather than get caught in the specific political/social debates that these issues may spawn.
If you are serious about personal transformation with the potential for changing our global consciousness, than this book can be an invaluable tool. I do agree with the Author that a world population of "high functioning" people can resolve every planetary problem we face today. As we systematically question our consensus reality, we will see our problems in new ways, and with this new perspective, problems can often be quickly resolved or transcended.
A Simple Cure For What's "Eating Us".......2006-11-13
I considered titling this review, "Stop Whining, Wake Up and Get Busy Saving the World," but decided "Eating Us" would be more attention-grabbing - which matters because I believe Vincent Casspriano, Jr.'s "The Simplest Path, Step One: FREE YOUR MIND" is an important book, and I want to do whatever I can to draw your attention to it. Pick the title you like best. Both very fittingly describe what you will find within the pages of this remarkable new release from New Paradigm Press.
I have selected three short quotations to explore in this review that I think best summarize Casspriano's overall message:
From Chapter One, "The Boxes We Dream In":
"Right now, this very moment, you are asleep... Even if you are reading these words in broad daylight - sitting at your desk or beside the kitchen table, your feet firmly planted on the floor, eyes open, senses alert, feeling the weight of this book in your hands as sounds of life rise and fall rhythmically around you - you are deeply asleep, and dreaming furiously"
Now, the idea that Humans are sleeping, and must therefore "awaken," is by no means unique to Casspriano's "Simplest Path" spiritual system, being the root observation underlying pretty much all Eastern religion, and a lot of Western Occultism and New Age metaphysics, as well. In fairness, Casspriano makes no claim to this as an original insight, openly supporting his assessment of the human predicament with quotations taken from Animism, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. He then flows seamlessly into a list of complementary illustrations from the secular realms of Quantum Physics, brain/consciousness research, and most to-the-point, the study of memes and memetics, ala Evolutionary Biologist and world's best-known cheerleader for scientific atheism, Richard Dawkins.
If you've never heard of memes or memetics, a quick Google of those terms will reveal hundreds of serious, information-rich websites devoted to this now thirty-year old science. In a nutshell, a "meme" is a sort of contagious thought-form that spreads between people by way of imitation. Obvious memes in our environment include advertising jingles, fads and fashions, etc. Casspriano somewhat radically extends the concept to include just about everything that makes up the contents of our individual brains and shared human culture. While he resists redefining the word "meme" wholesale, he decidedly expands its definition to make memes and "memeplexes" (what you get when a number of memes band together into an organic, relational unit, like a religion or cultural or political movement) the basic, fundamental building blocks of everything we habitually label "real..."
And then he demonstrates, in at times excruciating detail, the complete emptiness of the "apparent-reality" that is a byproduct of memetic activity in our brains. What we call "real" is not real at all. It's an illusion spun up by our memes. And our memes are not original to us. They are "viral invaders" assailing our minds from without. Worse - and, while even this thought is not wholly unique to Casspriano, he certainly gives it his own very effective spin - memes are by no means mere passive beliefs or simple "harmless ideas." They are, Casspriano believes, actively predatory psychic parasites whose survival depends on our buying into the illusions they create in our minds. Think of illusion (Samsara, Maya, etc.) as a web we're caught in. Memes are the spider. We are the fly. Gotcha.
One thing I like very much about Casspriano's book is that he never asks us to take anything on faith, least of all this rather ugly depiction of the human psychic/spiritual condition. He not only challenges readers to test his hypothesis firsthand in order to experience what is real and true for ourselves, he spends a large chunk of the book outlining specific exercises anyone can do to escape memetic interference and personally experience reality as-it-is. The exercises in Part II of the book are powerful medicine... But this is a digression, so let me return to the point.
Memes are the spider, and we are the fly. A better metaphor might be that memes are the farmer, and we are the cow. Domesticated and docile, we allow memes to milk us daily, to extract from our minds the potent human psychic energy which, if reclaimed by us and put to proper human use, would quickly and positively transform our lives and our world. This transformation is awakening, ascension, enlightenment, metanoia, the Buddha-like change of consciousness most religions and spiritual systems on Earth hint at, but few ever actually deliver to followers. In this analysis, Casspriano's "Simplest Path" is very much in line with Gurdjieff's "Fourth Way," Carlos Castaneda's Toltec sorcery, and a few other well known spiritual practices inhabiting a somewhat darker, though perhaps more realistic corner of the New Age. But unlike most of those other systems, Casspriano's prescription for escaping illusion and awakening to reality is remarkably, well... simple.
From Chapter Three, "Waking Up":
"The simple truth is that we are sleeping because we lack sufficient energy to wake up."
And later in the same chapter:
"The real work that brings about awakening, rather than merely granting the external appearance of "being spiritual," while actually embroiling us ever more deeply in the dream, is a rigorous, daily commitment to the identification and elimination of every self-serving belief from which our personal dream-lives are constructed."
For "belief" in the quotation above, read "meme/memeplex." Casspriano certainly does, treating the terms as largely interchangeable. In the end, this genuinely simple - at least in the sense of being uncomplicated and pragmatic - spiritual practice amounts to discovering reality as-it-actually-is less by searching for a glimpse beyond the illusion, than by systematically withdrawing our participation in, and identification with, the dream. When we disentangle our psyches from memetic illusion, only reality remains. We don't have to chase it; to a meme-free mind, reality just appears. This is "Satori" in Zen Buddhism. This is "stopping the world" in the Toltec sorcery of Castaneda and others. Casspriano's genius lies in his talent for exposing the core mechanism behind such complex and often inscrutable spiritual systems, and for putting into plain language clear instructions for unraveling the dream and achieving personal awakening. The virus-like process by which memes take over and control our human minds, as described by Casspriano is, to my mind, very complicated (but well worth struggling through). What is genuinely simple about "The Simplest Path," however, is Casspriano's prescription for breaking those bonds, once you've made the effort to understand how they are created and maintained. For Casspriano, remaining a victim of spiritual sleep and energetic exploitation by memes is a complex activity in which we unconsciously invest enormous amounts of psychic energy every day of our lives. Awakening is the product of a simple act of withdrawing that investment, which automatically re-energizes of our minds and lives. Or as Casspriano cleverly phrases it when closing Chapter Three, "Waking Up":
"Unweave the tapestry of the dream, and awakening happens."
Anyone can do this. Spiritual awakening, in Casspriano's view, may be hard work, but it is not complicated work. The path to enlightenment is really rather shockingly simple. Fall out of love with the dream. Reclaim your psychic energy. Wake up to reality.
The ten "Key Questions" Casspriano explores in the second section of the book are designed to put the theory laid out in Part I to practical and immediate use. Essentially, I think Casspriano sees these ten issues - why we treat enlightenment as an "airy-fairy" ideal instead of a measurable transformation of brain functioning, the excuses we make for avoiding personal responsibility and integrity along the lines of Castaneda's "impeccability," the fallacy of belief in a "separate self," etc. - as pillars of both our personal and collective human dreams. They are by no means an exhaustive listing of the memes twisting our minds. But they are primary keystones on which layers upon layers of the grand illusion are built. Topple these ten baseline pillars and the larger structure crumbles.
Casspriano explores some "Keys" more successfully than others. One downside to the book is that, especially in the "Keys," Casspriano's own memetic prejudices shine at times rather glaringly through, as when, in his discussion of the American "What Would Jesus Do?" religious fad, he characterizes the Evangelical Christian purveyors of WWJD as, "ultra-conservative, right wing ideologues." Even should the reader personally agree with such pronouncements, its hard to resist thinking, "Hey Vince! Your memes are showing!" But where he nails his point, Casspriano's prose can be downright inspiring, as with the "Key" cosmological study "Is Earth the Center of the Universe?," which explores the gap between what we know, scientifically, about the Universe and what our daily choices and behavior says we really believe, about the cosmos and about ourselves. His closing "Key" "Are We Alone?" so poetically frames the true stakes of our global human predicament - species survival VS extinction - that its hard to imagine anyone keeping their gaze glued squarely to their own self-involved navel in the wake of reading it. Of course we are not alone. There are six and a half billion of us on Planet Earth, and whether we awaken to what's best in us or follow our darkest drives over History's cliff into oblivion, we do so as one. One planet, one fate.
This notion of "oneness" and of a common, intertwined human spiritual and biological destiny is a core theme in The Simplest Path, Step One: FREE YOUR MIND that sets it apart from any spiritual book in recent memory. My final quotation from the book returns us to the opening lines of Chapter One, "The Boxes We Dream In":
"We are all aware of the challenges facing us as we enter together into the 21st Century:
· World oil supplies are running out.
· Global warming is transforming the Earth into a steamy greenhouse.
· Even as our technology connects the world, ideological extremism, terrorism and militarism divide us as never before.
· Headlines bombard us with news of war, famine, pestilence and death until we feel overwhelmed and unable to respond.
· Time is running out..."
Vincent Casspriano, Jr.'s "The Simplest Path to Personal and Planetary Transformation, Step One: FREE YOUR MIND" does not offer easy escape from these very pressing real-world human ills, but rather, a down to Earth, workable prescription for their cure. Yes, we must awaken as individuals, and, rest assured, "The Simplest Path" shows spiritual seekers exactly how to do that. But a prime message of "The Simplest Path" is that, for personal awakening to have meaning, it must occur within the context of a complete re-visioning of global culture, and a mass wrenching away of the wheel of History from the control of viral memes, that we might create a common cosmic human destiny worthy of our highest potential as a species.
Now that's a meme worth feeding.
Book Description
A young woman's unlikely love saves the soul of an evil vampyre in Meredith Ann Pierce's classic fantasy. "Easily the year's best fantasy."--The New York Times "Seductive . . . bewitching . . . unique. A brilliant fantasy."--Boston Globe
Customer Reviews:
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03
One of those hybrid sort of books. Throw in fantasy, horror, and a bit of SF, and see what you get. Something like a little of the later Tepper, perhaps. Slightly phantasmagorical, or something like that.
Anyway, I didn't find it too compelling, and struggled through the maid's quest for her boss who has been taken by the Darkangel vampire guy.
Different, wonderful.......2007-08-14
I am so glad to see this series in print again. Pierce manages to blend fantasy and science fiction in a dark, stylish and completely original manner. Like nothing I've read before or since.
A great trilogy.......2007-07-30
I loved this trilogy! Not just for young adults.
The first one was the best, in my opinion.
The books that got me hooked on Fantasy.......2007-07-20
I read this trilogy when I was 13 in the mid eighties and I loved it. Just loved it. I could easily picture the desert, the dark castle, the dead virgins and Irrylath - oh, Irrylath - the vampire. I was completely in love with this character. So perhaps one has to be a teenager to fully appreciate this trilogy.
This series will for ever hold a special place in my heart and though I don't appreciate the ending (hence only 4 stars) it is most definitely worth a read.
If Meredith Ann Pierce ever comes to her senses and writes a sequel I will be the first one to buy it!!
A wonderful trilogy........2007-05-02
I read this trilogy in high school, and after 5 years, I discovered it again amongst the long list of books I've read over the years. It's rare when a book series actually sends a stab of nostalgia and the overwhelming desire to read it again through me, but this is one of few series that does so.
This series is well written and completely absorbing, which is as expected from Ms Pierce. I read this series and I will be completely oblivious to the world for hours.
The creativity of her environments, the fantastic creatures, the societies and peoples, the memories and backstories of her characters are all so in depth that when one reads the story they feel as though they are an invisible character that is never mentioned, but always there- you feel as though you are there- in fact, I often was quite startled when Iw as interrupted in my reading of them- I was so entranced and absorbed by the books I forgot I was in my room.
If you're looking for a series to tide you over until the Last Harry potter book comes out, this is definitely the one to get- you will NOT be disappointed.
Book Description
From yesterday to a hundred years ago, he lives in the world and walks among us. He enjoys the finest things in life, including beautfiul women, well-aged wine, and the finest classical composers. He has no guilt -- he has no need of it. Neither good, nor bad, neither angel nor devil, he is a man, he is a vampire. And this is his story....
Customer Reviews:
FIRST TIME READ.......2005-06-30
Although I have never read a Michael Romkey book before I am looking forward to reading more of his books. A friend gave me the book to read and I couldn't put it down. I like the fact that it was in a journal style of writing. Mr. Romkey made if very believeable that some of the historical figures that was in this book could in turn truelly be vampires. I am looking forward to reading the sequel.
I have all of this series but possibly the last 1 or 2.......2004-03-01
I really loved this book! It shared about a struggle to destroy those that would destroy all that the main character held close to his heart. I am not sure why I didnt read the other books in the series as soon as I got done with this one. I would recommend this book to all Vampire lovers and lovers of memoirs and stuff!
Fails To Reach It's High Aspirations.......2003-09-04
Romkey envisions an absolutely fantastical gothic world full of the romantic quasi-aristocratic lives of rich and cultured vampires, full of detailed history, even the unique idea of historical characters reappearing as modern day vampires (such as Mozart, Rasputin, Jack the Ripper, and Tatiana Romanov, yes thee Czar Nicholas Romanov's daughter), car chases,violence, sex and creative horror; Romkey has imagined a novel abounding with many references to eminent classical composers and some of the darker figures of popular culture. It starts out with an aspiring young pianist named David Parker who gets trapped into the insufferably boring (note the hint of sarcasm here) life of a successful attorney whose passion for cocaine, over priviledged life, and faithless wife drives him to the brink of suicide. Soon he is transformed into a vampire and initiated into a world of combating rapacious evil.
Unfortunately, it all falls short of anything but a really cheesy B-rated gothic horror story.
Romkey's venture into the macabre begun to get more horrid than horrifying when he first mentions the Illuminati. There is no historical background on what the Illuminati is or was, how it was created, who created it, or what the general mindset it consists of other than that its a collection of moralizing pseudo-Christian altruistic vampires bent upon saving the human race from it's stupidity. Which is extremely vexing when the original Illuminati was a secret society begun by Adam Weishaupt in 1776 that masqueraded as a philanthropist gentleman's club that based its teachings on the acts and teachings of Jesus Christ, when really it was a group of atheists/anarchists obsessed with Enlightenment literature that worked toward subverting the current government for the betterment of all humankind. It was found out and abolished in 1785, mostly because of internecine rivalry within the society caused four university professors in the lower degrees of the Order became disillusioned with it and informed the authorities of it's existence. Anyways, the point is, is that with all of Romkey's digressions into the history of Russia and whatnot I felt the Illuminati deserved its own history lesson being it played a pertinent part in the story. Also I felt the views of Mozart and Rasputin as presented by Romkey were out of context with the atheistic Illuminati in that both of them were represented as pious believers in a God. He even went so far as to make Mozart a friend of the Catholic Church, which is inconsistent with history being that Mozart refused the last rites on his death bed. I also felt that there was far too much moral philosophizing to the point where it made the main protagonist David Parker seem no less than an insipid weakling of the same status as the interminably whining Louis of Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire.
In any case, the book was well worth reading if only for the history and for the fact that it started out so well. Its only too bad that it had to fall flat on its face.
A Vampire that almost hits the mark.......2003-06-14
I, Vampire has all the elements to be a solid novel but at just about every turn fails to hit the mark. The storyline, the characters, the twists and turns, and even the historical aspects all have the feel of a low-budget B rated movie.
In a diary format, we learn about the facinating, yet barely believable life of David Parker. His path takes us from Chicago to Las Vegas to Paris and Germany. We get an interesting history of Russia from the Middle Ages to modern times. We're introduced to several famous historical characters, all of whom are Vampires that help David along the way.
It's almost like the author tried 'too hard' to make the story work, and in the process did an injustice to it. The choice of Mozart and the other historical characters takes away from the dark atmosphere and suspense and turns the book into an unintentional parody and in some cases a comedy, neither of which I believe was the attempt.
The book however, does stand on it's own and does lay the foundation for many sequels. I think the author has great potential to develop the character of David. I wouldn't put it at the top of the list of Vamp reads but definately take the time to read it when you can.
A Vampire story that almost hit the mark.......2003-06-14
I, Vampire has all the elements to be a solid novel but at just about every turn fails to hit the mark. The storyline, the characters, the twists and turns, and even the historical aspects all have the feel of a low-budget B rated movie.
In a diary format, we learn about the facinating, yet barely believable life of David Parker. His path takes us from Chicago to Las Vegas to Paris and Germany. We get an interesting history of Russia from the Middle Ages to modern times. We're introduced to several famous historical characters, all of whom are Vampires that help David along the way.
It's almost like the author tried 'too hard' to make the story work, and in the process did an injustice to it. The choice of Mozart and the other historical characters takes away from the dark atmosphere and suspense and turns the book into an unintentional parody and in some cases a comedy, neither of which I believe was the attempt.
The book however, does stand on it's own and does lay the foundation for many sequels. I think the author has great potential to develop the character of David. I wouldn't put it at the top of the list of Vamp reads but definately take the time to read it when you can.
Average customer rating:
- Better Taste, Less Gross
- THE definitive work on the Fiends
- disturbing
- This clanbook is full of information . . .
- Great Book, Bad Art
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Clanbook: Tzimisce
Lucien Soulban ,
James Stewart ,
Jess Heinig , and
Alan I. Kravit
Manufacturer: White Wolf Games Studio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Puzzles & Games
| Entertainment
| Subjects
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Vampires
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
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General
| Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
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Vampire
| Gaming
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
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ASIN: 1588462021 |
Customer Reviews:
Better Taste, Less Gross.......2002-04-06
Let's pause briefly to remember the original CLANBOOK TZIMISCE. It had John Cobb's explicit, woodcut-like art, overly vivid fiction, pages designed to look like human skin. It was often sold shrink-wrapped and one place wouldn't let you see the back cover unless you were over 18. The book supposedly made someone's little sister vomit. It was quite an experience.
With the new CLANBOOK TZIMISCE, wiser heads have, fortunately or unfortunately, prevailed. There are few grotesque descriptions and only one truly extreme drawing. (The art is mostly just Vampire: Dark Ages creepy otherwise.) No "over 18" shrink wrap here but I still would caution those younger and more sensitive people, as with anything Tzimisce. There's lots of information, especially about Tzimisce Methuselahs like Yorak and the Dracon. It suggest that the Tzimisce Antediluvian somehow now exists in all Tzimisce and can't be destroyed because he always re-emerges from the collective ooze that is this clan. There's lots about ghouls and revenants (new family, creature templates, derangements), the Children of the Dracon, non-European Tzimisce, Koldunic sorcery (new path), the Path of Metamorphosis with related mysticism and some funny stuff written in the voice of a modern Tzimisce advising an elder emerging from torpor.
Still, like many new Clanbooks, this one assumes prior knowledge- here of characters like Yorak (and the Cathedral of Flesh from the TRANSYLVANIA CHRONICLES) and Dr. Totentanz (from the original CLANBOOK TZIMISCE.) Also, they've made Lambach Ruthven older and of lower generation than in other important sources.
There are many standard features including a sample pack and discipline variations. Character templates include embraced revenants and followers of various Paths of Enlightenment. (Some path follower templates have typos- name of path not specified, wrong virtues.) There's a glossary to help with exotic terminology and a list of Eastern European names.
THE definitive work on the Fiends.......2001-07-12
I was impressed at the sheer depth of Clanbook: Tzimsce Revised. First of all, its history is so in-depth that it arguably has as much use to players of Vampire: The Dark Ages as it does to modern Masquerade players. The Tzimisce have gone through a number of growing pains from their original inception in the 1st edition Players Guide to the Sabbat, and this book serves to deal with most of the loose ends we've seen (including issues from Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand and their "Old Clan Tzimisce" and "Souleater" problems). The templates in the back of the book give a depth to the Tzimisce that genuinely impressed me, showing a lot of work. The treatment of the Revenant families (including a new family) is fairly solid, and the Discipline variations are enough to make any Storyteller or power-gamer drool in delight.
Honestly, I wish ALL of the Revised Clanbooks had been done with so much attention to detail. As with any truly great book for Vampire: The Masquerade, as many new questions are raised as old ones are answered, and the implications of information about the Tzimisce Methusalehs, and the clan founder itself, are enough to inspire a hundred plot threads. If you've been hungering for more information on the Fiends (both in and out of the Sabbat), and want something beyond the relatively sparse old Clanbook: Tzimisce, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the amount of work that went into this book.
disturbing.......2001-04-19
The clan book focuses more on the nature of the Beast (excuse the pun) then on giving the players more powers to pick from. This is a cultural and historical study of the clan, from the founder (new legends about him are in here) to being the "soul of the Sabbat." The reader sees quickly that this clan has rejected their humanity and has spent the centuries exploring what thier true nature is. It was a bit disturbing to read about a group so divorced from humanity. This book will help you with your role-playing, by giving you a guided tour into the differnces between humanity and the metamorphists. You will have the opportunity to play something which is alien from the way that you and I think.
The one draw back is that the short list of disciplines is mostly a reprint from previous Tzimsce books.
This clanbook is full of information . . ........2001-04-07
The Fiends have long been a source of hardship to play, mainly because no one understood them. I think this book goes a long way in helping you get a total grasp on your character and it's clan. Personally, I have always liked to play the Tzimisce, even without insight from white wolf. I enjoyed this clanbook more than the first version they put out, it certainly seemed better thought out. I recommend it.
Great Book, Bad Art.......2000-10-29
This is by far one of the most interesting WW books i've ever read. The characters are great and what the tzimisce powers allow you to do is excellent when you flesh out a character. The only flaw that I saw was the artist was terrible. The drawings were nothing but monsters, while many of the Tzimisce listed were intended to be strikingly beautiful. Where the Tzimisce are artists of the flesh as Toreador are artists of canvas, they are unfortunately portrayed as monsters throught the series. THe only things it needed was a real artist :(
Book Description
Volume one of the celebrated and seminal vampyre novel.
Customer Reviews:
Grandfather of all vampires!.......2006-10-22
Varney The Vampyre started out as a serial, where each chapter sold for a penny or more, forcing readers to wait for each new twist, every new adventure and amazing plot point. Coming out 1845 it was published into book form in 1847.
This version is the first book in a three book series. Very much in the style of the period it reminds one of The Three Musketeers in which each chapter has to give a small history of the past chapters. Also, for authors getting paid by the letter or by the chapter, this allows them to really get as wordy as they want. James Malcolm Rymer must have been a very rich man by the time he was finished.
Yet, the story is not just long winded. There IS action, humor, some VERY interesting characters and even moves along at a fast pace. Frankly, it also reminds me a tad of Dark Shadows. But not as melodramatic.
Sometimes Powerful, Sometimes Dull, Too Long as a Whole: Historically Important Vampire Novel in English .......2006-08-25
`Varney the Vampire, Or the Feast of Blood' was originally serializes 1845-47, about a half century before Bram Stoker created Dracula. Though less famous than the inimitable Count, `Varney' as the book has its own merit with the complicated and fascinating personality of the vampire protagonist that deserves more attention, but at the same time you will find this long book a very demanding read. It depends on the edition you have, but my three-volume edition exceeds 860 pages, which means you need the same energy as reading longer novels in Victorian era, like Dickens and Thackeray.
From the very beginning `Varney the Vampire' intends to be what it is - so-called penny dreadful which is aimed for sensational, blood-curdling scenes with crude but powerful sentences. The book opens with the vampire's nightly visitation to the chamber where one young and beautiful maiden Flora Bannerworth is sleeping. The shrieking and fainting of the lady would lead to the hunting of the vampire by her two brothers. Charles Dickens would have spent more than ten pages to describe all these things. James Malcolm Rymer, the supposed author of the serial novel, spends only one or two. Still, the sentences, clearly written hurriedly, are curiously attractive.
After the initial clash between Varney and the Bannerworths, the story gets more and more digressive with the new characters and episodes thrown into the main plot. The mystery behind Varney's insistence on his buying the mansion where Flora's family live is explained, but the motives are not convincing. But you are not given enough time to think about the numerous plot holes because the story keeps going, and it goes so fast. That does not mean, however, that Rymer is an awful writer. Even those who dislike the macabre and sensational penny dreadful styles would admit that Rymer can provide pretty gripping descriptions (like the mob and their furious attack on Varney) if he wants to.
Halfway in the book Rymer discards the Bannerworth story, and introduces new episodes one after another. They are mostly about familiar themes - quite theatrical and melodramatic ones such as shipwrecks, an innocent girl and her greedy mother (and unwilling marriage of the former), midnight mystery at inn, etc. The middle part is repetitious and often pretty dull, I must say.
Sometimes it is said that `Varney' has been influential in the history of the whole gothic novels, especially those with vampire theme. (The book, for example, ends with well-written passages about a girl, whose shocking fate reminds of that of Lucy in `Dracula.')
If you are interested in the vampires in the gothic novels, or Victorian fiction for that matter, you might find it a fairly fascinating read even though a considerable portion of the book is used to tell stories that are not directly related to vampires. Perhaps I may be wrong, but to me, the importance of the book is, if any, historical rather than artistic one.
Note: In some editions Thomas Peckett Prest is credited with the book, but today the work is generally attributed to Rymer.
Interesting but Slow in Parts.......2006-06-30
Being interested in British serialed publications I came across Varney the Vampyre and decided to give it a look. I found the first volume of the recent republication to be very interesting and got pulled into the story. However, there are some parts to the story that tend to slow down the plot; one of these are two points when a character reads something to pass the time and to try to relax due to occuring events. At this point the author actually tells the reader the exact words the character is reading that turns out to be complete short stories within the story. Although this was a little interesting to know what the characters were reading, it took away from the pace of the original story. The other four volumes of this reprinting are on my reading list for the near furture.
Not to be missed...........2006-04-21
If you are a fan of gothic literature (especially the early 1760-1825 books) and of the vampyre...this is not to be missed!
I got the 1974 Dover reprint of the orginal penny dreadful, that is the one I would reccommend, though it is hard to find cheap. They reproduce it exactly how the londoner's in 1840 would have read it....illustrations, text type and all.
The prose if of course not a masterpiece as they had to write these in a huge hurry and right on the spot most the time, but nonetheless it is an excellent read for historical reasons and enjoyment. It was the most popular of the penny dreadfuls, which were huge during the 1840's-60's.
G. Stanton below said that it was published under Thomas Prest's name when it was a serial in 1840, which is not correct. These (and most of them) were published anonymously...the title page of Varney...all it says for author is...."By the author of Grace Rivers: Or the Merchant's Daughter." If they were not published anon, than the majority used a pseudonym. Rymer was a prolific author as was Prest....but they didn't actually publish a lot of material in their real names. But from the research that was done on both authors/comparing them both with Varney ...as too writing and syntax style...to me it appears clear that Rymer wrote Varney the Vampire.
Montague Summers was the person who got everyone fixated on the idea that it was Prest who wrote the dreadful, from the detailed literary research I have seen...it is most obviously to be given to Rymer for credit.
If you like short and non-wordy novels, this might be a tough slog to get through...it's obviously LONG...but I thought it was wonderful....
A tough slog.......2005-03-12
As mentioned in other reviews, this is what is known as a "penny dreadful". Ryder was paid by the WORD, which becomes quite apparent after reading a few pages of endless dialogue. However, the importance of this tale's influence on other vampire writers cannot be overlooked. Many familar themes are here- the vampire has a ghastly pallour, lustreless eyes and sharp teeth, he can be revived by moonlight, and what's interesting to any Dark Shadows fan is the plotline where hanging in Bannerworth Hall is a painting of a long dead nobleman who looks just like the suspected vampire (which perhaps also influenced LeFanu in "Carmilla"). You'll probably find yourself skimming through pages- a few sentences and you'll get the gist of what's happening. But this is a volume that any vampire literary collector should have in their library.
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