Books about vampire-hunting

[Toby Frost]

It occurs to me that I've not seen many books about vampire hunting: ie from the point of view from the little people. There's Dracula, of course, and I Am Legend and, in a funny sort of way, The Doll That Killed Its Mother by Ramsey Campbell (that book gets better and more disturbing every time I open it!) but otherwise I can't think of much that tells the story from the human point of view.

Can anyone think of any? Bonus points will be scored for really dull and mundane heroes, the less glamorous the better!

 

[Culhwch]

Does Honest Abe count as dull and mundane? The only thing that jumps into my mind is Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith, which was passable and is soon to be released on the silver screen.

 

[Warren_Paul]

Well there is Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake series, but that gets a bit too carried away on the sexual perversion side of the stories. The first nine books aren't so bad, up to and including Obsidian Butterfly (the best book in the whole series). But they are more aimed towards female readers, chick lit kinda stuff. It gets very explicit and bloody though.

There are also the tie in novels to the Supernatural TV Show. I've never read them though so don't know if they are any good.

I think there are also novels of Vampire Hunter D out there somewhere (not manga). But I'm not entirely sure.

EDIT: I did a search on amazon and found this: Vampire Hunter D It says it is a 300 page novel, but can't tell for sure.

Apparently its badly written though, english was not the author's first language.

 

[Toby Frost]

I'm not sure Lincoln counts: he has a massive throne and I've seen a picture of him riding a bear.

Strange. It just occurs to me that vampire hunting is potentially very dramatic: it's difficult, requires cunning, and on normal terms the hunter is massively outgunned. It would make for really good underdog-type stuff.

I suppose the problem is that vampires have more wish-fulfillment appeal. Of course, they manage to simultaneously fulfil the "strong and protective" stereotype at the same time as ticking the "sad and sensitive" box. In that situation the hunters just look like bigots who are jealous because they're not pretty. But hunting them would still make a good book, or perhaps a set of short stories, like a lower-key version of The Last Wish.

 

[Connavar]

Vampire Hunter D novels by Hideyuki Kikuchi is better than you would think after seeing the anime which was cool story but not as much vampire hunting as the novels.

I have read the first 3 novels and they are pretty different since its not western POV written by a japanese author. Second novel week but i enjoyed the other two novesl.

The novels are set in many 1000s of years in the future where the vampires have ruled the the world and have now gone back to their castles to leave the small human villages alone,scared.
Its a sort of fantasy,sf,western blend. The hero D is very cool, the action is very good when it comes to supernatural vampire hunting.

Think of as Val Helsing film if it didnt suck and it was different in a dark japanese way. A better modern version of the man in black monster hunter.

I recommend a larger than life hero because there is no point in the mundane heroes in vampire hunting books. I Am Legend is not about vampire hunting.

 

[Mouse]

Does Jane Slayre count? Jane Eyre's a dull and mundane human. It's the only vampire book I've read.

 

[Hex]

Sunshine, sort of? Although she has/is a vampire sidekick so perhaps not.

 

[Toby Frost]

Why is I am Legend not about vampire hunting? The creatures are specified as vampires and the hero hunts them, when they're not hunting him.

Of course, there's Salem's Lot. That's pretty good.

 

[andyw1691]

Buffy the vampire slayer by Nancy Holder and Christopher Golden ?

I have not read them but just thought I'd mention them

 

[Connavar]

Why is I am Legend not about vampire hunting? The creatures are specified as vampires and the hero hunts them, when they're not hunting him.

Of course, there's Salem's Lot. That's pretty good.

Most of I Am Legend is spent on understanding the science behind what made the humans into the vampires and its a survivor story of a lone human hiding from the vampires. Its SF/horror classic and not known as vampire hunting book. The hero hunts what when he dares to go outside for a second.

He doesnt go and hunt them as a story element. Its a not a monster hunting story like say Solomon Kane vampire story, Vampire Hunter D etc.

Otherwise every horror book with a vampire in some role is books about vampire hunting.