HOW VAMPIRES IN R&R COMPARE TO OTHER POPULAR VAMPIRES - SOCIALLY
First of all, I'd like to thank you, Melissa, for allowing me to post here in Northern California, on your wonderful blog. Thank you so much for squeezing Ravena & The Resurrected into your book reviews too, when you have a millenarian books on your reading wish list. As we discussed, the topic today will be about how vampires in Ravena & The Resurrected [http://tinyurl.com/4zuew8m] compare to vampires, socially, in other popular media.
#1 - DRINKING HUMAN BLOOD
Unlike the so-called "vegetarian" vampires in Twilight, and unlike Louis, "Interview With A Vampire," who drank from rats, none of the vampires in "Ravena & The Resurrected" have any qualms about drinking human blood and they certainly don't kill poodles or rodents for food. Ravena was a self-proclaimed "Pastarian" while human (eating only pastries) and now that she's vampire, she continues to regard the beasts as more pure than some criminally-minded humans she's met. The other vampires in R&R also choose not to feast on animals because none of them want to get fur, fleas or tics in their food.
#2 - DISPOSITION
While Dracula (Bram Stoker's vampire) and Louis (Anne Rice's vampire) tormented themselves with negative self talk for centuries, Ravena only suffers occasional moments of brooding. She's quirky, and rather awkward if not a bit anti-social at first but as she works very hard to evolve, socially, she finds a stronger sense of friendship in a community of vampires. After all, she always wanted to be resurrected and that's why she resolves to make the best of whatever new situation comes her way.
#3 - GARLIC
In European folklore, garlic not only keeps vampires at bay but it also kills them. Bram Stoker followed this philosophy in "Dracula" but vampires in the movie "Blade" took the garlic myth even further. They utterly burst into flames anytime they were exposed to such a potent herb.
In R&R, garlic is offensive and not just because it might conflict with the mouthwash aroma on someone's breath. Once injected, garlic works like a sickening poison and makes vampires become very weak, but it's not strong enough to kill them; not on its own. For weapons, the Assassins who chase after Ravena, relentlessly, mix garlic with silver and other herbs to create a more deadly effect.
#4 - IMMORTALITY
In R&R there are a few kinds of vampires and all of them can live forever provided nobody cuts them down to annihilate them. I don't really know of many vampires who are considered "mortal" in the popular media except for maybe Count Chocula, that sugary cereal from bigone days that was ripped to crumbs by children's teeth everywhere. While most vampires are considered "immortal" because they can live forever without illness, most can be destroyed if a foe simply carries the right weapon.
#5 - MIRRORS
Louis and Lestat (Anne Rice's creations) as well as all the vampires in the Anita Blake Series can see their own reflection in a mirror. In R&R, the vampires can as well. Even still, not many vampires in R&R keep mirrors because they serve as portals for ghosts to travel through. Because spirits have no heartbeat, they can sneak up on a vampire undetected. This is considered dangerous to characters in R&R because enemy Assassins employ spirits to spy for their sinister cause.
In contrast, vampires who cannot see themselves in mirrors include: Barnabas Collins (from Dark Shadows), Dracula and Nosferatu (more).
#6 - SKIN (Pale)
Writers Anne Rice, Charlaine Harris, Laurel K. Hamilton, and Steven Niles, as well as television/movies such as "Underworld," and "Vampire Academy," all feature rather pale-skinned vampires. The vampires in R&R are no exception and they lose color when first turned. That is, all except for a vampire named Isiah. He is the darkest in the lair with skin tones resembling famous vampires like Blade, Blacula, Queen Akasha (Queen of the Damned) and the incredibly handsome Laurent, of Twilight fame.
#7 - SLEEPING
The vampires in R&R sleep, but not in coffins, which means Ravena's not exactly like vampires in the Sookie Stackhouse series, Dark Shadows (soap opera), or Bram Stoker's "Dracula." Yet she's nothing like the Cullens (Twilight series) who never sleep at all. Ravena sleeps anywhere she can feel safe, by day. What's more, because the Assassins constantly pursue after her, Ravena has no time to waste watching mortals drool into their pillows (not like Edward stares at Bella while she's catching some z-z-zs.)
That completes the first half of this article "HOW VAMPIRES IN R&R COMPARE TO OTHERS." FOR The continuation, where vampires compare to others, metaphysically, visit http://nyxbookreviews.
Thank you again, Melissa, for allowing me to visit. If any of your readers would like to follow me during the rest of this tour, they can find hyperlinks to this blog and to all other participating sites at: SunTigerMOJO.com/book-tour-
