astromachy and manonlechat, and happy early birthday to shalna, shiny_elfriend, green_key, reynardine, arisbe, dirtwitch, and dominique012. May all of you enjoy a wonderful day and a fantastic year to come!The Horror Writers Association has announced the nominees for the Bram Stoker Vampire Novel of the Century Award. The six finalists for "Vampire Novel of the Century" are as follows: The Soft Whisper of the Dead by Charles L. Grant (1983), Salem’s Lot by Stephen King (1975), I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (1954), Anno Dracula by Kim Newman (1992), Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice (1976), and Hotel Transylvania by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (1978).
Most of my gothic reading predates this past century, so of these titles, I'm sorry to say I've read only one: I Am Legend, which I absolutely love (and highly recommend). Anno Dracula has been on my "to read" list for some time, so I think I'll move it to the top of the pile. As for titles not listed, I do remember quite liking Barbara Hambly's Those Who Hunt the Night (1988), but I'm not certain that it's "best of the century" material. I also thoroughly enjoyed Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian (2000), although it qualifies as a 20th-century work only by the skin of its (pointed) teeth.
Once I saw this list, I was anxious to hear what you thought, my clever and well-read friends. So I ask...
Of the finalists chosen by the HWA, which should win "Vampire Novel of the Century"?
The Soft Whisper of the Dead by Charles L. Grant
0(0.0%)
Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
4(14.8%)
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
5(18.5%)
Anno Dracula by Kim Newman
5(18.5%)
Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
10(37.0%)
Hotel Transylvania by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
3(11.1%)
What title(s) did the HWA miss? If you could "write in" your own nominee(s) on the ballot, which would you choose for "Vampire Novel of the Century"?
The question of the "Vampire Novel of the Century"...
will keep me awake tonight.
3(8.8%)
may be the most pressing issue facing humankind (after the zombie apocalypse, of course).
3(8.8%)
is of no use to me unless it explains the mystery of "The Reichenbach Fall." (How did he do it?)
9(26.5%)
wants to drink my blood.
4(11.8%)
drives a stake in the heart of ticky-boxes.
15(44.1%)
"There are such beings as vampires, some of us have evidence that they exist. Even had we not the proof of our own unhappy experience, the teachings and the records of the past give proof enough for sane peoples."
- Bram Stoker, Dracula
