I hate giving myself over to hyperbole, but if I rated items from 1 to 5, Romancing The Vampire would get a solid 15. It retails for $49.95, but if you can afford it or if you see it discounted, snatch it up. This book belongs on the shelf of everyone who reads this blog regularly.If you are unfamiliar with Whitman's "vault" concept, they are books filled with removable replicas and mementoes. The text was written by David J. Skal, and he rarely disappoints. Skal brings dry wit, historical accuracy, and a genuine love for the subject to this book - and it shows. The text manages to be as comprehensive as possible while being accessible to the neophyte. Skal supplements the text with postcards, maps, art pieces, posters, press releases, and more. Much of the visual material was contributed by Rosemary Ellen Guiley, who also wrote the afterword. This really is a beautifully-designed book.
Romancing The Vampire is as up-to-date as possible, and includes subjects as recent as True Blood and Twilight. But the bulk of the book features more classic material - if Christopher Lee on the cover doesn't tip you off, nothing will.
I'll wrap it up because this already sounds more like a press release than my opinion, but I simply cannot find fault with the majority of this book. True, some things were omitted, but you cannot cover everything. And yeah - I paid for a copy. Romancing The Vampire gets my highest possible recommendation, it reminded me why I love vampires in the first place.
2 comments:
Thanks for posting about this book, not sure I would've found out about it otherwise. Romancing The Vampire looks like a treasure trove for vampire fans. I went ahead a purchased a copy on Amazon.com and it was priced at $35.96. Must be my lucky day. :)
Yeah, it hasn't been publicized very well, which is part of why I wanted to put the word out there. It's worth every penny of that $35.96.
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