Different blood flows in their veins--but our blood quenches their thirst. From Bram Stoker's 1897 creation of Count Dracula, portrayed as a foreign invader bent on the conquest of England, the literary vampire has symbolized the Other, whether his or her otherness arises from racial, ethnic, sexual, or species difference. Even before the bloodsucking Martians of H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds, however, popular fiction contained a few vampires who were members of alien species rather than supernatural undead. Even more intriguing than interplanetary invaders are humanoid and quasi-humanoid beings who have evolved to live on Earth among us, often camouflaged as our own kind. The boom in vampire fiction that began in the 1970s engendered a variety of "alien" vampires, many of them portrayed as sympathetic characters. The science fiction vampire is especially suited to the presentation of vampirism as morally neutral rather than inherently evil. Different Blood surveys the literary vampire as alien, whether extra-terrestrial or a different species evolved on Earth, from the mid-1800s to the 1990s, and analyzes the many uses to which science fiction and fantasy authors have put this theme. Their works explore issues of species, race, ecological responsibility, gender, eroticism, xenophobia, parasitism, symbiosis, intimacy, and the bridging of differences. An extensive bibliography lists dozens of novels and short stories on the "vampire as alien" theme, many of which are still in print.

Prominent examples from contemporary vampire literature expose a desire to re-evaluate and re-work the long-standing, folkloristic interpretation of the vampire as the immortal undead. This book explores the "new vampire" as a literary trope, offering a comprehensive critical analysis of vampires in contemporary popular literature and demonstrating how they engage with essential cultural preoccupations, anxieties, and desires. Drawing from cultural materialism, anthropology, psychoanalysis, literary criticism, gender studies, and postmodern thought, Piatti-Farnell re-frames the concept of the vampire in relation to a distinctly twenty-first century brand of Gothic imagination, highlighting important aesthetic, conceptual, and cultural changes that have affected the literary genre in the post-2000 era. She places the contemporary literary vampire within the wider popular culture scope, also building critical connections with issues of fandom and readership. In reworking the formulaic elements of the vampiric tradition — and experimenting with genre-bending techniques — this book shows how authors such as J.R. Ward, Stephanie Meyers, Charlaine Harris, and Anne Rice have allowed vampires to be moulded into enigmatic figures who sustain a vivid conceptual debt to contemporary consumer and popular culture. This book highlights the changes — conceptual, political and aesthetic — that vampires have undergone in the past decade, simultaneously addressing how these changes in "vampire identity" impact on the definition of the Gothic as a whole.

The Queen of the Vampires kidnaps Damien Argent, the captain of the vampire hunters, away from his loving family. He suffers years of torment at her hands, still holding on to the idea of his human life. Eventually, he accepts the position of King of the Vampires and marries the Queen, Heloise. He uses his new power to broker a peace deal with the humans, saving hundreds of lives. Although not everyone is happy with the new found peace. Aliens descend and with it the opportunity to win the old feuds between humans and vampires. Factions conspire against him, setting human against vampire in a renewed battle, killing his queen. But first contact is not as peaceful as thought. It is an alien invasion, wanting only to replenish its food supplies with the warm bodies of the local inhabitants. How can he put aside his feud with Ridley, the vampire hunter, his queen's killer? How can he embrace the unexpected friendship of Lorna, a sultry dark witch? Trust, Jack, the alpha of the werewolf pack? Then work together if they are to survive against the monstrous alien race? Vampires Vs Aliens: A Dark Alliance, is a mash up of when the worlds of science fiction, paranormal and supernatural collide. This is what could happen if aliens and vampire battled. Keywords: vampires, aliens, alien invasion, witches, werewolves, action adventure, war. paranormal, science fiction, sci-fi, mashup

The vampire is one of the nineteenth century's most powerful surviving archetypes, owing largely to Bela Lugosi's portrayal of Dracula, the Bram Stoker creation. Yet the figure of the vampire has undergone many transformations in recent years, thanks to Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and other works, and many young people now identify with vampires in complex ways. Blood Read explores these transformations and shows how they reflect and illuminate ongoing changes in postmodern culture. It focuses on the metaphorical roles played by vampires in contemporary fiction and film, revealing what they can tell us about sexuality and power, power and alienation, attitudes toward illness, and the definition of evil in a secular age. Scholars and writers from the United States, Canada, England, and Japan examine how today's vampire has evolved from that of the last century, consider the vampire as a metaphor for consumption within the context of social concerns, and discuss the vampire figure in terms of contemporary literary theory. In addition, three writers of vampire fiction—Suzy McKee Charnas (author of the now-classic Vampire Tapestry), Brian Stableford (writer of the lively and erudite novels Empire of Fear and Young Blood), and Jewelle Gomez (creator of the dazzling Gilda stories)—discuss their own uses of the vampire, focusing on race and gender politics, eroticism, and the nature of evil. The first book to examine a wide range of vampire narratives from the perspective of both writers and scholars, Blood Read offers a variety of styles that will keep readers thoroughly engaged, inviting them to participate in a dialogue between fiction and analysis that shows the vampire to be a cultural necessity of our age. For, contrary to legends in which Dracula has no reflection, we can see reflections of ourselves in the vampire as it stands before us cloaked not in black but in metaphor.

This book begins at the intersection of Dracula and War of the Worlds, both published in 1897 London, and describes the settings of Transylvania, Mars, and London as worlds linked by the body of the vampire. It explores the "vampire from another world" in all its various forms, as a manifestation of not just our anxieties around alien others, but also our alien selves. Unsurprisingly, many of the tropes these novels generated and particularly the themes they have in common have been used and adapted by vampire narratives that followed. From Nosferatu to Alien, Interstellar, Stranger Things, and many others, this book examines how these narratives have evolved since the end of the nineteenth century. Bringing together texts and films from across the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, from the far reaches of outer space and the distant future, it concludes that the unexpected and the unknown are not always to be feared, and that humanity does have the power to write its own future.

This book provides students and other interested readers with a comprehensive survey of science fiction history and numerous essays addressing major science fiction topics, authors, works, and subgenres written by a distinguished scholar. This encyclopedia deals with written science fiction in all of its forms, not only novels and short stories but also mediums often ignored in other reference books, such as plays, poems, comic books, and graphic novels. Some science fiction films, television programs, and video games are also mentioned, particularly when they are relevant to written texts. Its focus is on science fiction in the English language, though due attention is given to international authors whose works have been frequently translated into English. Since science fiction became a recognized genre and greatly expanded in the 20th century, works published in the 20th and 21st centuries are most frequently discussed, though important earlier works are not neglected. The texts are designed to be helpful to numerous readers, ranging from students first encountering science fiction to experienced scholars in the field.

They came from a dying world to steal the Earth's water, a scarce resource they need to survive but didn't anticipate resistance from the vampires. The aliens' plan would doom the human race... And with no humans or other life left on Earth, the planet's furtive vampire population would be deprived of its sole food source. Now the vampires must wage a secret war against the invaders while hiding their own existence from the humans. In Book 2: Rebellion! Sebastian arrives. He's a mysterious Elder sent by the Conclave of Elders, who disapprove of Gaunt's decision to handle the alien threat without consulting the Conclave. But Sebastian has his own secrets. Hailey Rumson also arrives in town to start classes at the local college in the fall -- and to investigate her cousin's mysterious death. And a rebellion among the aliens threatens to leave Kevian and Kira marked for death.

They came from a dying world to steal the Earth's water, a scarce resource they need to survive but didn't anticipate resistance from the vampires. The aliens' plan would doom the human race... And with no humans or other life left on Earth, the planet's furtive vampire population would be deprived of its sole food source. Now the vampires must wage a secret war against the invaders while hiding their own existence from the humans. In Book 1: Arrival, teenager Courtney Cartwright meets handsome young Nicholas and attractive Kevian, unaware the former is a vampire and the latter is an alien warrior prince from the planet Hyperion. Nicholas resides in a boarded-up mansion on the outskirts of town with his "family" of vampires, while Kevian and his sister Princess Kira are the first of many Hyperions to depart their command ship orbiting the dark side of the moon to assimilate on Earth.

They came from a dying world to steal the Earth's water, a scarce resource they need to survive but didn't anticipate resistance from the vampires. The aliens' plan would doom the human race... And with no humans or other life left on Earth, the planet's furtive vampire population would be deprived of its sole food source. Now the vampires must wage a secret war against the invaders while hiding their own existence from the humans. In Book 3, Huddled Masses, reporter Pete Riley discovers the existence of both the aliens and the vampires but that knowledge may cost him his life. The aliens face the prospect of turning from invaders to refugees but will the Earth perceive them as victims or villains? New arrivals among the Hyperions initiate a conflict between church and state in the aliens' society, while newcomers to the mansion include an Ancient vampire older than the Earth itself, and an Elder hiding a deadly secret.

They came from another dimension -- a microscopic interdimensional void --seeking bodies to inhabit so they might exist in our dimension. And what better host for these alien invaders than Earth's apex predators: vampires! Both humanity and vampires are at risk, and neither is aware the alien Void Wraiths already walk among them and are infiltrating their abodes. In Book 8, Fishing with the Amoeba Guy, teenage werewolf Benton Cartwright makes new high school friends and powerful alien and supernatural enemies. The vampires search for Gaunt, whose blood is being used to synthesize a drug that gives users the attributes of vampires.