Tag: paranormal

Summer Fun: Stylish Vampire Movies

Published on by Madeline IvaLeave a comment

 

imagesIt’s summer and it’s hot! I’ve been reading Travis Leudke’s The Nightlife San Antonio—

(it’s free on Amazon right now, btw.  We’re talking fast paced erotica. The main character is an ex-soldier/possible sociopath who saves petite vampira with all the Mexican Drug Cartels after her. Think of it as lite dark erotica, if that makes sense.)

–which was making me think of True Blood.  That started me thinking about all my favorite vampire movies–and how some are set in the heat (True Blood and Interview With A Vampire take place close to New Orleans) and some are dipped in cool.

Since it’s hot outside, this is a list of stylish vampire films dipped in cool.  They are all as pleasing to look at as they are to experience.

UNDERWORLD 1 & 4 –Kate Beckinsale is sleek and chic in her portrayal of cold, pissed off Celine, who shamefully falls for a lycan in this action adventure film. (Why only two out of four? Because 2 was a less good version of 1 and 3 went back into the past and wasn’t Urban Fantasy. 4 is not as good as 1 but it’s not bad, plus it has Theo James in it.) imgres

THE HUNGER –Catherine Deneuve, Susan Sarandon, and David Bowie star in this 80’s minimalist classic of rich NYC vampires, bittersweet betrayal, and how the more things change, the more they stay the same.images-1

NOSFORATU THE VAMPYRE — A German film, by a famous German director, with famous German actors. (Note the references to the paintings of the Pre-Raphealites!) A romantic, suspenseful film.  This is the film that Coppola tried to imitate with Keanu (what was he thinking???) images-3

SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE  — If you’ve seen Nosforatu, then this movie takes on even more layers–but it’s not necessary. This film is two parts edgy, one part satire, one part daffy, one part scary.  You really don’t know just exactly what’s going to happen next.images-2

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN — Vampires, Swedish style.  images-4

ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE — Cool vampires looking back while avoiding death in a toxic world.  I could look at Tilda Swinton and her hair all day.  Meanwhile, Tom Huddleston sends me.images

 

A Bloody World & A Reluctant Seduction: BLOOD SEDUCTION by Pamela Palmer

Published on by Madeline IvaLeave a comment

Hello Kittens!

I owe you — shoulda posted yesterday.  Let me make it up to you: here is a review of Pamela Palmer’s A BLOOD SEDUCTION.

Pamela Palmer is an author who has interested me ever since she came to the Virginia Festival of the Book last year and spoke words of wisdom.  I noticed she had a die-hard core of fans in the audience who, from their hoots n hollers were there to see her, only her.

A BLOOD SEDUCTION is the first in her new VAMP CITY series.  For those of you who grok her Feral Warrior series, A LOVE UNTAMED is also coming out soon.

In A BLOOD SEDUCTION Our heroine Quinn starts off experiencing ever-increasing weirdness in her life, while hovering over her younger computer-geek bro and his would-be girlfriend Lily.  People are disappearing from D.C. and soon enough, Lily is one of them.  Searching for Lily with brother in tow, Quinn is sucked into Vamp City — an alternative dark  world to D.C. where cruel vampires rule, and humans are slaves.  (I mean, it’s literally dark — there is no sun) There are also werewolves lurking in the swamplands and other fey creatures treading about that are no help to Quinn at all.  Soon she’s fighting to find her brother, to save her brother, and along the way to escape rape, torture, and becoming immortal (and thus stuck) in Vamp City.

Along the way she slams into Arturo. As we see, Quinn adapts to her circumstances.  Part of that adaptation is the building connection between her and Arturo.  No matter how little either of them wants to get involved, it’s just happening between them.

In this new series, Pamela does several things that I really like.  She explores the kind of Urban Fantasy where old, new, and really old mix together.  We’ve got modern day yellow jeeps mixing with civil-war era frocks n decor.  Some gladiator style entertainment is tossed in as well.

Palmer creates a world so harsh that the hero is quite horribly flawed and yet still a nice guy by comparison.  No “oh at first he seemed so awful and dangerous, but really he’s not”.   [I am usually quite peeved by that kind of backsies move in romance novels.]  No, Arturo is a slippery character that Quinn most definitely shouldn’t trust.  But she doesn’t have a choice.

Pamela Palmer knows how to keep her readers turning the pages.  Brace yourself, though, this novel is definitely part of a series.  Nothing is really resolved by the end–probably because everyone is too busy scrambling around to simply stay alive. Palmer is remorseless in her willingness to let her characters almost succeed in finishing their goal or mission and then dragging them right back to the beginning again.  She creates an adaptable heroine, a very flawed yet understanding hero–and by trapping them in Vamp City she shows us that she is one very cruel author.  ;>