Tough Traveling – Vampires

Nathan over at Fantasy Review Barn is the mastermind of Tough Traveling. What’s Tough Traveling? Pretty much, it’s a weekly feature on Thursdays where we dig around to come up with examples of common tropes in fantasy, using Diana Wynne Jones’ The Tough Guide to Fantasyland as our inspiration and guide. Nathan has invited one and all to join in the fun, so feel free to come up with your own lists and add the link on Nathan’s weekly post, which will also contain (unleash) the next weeks theme. So let the fun begin …

This weeks theme? VAMPIRES

VAMPIRES are increasingly rare on the TOUR. They have been attracted over tot he Horror Tour by offers of better pay. Where they appear, you will find up to date Vampires wear expensive sunglasses and wish to drain you of energy rather than blood.

1850s Steamboat Vampires from Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin

Such a sense of setting in this one! Complete with a steamboat full of vampires gracing the Mississippi river. Some of these vampires are striving to blend with society, but others, well, they see mortal humans as cattle to sustain.

1950s Plague Victim Vampires from I am Legend by Richard Matheson

A plague is devastating the population, turning friends, family and neighbors in to bloodthirsty creatures, monsters, zombies, vampires, whatever you would like to call them. They are the plague’s fall out. The undead looking to feast on humans. And they have no plans to stop until every last human is either truly dead or one of them.

1970s Vampires that scare Vampires from The Lesser Dead by Christopher Buehlman

Vampire children so small and disturbing that even the vampires are leery and disconcerted by them. Yeah, do you know how much I love stories with creepy mysterious children? Another win. 

2010s Banished Vampires from The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Vampires are real. But, no one actually wants to live next door to them, do they? Solution? Place them all in their own walled off cities where they can enjoy life (or undeadness) all they want. Call them Coldtowns after their coldblooded residents. It actually sounds like such a cool idea, so cool I could almost envision tour buses taking mundane humans through to see how the vampires live (or, not live, just whatever it vampires do). But, then you find out that Coldtowns are much like the Hotel California. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave. So yeah, no tour buses going through these Coldtowns.

Wereleopard Vampires from The Black Company by Glen Cook

A shapeshifting vampire you say? A bloody thirsty were leopard? Need I say anything else at all?

And I just can’t complete my post on vampires without including this picture of the lovely girls from Christmasland from The Wraith by Joe Hill. I don’t think they are technically vampires, but they are certainly crazed and out for blood!