VAMPIRE READATHON SO FAR 01-18-2026

Still poking at how I want this blog page to be structured, so please excuse the mess as I tinker with it.

Anyway, I'm about 9 books into my vampire fiction marathon! If you're keeping track, that's alredy 1 more book than I started with. Things have been escalating out here. I've finished my original batch, though, and I'm here to report as promised!

I have a huge range of genres, quality, and tone going on. Instead of star ratings, books will be rated from 1 to 5 coffins according to how much I enjoyed them. They will also be assessed using the following abstract categories of "Release the Bats" lyrics:

horror sex bat bite: what does the vampire lore of the book look like? What pieces of mythology does the author keep, discard, or invent? How is it used within the world and story? Is it used to address particular elements of society or art?

horror bat: how are the spooky/horror elements of the book presented? Are the vampires creepy monsters, mundane, fantastical? Is something else presented as the "evil" of the story?

sex vampire: how's the vampire sex? Sexuality is often an intrinsic part of vampire stories, whether textual or subtextual. Like most monster stories, vampire legends stem from social anxieties around specific issues; the heritage of modern vampire stories can mostly be traced back to vampire literature from the 19th Century, which is overwhelmingly preoccupied with fears of "the other" and European racism and xenophobia, as well as with sexual taboos and expectations around gender and sexuality. Modern interpretations of vampires have overwhelmingly focused on exploring the sexuality of vampires, either to subvert the misogyny and sexual repression of bygone eras or to bask in the transgressive danger the genre affords. I have read so much vampire smut this month.

sex horror: things I loved

horror bat bite: standout complaints

Kicking things off with the first book I finished on my list:

The Vampire Files: Fire in the Blood by P.N. Elrod

There was a lot to enjoy in this one! I grabbed it at random from Half Price Books a while ago and haven't read the rest of the series, but it was easy to jump into and meet the characters on the fly. At a glance, it looks like the series spans a variety of time periods (an immortal protagonist lends a lot of flexibility!). This installment takes place in 30's Chicago, where Elrod lays out a solid-if-formulaic mystery story with a playful amalgamation of classic vampire and noir detective tropes. Jack Fleming (our vampire detective) is an engaging narrator and classic morally grey detective with a twist, and the balance of mystery and personal drama was great. Reading it wasn't all sunshine and roses; I thought the pacing needed a little help, and there were clunkily-described passages that left me feeling that the story would've played out a lot better as a play than a novel (though I like noir plays more than noir novels a lot of the time, so that's probably a me problem). Still, it was definitely a good time!

horror sex bat bite: Elrod makes pretty good use of some classic vampire lore for Jack. Jack can turn into a weightless mist and float through walls, heal rapidly from injuries, hypnotize victims into almost anything, and posesses superhuman strength and speed. He's worked out a decent system for getting the nutrition he needs by drinking from nearby cattle when he's in need of basic sustenance, and from his very willing girlfriend when he's in need of more than that. All this still has its downsides; he's essentially dead during daylight hours, and as vulnerable to fire, extreme injury, and wooden stakes to the heart as any other average vampire. He also grapples a lot with the moral implications of his hypnotic abilities. The vampire logistics here are nothing new, but I enjoyed what Elrod brought together and thought it suited the urban fantasy setting well. She pokes fun at a few of the more "silly"/folkloric vampire lore (Garlic, mirror invisibility, and the like), but doesn't dig much more into the philosophical or social aspects of vampire legend.

horror bat: Since this novel was much more noir thriller than vampire horror escapade, most of the tension arose from crime, betrayal, human cruelty, and physical violence rather than supernatural creepiness.

sex vampire: Jack has a steady girlfriend, Bobbi, who works at a nightclub. Their sex life is enthusiastic and exciting (both in the usual physical sense and in the blood-drinking sense, as Jack's narration makes sure to tell us). The main romantic/sexual conflict of the book is actually found in the relationship Jack stumbles into with one of the women involved in the mystery plot, Doreen. In a moment of careless lust, Jack hypnotizes and drinks from Doreen, an action he immediately begins to regret as his relationship with her solidifies and he realizes the seriousness of the action, both due to his violation of Doreen and betrayal of Bobbi. I thought this angle on the human-vampire blood drinking/sex consent issue was interesting; the conflation of non-consensual blood drinking with rape is very common (and has roots in older vampire literature and legend), but most modern stories that seek to deconstruct it focus mainly on the human perspective of consenting despite the danger, or healing after something non-consensual occurs. That's not to say that the vampire side of the story is unexplored, but it wasn't the type of introspection I expected from this book.

sex horror: The classic noir tone and integration of vampire lore and aesthetics into the '30s setting were a high point for me! Like I said, most of my engagement with this type of story is via stage plays, but I do like the tropes. I thought Elrod's characters were fun spins on each trope, and might like to see how she tackles other settings with her characters and concept sometime.

horror bat bite: As a whole, I would hesitate to describe the writing in this book as "good". The pacing of the mystery seemed to trip over itself a few times in attempts to hold onto the tension, and the way suspects came and went made it hard to track who was connected to who in a way that felt clumsy. Elrod's descriptive sections sometimes veer towards over-explaining, and the action scenes lack grace. There were also several passages, asides, and plotlines introduced that referenced misogyny, racism, and other bigotry of the time in ways that, while not inappropriate for the setting, could have definitely been handled with more nuance and thought.

More to come soon! Stay tuned!

VAMPIRE READATHON 12-28-2025

So, I have about 14 days before my next batch of classes start. To combat the 'Liminal Spacemas' void and make the most of my few days of having free time, I've decided to read 8 vampire books at once.

All of this would have been avoided if my wife hadn't finished Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil while I already had Lianyu Tan's The Wicked and the Willing from the library. I thought it would be fun to read two dark lesbian vampire novels concurrently. I wanted to read The Gilda Stories as well, but it was still on hold at the library, so instead I took a hard left turn towards evil and finally gave into my two-decade-long morbid curiosity over the Twilight series instead. At this point, I was three vampire books in, so I figured I might as well just do a whole run of them and I selected a stack of various vampire novels I already had lying around the house to throw in the mix. The genres and quality range...pretty drastically. My resulting lineup is as follows, replete with the blurbs for each book; I'll report back once I'm finished:

The Wicked and the Willing by Lianyu Tan:

"Verity Edevane needs blood.

And not just anyone’s blood. She craves the sweet, salty rush from a young woman’s veins, the heady swirl of desire mixed with fealty—such a rarity in this foreign colony. It’s a lot to ask. But doesn’t she deserve the best?

Gean Choo needs money.

Mrs. Edevane makes her an offer Gean Choo can’t refuse. But who is her strange, alluring new mistress? What is she? And what will Gean Choo sacrifice to earn her love?

Po Lam needs absolution.

After decades of faithfully serving Mrs. Edevane, Po Lam can no longer excuse a life of bondage and murder. She needs a fresh start. A clean conscience. More than anything, she needs to save Gean Choo from a love that will destroy them all."

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer:

"About three things I was absolutely positive.

First, Edward was a vampire.

Second, there was a part of him - and I didn't know how dominant that part might be - that thirsted for my blood.

And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

Deeply seductive and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight is a love story with bite."


The Vampire Files: Fire in the Blood by P.N. Elrod

"When vampire detective Jack Fleming is hired by the wealthy Sebastian Pierce to recover a priceless heirloom bracelet, he eyes his reward in Pierce's daughter, an enticing girl with a hot-headed boyfriend."



Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab:

"This is a story about hunger.

1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada.

A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets.

This is a story about love.

1827. London.

A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow—but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined.

This is a story about rage.

2019. Boston.

College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge."


Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Long Way Home by Joss Whedon and Georges Jeanty

" Since the destruction of the Hellmouth, the Slayers - newly legion - have gotten organized and are kicking some serious undead butt. But not everything's fun and firearms, as an old enemy reappears and Dawn experiences some serious growing pains. Meanwhile, one of the "Buffy" decoy slayers is going through major pain of her own."



Living Dead in Dallas (Sookie Stackhouse #2) by Charlaine Harris

"Cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse is having a streak of bad luck. First her co-worker is killed, and no one seems to care. Then she comes face to-face with a beastly creature that gives her a painful and poisonous lashing. Enter the vampires, who graciously suck the poison from her veins (like they didn't enjoy it)."



Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma

"The Cruel Prince meets Ninth House in this dangerously romantic dark academia fantasy, where a lost heiress must infiltrate an arcane society and live with the vampire she suspects killed her family and kidnapped her sister.

It began long before my time, but something has always hunted our family.

Orphaned heiress Kidan Adane grew up far from the arcane society she was born into, where human bloodlines gain power through vampire companionship. When her sister, June, disappears, Kidan is convinced a vampire stole her—the very vampire bound to their family, the cruel yet captivating Susenyos Sagad.

To find June, Kidan must infiltrate the elite Uxlay University—where students study to ensure peaceful coexistence between humans and vampires and inherit their family legacies. Kidan must survive living with Susenyos—even as he does everything he can to drive her away. It doesn’t matter that Susenyos’s wickedness speaks to Kidan’s own violent nature and tempts her to surrender to a life of darkness. She must find her sister and kill Susenyos at all costs.

When a murder mirroring June’s disappearance shakes Uxlay, Kidan sinks further into the ruthless underworld of vampires, risking her very soul. There she discovers a centuries-old threat—and June could be at the center of it. To save her sister, Kidan must bring Uxlay to its knees and either break free from the horrors of her own actions or embrace the dark entanglements of love—and the blood it requires."

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson

"WANTED - Bloodmaid of exceptional taste. Must have a keen proclivity for life's finer pleasures. Girls of weak will need not apply.

A young woman is drawn into the upper echelons of a society where blood is power, in this dark and enthralling gothic novel from the author of The Year of the Witching.

Marion Shaw has been raised in the slums, where want and deprivation is all she knows. Despite longing to leave the city and its miseries, she has no real hope of escape until the day she spots a peculiar listing in the newspaper, seeking a bloodmaid.

Though she knows little about the far north--where wealthy nobles live in luxury and drink the blood of those in their service--Marion applies to the position. In a matter of days, she finds herself the newest bloodmaid at the notorious House of Hunger. There, Marion is swept into a world of dark debauchery--and at the center of it all is her.

Countess Lisavet, who presides over this hedonistic court, is loved and feared in equal measure. She takes a special interest in Marion. Lisavet is magnetic, and Marion is eager to please her new mistress. But when her fellow bloodmaids begin to go missing in the night, Marion is thrust into a vicious game of cat and mouse. She'll need to learn the rules of her new home--and fast--or its halls will soon become her grave."

Excited to see how this goes! I haven't read any of these before. Some I've heard a lot about over the years and have preconceived reservations about, others I'm going into completely blind. Hope this sets a good tone for my 2026, lol!

CLASS PROJECTS AND BEING M.I.A. 12-20-2025

I've been taking classes again, which means I've let this poor half-done site rot entirely for the past few months; in that time I did make two whole other small websites for school, though. one is this adaptation concept project for an imaginary version of Romeo and Juliet and the other is...also about Romeo and Juliet, it's a performance history review focusing on how modern adaptations reinterpret the story. I'm not totally happy with either site (I made them on deadlines, wrote most of the content between 7PM and 5AM, and left a lot of visuals and details unfinished), but for better or worse they're out there. Getting minorly more comfortable with CSS due to the cruel threat of a slightly less-than-good grade hanging over my head during these, lol.

ORLANDO 03-15-2025

Went to a wonderful production of Sarah Ruhl's Orlando yesterday! My wife and I go to a lot of theatre locally anywhere we live (we saw Uncle Vanya and Play it Straight last weekend), because both of us have interests in the performing arts academically and enjoy theatre as a hobby. I love having the opportunity to experince something new and creative, especially when I get to support local college, high school, or community theatre shows in the process!

I've only seen Orlando one other time, with a brilliant experimental drag theatre group back in Mass before we moved. This production was at the black box theatre for one of the local community colleges and had a very different focus, chorus usage, and performance style to it. It was great to see how flexible the play can be with its script and style! I felt they capsured a lot of the comedy the story can have so well. I especially appreciated the flexibility in their costuming, which allowed for seamless transitions between the centuries of the show and great explorations of gender and presentation. The actor in the lead had absolutely delightful timing and portrayed Orlando's different selves really well.

The Show Must Go On, Even With Bats: everything at the show went super smoothly and well, except for the poor bat which I suppose was trapped in the theater and started flying around in the rafters at the top of the second act. I thought it was a bird at first, but then I heard it chittering and realized! The actors did an amazing job and never missed a beat or a line despite some of the audience flinching. I saw the stage manager watching it from the back of the room like " :| "; I hope he got ahold of animal control and safely rescued the bat before the evening show. Kudos to the actors and crew again for keeping the show on track despite the bat chirping accompaniment to the music.

Since we see a good bit of college and community shows, we end up at a lot of black box productions! Personally I adore the flexibility for movement and audience integration into a show that type of space gives. Excited to see more from this school!

WELCOME TO THE BLOG!

Hello! New blog space!

I've been poking at setting up a blog on here for ages, but I kept getting stuck on how I wanted to decorate it and arrange it to the point that I started procrastinating. However, I want to have somewhere to put my thoughts, record theatre I go to, talk about my projects, etc, and decided to just set it up halfway and make it prettier as I go instead of trying to make it perfect from the start. Please bear with me for any really ugly stages this page goes through! It will NOT always look this horrid.

Intro, I guess, since the rest of my site doesn't really have that:

Hi! I'm Lee. I'm a student, vet assistant/pharmacy tech, and I'm obsessed with performing arts and theatre. I also draw (see my poorly upkept gallery page), bake, buy t-shirts for my dogs, occasionally dabble in fanfiction writing, and read a good number of books (when my classes allow me the time). I plan to use this blog to review books and plays, to record my several-year-long Romeo and Juliet performance history review project, and whatever else I might want to use a blog for. I don't know how to write intro posts. Tune in (or don't) for more later!