what is the best vampire novel?

What is the greatest vampire novel ever written? I pondered this question for a while, and this is my conclusion.
No disrespect to Bram Stoker’s classic tale, but I feel the best vampire novel has been written by Anne Rice. No, not Interview With a Vampire, even though Interview is one of the biggest top selling vampire works to date. Also, that book was an eye opener for me as a young man. I changed the day I read Interview. However, I feel strongly that the greatest work of vampire lore is Blood and Gold. Blood and Gold is the amazing tale of Marius, one I had longed to read ever since Pandora was released. I knew the story of the Ancient One was going to be amazing, and it was. Anne Rice’s wonderful, vivid recounting of Italy was breathtaking. As someone recently said to me, “Anne Rice writes the novels but it is we that live them.” She gives us pictures in our minds that she has created. That is how we live them.

I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up a great little short story written back in 1982 called "Master of Rampling Gate". I recently came across this little treasure and was thrilled to read what felt like classic Anne Rice. It brought me back to the first time I had discovered her in a little bookshop in Seattle so many years ago. "Master of Rampling Gate" is not easy to find but if you have a Kindle you can read it that way. The download comes with several entertaining Anne Rice videos and historical facts. I highly recommend reading it.  

The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice

Most of you know what novelist are meaningful to me. Well one of those novelist happens to be Anne Rice. Anne Rice is getting ready to release her new book, one I think will be as exciting and fun to read as any by this amazing and talented writer. The book is called The Wolf Gift. I have a good feeling about this piece of work as it is her return to a style of writing that is unmatched by anyone else in the field.

So everyone of my blog go out and get this wonderful work of what I can only imagine is a fantastic mix of historically charged lore and images of the great American city, San Francisco.

The Wolf Gift will be released in February in book stores everywhere and on Kindle. I myself have and love Kindle books, but I will be getting this novel in hardback. I purchase all my Anne Rice novels in hardback. All are autographed and displayed in my writing room.