Agnes Hollyhock
Wellfleet Press
13 August 2024
176 pages
eBook - PDF
Non-Fiction
ARC via Edelweiss
Rediscover the forgotten ancestors of the modern-day vampire—the most powerful of all the forms taken by the undead—in this hauntingly illustrated volume.
The bloodsuckers have plagued the human mind for centuries, recalling incidents of creatures feasting on human blood. Vampires explores the imagination, stories, and culture of these bloodthirsty creatures of the night by reintroducing the very first beliefs of vampires. Learn the history of your favorite monsters, including the characteristics of all its different forms, such Shroud Eaters Appesarts Nightmares the Stafia and more! Featuring intricate illustrations, this ghoulish handbook looks back to the folklore throughout the centuries of the undead. Find the vampires you never knew existed, and reveal the history of the undead.
Vampires: A Handbook of History and Lore of the Undead by Agnes Hollyhock was an okay read. It gives a good overview of the history of vampires both in terms of historical records, folklore beliefs, and vampire depictions in popular culture. The information is nicely organised and presented, accompanied by illustrations throughout; however, if you are a long-term vampire fan, there is probably nothing here that will be new to you. The same stories have appeared in multiple vampire studies in the past, so this book is probably only relevant if you don't already have two or three similar volumes on your shelves, aside from the fact that it does, of course, cover some more recent TV series that may not yet have been out when older books were published. There was one factual error, too, regarding the number of books in Charlaine Harris' vampire series, but I acknowledge that I was reading an ARC and this error will likely be noticed and corrected before the book goes to print. I am giving it 3.5 stars. It's worth a look if you don't already own similar books or if you are a die-hard fan.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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