This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend. Read the full disclosure here.
We each have our own preferred genres of choice. Kate loves horrors and thrillers, really anything that will keep her up at night! And Serena enjoys escaping through hidden doors into realms of magic and adventure. We also read mysteries, historical fiction, graphic novels, etc. etc. And that’s not even counting the multitude of sub-genres contained within each greater genre. In this series, one of us will present a list of our favorites from within a given sub-genre of one of our greater preferred genres.
The canny reader might do a double-take when seeing this post. “Wait, didn’t these guys already do a ‘Sub-Genres’ post focused on vampires?” Well, tricky tricky, yes and no! Kate featured Vampire Horror as one of her picks a few years ago, but vampires are such a popular supernatural being that they make their way across all sorts of genres, including tons of fantasy, so here we are!
When attempting to differentiate between horror and fantasy vampires, I think its important to consider the overall tone and objective of the story. Is it meant to inspire fear as its primary goal, create and build tension and dread? Or are the vampires more incidental to story more focused on its fantasy or romance elements? What themes is the book exploring and how well do they align with the themes generally found in fantasy vs. horror? Beyond this, how exactly are the vampires themselves presented and what roles are they playing in the story?
While the horrific side of vampires is obvious, the fantasy side often takes on a few different dimensions. Yes, they are “fantasy creatures” like werewolves or ghosts, both of which show up in horror, the latter all the time! But sometimes these creatures stray outside the realm of serving as points of fear, horror, dread, and overt warning to society about various ills or tendencies. Instead, they become the heroes themselves, or, in the case of vampires, more often than not, love interests! It’s pretty easy to see why this latter is the case. The act of drinking another’s blood is clearly intimate, wrapping two beings up in one another about as closely as one can be. And, obviously, it’s one, albeit big and rather horrific, step away from kissing.
But vampires also pop up as the leading characters themselves, often exploring themes regarding isolation, estrangement, and the act of violence for survival. There is also an entire subgenre of paranormal fantasy fiction and urban fantasy that always seems to include societies made up of various supernatural communities all co-existing, and vampires (and often werewolves as their natural enemies) are almost always an included group. They have tons of lore and are an easy group of characters to slot into a story who can serve as both menaces as well as powerful allies.
Recently, we’ve seen a resurgence of vampires popping up in all sorts of fantasy stories. Romantasy, of course, is an easy place to spot this, but vampires have also been showing up more and more in adult and YA fantasies. A few examples include a “Tempest of Tea,” “A Multitude of Dreams,” and “Masters of Death.” Obviously, there are tons of books out there, and I’d argue that “Interview with a Vampire” and the other books in that series which Kate included in her list could also be included here. But I tried to cover a variety of examples in this list of how vampires have been used in fantasy fiction.
Book: “Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer
Let’s just get this one out of the way, as it’s probably one of the first books to come to most people’s minds when they think of vampires in fantasy stories. And it also likely holds the strange position of being both one of the most massively popular vampire stories out there and the reason that we’re only now, around fifteen years later, finally seeing vampires show up again in YA fiction. It was beloved, and then it became such a joke that I think YA publisher were immediately binning any pitches that even hinted at vampires. But it still deserves its spot on this for the massive popularity at the time! Meyer definitely brought her own version of vampires to the world, and if it’s one that is largely laughed out now, there’s no denying the success of this series. We also see in this series both vampires as a romantic interest as well as Bella’s own experiences as a vampire herself. Would I recommend this series nowadays to readers looking for vampire stories? No. But, again, you can’t honestly create a list like this and not include this book, so there ya go!
Book: “Certain Dark Things” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Silvia Moreno-Garcia is one of those authors who perfectly straddles the line between fantasy and horror, with many of her books teetering right on the edge where they could fall easily into either category. But “Certain Dark Things,” while definitely creepy at times, very much also reads like an urban fantasy at its finest. One of the main characters, Atl, is a vampire who is on-the-run from a rival vampire gang, and over the course of the book she befriends a street kid named Domingo. This book has some of the more creative and interesting versions (yes, plural!) of vampires that I can ever remember reading! And Moreno-Garcia does an excellent job of weaving this lore throughout the story while also exploring the history of Mexico and telling a fast-paced, dangerous story of an unlikely friendship. It’s definitely one to check out if you’re looking for a fresh take on vampires.
Book: “A Discovery of Witches” by Deborah Harness
While I personally didn’t love this story (I struggled with a few of the early aspects of the romance), it’s a massively popular series and a nice example of a fantasy story that includes a world peopled by a variety of supernatural beings. The main character is a descendent from a long line of witches (shocker, I know, given the title!) and during her research at Oxford, she strays across an ancient manuscript that opens up an whole can of worms with many different groups all fighting for access, including a mysterious vampire. This trilogy is several years old at this point, but I think it’s probably due for a resurgence of interest given the popularity of “dark academia” currently, a sub-genre that this would definitely fall in as well.
Book: “Bride” by Ali Hazelwood
This is a very recent addition to the subgenre, but I think it’s important to include for one very unique reason: it’s a romance, but the woman is the vampire instead of the male love interest! There are four books on this list that include prominent romances, and in three out of the four, it’s the man who is the vampire. And even there, I think this 75% mark is probably low for the average of male vs. female as vampires in romance. So yes, “Bride” stands out in that it is told from the POV of Misery, a vampire, who finds herself in an arranged marriage with the leader of her people’s mortal enemies, the werewolves. This is another staple of urban fantasies in general, the vampires vs. werewolves mythology. This book follows that typical script fairly closely, but the romance at its heart is clearly the priority of the book, and it was fun reading a story like this from the perspective of a female vampire, rather than the other way around.
Book: “The Historian” by Elizabeth Kostova
I would say that the primary genre for this one would be historical fiction, with either “horror” or “fantasy” coming second, as the vampires are very much in the background of much of the book. Instead, most of the story follows characters as they travel across Europe trying to piece together the mystery of Vlad the Impaler (the real-world ruler who is said to be the inspiration for Dracula). I absolutely love this book. It’s one that I read years and years ago now, but that always comes to mind when people are looking for recommendations. It’s the kind of story that I feel like almost any kind of reader will enjoy in some way!
Book: “The Serpent and the Wings of Night” by Carissa Broadbent
Most of the books on this list exist in our real world (with some obvious magical additions!), but this book serves as a great example of a secondary world vampire story! The society that makes up this world is comprised of two different sects of vampires with the relatively powerless human species caught between them. It’s a romantasy story, however, that follows one such human woman’s attempts to gain some power in a world set against her. And, of course, the vampire she falls in love with along the way! This one really took me by surprise with how much I enjoyed it! It’s a great example of a romantasy book that doesn’t skimp on the world-building and fantasy elements of the story, while still have a great love story at its heart.
What are some of your favorite historical thrillers? Let us know in the comments!
The Library Ladies 