Secret Vampire | Vampyres Only

Review: 8/10

Secret Vampire
Review by Wendy E. Betts, submitted on 25-Oct-1996

NOTES FROM THE WINDOWSILL
ISSN 1078-8697
An electronic journal of book reviews. Copyright 1996 Wendy E. Betts. Reproduction for personal and non-profit use is permitted only if this copyright notice is retained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission. Mail web_AT_armory.com with comments or questions. For info and archives, see http://www.armory.com/~web/notes.html

Excerpt From:

Vol. 4, No. 6k Young Adult Fiction: Series Paperbacks 6/29/96

__ Secret Vampire_ ("Night World") by L.J. Smith. Archway, 1996 (0-671-55133-7) $3.99 pb

It's the first day of summer vacation, and Poppy is looking forward to months of lazy days spent with James, her best friend--and secret love. Until the pain hits, and Poppy learns that this summer will be the last one of her life. Then James tells her his incredible secret: he is a vampire, a member of the inhuman "Night World," and he can save her life by making her one of them. Thinking anything must be better than dying, Poppy accepts--and discovers that the sharing of their blood brings James and her together in a glorious psychic bond. But what will Poppy be like when she's no longer human? And what will become of James, who has now broken both of the cardinal rules of the "Night World": never to tell humans that it exists, and never to fall in love outside of it?

In the first book set in the Night World, Smith skillfully exploits our culture's romantic fascination with the vampire, deftly combining horror, romance and even humor to create a gripping, evocative story. This title is complete in itself, but readers will still be eager for the next installment in the series.

Login or register to post comments
View VO Shop Item

Posted by Dracula's Guest
Fri, 10/25/1996 - 03:00

Also at VO:

Random reviews

Ballad of the Sad Rat

I'm a lowly rat
in a vampire movie
Oh, woe is me
who'll bite me first?

Will it be Tom
So cute and curly,

Or pretty Brad
who looks so hurt?

These hunks from Hell
are all around me,

And how their fangs
do make me squeak.

Sweet little Kirsten?
Won't even pet me

She just says 'Yuk'
Though she's very sweet.

Oh, thank you, Larry
Liz Smith, I love you.

And dearest Oprah
How good thou art.

Vampires from the deep

Are there vampires who dwell beneath the waters of the world, and if so, what myth, legends, and folk tales surround them? Are they normal vampires who just prefer water to the land? Are they blood-drinking mermaids? Are there any such vampires in fictional books or movies? To fully answer such questions, a whole book would be required. But let me give some telling examples.

A hand at atrifice

A lost child sits in the lonely box.
Oppressive, cold, and dark
-- It is home.

Every day the same.
Wake before dawn,
Jump into crystalline air.
-- Shower.

No one can see
Her porcelain dress
-- When the lid is down.

A quick brush,
The right blouse
-- Work.

And yet she dances
-- For herself

Be sure to put on a show
-- For others

-- Until the music stops

Minerva
February 20, 2002

I Am Legend's Junk Science: Hollywood sci-fi vs. reality

In the new blockbuster I Am Legend, virologist Robert Neville (Will Smith) is the sole survivor of a man-made plague that has wiped out all of humankind -- and turned those who didn't die into creepy, vampire-like mutants.

Vampire Folklore

Our traditional image of the vampire, though born from literature, is based on this folkloric vampire, which dates back as early as the eleventh century, and was (until the 1700's) found exclusively in the Slavic countries of Eastern Europe.

» Black Raven Inn «