Goth Chick News – Vampire Novel of the
Century? I’ll Be the Judge of That
Last week, beloved
editor and big cheese John O’Neill told you about the 2011 Bram Stoker Award winners which included what I
consider a travesty of justice perpetuated on the vampire-genre-loving
community by the Horror Writers Association (HWA).
In January, the HWA, an
international association of writers, publishing professionals, and supporters
of horror literature, in conjunction with the Bram Stoker Family Estate and the
Rosenbach Museum & Library, announced the nominees for the one-time-only, Bram
Stoker Vampire Novel of the Century Award.
The Award was to mark the centenary of the death in 1912 of Abraham
(Bram) Stoker, the author of Dracula.
A jury composed of
writers and scholars selected, from a field of more than 35 preliminary
nominees, the six vampire novels that they believe have had the greatest impact
on the horror genre since publication of Dracula in 1897. Eligible works must have been first published
between 1912 and 2011 and published in or translated into English.
Beyond this, the criteria
for consideration seem a tad vague, but from the descriptions of the six
finalists described by the HWA, here are the other points considered:
·
The Soft Whisper of the Dead by
Charles L Grant (1983)
o
The
novel is part of a 12-book series
o
Grant
was a former president of HWA and received its Lifetime Achievement Award in
1999.
·
Salam’s Lot by Stephen King (1976)
o
King
is prolific
o
The
book has twice been made into a min-series and was recorded by the BBC
o
Won
countless Stoker awards as well as receiving an HWA Lifetime Achievement Award.
·
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (1954)
o
Has
been made into a movie three times
o
Many
of Matheson’s other works have been filmed or made into teleplays.
o
Received
an HWA Lifetime Achievement Award
·
Anno Dracula by Kim Newman (1992)
o
Meticulously
researched to include numerous historical details and many characters of
Victorian and more recent popular literature.
o
The
novel is part of a trilogy
o
Newman
frequently appears as a host and critic for the BBC
·
Interview with the Vampire by Anne
Rice (1976)
o
Has
been made into a comic, a movie, a musical and a ballet
o
Sold
more than 8 million copies
o
Rice
has penned 15 associated vampire novels selling nearly 100 million copies
·
Hotel Transylvania by Chelsea Quinn
Yarbro (1978)
o
Received
an HWA Lifetime Achievement Award
o
Yarbro
publishes three to four books per year under various pseudonyms and in a
variety of genres.
o
GC: No connection to the movie I told
you about last
week .
Now, let’s
remember what we’re talking about here.
This award is to mark the vampire novel of the century which had the greatest
impact on the horror genre since publication of Dracula in 1897.
That my friends, is a
tall order to fill.
And the winner was…
I
Am Legend.
I am appalled.
Let’s dissect this just
for a moment shall we?
Dracula was a cultural game changer. The novel touches on themes such as the role
of women in Victorian culture, sexual conventions, immigration, colonialism,
and post-colonialism. Although Stoker did not invent the vampire, he defined
its modern form thus Dracula spawned
almost countless theatrical, film and television interpretations. As a cultural icon, Dracula has driven tourism, conventions, and monumental consumerism
in the form of everything from t-shirts to lunch boxes to breakfast cereal. It has been discuss, debated and written
about by everyone from university professors to the Vatican.
Dracula has literary equals, but you almost
always have to go outside the horror genre to find them. However, understanding that the goal of the Vampire of the Century Award was not
only to stay within the genre but within shouting distance of Stoker’s actual
character, the list becomes extremely short and likely does not, in my humble
opinion, end with I Am Legend.
Though I could not
readily put my hands on a list of the 35 preliminary nominees, I know a bit
about all six finalists, some more than others.
I’ve read all of them as well as some of their creators’ other titles
and I would even call myself a fan of a few. So if we accept this list really represents
the “best of the best” out of the original 35, then hand’s down I’d need to go
with Interview With the Vampire.
IWtV took a little while to get up a head
of steam, but by the early 1980’s had spawned an entire counter-culture of
velvet and lace. Anne Rice may not have
completely changed your mental image of vampires from cape-wearing to
opulence-loving, but even if you’re not a fan you couldn’t help but notice that
your local Hot Topics store has a lot more in the way of puffy shirts and
riding pants then tuxedos – and for that you can directly thank Ms. Rice.
In addition, IWtV and its subsequent story lines are
directly responsible for the surge of tourism in New Orleans beyond Mardi Gras,
but specifically in October. It was IWtV that first made a connection
between the undead and the city time forgot; an association that has spawned
multiple cottage industries involving “vampire tours”
of the French Quarter and the city credits Rice’s fan base for bringing
millions of dollars to NOLA every year.
In the 1990’s, big
cities (including here in Chicago) were suddenly home to “vampire bars” where the patrons look suspiciously
like extras from the 1994 Tom Cruise / Brad Pitt film. And you can call it a reach if you like, but
the 1991 launch of Vampire: The
Masquerade role playing game hit its pinnacle almost simultaneously with
the popularity of Rice’s characters.
White Wolf could have made a zombie game back then, but chose to ride
the tsunami of popularity generated by Lestat and his fangy friends instead.
IWtV became a comic, a movie, a musical
and a ballet and Rice’s characters have individually found their way into
paintings, song lyrics and have been made into dolls. Coupling this with being the source of the vampire’s resurgence to
pop-culture relevance, makes it a much closer second to its Dracula source material than I Am Legend.
And though I Am Legend can claim it was adapted
for the screen three times, you can hardly count the last go with Will
Smith. In that rendition, Smith’s Robert
Neville is a military scientist charged with finding a cure for a virus that
turns people into crazed, hairless, flesh-eating zombies, so though it shares
the name, it hardly shares the vampire storyline. As far as media translations go, one could
argue IWtV wins there too.
You might claim I have a
personal bias since yes, I’ve met Anne Rice; several times. However, she is in fact the only author on
the list I actually have a negative personal opinion of. Rice decamped from New Orleans returning to
California back in 2004, publically denouncing all the supernatural characters
that had made her famous (and rich). Instead
of lending her celebrity to the city when it needed her most following Katrina,
she stay hunkered down on the west coast cranking out titles like Christ the Lord and Angel Time which never really found an
audience. Reading her latest offering, a
return to the gothic genre which paid the bills for thirty years called The Wolf Gift, is like having lunch
with an old flame; it’s pleasant but the spark is completely gone.
So I can honestly say
I’m not predisposed.
I did notice that
neither Anne Rice nor Kim Newman were recipients of the HWA’s Lifetime
Achievement Award, whereas the authors of the other four finalists were. Could that have contributed the HWA’s choice
of winner? I can imagine them being this
self-indulgent, yes; after all, they made up the award in the first place.
And though I will need
to follow this comment by slamming my head against the desk (repeatedly) one
could even make an argument that Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga, all three books
of which were in the hands of lip-biting, angsty tweeners before 2011, would have
made more logical winners. Like them or
not (and I for one, do not) the series has gained worldwide recognition and
have sold over 100 million copies globally, with translations into 37
languages. Meyers herself was ranked
number 49 on Time Magazine’s list of the “100 Most Influential People” in 2008
and was included in the Forbes “Celebrity 100” list coming in at number 26 in
2009.
Don’t get me started on
the staggering figures associated with the box offices sales or
merchandising. The numbers on grungy
flannel shirts alone should have caused Twilight
to win on the merits of cultural impact.
What it all comes down
to is simply which book you believe had the greatest
impact on the horror genre since publication of Dracula; and it just
doesn’t feel like I Am Legend fits
the criteria snuggly enough to win Vampire
Novel of the Century.
But
what do you think? Do you agree with the
HWA or is there another literary vamp who should be taking the bows? Post a comment and let the debate begin…
Bram Stoker
