Tag Archives: vampires

Heart-Stopping Horror: The Library at Hellebore and Certain Dark Things

23 Jul

The Library at Hellebore
by Cassandra Khaw
I’m always interested to check out a new work by Cassandra Khaw. Even when their work is at their goriest there is always something beautiful about the world they have created. The Library at Hellebore focuses on a school for those with dark supernatural powers. This is Dark Academy at its darkest; Harry Potter if the dementors were running the school. Although some of the students apply and arrive by choice, the main protagonist, Alessa Li, however has no other option after she is forcibly enrolled. When it becomes clear that the school is less about rehabilitation and more about using these would-be anti-Christs as fuel for the even more malevolent staff, they will need to use all their powers to if not save the world at least try to save themselves. I thought it was interesting how the school is often symbolized by carnivorous plants and many of the students are associated with insects and plays with the idea of symbiosis and parasitism. Also the idea of the ways love can become dark, obsessive and predatory are explored in a number of the characters relationships. Want to learn more about Khaw’s work; you can read my previous blog posts about Khaw’s The Salt Grows Heavy and Nothing But Blackened Teeth.

Certain Dark Things
by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Sivlia Moreno-Garcia is best known for her novel, Mexican Gothic, but she has many other works of dark fantasy and horror that are also worth checking out. I enjoyed Certain Dark Things about a down on his luck young man, Domingo, who meets Atl, the beautiful jaded descendant of Aztec vampires. Atl is hiding from both the rival narco-vampire clan and the cops that would like to rid the streets of her kind. As always Moreno-Garcia does a fantastic job of weaving traditional native Mexican myths and legends in with modern stories with complex characters. Her vampires are unique in their physiology and history. In her feeding and behavior, Atl is often compared to not a bat, but a hummingbird. There is also a slow building romance between Domingo and Atl that added a sweet element to the darkness around them. I enjoyed listening to Certain Dark Things as an audiobook read by Aida Reluzco. If you are looking for more, you can read our previous blog posts about Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic and The Daughter of Doctor Moreau.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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Recommended Halloween Read: Empire of the Vampire

26 Oct

The vampire genre has had quite the rise and fall since its inception, undergoing various changes and rises in popularity throughout the decades. The popularity of this genre faded after hype around Twilight died down, but now vampire books are slowly making a resurgence back into the mainstream and one of the books leading the way is Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff.

Set inside the French inspired Elidaen, a world dominated by vampires and eternal night, we begin with a prisoner, Gabriel de Leon, the Last Silver Saint, telling the history of his life from childhood to his times serving as a Silver Saint. The narrative changes through multiple different time periods, Gabriel’s early life, his life years later after the fall of the Silver Order, and in the present day while Gabriel is imprisoned. While all three narratives move at a different pace, they do not distract from each other or the story as a whole and only serve the overarching plot in the long term.

Kristoff’s writing is vivid and flows with a vicious grace that sets the tone of this dark fantasy that many fans of the vampire will find refreshing and more aligned with the more classical monster side of vampire lore while still bringing just a dash of the sexy vampire aesthetic that many also crave. The pace of the novel starts slow, but quickly picks up speed and dives into the bloody action. The characters, as with all of Kristoff’s characters, are a delight to read as they carve their way through the plot and don’t give a care while doing it.

The faint of heart beware, besides the promise of blood and gore, you will be in for a hefty read, as the book is close in thickness to an average Sanderson novel (an impressive 734 pages in length) however it is a journey well worth the travel if you are willing to tread the path forward. So for those seeking vampires of a more gothic, bloodthirsty nature, with a tone of dark fantasy, this is one that comes highly recommended! You can also read my previous blogs about Kristoff’s novel, Nevernight and Illuminae.

Written by:
Lauren Lapinski
Information and Digital Services Library Assistant

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