Friday, October 16, 2009
Two "Fanged" guidebooks: Vampires by Joules Taylor & Werewolves by Jon Izzard (Reviewed by Cindy Hannikman)
Halloween is a popular time for people to get hyped up about Vampires, werewolves, and creatures alike. Something about the fall seems to make people want to join in on the craze. With the popularity of movies and books such as the Twilight series, and Vampire diaries the development of "guide" like books seems to have become very popular. Two very thorough guide books are Werewolves by Jon Izzard and Vampires by Joules Taylor.
Each book stands at almost 200 pages of packed information that any fan of either "species" could ever want to know or even information that you might not want to know!
Vampires goes beyond the popular glitzy vampire that has appeared in Twilight. Readers are taken through a journey from the typical vampires that most people will think about, such as Count Dracula and those in Twilight, to the lesser known vampires such as those found in the TV show Angel and Blade movies.
Starting off with the origins of vampires, the myth and legends behind the idea of vampires and where they come from are thoroughly explained. From there, readers take a deeper look into the history of vampires and how they have evolved in both reading and the media.
Beyond the history of vampires there is the general information about almost every type of vampire out there. What these creatures normally eat, the emotional habits of the vampires, and even a section on how to repel vampires if the need should arise.
Being a fan of Buffy and Angel, I found everything presented in this book educational. There are myths from around the world, and pictures of artists interpretation of different vampires. This had anything I've ever wanted to know about vampires inside! There's even pictures of the stamps that vampires have been on.
Each book stands at almost 200 pages of packed information that any fan of either "species" could ever want to know or even information that you might not want to know!
Vampires goes beyond the popular glitzy vampire that has appeared in Twilight. Readers are taken through a journey from the typical vampires that most people will think about, such as Count Dracula and those in Twilight, to the lesser known vampires such as those found in the TV show Angel and Blade movies.
Starting off with the origins of vampires, the myth and legends behind the idea of vampires and where they come from are thoroughly explained. From there, readers take a deeper look into the history of vampires and how they have evolved in both reading and the media.
Beyond the history of vampires there is the general information about almost every type of vampire out there. What these creatures normally eat, the emotional habits of the vampires, and even a section on how to repel vampires if the need should arise.
Being a fan of Buffy and Angel, I found everything presented in this book educational. There are myths from around the world, and pictures of artists interpretation of different vampires. This had anything I've ever wanted to know about vampires inside! There's even pictures of the stamps that vampires have been on.
Werewolves is a very similar format to that of Vampires. Werewolves takes a look at not just the myth of being bitten and changing at the full moon but goes beyond that and looks at shapeshifters and skinwalkers. There are myths from all over the world presented in this guidebook.
As I am not as familiar with the werewolf theory or background, I found most of this information fascinating. Of course I knew about the typical man gets bit and is cursed for life, but hearing some of the world theories of werewolves and some of the other myths behind such creatures was enlightening.
Each book is very detailed, packed with loads of pictures from almost every vampire and werewolf movie that has ever been made. I found some information that I didn't know. The most interesting part of these guides for myself was the background information and evaluation of the werewolves and vampires in the media. As fans of both types will know each creature has blossomed and changed over time.
While most guide books could be viewed as childish, neither of these guides would fall into those categories. The information provided is almost "textbook" style. For example, in Vampire there is a section explaining the finding of a skull that had evidence of an ancient vampire slaying ritual performed on it. It's finding out small facts like this and much more that kept both books exciting and very factual.
As more vampire and werewolf movies come out in the theatres and out on TV these guide books make a great supplemental reading to any person that is a fan of either. You may learn something that you didn't know about these fanged fellows!
(These books were reviewed by a requested advanced copy)
As I am not as familiar with the werewolf theory or background, I found most of this information fascinating. Of course I knew about the typical man gets bit and is cursed for life, but hearing some of the world theories of werewolves and some of the other myths behind such creatures was enlightening.
Each book is very detailed, packed with loads of pictures from almost every vampire and werewolf movie that has ever been made. I found some information that I didn't know. The most interesting part of these guides for myself was the background information and evaluation of the werewolves and vampires in the media. As fans of both types will know each creature has blossomed and changed over time.
While most guide books could be viewed as childish, neither of these guides would fall into those categories. The information provided is almost "textbook" style. For example, in Vampire there is a section explaining the finding of a skull that had evidence of an ancient vampire slaying ritual performed on it. It's finding out small facts like this and much more that kept both books exciting and very factual.
As more vampire and werewolf movies come out in the theatres and out on TV these guide books make a great supplemental reading to any person that is a fan of either. You may learn something that you didn't know about these fanged fellows!
(These books were reviewed by a requested advanced copy)
1:16 AM | 
Posted by
Cindy |
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