AsiaLIFE

The Twilight Saga - Stephanie Meyer
The Society of S – Susan Hubbard
Night Shift - Lilith Saintcrow
Hunter’s Prayer - Lilith Saintcrow
Dead Until Dark – Charlaine Harris

It’s not so easy to troll about town cradling an eight-month-old ankle biter who rather insists on being carried by his old ‘da’ – all the time if you would be so kind! So when Mr Publisher told me this month was the gay issue, I knew it was going to be challenging – I’m a newbie here and haven’t really explored the byways of Phnom Penh yet. Instead, I live vicariously through this very excellent magazine and browse the Internet with one hand (I’m still holding the son and heir, remember?).

 

So I looked at the current top-selling gay and lesbian titles on Amazon.com. Imagine my surprise on finding a Poppy Z Brite vampire novel released more than fifteen years ago at number one. It reminded me how long in the tooth this particular publishing phenomenon now is – but it also made me think about why readers of all persuasions are fascinated by vampires. It’s about the search for identity linked to themes of forbidden and transgressive sexual desire. Vampires as romantic anti-heroes seem to have come of age in ‘The Twilight Saga’, Stephenie Meyer’s wildly successful quartet, but for all the teen angst and sensual longing, I prefer my vamps to be a little more knowing like Charlaine Harris’ Stookie Stackhouse novels – fast and funny with an irresistible Southern drawl. ‘Dead Until Dark’ is the first in this sassy series and has been adapted for an HBO series (showing here on cable now) by no less than Alan Ball of Six Feet Under fame. This is quality stuff.

Meanwhile, Jill Kismet, of Lilith Saintcrow’s novels ‘Night Shift’ and ‘Hunter’s Prayer’, is a wise-cracking ex-prostitute. She is a tough hunter of werewolves who patrols the Nightside. These mysteries are quite strong on plot while also having some good action set pieces – so well worth a go too. For a less obvious, more reflective take on the genre, give ‘The Society of S’ by Susan Hubbard a try. I really thought this wasn’t for me but, once started, it quickly drew me in and I couldn’t stop reading – it’s an atmospheric coming of age tale with a winning heroine who senses she is apart but doesn’t know quite why. Although you may get to the root of her family’s unhappiness quicker than Ariella, this has a lot of pleasing depth to it even though it trails away by the end.