This book is obviously trying to cash in on the current pop culture interest in vampires caused by the popularity of the Twilight series of books and films by Stephanie Meyer. The series takes the romantic/tragic vampires of author Anne Rice and raises them to a new level of romantic fantasy. Many hardcore horror fans think that the Twilight vampire stories are strictly gothic romance.
How to Be a Vampire is clearly just a commercial venture, pointed out by the fact that it discusses television series bloodsuckers along with all the varieties of the Undead from folklore throughout history. The cover of the book features a smiling vampiress with blood-tipped fangs. Where the book actually becomes dangerous is that it also presents itself as a guide about how to become a vampire and asks, "Are you food or a companion?"
For impressionable, lonely young people this fantasy can become an all-encompassing lifestyle and even become, for some, a religion. (See tomorrow's post.)
"A world of power and beauty awaits. Fearsome and irresistible, the vampire's realm entices. ... to assume the mantle of a deity ... beyond the mundane triviality of their fragile human brethren ..."
The book tells its readers where to look for vampires, the signs of their presence, and how to act once a vampire is found. The chapters include: How to Be Turned; Finding the Perfect Sire; Powers: What You Can do; The Hunt Is On: How to Feed; Alternative Foods; Vampire Trackers: The Mortals; Supernatural Foes; How to Form Your Own Coven; Living the Undead Lifestyle; Vampire Etiquette; and Should You Date a Mortal?
This book is a cynical cashing in on a fad. The author might claim that it is "tongue-in-cheek." The danger is that some young people may take it seriously.
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