"Self knowledge is a rare and sustaining prize, hard won and elusive. The greatest warriors are those who know when to ask for help. Pride can blind a man or demon, denying him the power of living the truth."
“Self knowledge is a rare and sustaining prize, hard won and elusive. The greatest warriors are those who know when to ask for help. Pride can blind a man or demon, denying him the power of living the truth.”
Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.
Honestly, I struggle with vamp books. Don’t get me wrong, I have enjoyed them in the past – everything from Stoker through to Rice, and I am interested how the image of the vamp has evolved in the last 100+ years.
Now that we have moved from monster through a creature with almost human-like sensibilities, is there anything new to add to the mythos? In it’s current Romantic guise, does the image of the vamp even qualify as horror?
As part of my university dissertation, I read “The Liquid Dreams of Vampires” by Riccardo which considers the image of the vamp and which it means. It’s a very interesting book, but it does make you realise the limited format of the vamp (and you can by turn apply that to zombies and other popular monster formats).
Whilst dependent of the scenario, I think the modern vamp stories are not horror, but come more into Dark Fantasy, and in terms of sales, that bubble popped in September 2011.
“Even a creator cannot dictate for his creation, where free will is the unknown element.” Raum Daemon: “Extinguisher” Reconciler: Demon Rising
“Fate rarely calls on us at a moment of our choosing.”
“I am the Truth,” the Allu God declared, “I don’t understand, I create.
You see hidden within the unconscious is an insatiable desire for conflict- so you are not in a fight with me as much as you are the nature of demons. All I want to do is hone some small part of that nature harness it- each will have always have what he perceives as his own will and his actions will inevitably lead to the same outcome though he may not have chanced upon it without guidance. It is the penchant of your kind to create ever inventive means to destroy all that they create under the guise of building new and greater ambition. Here the Allu’s interest lies for we have been waiting.”
“You’re a liar,” Raum said, “a pathetic little monster who wishes they were the Truth.” He smirked. “Just shut up and die, fucker.”
Its talons squeezed tighter, but didn’t actually touch him.
“What’s the matter?” Raum asked, “Afraid you’ll fall apart if you touch me?”
“You’re no threat to me,” it spat.
Raum said nothing, simply looking at it. It was shrinking somewhat, but still loomed over him. The hungry darkness inside of it caused the veil of nothingness within it to ripple.
“I am already becoming the Truth,” it hissed, “there is nothing a worm like you can do to stop me.”
Raum crossed his arms, and sighed. Inside, he was terrified, sure that the monster would call his bluff, would pick him up, and shove him into that Nothingness inside of itself, where he would be devoured by its infinite number of mouths. “I have the utmost regard for your talents it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“You need not involve my father.”
The darkness eyed him. “The laws of celestial mechanics dictate that when two objects collide there is always damage of a collateral nature.
Murknaga of Legion: Allu Demon God
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Audrey Bennett reads and writes
shorts stories, serials and bits of life.
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