This week I read the first 6 books of Darren Shan's "Cirque du Freak" series. The series revolves around vampire lore, in which the main character (Darren Shan) becomes a half-vampire halfway through the first book.
The author could draw from many customs of vampires when writing, and he did, as well as expanding even more upon them, and even dismissing some. For example, he totally dismissed the rule "Only a stake through the heart can kill a vampire." He made it so any injury can kill a vampire! A rule he placed was "a vampire never kills when he feeds, and is against vampire law, but when the need arises, if a vampire drinks all of a human's blood, they also keep the human's soul." This rule gets used in the ending of the second book, in which the main character fully drains all of his dying friend's remaining blood to preserve his soul.
The author also played on human and vampire conflict, especially in the main character. Being a half-vampire, and very recently so, within the first 6 books, the main character struggles between his humanity and his vampire side. In the second book, he refuses to drink any blood, which is crucial for vampire health. This weakens him until he finally gives in to his dark hunger and preserves the soul of his dying friend.
Shan also played on human and vampire relationships. In the books, vampires age one-tenth at the rate of humans. They also have super-strength, super-speed and superior senses. They even have saliva that can heal wounds faster. On the downside, they can't mate and they are vulnerable to sunlight. Because they age slower, they can't form proper human relationships. Because of their super strength they can accidentally hurt humans. Even as a half-vampire, the main character accidentally breaks a human boy's ankle while playing a seemingly harmless game of hockey. Vampires seem to go to drastic measures to not get attached to humans. The main character had to fake his own death to break away from his family.
The author also creates a culture surrounding the vampires. As well as normal vampires, there are Vampire Generals and Vampire Princes. Vampire Princes command all vampires, and there's only 3 or 4 at a time. They are also above the law. Vampire Generals command normal vampires, but answer to the Princes. Evil vampires are called "vampaneze", and they oppose vampire traditions such as not killing when they feed. They were originally vampires who broke away from the clan. Because they kill everytime they feed, they're purple skinned.
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