Sony Ericsson Satio

I think I'm in love
Sony Ericsson Satio review: Shooter by vocation - GSMArena.com

PLAN TO READ: Black Company by Glen Cook

http://www.greylib.net/?category=english-engfan&altname=black_company

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PLAN TO READ: A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.

http://www.greylib.net/?category=english-engfan&altname=a_canticle_for_leibowitz

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Trouble in My Paradise

Something bad happened. My home computer died a gory death, taking along all my files to the deepest pits of oblivion. All. Every each one of them. Including over 8000 e-books. To say I was disappointed would be a huge understatement.

Reason – someone greedy and stupid in my apartment building was stealing electricity. They somehow connected the wires making the electricity meter go backwards. Two hours of such activity reduces a month of usage. Very clever, you say? Maybe, for them.

The rest of the building suffered beyond measure. As it turns out, when one person steals in this way, voltage in other apartments goes up several times, burning almost all electric appliances unless they are disconnected from power network, yes, it even doesn’t matter if they are or aren't turned on.

Luckily (well, considering) for me, I’ve only permanently lost my hard drive and TV which I wasn’t watching all that much in the first place. Old lady next doors also lost her TV, but hers went out with a bang – it burst into flames at 3AM, and she had to call firemen. A guy who worked from home for some IT company lost 3 computers.

If we discover who this pilfering scum is, it’s pretty safe to say he might very well find himself hanging from a high branch in the courtyard. Our house was positively fuming with badly suppressed rage when it happened. The landlord also wasn’t amused. There’s an investigation going on. I really hope they find out who did it.

This is really uncool.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - TV Series

Compendium of Vampire Typological Traits and General Characterization in Contemporary Fantasy Novels
Part 5

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ~ TV Series

Yes, I know it is not a novel. I wanted to do this one, anyway. So there.

What is vampirism?

Vampirism is more like metaphysical possession than a disease. It is said that humans who become vampires loose their souls and are possessed by a demon.

Becoming a vampire

Human who gets bitten by a vampire ‘sire’ and is subsequently given blood of said sire falls in death-like-state/deep coma and rises as a vampire the following night, usually in a very grumpy mood and hungry.

Life expectancy

Immoral unless killed. Metaphysical diseases also apply and can be fatal.

Extermination methods

Many and imaginative. Wooden stake through the heart, beheading, magical means, direct sunlight, fire, holy water, crushing, squashing, stabbing, etc. Resulting corpse disintegrates into ashes.

Hollows series by Kim Harrison

Compendium of Vampire Typological Traits and General Characterization in Contemporary Fantasy Novels
Part 4

Kim Harrison ~ Hollows Series

Please note that I have yet to read the 6^th book in the series so this is susceptible to some latter changes.

What is vampirism?

Vampirism is some sort of metaphysical blood disease.

Becoming a vampire

Quite complicated. It seems there are 2 options.

Top-notch vampires are born as regular children with paranormal qualities in vamp clans. Their parents are still alive vampires, too. Living vamps turn into undead after (often arranged) physical death and resume existence in another quality.

The other way is to be ‘adopted’ by vampire clans (usually it includes regular blood donations) and turned directly from human to vampire. These vamps are considered having lower social standing.

Life expectancy

Alive until death for alive vamps. Can fall ill.

Immortal unless killed for real vamps. No physical diseases apply.

Extermination methods

Ordinary methods (natural death or death from illness included) for live vampires although they are a bit harder to kill than average human.

Wooden stake through the heart, decapitation for undead. Silver also works well. Both live and undead vamps can be killed by magical means. No info about what happens to the resulting corpse.

Twilight series by Stephenie Mayer

Compendium of Vampire Typological Traits and General Characterization in Contemporary Fantasy Novels
Part 3

Stephenie Mayer ~ Twilight Series

What is vampirism?

Vampirism is an infection disease.

Becoming a vampire

One bite is enough to turn human into vampire. Occurrence is unusual as vamp victims are in most cases fully drained of blood thus causing imminent death. The experience is described as very painful.

Life expectancy

Immortal unless killed. No physical diseases apply.

Extermination methods

Can be killed only if shredded into tiny bits.

Cassandra Palmer series by Karen Chance

Compendium of Vampire Typological Traits and General Characterization in Contemporary Fantasy Novels
Part 2

Karen Chance ~ Cassie Palmer series

What is vampirism?

Vampirism is considered a metaphysical disease.

Becoming a vampire

Three consecutive bites from a master vampire. Must be performed in controlled environment, otherwise feral vamp can rise, or not rise at all.

In some cases, vampirism can be obtained via curse.

Life expectancy

Immortal unless killed. No physical diseases apply.

Extermination methods

Destroyed heart, chopped off head, burnt body, ashes scattered in running water. Silver and wood don't work any differently from traditional weapons. Can be destroyed by magic. Highly inflammable. The older and more powerful vamp, the harder to kill.

Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton

Without further ado I humbly present:

Compendium of Vampire Typological Traits and General Characterization in Contemporary Fantasy Novels
Part 1

Laurell K. Hamilton ~ Anita Blake series
Please, note that I stopped reading the series after Book 9 - Obsidian Butterfly. All that smut just became too much.

What is vampirism?
Vampirism is considered a viral blood disease.

Becoming a vampire
Three consecutive bites from a master vampire. Properly unsupervised procedure can result in feral vamp.

Life expectancy
Immortal unless killed. Some metaphysical diseases apply.

Extermination methods
Heart cut out or shot to tiny bits, head chopped off, body burnt and, to be on the safe side, scattered across running water, preferably several.
Wooden stakes work as well as silver bullets and blades in contradiction to regular weapons. Can be destroyed by magic.
The older and more powerful vamp, the harder to kill.

New Project

Well, then.

I somehow have started a new project. It is connected with my current reading material – vampire fantasy novels.
You see, vamps differ in interpretation of various authors. Some traits are almost always constant – immortality, night walking and alike –, others vary. Curiously enough, many of these features are seldom mentioned in folk legends and tales about vampires; the now traditional qualities are mostly formed in 19th century literature. I happen to like some of these modern interpretations more than others.
Out of sheer boredom I started to compile a list of most prominent vampire characteristics in different novels.

Here’s a list of questions I’ve formed so far. If you happen to read this and are a fan of the genre yourself, feel free to suggest more questions. I’d like that very much.

What is vampirism?
Becoming a vampire
Life expectancy
Extermination methods
Character in general
Looks in general
Breathing & heartbeat
Feeding habits, int. al.: 1) solid food, 2) alcohol, 3) intoxicating substances
Sleeping habits
Mating
Abilities & Superpowers
Social structure
Interaction with humans
Popular myths: 1) garlic, 2) holy items, 3) prayers, 4) sun, 5) coffins, 6) fangs, 7) animal form, 8) no reflection in mirror, 9) invitation into homes, 10) mist form? (true/false)

So far I’ve answered these questions for Laurell K. Hamilton, Karen Chance and Stephenie Mayer in what I’ve unpretentiously entitled “Compendium of Vampire Typological Traits and General Characterization in Contemporary Fantasy Novels”.

More coming soon.