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This is it – the comprehensive handbook for all things vampire. Compiled by a vampire enthusiast and hunter, A Practical Guide to Vampires is a fully illustrated manual for anyone considering vampire hunting as a career or who simply wants to enhance his or her multicultural competence.
The guide begins with the basics, of course. It is essential to be able to recognize a vampire before going any further, since they so seldom share that information without prompting. Look for pale skin, lack of shadow and reflection, a high level of nocturnal activity and thick hair.
Once you’ve identified a vampire, your first priority may be protecting yourself from it. A Practical Guide to Vampires helpfully provides a list of known vampire allergens, such as holly, salt, and silver. Take note of the author’s oft-repeated warning that vampires are individuals, with varying levels of vulnerability to even the tried-and-true tools of vampire hunters. There is no one-size-fits-all-vampires approach to protecting yourself unless you are equipped with a stake and a compliant victim.
There is a great deal more to the vampire culture than just blood-sucking and transmogrification, of course. In this guide, the anthropology-minded reader will learn little-known facts about vampire family structure, social events (including menus most often served when humans are invited for dinner), how vampires fight and tools of their trade.
For those readers who simply want to get started in the vampire-hunting business, A Practical Guide to Vampires gives a thorough list of protective amulets and items along with tips for their uses. Garlic and silver crosses are well-known weapons, of course, but the successful vampire hunter will also have at his or her fingertips the advanced armaments: inquisitor bracers, a sepulchral vest and the Shard of the Sun.
Lisa Trutkoff Trumbauer is the ghost writer of this magnificent volume, which is a companion to A Practical Guide to Monsters and A Practical Guide to Dragons. She has pulled together vampire lore from a multitude of sources and packaged them neatly in this guide that can serve as research material for writers or enthusiasts as well as providing a wealth of protective measures for those who are plagued by vampire assaults in their neighborhoods.
Cleverly written, dashingly illustrated and all-around fun, A Practical Guide to Vampires is a must-have for every library and a must-give for anyone with a Twilight or True Blood fan on their holiday gift-giving list.
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A Practical Guide to Vampires