This was a book I was very much looking forwards to reading.
I have an interest in vampire myths, especially before fiction got its hands on
it. The author has certainly put a lot of effort in researching his topic,
going back as far as Egyptian and biblical times to get to the root of the
vampire myth. My problem is how it was presented. The writer often mistakes
cannibalism as a start of the vampire myth. I also thought some of the views
were contradictory, such as the mention that vampires were not really mentioned
before the Middle Ages, but then taking it back to the Egyptian myth of Osiris
(which according to Wikipedia has nothing to do with vampirism.) I would have
liked the author to have mentioned where he found his sources, as he claims to
establish whether vampires are fact or fiction. You can do two things with a
book like this, be meticulous with your research and really get to the root of
the vampire myth,(quoting sources etc.) or just have fun with all that is being
said and written about vampires. I think this book succeeds at neither. I also
think that the book will benefit from a good edit. The sentences are long and
rambling and there are still a lot of mistakes, but this can be amended and has
not influenced my rating.
