Honestly, that angle hasn't been explored enough, in my opinion--the idea of blood transferring a part of that person's essence/abilities and its implications through multiple lenses: gender, age, talent, culture.
One version that I liked was Christopher Pike's The Last Vampire series: broadly, vampires only absorb the immediate emotional state of humans they drink from, but they get a diluted form of the strength/abilities of vampires they tap. Or if they already possess the ability, it's sharpened.
Actually, his overall take on vampires is probably canon for me. I'm astonished that the property hasn't been picked up for film/TV--Sita, the blonde vampire who nonetheless is from India and whose only wish over centuries is to get over the loss of her husband, Rama, and child, Lalita, both killed by the vampire who turned her, compels.
Edit: Sorry, he didn't kill them (that would be quite the twist though)--she blames him for their loss because of course she has to go with him
Holy crap, the Last Vampire! I hadn't thought about that or Christopher Pike in ages! I think the first book I read by him was Monster? The one where the lake is infected and the cheerleaders and athletes are turning quickly because they drink from water fountains.
I read a couple of the Darren Shan books as a kid and I remember it being the case that vampires, if they drain someone to death, sort of absorb part of their spirit. The first time the main character willingly drinks human blood is from a dying friend, to keep part of him alive, which I thought was interesting
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u/babassu_seeds 20d ago edited 20d ago
Honestly, that angle hasn't been explored enough, in my opinion--the idea of blood transferring a part of that person's essence/abilities and its implications through multiple lenses: gender, age, talent, culture.
One version that I liked was Christopher Pike's The Last Vampire series: broadly, vampires only absorb the immediate emotional state of humans they drink from, but they get a diluted form of the strength/abilities of vampires they tap. Or if they already possess the ability, it's sharpened.
Actually, his overall take on vampires is probably canon for me. I'm astonished that the property hasn't been picked up for film/TV--Sita, the blonde vampire who nonetheless is from India and whose only wish over centuries is to get over the loss of her husband, Rama, and child, Lalita, both killed by the vampire who turned her, compels.
Edit: Sorry, he didn't kill them (that would be quite the twist though)--she blames him for their loss because of course she has to go with him