Book Review: Weiser Field Guide to Vampires by J. M. Dixon

The Weiser Field Guide to Vampires

by  J. M. Dixon

© 2009  Weiser Books

ISBN:  978-1578634491

Paperback        192 pages

$14.95 (U.S.)

When people in the modern, Western world encounter the word “vampire” certain images spring immediately to mind, most of which center on Eastern and Central European perceptions – think Dracula in  all his many permutations.  But there is a lot more to the topic of vampires than that narrow perception admits.  They range from Papau New Guinea to Grenada; from undead relatives to modern day Strigoi Vii; and from those who subsist on blood to those who “merely” siphon off energy.  Although all of these are touched upon within the covers of this book, most are given only a passing mention.

Before I had really started this book, I began to run into difficulties.  I have never before seen the word “Sidhe”, translated from Gaelic, to mean “vampire.”  It seems as though Mr. Dixon presumes that all “evil creatures” are vampiric by nature, and I am not sure that is valid.  He writes as a member of the vampire community (with the expressed intention “…of being the first person in history to live for ever…”), and as such he accepts as proven fact that which others make take as theory only.

Since I don’t claim to be a vampire, or know any personally (that I am aware of), I can’t comment on Mr. Dixon’s assertions regarding “feeding tendrils” or types of feeding.  On a personal level, it reads like fiction (and low-budget, horror-film fiction at that), but I could be wrong.

The first 40% of the book is devoted to the type of vampire commonly referred to as a “psychic” vampire – one who does NOT drink blood, but merely siphons energy – and avoids the topic of the blood-drinking variety.  It isn’t until the fifth chapter that the topic of the blood-drinking variety of vampires is actually addressed.

From there on Mr. Dixon moves on to topics which are of interest to those who are not members of the vampire community itself exclusively.

Throughout this book, Mr. Dixon concentrates upon those differences which set the modern, living vampire apart from the masses of humanity with which they share the world, as might be expected in a field guide.  Very little space, however, is devoted to helping “normal” people identify vampires.  The descriptions he uses – fair skinned, soft hair, full lips, and white teeth – really don’t help much in terms of differentiating vampires from humans.  Instead, reliance is placed on “feelings” which often amount nothing more than a sense of unease in the presence of certain individuals.  His assertion that vampires don’t have an aura (the possible source of the no-reflection myth?) seems highly unlikely to me.  More likely their auras are tightly contained and thus hard to see, in my opinion.

He sees the vampire as beneficial to mankind in general, as their draining of energy encourages increased energy production and flow in the average individual, thus preventing and relieving blockages which may result in disease and illness.  I’m not sure how I feel about that idea, but if it is true, then it would appear that ethical vampires would almost feel obligated to work in the healing arts.

Mr. Dixon seems to assert (page 104, “…most modern vampires maintain strict workout regimens to keep them healthy and fit.”) that the modern vampire must not be overly thin nor overly heavy.  Coupled with his earlier physical descriptions, we are left to assume that the ideal modern vampire (and the archetype to watch for) would best be symbolized by the “surfer” culture, and that the odds of encountering an ugly (or even a “plain”) looking, anorexic or obese vampire are almost non-existent.  Nice job description, but somewhat limiting and unrealistic, I feel.

To an extent, this book comes across as a self-serving promotional tool (read “recruiting tract”) trying hard to look like an unbiased investigation into a phenomenon which has fascinated mankind almost from it’s very emergence into civilization.  Whatever it is, recruiting tool or investigation, it is well-written and interesting.  I’m not sure it will appeal to everyone, but that is really too much to expect in any case.

The perception that vampires are inherently different from mankind in general seems (to me) to border on the delusional.  Mr. Dixon acknowledges that vampires are physically nearly indistinguishable from humanity, while asserting that a few characteristics are enough to place them in a separate class of beings.

Regardless of my personal feeling about the subject matter and/or author, Weiser has a reputation for producing high quality books, and this continues that tradition.  You will not likely go wrong when you purchase one of their books.