9 Epic Vampire Books Without Romance
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Move over Twilight; we don’t like our vampires sparkling here. If you’re looking for epic vampire books without romance, I’ve got you.
This list of fantasy books with vampires includes everything from feral, man-eating zombie vampires (zompires?) to sophisticated federations of law-making vampires. The only thing missing is the romance!
Looking for fantasy books with dragons? Head to this book list!
Looking for Fantasy Books with Vampires?
Whenever I look for vampire books for adults online, it’s tough to find anything that doesn’t revolve around romance. After Edward stole the show in Twilight, most vampire books promoted online are less terrifying and more sparkly.
But if you like you’re like me, and you prefer blood-thirsty vampires, epic battles, and terrifying characters, this list is for you.
I’ve included either stand-alone vampire books without romance or the first installment in a series that revolves around vampires as a main plot point.
10 Vampire Books Without Romance
As always, let me know if you have any books you think should be included on this list! Any fantasy book recommendations are always welcome.
The Passage
by Justin Cronin
This vampire book is lengthy and follows the stories of four seemingly unrelated characters that come together in a clever plot. It’s also the first in a trilogy, so buckle up to get swept into this vampire book series.
Amy is a six-year-old girl left at a convent, wondering why her mother has abandoned her. Giles is a convicted murderer on death row, having the same nightmare over and over. Professor Lear is searching for something he shouldn’t be in the jungles of Cambodia. Peter waits in his small town in the California mountains to kill his brother when he returns home.
Honestly, that’s all you should know before you go into this fantasy book with vampires. It’s descriptive and twisty, and you won’t see what’s coming.
13 Bullets
by David Wellington
Next on our list of vampire books without romance is 13 Bullets. In this vampire book, vampires have been extinct since the 80s – hunted to death by humans. But there’s one left.
Hiding and rotting away in an abandoned asylum, this vampire is plotting revenge on the humans who took everything from her.
30 Days of Night
By Steve Niles
Even if you’ve watched the movie, I highly recommend reading this vampire book. You won’t be disappointed!
In a frozen town in Alaska, the sun sets and doesn’t rise again for 30 days each year. Secluded and cut off from the world, hungry vampires come to attack.
Now, the sheriff and deputy (husband and wife) are all that stands between the town they love and the vicious vampires circling.
Uprising
by Scott G. Mariani
After centuries of roaming the earth undetected, the technology age brought challenges for vampires. So, the Vampire Federation was formed to protect their kind and keep their existence secret from humans. Special human agents know about the federation and are authorised to hunt down rogue vampires who break the rules.
The old traditions are lost, but not all vampires bend the knee to the new federation. When Gabriel Stone declares war on the Vampire Federation, special agent Alex Bishop must hunt him down and stop him before his growing uprising destroys the world.
Blood Oath
by Christopher Farnsworth
When Zach gets a call from the White House, he thinks it’s the promotion he’s been long overdue. Instead, he becomes the political liaison officer to the USA’s best-kept secret – Nathaniel Cade.
Cade is the president’s personal vampire and the only hope the free world has of stopping a new, deadly threat creeping in from the Middle East.
I Am Legend
by Richard Matheson
This is easily one of my favourite fantasy books of all time.
After a virus breaks out and turns humans into vicious, uncaring monsters, Robert Neville is the last man alive. He hunts them down by day, stalking the undead through the abandoned cities he once knew. By night, he has no choice but to barricade himself in and pray for dawn.
But he’s not alone. When Neville runs into other survivors, he has a new mission – but how long can he keep them all alive?
The Strain
by Guillermo del Toro
Brought to you by the renowned director of Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy, The Strain is the story of a plane that lands at JFK.
The lights are off, the pilots can’t be reached, and everyone on board is dead. But with no clear signs of struggle, the Centers for Disease Control must figure out what happened fast before panic spreads.
They Thirst
by Robert McCammon
They Thirst is the oldest book on our list of vampire books without romance, and it’s a classic.
When nine-year-old Andre Palatazin waited in his small Hungarian hamlet of Krajeck for his father to return from a dangerous mission, he could never have expected what would come home in his place.
On the run from the non-human thing that used to be his father, Andre grows up to become a homicide detective in the LA Police Department. But his terrifying past soon catches up with him.
When The Dead Rise
By Nicholas P Williams
That’s me! When The Dead Rise is the first in the Uvrenmouth series, and I would love for you to read my vampire book.
Azerrad has dedicated his long undead life to protecting ancient spell books from necromancers who want to use their power to destroy the world. So, when they’re stolen from his homeland aboard a ship destined for Uvrenmouth, he has no choice but to follow them.
The Order is an ancient brotherhood formed to protect humans from the dark creatures that crave their blood and flesh. The humans barely remember the dark days, but the Order still remains, silently watching and keeping the city safe.
Guided by the same life’s mission, Azerrad and the brothers of the Order should make for an unstoppable force. But gaining the trust of a holy brotherhood that despises unnatural creatures above all else? Not an easy task for a vampire.
What Are Your Favourite Vampire Books without Romance?
From the ferocious vampire creatures in 30 Days of Night to the sarcastic, angry vampires of my own book, vampire books are definitely my favourite subgenre of fantasy.
What are the best vampire book series you’ve read? Drop them in the comments below.
