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Preturnatural Biology 101

A complete comparison between authors and different types of fantasy creatures. Find your favorite combination and then check out the books! See how Laurell compares to the competition.

Vampires:

	Undead?	Affected by Daylight?	Food Preference?	Flight?	Shapeshifter?	Supernatural abilities?	Vampire Government?	Sex Drive?	Die by Day?
Laurell K. Hamilton	Yes.	Crispy critters.	Strictly human, and alive.	The old ones, or masters.	Used to be no, now we're not so sure...they can definitely call shapeshifters.	Yeah, but different vampire lines are capable of developing different powers. Generically: super strength, super speed, mass mind clouding, heightened hearing and smell, night vision.	Politics and all. Beware of the Council.	What do you think? Not without a meal first, at least. Gotta build up that strength. By the way, careful of Vlad syndrome. Baby vampires!	Yep, but they can wake up before full dark if strong enough. The debate about vampires having souls is still open.
Steven Spruill	No, they're hemophages.	Nope. They are humans with a form of lukemia that develops in late childhood.	Human, but they can take blood through those donation packet thingies.	No. People can't fly, silly.	Uh uh, again the whole human drawback thing. You understand...	Mind-clouding, super strength, super speed.	No, not really. Fairly solitary hunters.	Do humans have sex drives?	Again. HUMAN. They don't sleep, though.
Anne Rice	Yes.	Oh yeah.	Human and alive, or recently dead.	Errr...we don't think so. You can never tell.	No.	Mind-clouding, dreamwalking, telepathy, super stength, super speed, able to hear heartbeats, skin and eyes practically glow.	To an extent, yes. It depends which country you're in.	No, and what a shame it is. All love is strictly emotional.	Yep.
Darren Shan	It depends. There are "half-vampires" too.	Half-vampires aren't, all the rest are.	Oh buddy, it's complicated. There are time limits on how long things can be dead, and there is a strict menu--animal and human.	They don't fly, they flit. It's like a form of hopping really fast and far.	So far, nope.	Mind-clouding, telepathy, telekinesis, super strength, really STRONG nails (be jealous), super speed, heightened smell and sight.	Yeah. Little elaboration.	Darren is still a little kid, you sick freaks.	If full vampire. Being a mudblood has its advantages.
Maggie Shayne	No, they are very much alive. Vampires can only be created from humans that carry the belladonna antigen in their blood, and die early (by 30) unless they are changed.	Hee. Yeah, they explode into an inferno of death.	Of course, fresh human. But they also take stale blood from blood banks, as well as animal.	No, but they can jump high.	The ancient ones can, but we're talking ANCIENT.	Super strength, speed, sight, and hearing. All emotions and feelings are magnified. Each vampire has unique characteristics, like psychic flashes or the ilk.	Sort of, more like the vamps take care of each other and have a code against hurting those of the blood. They're loners, but a little more civilized in the sense that they don't try and kill each other on sight.	Hah hah...yeah.	Since they're alive, they don't die...they just fall into a really, really deep sleep.
L. J. Smith	Yes.	No, as long as they're wearing a talisman.	Human and animal.	Yes, if they're in the right form.	Yes, at full power, and into any form.	Night vision, kinetic and telepathic Powers, super strength, heighened smell and hearing. Affected by vervain.	Nope. Solitary hunters by nature.	Yep, but no raunchy sex scenes.	No, but they do need sleep.
Amelia Atwater-Rhodes	Yes.	Nope. They're special.	Animals and humans.	Again yes, if they're in the right form.	Yes, into any form, but power doesn't really count here.	Night vision, mind-clouding, heightened hearing and smell, super strength and speed, able to beat the crap out of you with their auras.	A loose hierarchy...basically, if you live, you're lucky or one tough son-of-a-bitch.	Yes, but very rarely, and no elaboration.	Nope. They don't like the sunlight much, but they can still go out in it without blowing up.
Vivian Vande Velde	Yes.	Yeah.	Humans, strictly humans.	Uh....	Not that we know of.	Super strength, super speed, mind-clouding, night vision. Able to hear heartbeats. Classic vampire.	Nope, but they do have e-mail!	So far, we're only sure that there can be sexual attraction.	Dead as a doornail, baby.
Annette Curtis Klause	Yes.	Yep.	Humans and animals.	Errr....	No. You can never tell with Christopher, though.	They are nothing without their grave dirt. Otherwise, super strength and speed, heightened vision. Heightened hearing.	They normally try and kill each other. Troubled pasts, and all that.	Again, they were only kids.	As dead as dead gets.
P. N. Elrod	Yeah.	Yes.	You can eat people, but bovine is preferred. Grade A 100% Beef.	He can turn into smoke. Does that count?	Smooooke...	Super strength, super speed, heightened hearing and smell, telepathy.	Not that we've seen, he's sort of a loser.	Yes.	In closets, boxes, trunks, wherever he can fit.
Whitley Strieber	Yes.	Uh huh.	Strictly human.	Nope. At least we're sure now.	Nah.	Super strength, super speed, heightened smell and hearing, soundless movement.	Seeing as she's the LAST vampire, I'd say...no. There was once upon a time, though.	Definitely. Very definitely.	Yeah...I think.

Weres:

	Type	Contracted by?	Food preference?	Immortal?	Social structure?	Special Talents?	Affected by moonlight?
Laurell K. Hamilton	Wolf, leopard, lion, tiger, rat, hyena, jaguar, swan, and snake	Lycanthropy is a disease that is spread by an attack or a bad batch of vaccine. Some forms can be caused by a curse or genetics.	As human, anything. As a were, fresh meat is preferred.	No, but only truly harmed by silver and fire. Extremely fatal circumstances (such as a falling iron slab) might kill them. Age human quickly.	Normally very close knit and violent. Seldomly do other types of lycanthropes interact on an intimate basis. However, loose alliances can be formed.	Partial shifting into animal form, i.e: a hand to a claw. Forced shifting if you're powerful enough.	Mostly. The need to change becomes stronger closer to the full moon. Swanmanes and other hereditary shifters are not tied, nor are the cursed.
Kelley Armstrong	Wolf.	Passed down through the male line or by being bitten by a werewolf and surviving.	They can eat anything (a lot of anything, to be specific) as human, but have a taste for large animals and people.	No, anything that can kill a human can kill a werewolf.	Very close knit pack, but with a low birth rate. There are also mutts, which are lone or rogue weres.	Basic werewolf traits,	Loosely lunar, but not really. A Change must occur on a weekly basis, but a werewolf can learn to control it so they can Change at whim.
L.J Smith	Wolf	Either curse, surviving an attack, or inherited through the male lineage.	Red meat.	No. Definitely not.	Familial or lone wolf, but no pack.	Superhuman strength and hearing. Just think werewolf.	Yes. Change on the full moon.
Alice Borchardt	Wolf	It's genetic, but we're not sure how it's passed along. For now, let's blame men.	They can eat anything. In wolf form, they perfer meat, but it's not necessary.	They can be killed, but they don't age past their prime.	A pack with a king as leader. Basic wolfic instincts.	Normal werewolf talents such as super strength. Werewolves exist on a seperate level from the human consciousness (seperate entities).	Yes.
Alan F. Troop	Dragon	It's genetic.	People. You think we're kidding, but we're not. Well, that and the occasional cow. Yum yum eat-em-up.	No, but they are extremely slow agers.	None, aside from family ties.	Blows fire, can fly long distances, can swim and dive. Shift back and forth at will. Mind control	Nope.
Vivian Vande Velde	Dragon	It was never stated, though we suspect it was a curse. More fey than were.	People and other assorted livestock. In human form, human food was OK. Seems like all dragons eat people.	Immortal, except he must shift before sunset or die. Iron binds the fey.	Loner, though capable of strong love.	Just...dragon stuff. He can shift into other animals, though.	Only in the sense that he must shift before sunset.
Annette Curtis Klause	Wolf	Genetic.	Humans are forbidden, though that's never stopped them. Mostly hunt woodland creatures (sorry, Bambi) and human food.	Nope, they can most certainly die. They age as humans.	Close knit pack.	Just the regular werewolf stuff.	Yes.

Fey: *mostly faeries unless otherwise specified

	Immortality?	Social structure?	Mingle with humans?	Related to legend?	Special powers?	Humanoid?	Tragic flaws?
Laurell K. Hamilton	Most fey are immortal except for halfbreeds, though it varies from species to species.	Two courts, the Seelie and the Unseelie.	The Seelie are too good for mere humans. The Unseelie have no morals.	We'd like to say yes, but all will reveal itself in time.	Each faerie has two hands of power. What those hands happen to be or how they manifest depends on genetics and personality. Glamour type magic.	Some are. Others, such as brownies, night hags, and other of the Sluagh are most certainly not.	Power and beauty are valued above all else, and cruelty is prevalent. Children are rare and treasured above all riches. Hurt by iron.
Mercedes Lackey	Yes, to the extent that they age impossibly slow. They can be killed, though.	Seperated into the Seliegh and Unseliegh courts, though all the faeries had their memories wiped clean for a time.	Yes, they were forced to assimilate when their memories and source of power were taken away.	Yeah, sure.	Mind control and personal glamour, most tend to have one area of mastery such as music or accounting.	Yes, except for pointy ears.	They cannot move far away from their circle of power. Otherwise they become zombie-like. Naive and almost too trusting.
J.R.R. Tolkien	ELVES! They never age, but can be killed.	Feudal in structure, aloof and seperated by elements of origin.	Only to save the world.	Yeah	Farsight, extreme grace and beauty, have a great deal of accuracy and skill when dealing with weapons. Able to work spells and other magics.	Yes.	Unable to accept change, they are stuck in the past. Not affected by iron such as other fey. Dissapear and run from adversity.