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Anne Rice slams 'sparkly vampires'

Cape Town - Gothic author Anne Rice, who wrote Interview with the Vampire, has spoken out against Twilight author Stephenie Meyer's vampire characters who sparkle in the sun.

The 70-year-old Rice had previously praised Meyer's Twilight novels, which tells of a human girl named Bella Swan who falls in love with and marries a vampire named Edward Cullen, but was drawn into a debate about how the vampires in Meyer's novels sparkle when exposed to the sun, instead of burning as they do in most vampire fiction.

Responding to a University of North Dakota article which asks 'Should vampires sparkle?', Rice took to her Facebook page to share her thoughts on Meyer's vampires.

'Made for 12-year-olds'

"Lestat and Louie feel sorry for vampires that sparkle in the sun," she wrote, referring to her popular characters from Interview with the Vampire, who were portrayed by Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in the 1994 movie.

"They would never hurt immortals who choose to spend eternity going to high school over and over again in a small town - anymore than they would hurt the physically disabled or the mentally challenged. My vampires possess gravitas. They can afford to be merciful," she added.

Back in 2009 Rice stated that the Twilight series was "made for 12-year-olds" and "does not entirely make sense".

Rice isn't the only author to take a stab at Meyer, writes The Guardian. In 2009, acclaimed horror writer Stephen King drew comparisons between Meyer and Harry Potter author JK Rowling but added, "Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn. She's not very good."

The penultimate movie in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1, opens in SA cinemas on November 16.

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