The Light at the End
Encyclopedia
The Light at the End is a 1986 vampire novel by John Skipp
& Craig Spector
which became a New York Times bestseller and is often credited as the book that started the splatterpunk
movement.
of New York City. While riding the subway, a young street punk named Rudy Pasko is attacked and turned by an old vampire. Drunk off his new power, Rudy takes to the night-life and goes on a murder spree, but his action lead to the formation of posse composed of several local messengers, artists and working class citizens who devise a plan to hunt him through the New York underground.
, the novel was the inspiration for Spike, the punk vampire on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Coincidentally, in the Season Five episode, "Fool For Love" there is a scene were Spike fights a hunter in the subways of New York.
John Skipp
John Skipp is a splatterpunk horror and fantasy author and anthology editor, as well as a songwriter, screenwriter, film director, and film producer. He collaborated with Craig Spector on the 1989 anthology Book of the Dead, and has also collaborated with Marc Levinthal and Cody Goodfellow...
& Craig Spector
Craig Spector
Craig Spector is a bestselling author and screenwriter whose eleven books have sold millions of copies and are reprinted in nine languages.-Biography:...
which became a New York Times bestseller and is often credited as the book that started the splatterpunk
Splatterpunk
Splatterpunk—a term coined in 1986 by David J. Schow at the Twelfth World Fantasy Convention in Providence, Rhode Island—refers to a movement within horror fiction distinguished by its graphic, often gory, depiction of violence and "hyperintensive horror with no limits." It is regarded as a revolt...
movement.
Story
The book takes place in the 1980s punk subculturePunk subculture
The punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...
of New York City. While riding the subway, a young street punk named Rudy Pasko is attacked and turned by an old vampire. Drunk off his new power, Rudy takes to the night-life and goes on a murder spree, but his action lead to the formation of posse composed of several local messengers, artists and working class citizens who devise a plan to hunt him through the New York underground.
Influences
According to Joss WhedonJoss Whedon
Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...
, the novel was the inspiration for Spike, the punk vampire on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Coincidentally, in the Season Five episode, "Fool For Love" there is a scene were Spike fights a hunter in the subways of New York.