He was also dominant the werewolves created by William obeyed Lucien as if he were their true master. He was strong – he didn’t need the full moon in order to change form. He could control his transformations and those he bit also were able to return to human form. Lucien was really the first werewolf, a true Lycan. Viktor thought to kill him, but decided to wait, hoping that his werewolf guard was still a possibility. Eventually, a baby was born to a ‘wolf: Lucien. Viktor then studied the werewolves created by William, hoping to control them somehow, as he wanted guards that would protect his vampire clan during the daytime. But Viktor tricked Markus, locking William away and forcing Markus to pretend he wasn’t the first of their kind. Markus, in order to save his brother, made a deal with a local king, Viktor, who he transformed into a vampire in order to help prevent his brother’s rampages. The werewolf gene was like a curse, unstoppable and uncontrollable. William was uncontrollable everyone he bit rose as a ‘wolf, but with no control, no ability to turn human again. Markus and William were the very first vampire and werewolf while the human child carried the immortal gene in a dormant form. One son was bitten by a bat, one was bitten by wolf and one remained human. He had three sons, Markus, William, and another. Alexander Corvinus, the first immortal, was the only survivor of a plague that killed everyone it touched. In this universe, immortality was an accident, a mere genetic fluke. Rather than summarise each movie, it is perhaps better to look at the mythology of the universe itself, as this is what I love anyway. Humans are noticed about as much as we notice cattle in a field they’re a curiosity, but not important to a vampire’s daily life. There is no sleeping in coffins or stakes through the heart – humans generally die if they’re bitten by a vampire – but sunlight is deadly.

I think I liked the third movie, Rise of the Lycans, the most, as it tells the story of how the feud came about, of why Lucien hates vampires and why Viktor is so hell-bent on destroying Michael, a vampire/werewolf hybrid. My favourite part of the trilogy is the sheer thought that has gone into the world-building of the Underworld universe. I’m not after Oscar-award-winning performances. They talk of poor acting and bad lines, but I like the acting and I thought the lines worked. A lot of folks look at me strangely when I say it is one of my favourite – if not favourite – vampire movie series. Mostly, I just want to be entertained with the general myth being adhered to. I don’t really need them to be unique, to show me something new about the vampire or to even be works of art. I tend to be a bit picky when it comes to vampire movies.

Meg cabot underworld series