O Grande Livro dos Vampiros

by Stephen Jones (Editor), Dandara Palankof (Translator), Ingrid Pitt (Introduction, Contributor)

Uma das antologias mais importantes com o tema “vampiros” chega ao Brasil pela editora Pipoca & Nanquim, reunindo 35 fabulosos contos criados por algumas das maiores escritoras de ficção sobrenatural, que ajudaram a consolidar o gênero do horror como uma tradição literária, iniciada no século 19 e que perdura até os dias de hoje.

Das clássicas histórias de Edith Nesbit, Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman e Mary Elizabeth Braddon, às encarnações modernas de renomadas escritoras como Poppy Z. Brite, Nancy Kilpatrick, Tanith Lee, Caitlin R. Kiernan e Pat Cadigan, os ladrões de sangue e devoradores de almas presentes nesta obra vão de lordes sensuais a maníacos sanguinários, de atormentados e incompreendidos aos irremediavelmente malignos. Horror, suspense, sensualidade, mistério e aventura se mesclam em histórias que ora reinterpretam o mito do vampiro, ora abraçam suas origens góticas e vitorianas.

Entre as crias da noite presentes nesta coletânea, prepare-se para encontrar o vampiro com ares byronianos, Saint-German, de Chelsea Quinn; a heroína desmorta Sonja Blue, de Nancy A. Collins, a detetive da noite Vicki Nelson, de Tanya Huff, e os amantes de eras idas, Karl e Charlotte, de Freda Warrington. O Grande Livro dos Vampiros traz também o único conto escrito pela Rainha da Literatura de Vampiros, Anne Rice, e conta com um prefácio e um conto original de autoria da atriz Ingrid Pitt, estrela dos filmes da Hammer Condessa Drácula e Carmilla: A Vampira de Karnstein.

Compilada originalmente pelo lendário editor britânico Stephen Jones, a edição brasileira tem 724 páginas em papel pólen soft, fitilho marca-página e capa dura com uma ilustração exclusiva produzida pelo artista Wagner William (Silvestre) e projeto gráfico da designer Giovana Cianelli.

Genres: Vampires, Horror, Anthologies, Fantasy, Fiction, Short Stories, Ebooks

724 pages, Hardcover

First published October 17, 2001

About the author

Stephen Jones is an eighteen-time winner of the British Fantasy Award.

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice, diverse, eclectic blend of vampire stories. None of them really stood out to me, but all had their own style and were written well. I felt as if the book was a bit too long at times, and found myself reading quicker just to get done with portions of it. But any fans of vampires and/or horror should give this a look.

[Tyler Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

35 stories. 3.14 average but feels like it should be lower...in my updates I mention each story. I count the one dnf as a 2 star because "it wasn't for me" and I tried.

This anthology, while I did really enjoy some of the stories, sadly mostly made me feel "meh".

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vampyr by Jane Yolen ★★★★★
Dorthy or Bishop Briggs must slay this rocking anthem of a poem!!!


The Night Stair by Angela Slatter ★★★★★
Loved it! Dark fantasy gothic movie-of-the-week! It was lush, spooky, and quietly evil. I could picture myself eating pizza on a dark and stormy night in the 80s (there would have rum too by the 90s) watching Aldisa navigate a dangerous fancy household towards her revenge!


Services Rendered by Louise Cooper ★★★★½
Loved it. Best true vampire story so far, great because it was so human, so vulnerable and violent. Penny hires a vampire to save her husband, then burns with jealousy over the two beautiful vampires. I hope Carmine ate her.


My Brother’s Keeper by Pat Cadigan ★★★★½
Page turning horror. Rather like The Shining this begins with the horror of addiction and the destruction of the nuclear family before any monsters slink out of the dark. And what interesting monsters they are, clipped from vampires but tailored to the new worlds’ knowledge. Please pass the dopamine.


Jack by Connie Willis ★★★★☆
Taking place during the London air raids of WW2 the story slowly shows a world in crisis where odd balls bloom, where ordinary people become extraordinary. Where a vampire can become a hero, or at least seem that way. Rather like the decorated RAF pilot can seem like more than an indiscriminate killer.


Turkish Delight by Roberta Lannes ★★★★☆
What began as a heartrending episode of Law & Order: UK ends in a decadent vampiric world featuring Tilda Swinton.


Just His Type by Storm Constantine ★★★★☆
”It was demonic. It was divine.”
A writer and lecturer on vampires with an interest in the occult meets a young women eager to go down the rabbit hole with him. The cosmic primitive trance was straight out of my favorite 80s dark trip, Altered States.

So Runs the World Away by Caitlín R. Kiernan ★★★½☆
Kiernan! How dare you stop there and leave such vagueness! These vampires have lives too long for their memories, like Dr. Who’s Ashildr. Their dreams give them clues to their pasts. But the ghouls they live with have long memories. This dynamic needs to be explored in a longer story! I also liked the novel idea of vampires sleeping the day at the bottom of mucky lakes/rivers.


Good Lady Ducayne by Mary Elizabeth Braddon ★★★½☆
A properly good vampiric story by Jane Austen. Ok, not really, but if Jane had written about vampires this would be that story.


The Master of Rampling Gate by Anne Rice ★★★½☆
A short HEA gothic romance Anne Rice style, with evocative flashbacks and graceful atmospheric writing. God I used to love Anne Rice, from The Vampire Lestat to Pandora, deep into the tome of The Witching Hour, all the way to the time travel experience that was Cry to Heaven. I even brought her naughty Roquelaure books to slumber parties, you have never seen such a quiet bunch of teenage girls as those caught in the pages of the Sleeping Beauty Trilogy.


When Gretchen Was Human by Mary A. Turzillo ★★★½☆
Old ladies are wise ladies and Miss Trilby knew what she was talking about. That said I think Melanie made the right call to take an odd lover and hope for a better life. This quote from Miss Trilby was also good: Disaster becomes you. Or is it the nearness of death bid us breed, like romance in a concentration camp.


The Vengeful Spirit of Lake Nepeakea by Tanya Huff ★★★½☆
This felt inspired by the much loved 1996 episode of the X-Files, Quagmire. The whole thing had a happy PG13 spooky episodic feel to it.


The Raven Bound by Freda Warrington ★★★½☆
That was an excellent story prompt. This world proposes that vampires are addicted to humans for more than their blood. You can imagine them as the original reality show junkies.


Night Laughter by Ellen Kushner ★★★½☆
A shorty about a vampire having a great time with her life. The writing was vivid: “wet and bright as a puddle in neon.”


La Diente by Nancy Kilpatrick ★★★☆☆
That was a cultural vampiric spin-off off the chupacabra legend. While I enjoyed the female-empowerment-under-desperate-circumstances aspect I took off one star for the dog killing.


Bootleg by Christa Faust ★★★☆☆
I want to have a beer with Christa Faust. I want to put on too much make up, too much perfume, too many beaded necklaces, pull on my Levi’s and Dock Martin’s and go have a beer with Christa Faust. This was a story about letting go of your past but it makes me long for a vacation to it.


Prince of Flowers by Elizabeth Hand ★★★☆☆
There were some basic horror tropes here but the arm crawling murderous doll was effectively chilling to anyone who remembers Puppermaster.

One Among Millions by Yvonne Navarro ★★★☆☆
A lush and frightful modern vampire yarn. When your body is made to carry vampire babies, you can run, you can hide, but you’re better off just coming really hard. Being a single mother sucks.


Luella Miller by Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman ★★★☆☆
A polite vampire story that reads more like a pretty Victorian Typhoid Mary.

A Question of Patronage: A Saint-Germain Story by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro ★★★☆☆
A nice little story of clerk who helps an old vampire being swindled. In return the vampire makes the clerks acting dreams come true.

Hisako San by Ingrid Pitt ★★★☆☆
SyFy needs to make this a movie of the week. Sexy zombie-making vampire bubble girl bent on revenge for the nuclear weapons dropped on Japan. It was a campy handful.


Sleeping Cities by Wendy Webb ★★★☆☆
The sleeper must awaken... but not yet. I liked this eastern terracotta take on a gargoyle but the story was fruitless.

Miss Massingberd and the Vampire by Tina Rath ★★☆☆☆
That was a nice précis for gothic vampire story but too abrupt to stand on its own. The biography of the author was impressive, I would try her again.

Sangre by Lisa Tuttle ★★☆☆☆
A confused unfinished story.

Butternut and Blood by Kathryn Ptacek ★★☆☆☆
Simple and unsatisfying story about an injured Confederate soldier watching a lamia and kill, each night one cot closer. There is no dramatic ending.

The Haunted House by E. Nesbit ★★☆☆☆
Turn of the century mad scientist story with an odd racial bent. I did not enjoy it.

Lunch at Charon’s by Melanie Tem ★★☆☆☆
That was just a story of vampire draining her “friends.” There was nothing to it.

A North Light by Gwyneth Jones ★★☆☆☆
Passively feeding vampires Camilla and Sheridan stay at a crappy Irish B&B. Camilla passes on her gift to the abused B&B matron thus regaining her humanity. It was a soft boring story.

Aftermath by Janet Berliner ★½☆☆☆
That was such crap on several levels.

Bewitched by Edith Wharton ★☆☆☆☆
Just another horrible story about killing poor women with little agency.

Homewrecker by Poppy Z. Brite ★☆☆☆☆
You have to wonder about a farm town where the only bar is a drag bar. Maybe the whole thing was meant to be the world seen in reverse? This is my second Poppy Brite story, His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood also had lots of sex but with flair, voodoo, and class. I did not enjoy this sad truck stop story.

The Vampire King of the Goth Chicks by Nancy A. Collins DNF
I enjoyed the title but one paragraph in I decided this was another truck stop - skip.

Venus Rising on Water by Tanith Lee DNF
I read a few pages and found sense wanting.

Year Zero by Gemma Files DNF
I lost interest early on.

Forever, Amen by Elizabeth Massie DNF
Skipped, this sounded like no fun at all.

I finished 31/35 stories for a total of 3 stars. It should be lower considering the four DNFs but it was such a nice idea I’ll leave it.

[Armand · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first horror anthology I've encountered that features such a rich number of Asian influences. Ancient Chinese statuary, Balinese puppets, Japanese Typhoid Marys, Turkish corruptors, and Canaanite child vampires prowl these pages, looking for the most opportune moment to strike. Aside from these, the diverse locations of the other stories are notable, with some taking place in France, Italy, Ireland, Spain, Ecuador, and of course the usual trifecta of England, Canada, and the United States. This lends a cosmopolitan flavor to this collection, made even more impressive by the fact that almost all of the contributors are Anglo-Saxon women.

As is the norm with books like these, a majority of the stories are serviceable and not especially noteworthy. A few did catch my eye though:

The Raven Bound - a frustrated scion enjoins a vampire to kill his father before the latter disinherits him for falling in love with a lowly servant. Of course it ends with the inevitable ménage a quatre.

Prince of Flowers - with botanical fervor, the eponymous Indonesian spirit doll invades the life of a light-fingered museum inventorist.

Services Rendered - an unstable wife pays a vampiress to turn her dying husband.

Venus Rising on Water - an elegant sci-fi homage to Venus, replete with erudite allusions to the Roman goddess of love.

Year Zero - an oft-used socio-historical metaphor infused with fresh blood, presenting an ancien régime aristocrat as a literal vampire pitted against a hopelessly ensnared citizen of the Committee.

Lunch At Charon's - an incredibly vain energy vampire partakes of the life force of her friends to maintain her cherished youth.

7/10; 3 stars.

[Lena · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am finally done with these short stories. Most of them are very boring. Before every story there is a page or two about how great the author is and what other books were written in the past. The stories are to short and sometimes don't even look like they have a meaning. Not well developed. It feels like one big advertisement for other books. Most of the stories are a bit hard to follow due to scattered thoughts and ideas written. The language and scenes are all over. Not an organized and not a clean writing style.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology includes:

The Master of Rampling Gate by Anne Rice
Homewrecker by Poppy Z. Brite
When Gretchen Was Human by Mary A. Turzillo
The Vengeful Spirit of Lake Nepeakea by Tanya Huff
La Diente by Nancy Kilpatrick
Miss Massingbird and the Vampire by Tina Rath
The Raven Bound by Freda Warrington
Vampire, King of the Goth Chicks by Nancy A. Collins
Just His Type by Storm Constantine
Prince of Flowers by Elizabeth Hand
Services Rendered by Louise Cooper
Aftermath by Janet Berliner
One Among Millions by Yvonne Navarro
Luella Miller by Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman
Sangre by Lisa Tuttle
A Question of Patronage by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Hisako San by Ingrid Pitt
Butternut and Blood by Kathryn Ptacek
Sleeping Cities by Wendy Webb
The Haunted House by E. Nesbit
Turkish Delight by Roberta Lannes
Venus Rising on Water by Tanith Lee
Year Zero by Gemma Files
Good Lady Ducayne by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Lunch at Charon's by Melanie Tem
Forever, Amen by Elizabeth Massie
Night Laughter by Ellen Kushner
Bootleg by Christa Faust
Outfangthief by Gala Blau
My Brother's Keeper by Pat Cadigan
So Runs the World Away by Caitlin R. Kiernan
A North Light by Gwyneth Jones
Jack by Connie Willis
Vampyr by Jane Yolen

[Ladiibbug · Rating 2 out of 5]

My favorite was Tanya Huff's story featuring Vicki Nelson and Mike Celluci of her Blood series.

Three or four of the stories were very good, but at 600+ pages, I can't really recommend this as far as reading time required as compared with reading enjoyment. Most were just OK.

A few of the many authors: Anne Rice, Tanith Lee, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Poppy Z. Brite, Tanya Huff ...

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a doorstopper and thus uneven, but you can always get me to pick up a book of vampire stories. (And unlike some reviewers, I'm not surprised or upset that there's...bad stuff like abuse and "vulgar language" in here, I don't know what they expected??)

Favorites:
"Homewrecker," Poppy Z. Brite (he's transitioned since the book was first published, and holy shit can you tell from this brutal, genderfucked story)
"Services Rendered," Louise Cooper
"Luella Miller," Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
"A Question of Patronage," Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
"Butternut and Blood," Kathryn Ptacek
"The Haunted House," E. Nesbit
"Turkish Delight," Roberta Lannes
"Venus Rising on Water," Tanith Lee
"Year Zero," Gemma Files
"Good Lady Ducayne," Mary Elizabeth Braddon
"Lunch at Charon's," Melanie Tem
"Night Laughter," Ellen Kushner
"Bootleg," Christa Faust
"Bewitched," Edith Wharton
"So Runs the World Away," Caitlin R. Kiernan
"The Night Stair," Angela Slatter
"A North Light," Gwyneth Jones
"Jack," Connie Willis

[Glaudiston Neto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adoro ler sobre vampiros!

[Neylane Naually · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nessa coletânea temos 35 contos de autoras com a temática vampiresca e eu ADOREI essa experiência. Foram poucos os contos que não me cativaram e 13 foram totalmente incríveis! O livro tem 715 páginas e a edição do PN está muito linda, como sempre. E o melhor é que tem todo tipo de vampiro aqui, desde o clássico bem inspirado no famoso Drácula até o mais moderno. Livro indicado pra maiores de 18 anos por conter violência e cenas de sexo.

Meus 5 contos favoritos foram:
1. O Vingativo Espírito do Lago Nepeakea de Tanya Huff
2. A Vênus Surgindo das Águas de
3. A Bondosa Lady Ducayne deMary Elizabeth Braddon
4. A Escadaria Noturna de Angela Slatter
5. Manjar Turco de Roberta Lannes
6. Casa Assombrada de E. Nesbit

Foi uma lista bem difícil de fazer, eu realmente gostei muito dessa coletânea, tem vampiros pra todos os gostos.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it won't win any awards for cover design, most of the stories in this doorstopper are pretty strong, with some inevitable misses. The much anthologized (and classic) "Luella Miller" and "Good Lady Ducayne" are here, and Connie Willis's "Jack" is always a pleasure to read. Tanya Huff, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, and Tanith Lee are dependably good.

Best read over a long stretch with a story or two at a time.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

One story is FANTASTIC! It's called "Services Rendered" by Louise Cooper, it starts on page 161. I highly suggest it. Some of the other's were very good too and some really weren't. I'm glad I read it even though I felt like some of the stories were a waste of time.

[Cher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not a particularly impressive collection of stories, with only a few being truly interesting.

[Tiffany Lynn Kramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aside from a few enters like Poppy Z. Brite's Homewrecker I really enjoyed this anthology and its many takes on the vampire. It also gave me a taste of authors I have come to love.

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories were well-written and others, frankly, just took up space.

The Master of Rampling Gate by Anne Rice was a great read!

[Óscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

"O" grande livro de histórias de vampiro escritas por mulheres, como sugere o título original (The Mammoth Book of Vampire Stories by Women), reúne histórias desde as mais explicitamente vampirescas até as apenas tangencialmente relacionadas ao assunto, escritas por 34 mulheres cis e um homem trans, quase exclusivamente de origem anglófona. No quesito seleção, me desapontou e muito, especialmente comparado a outra coletânea que já conhecia (Herdeiros de Drácula, organizado por Richard Dalby) que inclusive compartilha uma das comparativamente poucas histórias dessa coletânea que realmente me agradaram ("A BONDOSA LADY DUCAYNE" de Mary Elizabeth Braddon). Mas é assim que a banda toca, é esperado que uma coletânea de 700 páginas tenha lá seus deméritos - eu só não esperava tantos.

A média das notas é 3.35, portanto, 3/5.

O MESTRE DO PORTAL DE RAMPLING, de Anne Rice: 5

A DESTRUIDORA DE LARES, de Poppy Z. Brite: 0
Só terminei porque eram três páginas, porque olha que continho nojento, transfóbico e homofóbico e sem propósito nem arte, que eu nem sei como entrou nesse livro. Tá, saquei que o autor é um homem trans, mas de que adianta se só o que tem na narrativa dele é transmisoginia? Não é subversivo nem sucinto, só preguiçoso.

QUANDO GRETCHEN ERA HUMANA, de Mary A. Turzillo: 5
Escreve de um modo muito cativante e trás umas questões bem interessantes para a temática.

O VINGATIVO ESPÍRITO DO LAGO NEPEAKEA, de Tanya Huff: 2
Um pouco prolixo e "programa da CW" demais para mim. E o vampirismo da Vicky é basicamente irrelevante para o conto. Ela poderia ser um lobisomem, uma fada, um demônio, um fantasma, uma bruxa ou uma vidente e a história não mudaria em absolutamente nada além de, talvez, um ajuste de 50 palavras no total.

LA DIENTE, de Nancy Kilpatrick: 1
Cállate gringita de mierda.

A SENHORITA MASSINGBERD E O VAMPIRO, de Tina Rath: 3

O CORVO CATIVO, de Freda Warrington: 5

O REI VAMPIRO DAS MINAS GÓTICAS, de Nancy A. Collins: 4

BEM O TIPO DELE, de Storm Constantine: 4,5

PRÍNCIPE DAS FLORES, de Elizabeth Hand: 5

SERVIÇOS PRESTADOS, de Louise Cooper: 4

A CONSEQUÊNCIA, de Janet Berliner: 2,5

UMA ENTRE MILHÕES, de Yvonne Navarro: 2,5

LUELLA MILLER, de Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman: 3,5

SANGRE, de Lisa Tuttle: 3

UMA QUESTÃO DE PATROCÍNIO, de Chelsea Quinn Yarbro: 5

HISAKO-SAN, de Ingrid Pitt: 2,5

COR DE ABÓBORA E SANGUE, de Kathryn Ptacek: 2,5

CIDADES ADORMECIDAS, de Wendy Webb: 0,5
Nunca encontrei uma concentração tão grande de hitlerinas em um livro só.

A CASA ASSOMBRADA, de E. Nesbit: 2,5

MANJAR TURCO, de Roberta Lannes: 4

A VÊNUS SURGINDO DAS ÁGUAS, de Tanith Lee: 3

ANO ZERO, de Gemma Files: 3

A BONDOSA LADY DUCAYNE, de Mary Elizabeth Braddon: 4

ALMOÇO NO CHARON’S, de Melanie Tem: 4

PARA SEMPRE, AMÉM, de Elizabeth Massie: 4

RISADA DA NOITE, de Ellen Kushner: 4

VERSÃO PIRATA, de Christa Faust: 3,5

ENFEITIÇADO, de Edith Wharton: 3

A GUARDIÃ DO MEU IRMÃO, de Pat Cadigan: 4

ASSIM VAI-SE O MUNDO, de Caitlín R. Kiernan: 2,5

A ESCADARIA NOTURNA, de Angela Slatter: 5
Achei o título meio irrelevante pro conto, mas é maravilhoso.

UMA LUZ QUE VEM DO NORTE, de Gwyneth Jones: 3,5

JACK, de Connie Willis: 5
Maravilhoso e provavelmente o melhor do todos nessa coletânea. Toda a tortura anterior valeu a pena para chegar nesse conto.

VAMPYR, de Jane Yolen: 2

[Harvey Hênio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Publicado originalmente em 2001, atualizado em 2017 e, finalmente publicado no Brasil em 2021, chegou às nossas ávidas mãos, finalmente, uma das antologias mais importantes e amplas com o tema “vampiros”: o impecável “O grande livro dos vampiros”.
Publicado com esmero pela editora Pipoca & Nanquim, a obra, que conta com um ótimo prefácio de autoria do organizador, o escritor e editor de sucesso, muitas vezes premiado, o britânico Stephen Jones, nascido em 1953, reúne 35 fabulosos contos acerca do tema, manjado é verdade, mas sempre instigante, vampiros.
Como um especial adorno à obra chama de cara a nossa atenção a caprichada capa dura que conta com uma ilustração composta no mais puro estilo pop art de autoria do pintor, ilustrador, desenhista e escultor Wagner Willian, nascido em 1978.
Um charme adicional da obra reside no fato de que todos os contos são de autoria de autoras, cada uma delas a seu modo, grandes escritoras de ficção sobrenatural que ajudaram a consolidar e popularizar o gênero do horror enquanto tradição literária, do século XIX ao século XXI.
Das clássicas histórias de Edith Nesbit (“A casa assombrada”), Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman (“Luella Miller”) e Mary Elizabeth Braddon (“A bondosa lady Ducayne”, um dos melhores contos do livro que também está presente no sensacional “Vitorianas macabras” da editora DARKSIDE) às modernas encarnações de escritoras de renome como Poppy Z. Brite (“A destruidora de lares”), Nancy Kilpatrick (o ótimo “La Diente” que se baseia na mitologia equatoriana), Tanith Lee (“A Vênus surgindo das águas”), Caitlin R. Kiernan (“Assim vai-se o mundo”), Pat Cadigan (“A guardiã do meu irmão”) além, é claro de Anne Rice a autora do clássico “Entrevista com o vampiro” que, nessa obra comparece com o ótimo “O mestre do portal de Rampling”, o único conto de vampiros escrito por ela.
Confesso que fica difícil destacar especialmente algum conto nessa obra organizada com tanto critério e qualidade mas uma das histórias causou-me, especialmente forte impressão: o dramático e assustador “Serviços prestados” de autoria de Louise Cooper em que a tradicional crueldade dos vampiros é superada pelas paranoias, obsessões e complexos bem humanos.
Prepare-se para encontrar nesse livro vampiros de vários estilos, estirpes, espécies e naturezas: de lordes sensuais, sedutores e tradicionais a maníacos sanguinários, quase serial killers, de atormentados, solitários e incompreendidos aos irremediavelmente malignos e assustadores e algo psicopatas.
“O grande livro dos vampiros”, em seus trinta e cinco contos, mescla, com habilidade e muito critério horror, terror, suspense, sensualidade, mistério, drama e aventura que ora esmiúçam as origens vitorianas e góticas dos vampiros e vampiras, ora reinterpretam e reinventam o mito dos vampiros e vampiras, atualizando-o e diversificando-o.
Ótima, divertida e assustadora pedida.

[Sarah Karasek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't get me wrong, there were some great stories in here. Unfortunately, most of them were in two clusters - one at the beginning and one around two-thirds of the way through. To make matters worse, some of the not-great stories were really bad. Like... I don't want to be mean, but I was caught by my SO laughing madly about how bad the writing was at least once. It's such a long book that those pockets of not-good writing got to me.

It's also such a long book that it's difficult for me to remember the highlights. In general, I appreciated the intro and author bios. This was published long enough ago that some info felt historical.

I remember liking the first story, Anne Rice's "The Master of Rampling Gate" although the master felt a bit too familiar to me, having read her other work.

The second story, published under the name Poppy Z. Brite, is "Homewrecker." I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It's greasy and sweaty and great. Also packs a punch in very few pages.

"The Vengeful Spirit of Lake Nepeaka" by Tanya Huff was some fun eco-horror/folk-horror that I'd gladly read more of.

The final story (although it is followed by a poem) is the longest story in the anthology, and also one of the best. "Jack" by Connie Willis takes vampires to London while it endures airstrikes from the Germans. Willis captures both the historical atmosphere and that Jack-the-Ripper sort of romance feeling found in penny dreadfuls and works inspired by them.

These are not the only stories I enjoyed, obviously there's more, but they are the ones that still stood out to me just after finishing the full book. There's quite a few authors I looked into after reading their stories here, some of which have made it to my TBR list.

[alane gail lambert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable Collection of Shorts

I gave this collection of short stories and a novella or two five stars because they show all of the many types of vampires.

Some dealt with what may be considered the stereotypical vampires from the " old world" to those who belong in the world of the future to those who are clearly live off of essences other than blood.

Interesting, thought provoking.

[Denise Figueroa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this only for the Anne Rice short story. I found an audiobook for it. 43 mins. I read it on Hoopla. Here is the link to a picture of the original magazine it was published to: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedi...

In the story the main character Julie was writing a story that she said that she poured her heart into. I wonder what she was writing about!

[Cynthia Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just loved this book of vampire stories. The stores were great and you could read one story at a time, then start a new one. It worked out just right for my allotted reading time at home and at work. Sometimes women writers just get it more than men and this was one of those occasions. I really enjoyed this book.

[Charis Constantine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needed a bit more balance with the better stories than the less good. It is interesting however to read such diverse stories about the blood loving vampire. The stories that I enjoyed reading were great! The others that were less than enjoyable, I thumbed through.
The puppet vampire was a little creepy... enhances my fear of clowns LOL!

[Gala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ця антологія для мене була не лише збіокрю хороших знайомих та нових атворів на хеловінську тематику. Це хороший аргумент про відсутність якоїсь однорідної "жіночої прози". Кілька десятків авторок навіть на одну й ту ж тему пишуть зовсім різні речі, мають цілком відмінні ідеї та уявлення. Я отримала задоволення і від оповідань і від авторських передмов.

[Elwyn Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a full-blooded delight to read as most of the short stories in this collection are hitherto unknown gems. Tanya Huff's story , The Vengeful Spirit Of Lake Nepeakea is a particular favourite of mine. The eternal spirit of vampire fiction is paid homage to with each individual story's seductive and sensual description of vampirism.

[Ali Molenaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had een deel van de verhalen al eerder gelezen. Beetje wisselend van kwaliteit, maar over het algemeen leuk om te lezen. En ik heb er zo lang over gedaan omdat ik elke avond een verhaal wilde lezen en het ook een hele tijd heb laten liggen.

[Ashley Osborn - Book Of Salem]

DNF

Ugh. I tried so hard. I have been reading this book for months. SINCE JUNE! And after many almost DNF's, today I decided I just have to give it up half way through the book.

There were a few good stories I read, but most were so dry and boring. How do you make vampires boring?!?!

[David Fries · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining!

A couple of weak stories but the rest are solid and there are several gems. Well worth reading. I will look for some of the authors.

[Heather Larcombe · Rating 3 out of 5]

As all collections, some great, some mediocre, some unreadable. But not a waste of time to read overall, so all good.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hit and miss

Some great stories and other weren’t a good mix of different vampire stories. So I found too weird for my liking.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just fun!