Blood Lite: An Anthology of Humorous Horror Stories Presented by the Horror Writers Association (Paperback)

~ (Author), (Author), (Author), Kevin J. Anderson (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This toothsome anthology of 21 funny-scary stories from members of the Horror Writers Association arrives just in time for Halloween. On the humorous end, Matt Venne's Elvis Presley and the Bloodsucker Blues recreates Presley's voice with pitch perfect swagger and sets the record straight on how he really died, while Charlaine Harris's An Evening with Al Gore depicts a novel way to deal with environmental criminals; both tales are truly outstanding. In a creepier vein, Steven Savile's Dear Prudence finds a conflicted man repeatedly revising a note where he details gory plans for his significant other, and Nancy Holder's I Know Who You Ate Last Summer features stomach-churning rock star cannibals. Big names like Jim Butcher and Sherrilyn Kenyon will have comic horror fans grabbing this anthology off the shelves. (Oct.)
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Product Description

The Horror Writers Association Presents

BLOOD LITE

...a collection of entertaining tales that puts the fun back into dark fiction, with ironic twists and tongue-in-cheek wit to temper the jagged edge.

Charlaine Harris reveals the dark side of going green, when a quartet of die-hard environmentalists hosts a fundraiser with a gory twist in "An Evening with Al Gore"...In an all-new Dresden Files story from Jim Butcher, when it comes to tracking deadly paranormal doings, there's no such thing as a "Day Off" for the Chicago P.D.'s wizard detective, Harry Dresden...Sherrilyn Kenyon turns a cubicle-dwelling MBA with no life into a demon-fighting seraph with one hell of an afterlife in "Where Angels Fear to Tread"...Celebrity necromancer Jaime Vegas is headlining a sold-out séance tour, but behind the scenes, a disgruntled ghost has a bone to pick, in Kelley Armstrong's "The Ungrateful Dead." Plus tales guaranteed to get under your skin -- in a good way -- from

Janet Berliner Don D'Ammassa Nancy Holder Nancy KilpatrickJ. A. Konrath and F. Paul Wilson Joe R. Lansdale Will LudwigsenSharyn McCrumb Mark Onspaugh Mike Resnick Steven SavileD. L. Snell Eric James Stone Jeff Strand Lucien Soulban Matt Venne Christopher Welch

So let the blood flow and laughter reign -- because when it comes to facing our deepest, darkest fears, a little humor goes a long way!

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (October 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416567836
• ISBN-13: 978-1416567837
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #72,189 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Chuckles outweigh the clunkers, October 29, 2008

By	Renee C. Mulhare "matrixrefugee77" (MA United States) - See all my reviews

I mostly got this book for the offering by Jim Butcher, but I felt it a disservice to the other authors if I didn't read the rest. Granted, the other stories are a mixed bag in terms of quality, and some of the humor is of the splatter and potty-joke variety, but it's still worth a reading if you want an easy giggle and a mild case of the shudders:

"The Ungrateful Dead" -- A Necromancer finds a clever way to ward off a pesky spirit and his zombie cousin.

"Mr. Bear" -- The unnerving true story of a celebrity bear gone bad.

"Hell in a Handbasket" -- A surprise delivery to the infernal gates winds up more than the nether regions can handle

"The Eldritch Pastiche from Beyond the Shadow of Horror" -- Part tongue-in-cheek parody of H.P. Lovecraft's works, part shivery meta-fiction.

"Elvis Presley and the Bloodsucker Blues" -- What happens when the King of Rock and Roll becomes a king of the night...

"No Problem" -- A mad scientist's descendant discovers his heritage and starts to experiment with his findings... with disastrous results.

"Old School" -- A ritual gone wrong when the practitioners failed to read the fine print...

"A Sound of Blunder" -- A gleefully splatter-laden parody of Ray Bradbury's "A Sound of Thunder" featuring two inept gangster-wannabes' attempts to make a bad deal go away.

"An Evening with Al Gore" -- A satiric look at going green -- and what happens when the preternatural fights back to protect the natural.

"Dear Prudence" -- A blackly witty tale in letters as a man contemplates offing his shrewish wife...

"A Good Psycho is Hard to Find" -- A spoof on chainsaw murderer flicks -- and a rip on who the real psychos might be..

"High Kicks and Misdemeanors" -- A skeezy talent scout finds a strange use for a gift left to him by his Native American uncle.

"PR Problems" -- A ghoul gives us a look into the sorry lot he has in being overshadowed by other, cooler preternatural beings.

"Where Angels Fear to Tread" -- An office worker is called to a higher order when he picks up a mysterious sacred coin.

"A Very Special Girl" -- A group of Damon Runyon-esque paranormal gangsters juggle a sticky bit of bookmaking with a dame you don't want to mess with.

"Love Seat Solitaire" -- A shivery duel between a group of slackers and an angry old poltergeist.

"I Know Who You Ate Last Summer" -- A pair of washed-up rock stars' foray into the Other white meat comes up to bite them.

"Bitches of the Night" -- Ever wondered what it must really be like for Dracula and his brides? Here's a sneak peek into the other side of the coffin lid...

"The Bell... FROM HELL!" -- A nerve-jangler featuring a man with a shockingly simple demonic artifact... and where the real horrors lurk.

"Dead Hand" -- A car-racing crew member tries to get his team ahead by resorting to Cherokee magic, but only annoys the spirit he calls up.

"Day Off" -- Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden is looking forward to a relaxing day with his lady friend... but life on both sides of the Never-Never has other plans for him.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars stories in a lighter vein, October 25, 2008

By	dunefan "dunefan" (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

What a great idea for an anthology! I picked up this book because I am a big fan of Kevin J. Anderson, -- I was disappointed he doesn't have a story here. These stories range from laugh-out-loud antics (Joe Lansdale, Dond'Amassa, Christopher Welch) to cute twists (Eric James Stone, Jeff Strand, Mark Onspaugh), to just plain enjoyable romps (Lucien Soulban, Jim Butcher). I had never read Jim Butcher before, but I'm sold after reading his "Day Off" in the Harry Dresden series. Since humor is a subjective thing, you probably won't like ALL of the stories here, but you'll certainly find something to tickle your funny bone.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Come to this one with an open mind ..., January 13, 2009

By	Zeek "Book Lover" (Lancaster, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This book is an Antho of short, short, humorous, supposedly horror stories- but more urban fantasy than not, if you ask me. My favorites were, of course, by the authors I know and love: Charlaine Harris, Kenyon, Butcher, & Armstrong- but a couple others struck me as good too.

And, naturally, there were the stinkers that ended up being more gross or just plain silly. (A Vampire Elvis as well as a twisted version of Smokey the Bear make an appearance, and I would be remiss to not include the Assassin Ostriches. Don't ask, just read.)

Kenyon's seemed like an excellent set up for a urban fantasy line. (I hope she runs with it.) It's about an ordinary man who accidentally inherits (and accepts) a job as demon hunter- making him an angelic superhero.

Kelley Armstrong's entry is about a necromancer who agrees to help a ghost even though she does her best to ignore him. She should have done just that, because there's a reason he ended up dead.

Jim Butcher gives us a peek at Harry Dresden's day off- that turns out to be a day much like any other.

And Charlaine Harris tells a tale of a couple of environmentalist who take Al Gore's mission statement to convert the unwilling and run with it- to the death.

None of these, except Butcher's, added to any established series so if you're looking for Dark Hunters or Sookie Stackhouse- they ain't here.

I did enjoy this book, however, (mostly, anyway),and I decided the stories were just the right size to read while in the bathroom.

Hey, don't knock it, a good bathroom read is hard to find ...