Blood Thirst: 100 Years of Vampire Fiction [Hardcover]

Leonard Wolf (Author, Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1997

Since the 1897 publication of Dracula by Bram Stoker, the vampire has been one of the most enduring themes of modern literature. In this book, Wolf -- scholar of fantastic literature -- brings together over two dozen tales that run the gamut of the vampire's place in fiction from some of the greatest writers of the past century -- Woody Allen, Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Anne Rice, Roger Zelazny, & more. Includes classic adventure tales contemporary with Stoker's novel, as well as stories highlighting the psychological vampire, the science fiction vampire, the non-human vampire, the humorous vampire, & the heroic vampire. ''Definitive''.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of Bram Stoker's Dracula. The infamous count is probably the best-known nosferatu, but many tales centering on the undead have been written. Editor Wolf (Dracula: The Connoisseur's Guide, Broadway, 1997), who has written extensively about Dracula, has assembled a collection of short stories and novel excerpts that show the variety of vampire villains and even heroes that populate the genre. Novel excerpts include Stephen King's Salem's Lot and Richard Matheson's I Am Legend. Some of the short stories, such as F. Marion Crawford's "For the Blood Is the Life," have been anthologized in several collections, but others, such as Leslie Roy Carter's "Vanishing Breed," are more difficult to find. Wolf has put together an interesting mix of vampire tales that would serve as an excellent introduction to the literature. Recommended for public library and supernatural collections.?Patricia Altner, Information Seekers, Bowie, Md.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

A roundup of over two dozen vampire tales illustrating the evolution of the genre since Bram Stoker, gathered by Wolf, our tireless annotator of terrorlit (Dracula, p. 372, etc.). What, Wolf asks, makes vampires so attractive today? He notes in his cogent Introduction that vampire tales draw from the gruesome in mainstream horror, the pulsing eroticism of bodice rippers, the supernatural in sword-and-sorcery. But blood is the primary metaphor, Wolf says, drawing on folk knowledge and traditions from Cain and Abel to Christ and transubstantiation, while the modern blood exchange brings on a kind of sexual dream- bliss beyond the facts of intercourse. Illustrating the classic adventure tale is Wolf's exciting excerpt from Stephen King's only vampire novel, Salem's Lot (1975), with good guy Mark versus a whole townful of bloodsuckers. Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman's ``Luella Miller'' draws the ``psychological vampire'' as a thief of energy rather than a blood drinker. The science-fiction vampire in C.L. Moore's ``Shambleau'' indulges in monstrous, slimy couplings, while the immortal woman in the excerpt from Whitley Streiber's erotically powerful ``The Hunger'' blesses her victims with lives that last for 200 years. The nonhuman vampire in Hanns Heinz Ewers's ``The Spider,'' a beautiful woman in a window, hypnotizes her victims into the supreme delight of suicide (she is, literally, a spider). The heroic vampire in Anne Rice's ``The Master of Rampling Gate'' remains invisible except to the heroine. Also on hand: Joyce Carol Oates, John Cheever, and E.F. Benson. And don't miss Woody Allen's ``Count Dracula.'' A bedtime book with a bite to it. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 379 pages
• Publisher: Diane Pub Co (June 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0788194720
• ISBN-13: 978-0788194726
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,535,990 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for horror/vampire fans, April 3, 2000

By 

mellion108 (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Blood Thirst: 100 Years of Vampire Fiction (Hardcover)

This novel brings together works of so many amazing talented writers: Stephen King, Richard Matheson, Anne Rice, Tanith Lee, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Algernon Blackwood, Joyce Carol Oates...just to name a few! Be on the lookout for "Count Dracula" by Woody Allen; whether you love him or hate him, this short story is a hoot!

This one lets you sink your teeth into some quick, sometimes chilling, sometimes humorous, sometimes just plain weird vampire stories. It will also introduce you to some incredible authors, and I bet you'll race to buy more of their works. Wolf breaks down this collection into categories: The Classic Adventure Tale; The Psychological Vampire; The Science Fiction Vampire; The Non-Human Vampire; The Comic Vampire; and The Heroic Vampire. Horror and vampire fans will recognize some of these stories (King's is an excerpt of SALEM'S LOT) from other novels or collections. But this one is a tasty treat (yes, all puns intended) that I found delightful!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best vampire compilation of all time, March 22, 2008

By 

Staci (Atlanta, Ga) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood Thirst: 100 Years of Vampire Fiction (Hardcover)

I have a problem. I love vampire short stories. I'm not gothic or even (overtly) weird, but I am well on my way to having read every scrap of vamp short fiction ever written. So profit from my mis-spent youth, and buy this collection because it is by far the best of the best of what this genre has to offer.

There literally is something here to suit every taste. Other reviewers have been kind enough to list individual stories and how the various pieces are organized, so I will not repeat their work. Suffice it to say, even authors you think you know will surprise you.

I read Salem's Lot (the novel) and was not the least bit scared or even impressed, yet Stephen King's short story based on the same novel gave me chills and had me sleeping with the covers over my head. Tanith Lee delivers my favorite story in the anthology with a poignancy and beauty uncommon to the genre, and Anne Rice writes a superb gothic romance with more quality than even her earlier works.

More than the novel, the short story allows the reader of vampire fiction an undiluted taste of each author's true talent that leaves you more scared, more satiated, infected and thirsty for more.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for the Vampire within, January 25, 2007

By 

Michael Valdivielso (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Blood Thirst: 100 Years of Vampire Fiction (Paperback)

Thirty tales of vampire fiction, from the classical blood sucker to science fiction monster to the comic relief. From such great authors as Anne Rice and Stephen King, to interesting choices such as Woody Allen and Hanns Heinz Ewers, and authors I love such as Tanith Lee and Richard Matheson (who are also great), we get a ton of vampire literature. If there is a style of vampire story you like this is the book to get and the best part is if you discover a new author who pushes your buttons you can go find their works. And if they don't push your button you have 29 other stories to make you happy.
Read! Feast! Enjoy!