Customer Reviews

Fangs for the Mammaries (Baen Fantasy)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fangs for the Mammaries (2010) is the third Fantasy anthology in the Supernatural Suburbia series, following Strip Mauled. The previous volume covered Werefolk in the suburbs. This collection looks at Vampires outside the cities.

- Introduction by Esther M. Friesner announces the winner of the title contest and provides a little more information.

- Overbite by Jody Lynn Nye tells of a human passing as a vampire.

- "In Music Be the Food of Love" by David Freer relates the trials of a vampire with a wayward daughter.

- Soccer Mom SmackDown by Julia S. Mandala confronts a vampire mother with a girl who bullies her son.

- Tecate for Hecate by Kevin Andrew Murphy takes a magician to Hecate for help, but he is a little short on the bottles of beer.

- Miss White-Hands's Class Goes Shopping by K. D. Wentworth reveals the events of a night class field trip to a shopping mall.

- A Matter of Blood by Sarah A. Hoyt provides Agnes with a greater understanding of her boss.

- Sarah Bailey and the Texas Beauty Queen by Lee Martindale shows the advantages of a good double kick.

- Family Matters by David D. Levine involves Julian with a Romanian vampire, which irritates Liz.

- Sappy Meals by Hildy Silverman explains the problem of groupies leaping into the arms of confused vampires.

- Fruit of the Vein by Lucienne Diver presents an engagement party with a dead body in the coat room.

- Stick or Treat by Daniel M. Hoyt introduces a divorcee to Halloween in a vampire community.

- Food Quart by Selina Rosen regards a vampire security guard who is a little late in his rounds.

- Dazed and Confused by Susan Sizemore puts a vampire father in the power of a human extortionist.

- Trampire by Robin Wayne Bailey places a blues magician in a very exciting situation.

- Vampless by Sarah Zettel frustrates a closely guarded girl looking for a vampire of her own.

- The Goth Girl Next Door by Linda L. Donahue has a retired monster hunter moving into the neighborhood.

- Long in the Tooth by Esther M. Friesner deals with a man who prefers older women, but is snared by a conniving golddigger.

- Bella and the Flying Lugosi by Laura J. Underwood brings a new family of vampires into the mansion next door to a Van Helsing.

- Bait and Switch by Steven Piziks concerns a private investigator who specializes in vampire beaus.

These tales explore the field pioneered by the Addams Family. Most of the puns are contained in the Introduction, but a few more are squeezed in here and there. And the humor shines within each story.

Unfortunately, this is the last volume in the series (notify the publisher if you want more). Still, Chicks Ahoy is coming out soon. Read and enjoy!

Recommended for Friesner fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of preternatural creatures, suburban intrigue, and fangy folks.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Here is the toothsome sequel of sorts to Witch Way to the Mall and Strip Mauled, two of the funniest anthologies in recent years. The first focused on spell-casters in modern settings, specifically suburbia; the second shone the spotlight on werewolves in the midst; now we get the low down on life in the `burbs for the undead.
Each author was allowed/encouraged to reset the parameters of vampiric reality afresh, so do not look or hope for consistency in details. Some are born vamps, some are made vamps, and some have vampness thrust upon them, to paraphrase Twelfth Night. Some authors take the laws of physics seriously; others are more concerned with social dynamics. Narrative styles and themes change, but one thing is constant: it's all about laughing your way to a happy ending. Puns and allusions abound, and several authors continue with characters introduced in the previous anthologies. 20 stories here, well worth your dollars. Here are some highlights:
"Overbite" by Jody Lyn Nye concerns the unlikely friendship between Delilah, a teen vampire with new braces and Jim, the human son of a dentist who caters to the special needs of the nightfolk.
"If Music Be the Food of Love ..." by Dave Freer describes how difficult it can be to be the undead father of a permanent teenager. Let me tell you, it's tough, even if your best friend is a mad scientist named Hellsing with a troubling teen of his own.
Julia S. Mandala's "Soccer Mom Smackdown" is about one of the unwillingly turned - as a vampire, Louise cannot properly engage in the suburban lifestyle, but when her young son is being bullied, well, she has to do something! Unfortunately, the bully's mom models her life after Buffy the Vampire-Slayer. The funniest part of this story is the bit about popular names for suburban kids.
Similarly, K.D. Wentworth parodies mall shop names in "Miss White Hands's Class Goes Shopping" in which well-bred teen vamps elude their private school instructor and variously enthrall or terrorize the denizens of day at a Midnight Madness Sale and start a free-for-all frenzy at Goth Topics.
In "Sarah Bailey and the Texas Beauty Queen" Lee Martindale confirms our suspicions that successful real estate agents really are heartless, soul-sucking predators running on a blend of malice and greed who delight in toying with their victims. Timely, this one.
David D. Levine contributes the very well-written "Family Matters," in which young Julian tries to protect a refugee vampire from his own coven when a bunch of jocks come down with anemia. His difficulties are compounded by first love, cultural mores, and an irate, neglected best friend.
In "Sappy Meals" Hildy Silverman scripts the darkly humorous monologue of Lord Dravyn defending the actions of his progeny before a judge of the Superior Court of Piscataway, New Jersey. Daniel M. Hoyt gratifies us with a Halloween romantic-comedy called "Stick or Treat" in which the friendship between mortal Jenny and vampire Jan crosses the barrier of subdivisions and opens the door to new experiences for a recently divorced suburban mom. Then there's the adult-themed pulp fiction "Trampire," by Robin Wayne Bailey, which opens with "She had legs like the horns of a Texas steer..." and goes merrily and profanely on from there.
Sarah Settel goes right for the jugular of the "vampirism as a metaphor for sex" motif with "Vampless," in which Valley girls just want to date vampires, ordinary boys are out of luck, and a vampstinence counter-movement is underway.
Linda Donahue stakes a claim to the obvious solution to suburban crime with "The Goth Girl Next Door."
Friesner's own offering is "Long in the Tooth," about Billy, who likes older women, and an older woman who know how to hold her own, even when competition presents itself in the form of a well-enhanced gold-digger. After the regional tonalities from LA to Yonkers, Laura J. Underwood writes in a more aristocratic vein, with the true imbiber's elegance and scorn for all that is déclassé in "Bella and the Flying Lugosi."
Finally, Steven Pizics presents "Bait and Switch" featuring Wanda Silver, a sassy, savvy Erin Brockovich-ish heroine with huge medical bills to pay. Usually she gets hired by desperate daddies who want their delusional daughters disillusioned and weaned away from an addiction to vampire love storylines. Wanda listens sympathetically to each star-crossed maiden's raptures, then shows her the true age of her vampire paramour in a magic mirror. Since they typically look like the portrait of Dorian Gray, next day she collects from a well-pleased papa. But now the one vampire she hates most in all the world wants to hire her - to save him from a determined female. I especially love how Pizics' title works on five levels: first with his own students, then four times within the plot. Good stories here, heartily recommended.

This book has quite a few cute vampire stories in it. Some are smiles, some giggles & a couple are laugh out load funny. There are a couple that may be "grisly" to some readers. I did not like the one about the noisy neighbors but other than that one, I enjoyed this Halloween book.

After reading Witch Way to the Mall (I gave it a 5* rating) I was a bit disappointed in this follow up collection. Most of the stories are so so with a perfunctory and somewhat predictable examination of some aspect of how vampire magic fits in with the real world. I realize each of the stories were developed by different authors, but after the nth time it gets dull hearing about the wonders of SPF 2000 sunscreen as a plot device.

A few stories that I'd rate as really really good: "Soccer Mom Smackdown" by Julie Mandala really hit home with this suburban parent, along with a lovely cinematic reference ending. I also enjoyed Dave Freer's "If Music Be The Food of Love" - a pretty good next generation yarn about Dracula and the Van Helsings coming to terms with their children's relationship. "Sarah "Baily and the Texas Beauty Queen" looked at vampires who live off of emotional frustration - quite a reasonable explanation. I'd rate it as OK. I enjoyed editor Friesner's own "Long in the Tooth". It's a fireside comfort tale with had a nice New England feel to it. And Robin Wayne Bailey's "Trampire" was lyrical and lightly erotic - it reminded me of the sort of thing that Spider Robinson might pull off at Callahan's.

On the downside, stories like "Tecate for Hectate", "Vampless" and to a lesser extent "Family Matters" meandered and fell flat as did "Stick or Treat" and Overbite with their take on outsiders fitting in. "Bella and the Flying Lugosis" was too pyrotechnical at the end and it lacked drama because you knew the protagonist had the upper hand. Of the hard boiled detective sagas, "Bait and Switch" had more promise than "Fruit of the Vein" but I found the former pat, and while the latter brought in supernatural entities other than just vampires which made it more interesting but the main characters came across as detached and not that necessary.

Overall a mixed assessment. The clever titles had more promise than was delivered. Not bad for a collection but I've seen better.

Edit - Jun 19: I've since tossed a few other collections without finishing. The good stories here make the book worthwhile, so I decided that my rating should be closer to 4 than 3.

First there is the title then the many short stories. Reading vampire stories who seem to be the model citizens and humans as evil is refreshing.