The Many Faces of Van Helsing (Paperback)

~ (Editor) "THREE STINKING QUID?..." (more)
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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

An all-new anthology of stories featuring THE ORIGINAL VAMPIRE HUNTER.

Bram Stoker's Dracula is one of the most famous novels in history. Both Dracula and Van Helsing have become icons: the vampire and the vampire hunter. Yet while the character of Dracula has been endlessly examined, Van Helsing is arguably one of the most well-known yet least explored characters in literature.

Now, Van Helsing gets his due as the stellar masters of horror and fantasy contribute their own unique take on the original vampire hunter.

The list of original stories featured in this unique anthology include such authors as:

Tanith Lee
Christopher Golden
Kathe Koja
Thomas Tessier
Kim Antieau
Steve Rasnic Tem & Melanie Tem
Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Adam-Troy Castro
Lois Tilton
William D. Carl
and more

About the Author

Jeanne Cavelos is an editor, writer, scientist, and teacher with an MFA in creative writing. A senior editor at Dell, she launched the Abyss imprint of psychological horror, for which she won the World Fantasy Award.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Ace Trade (April 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441011705
• ISBN-13: 978-0441011704
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #593,291 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent concept, and what an anthology ought to be!, April 25, 2004

By A Customer

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the stories in this intriguing book. What a pleasant surprise it should be to many readers to find an anthology like this these days, one that is NOT a shared world series based on a game or TV/Movie media tie-in. As such, this more "traditional" anthology might at first glance confuse some readers who are not used to having stories in an anthology sometimes contradict one another. But this is just the kind of anthology a great many readers should relish, presenting stories as it does with a variety of viewpoints from a variety of writers, each with a different take on the character created by Bram Stoker in DRACULA over one hundred years ago, Professor Abraham Van Helsing. For example, about all Stoker told us of Van Helsing's private life was that his wife was insane and his son dead. One of the stories in the anthology, "The Tomb of Fog and Flowers" by C. Dean Andersson, explores that theme and presents Van Helsing's first encounter with a supernatural force, but refreshingly, there are no Vampires and no Dracula present in Andersson's tale, which may surprise some who are aware of his "first person" Vampire novel, I AM DRACULA. Maybe someone will ask him to now do I AM VAN HELSING! However, other stories in this anthology do deal with events in Dracula, or with different kinds of Vampires. One even presents Van Helsing as a Vampire himself! All in all, I highly recommend this anthology. After all, the editor, Jeanne Cavelos, created and edited the excellent Abyss horror line at Dell Books a few years back, and anyone who read any of the Abyss novels should have a high regard for anything to which the Cavelos name is connected. In other words, I highly recommend this book!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great anthology, April 15, 2004

By A Customer

Standout stories include Thomas Tessier's "Infestation at Ralls" Christopher Golden's disturbing "Venus and Mars", Rita Oaks's "Poison in the Darkness" and the sci-fi themed "Origin of the Species" by A.M. Dellamonica.

Sometimes lyrical, sometimes visceral, this is a damn good anthology. Vampire fans, and all fans of dark, gothic, and horror fiction, will find something to like.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A wide variety of takes on one mysterious man, November 4, 2005

By	Madelyn Pryor "Goblyn Queen" (Mesa, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

When purchasing this book, I was interested to see so many different author's takes on one of the most elusive and interesting characters in vampire fiction. There is a wide range of takes on the character, with a great many centering around one of two women: either his insane wife (the vast majority) or Mina Harker (two or three). This son is also the focal point of quite a few, but by far my favorite story in the entire anthology is the first one, the Screaming by J.A. Knrath. It is a very delicious little tale and highly recommended.

A complete list of the stories follows-

*** The Screaming by J.A. Knrath *** Poison in the Darkness by Rita Oakes *** Infestation in the Walls by Thomas Tessier *** Anna Lee by Kathe Koja *** Venus and Mars by Christopher Golden *** The Power of Waking by Nina Kiriki Hoffman *** The Life Imprisoned by William D. Carl *** The Tomb of Fog and Flowers by C. Dean Anderson *** So Far From Us in All Ways by Chris Roberson *** Sideshow by Thomas F. Monteleone *** Hero Dust by Kristine Kathryn Rusch *** Remember Me by Tanith Lee *** A Letter From the Asylum by Kris Dikeman *** My Dear Madame Mina by Lois Tilton *** Ardelis by Sarah Kelderman *** Abraham's Boys by Joe Hill *** The Black Wallpaper by Kim Antieau *** Brushed in Blackest Silence by Brian Hodge *** Empty Morning by Steve Rasnic Tem and Melanie Tem *** Fantasy Room by Adam-Troy Castro *** Origin of Species by A.M. Dellamonica

Over all, the only thing I didn't like is that all the stories are about Van Helsing the man. No adventures, really, and so many of them focus on his wife and child, leaving other ground uncovered.

Still for fans of Dracula or anthology lovers, highly recommended.