Night Bites: Vampire Stories by Women Tales of Blood and Lust [Paperback]

Victoria A. Brownworth (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 18, 1996

From Bram Stoker's Dracula to the legendary Carmilla by LeFanu to Anne Rice's contemporary LeStat series, vampire stories have proved timeless. Following in this rich tradition, this collection of seductive vampire stories is by turns sexy and subversive--and certain to appeal to all fans of this increasingly popular genre.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Brownworth has assembled a collection of stories that have varying degrees of merit. Some have heavy-handed feminist or political themes and are plagued by predictable plots or cardboard characters. Others, however, have unique offerings for those who enjoy offbeat literature. Judith Katz's "Anita, Polish Vampire, Holds Forth at the Jewish Cafe of the Dead" is a funny, quirky little tale with a lesbian twist. In "Sustenance," Susanna J. Sturgis evokes the surreal world of a woman's emotional collapse. The theme of vampire seduction plays a major role in Diane Lisa D. Williamson's "Best of Friends," but in DeKelb-Rittenhouse's "To Die For," seduction hits an all-time erotic high. Judith M. Redding's "Unexpurgated Notes from a Homicide Case File" features an African American female police officer investigating four murders that appear to be the work of a blood-sucking creature. Although all the stories have a vampiric element, the true emphasis is on feminism. Suitable for large collections.?Patricia Altner, Information Seekers, Bowie, Md.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Based largely on the murderous late-medieval figures Elizabeth of Bathory and Vlad the Impaler--both infamous for sucking or drinking their victims' blood--vampires seem to have become twentieth-century icons. Despite the plethora of vampire yarns and studies, Brownworth's is the first collection of vampire stories all by women. Particularly interesting are Toni Brown's "Immunity," set against a background of Afrocentric supernatural folklore, Judith M. Redding's "Unexpurgated Notes from a Homicide Case File," in which detective Teresa Dash considers the unusual case notes about four young black urbanites, Meredith Suzanne Baird's "They Have No Faces," which returns us to the original turf of the vampire in Eastern Europe, as does Judith Katz's chillingly funny and grotesque "Anita, Polish Vampire, Holds Forth at the Jewish Cafe of the Dead," in which the first Jewish vampire entertains a fascinated visiting scholar. Wonderfully broad-ranging, this anthology will find an appreciative audience among both vampire aficionados and just plain adventurous readers. Whitney Scott

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Seal Press (January 18, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1878067710
• ISBN-13: 978-1878067715
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,119,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Victoria A. Brownworth is a Pulitizer Prize-nominated journalist and author of "Day of the Dead," "Too Queer," "Film Fatales" and "Rock Hudson: A Biography" and editor of the award-winning "Coming Out of Cancer," "Night Bites" and "Lost in America." Her essays, stories and columns have appeared in the New York Times, Baltimore Sun, Philadelphia Inquirer, Los Angeles Times, Village Voice, the Advocate and OUT magazine, as well as over 50 anthologies. She's reviewed for Publisher's Weekly, Booklist and a plethora of other newspapers, magazines and journals. She mentors young inner-city writers, has written several award-winning independent short films, including "Mondays" and "but would you take her back?" and teaches writing and film at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Read her political blog at www.victoriabrownworth.com, read her columns at www.curvemag.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Unsatisfying, September 5, 2000

By 

NappyGirl (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night Bites: Vampire Stories by Women Tales of Blood and Lust (Paperback)

This collection of previously unpublished vampire stories will certainly whet one's appetite for fastasy fiction but never really delivers.

Of the 16 short stories present in this collection, only five are really engaging:"Refugio", "Bad Company," "Immunity," "Sustenance," and "Backlash"--and even these select few will leave the reader wishing that they were longer and contained in thier own volumes.

The other stories are either run of the mill or poorly written. If you are a die-hard fan of vampiric fiction you may enjoy this anthology but lesser fans would be better off checking this one out from the library.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book I can sink my teeth into., July 8, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Night Bites: Vampire Stories by Women Tales of Blood and Lust (Paperback)

I read this book. I live and thirst for vampire books and this one was truly unique. There was a wide range of difference in the topics of the stories. My favorite was "To Die For". This is a book worth reading.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Dahme is the one, March 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Night Bites: Vampire Stories by Women Tales of Blood and Lust (Paperback)

A rather sophmoric collection of sub-standard vampire stories save the the fantastic tale of horror from the pen of unknown Joanne Dahme. This newcomer is sure to take a place next to the gothic Anne Rice in undead literature.