4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Vamp stories, for those who know and love them, March 27, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Vampires: A Collection of Original Stories (Paperback)
Vampires is a great collection of stories, ranging from acient native americans, to futuristic people. There are 13 short stories in all. Some stories are better than others...
1.Nobody has to Know: is a cool, straight to the point story.
2.There's no such thing: a cool story, can't say anymore or i'll give it away.
3.Curse of the undead: one of my favorites of the 13, about a guy who wakes up in a coffin.
4. Blood Kin: the story in rather confusing from beginning to almost the end. It isn't very good, strange word choices.
5.Miss Emily's Roses: this is an ok story, a little confusing at time but still good.
6. The Blood-ghoul of scarsdale: a very cool story about a vampire who likes to go shopping.
7. The Magic Stealer: another one of my favorites of these stories. it's about a girl who is a native american and has to return to her people. don't worry, there's a vamire.
8. Avhel: cool story, about a vampire child
9. A Cold Stake: this one is ok but very confusing at times, it takes place in the 2030's and they keep talking about things, like you already know what's going on.
10. Blook Libel: this is my absolute favorite of all of the stories. It's about a guy who can no longer stay with his Jewish people because he's a vampire.
11. Aunt Horrible's last visit: a cool story, about an evil aunt and the siblings who hate her.
12. Mama's Gone: another favorite, a cute sad story about a dead mother and her children.
13. Richie: another favorite, a vampire teen, who wants a friend
overall, it's a good book, it got a four because of the three stories that aren't that good, and are confusing, but the good ones definately outway them. If you are a beginning Vampire reader or an old pro, you should definately read this book. It gives awsome perspectives and it's worth your money.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vampire Bites, March 17, 2005
Looking for a vampire anthology you can sink your teeth into? Editors Jane Yolen and Martin H. Greenberg have teamed up to deliver a collection of young teen stories that feature bloodsuckers of all types and time streams. If you're a vampire fan or just a fan of short stories in general, you might want to check this one out. While geared for the young-teen market, the quality and variety should be enough to appeal to even adult fans of the vampire genre.
Vampires are a subject matter that has captured many imaginations over the years. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is only one of the latest of this theme. Veteran author Jane Yolen launches off this collection with a brief introduction into the worldwide legends about vampires, giving readers a window into why she has brought together this collection for our reading enjoyment. A scan through of the names in this anthology will reveal some familiar authors: Charles de Lint, Esther M. Friesner, Josepha Sherman, Lawrence Watt-Evans and Jane Yolen herself are a few of the most notable in 13 story collection. Other than having young protagonists and including the theme of vampires, the tone, setting and type of story vary widely.
The book opens with the very brief "Nobody has to Know" by James D. MacDonald and Debra Doyle. The story is told entirely in dialog, and is delightful introduction to the rest of the book. De Lint's "There's No Such Thing" takes place in modern day-a touching story about the bond between sisters, and the real predators that lurk in the world. Not De Lint's best work, but a pleasant read. "Curse of the Undead" by Chuck Rothman is a hysterical look at what happens when our young hero comes back as one of the "undead" and finds things don't work at all like they do in the stories. On a more gothic note is "Blood Kin" by Delia Sherman, a dark and spine tingling story of a young orphan who is taken in by some very frightening cousins. It's a bit long at times, but very atmospheric, and nice touch for this anthology. "Miss Emily's Roses" by Mary Frances Zambreno was my least favorite of the collection, being a vaguely dark story about the bond between two sisters. From that story, we go onto Esther Friesner's "The Blood-Ghoul of Scarsdale" which is a first person account of our heroines encounter with a young vampire at the mall-like, really. While the style of speech gets a bit overblown valley girl at times, and makes the story a bit dated, it's still pretty funny.
"The Magic-Stealer" by Josepha Sherman, would be at home in just about any fantasy story anthology as it weaves a coming of age story in a small village where a young girl must come to grips with her own power to defeat the evil that threatens her. Mary K. Whittington tells the tale of our protagonist facing a very young vampire in "Ahvel". It's a charmingly story that nevertheless has quite a chill to it. Probably the most unusual story in this collection is Phyllis Ann Karr's "A Cold Stake", which opens in a future where there is a curious relationship between the real and the imagined. Karr's story focuses more on the relationship between the young people in the book than on the actual vampirism. "Blood Libel" by Leigh Ann Hussey is one of my favorites of this collection. This is a powerful story of a Jewish vampire who strives to retain his humanity and his faith, in the face of his new nature. Beautiful and poignant. "Aunt Horrible's Last Visit" by Jeff Hecht is a spooky story about a very nasty relative coming for a visit, and how she's thwarted. My hands-down favorite in the collection is Jane Yolen's bittersweet "Mama Gone" which is a beautifully chilling first person narrative from the young heroine who must find a way to defeat evil with her own courage and love. It still manages to bring tears to my eyes to read it. The anthology closes with "Richie" by Lawrence Watt-Evans-a bittersweet look at a modern vampire looking for love, and what that means for him.
There's no story in this anthology that is without some merit, and most of them are great reading. Even though this collection is over ten years old, it still has the same power and impact it had when first published. This is a perfect volume for reading about vampires in small doses-excellent for a young teen reader just discovering horror and speculative fiction. If you enjoy this and are looking for more vampire fiction, be sure to check out THE SILVER KISS by Annette Curtis Klause and COMPANIONS OF THE NIGHT by Vivian Vande Velde. If you are interested in other speculative fiction anthologies, 2041 edited by Jane Yolen is also an excellent collection of stories for young teens.
Curl up with this book for some thrills and chuckles, but be sure to bring a sharpened stake and plenty of garlic!
Happy Reading ^_^ Shanshad
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