Fantastic Finds

The first bite is only the beginning.

Twenty of today's favorite writers explore the intersections between the living, dead, and undead. Their vampire tales range from romantic to chilling to gleeful—and touch on nearly every emotion in between.

Neil Gaiman's vampire-poet in "Bloody Sunrise" is brooding, remorseful, and lonely. Melissa Marr's vampires make a high-stakes game of possession and seduction in "Transition." And in "Why Light?" Tanith Lee's lovelorn vampires yearn most of all for the one thing they cannot have—daylight. Drawn from folk traditions around the world, popular culture, and original interpretations, the vampires in this collection are enticingly diverse.

But reader beware: The one thing they have in common is their desire for blood. . . . -Summary borrowed from Barnes & Noble

I was thrilled when I saw that Datlow and Windling had put together a collection of vampire themed stories. Their collections are almost always stellar, and their Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest and The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm are two of my very favorite story collections. I was also intrigued by the number of contributing authors that I'm a fan of: Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, Catherynne M. Valente, Garth Nix, Emma Bull, Delia Sherman, and more. Also, vampires! Hurray!!

All that being said, I wish I could say I love this book. Don't get me wrong- I really liked it, it was good seasonal reading, and some of the stories really stood out ("Baby" by Kathe Koja is one of the creepiest things I've read in a long time, I would be thrilled to read a novel length sequel to Delia Sherman's circus themed story, "Flying," and "Late Bloomer" by Suzy McKee Charnas was poignant and explored a facet of vampirism I'd never thought much about/seen explored this way elsewhere). And hey, maybe someone without a pile of other books to read clamoring for their attention would be able to settle down and enjoy this collection as much as I wanted to.

If you're looking for a new vampire read, or if you're looking for some new authors and would like to get a sample of many at once, or if you're a big fan of any of the authors mentioned, OR if you just think the cover is nifty, I would recommend this book.