- Paperback: 512 pages
- Publisher: Running Press (Jan 1 1950)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0786709189
- ISBN-13: 978-0786709182
- Product Dimensions: 20.1 x 12.9 x 4.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 472 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #842,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
The Mammoth Book of Vampire Stories by Women is pretty much what it claims to be. Stephen Jones is one of the better anthologists in the horror business and here he provides a handy selection of the never-before-read and the specially written, as well as an introduction and a story by one of the queens of cinematic vampirism, Ingrid Pitt. Vampirism has always been a productive metaphor for seduction or rape, for being taken out of one's own self and put in a new realm of passionate desire--Anne Rice's "The Master of Rampling Gate", her only published short story, is not so much predictable as classic in its use of the haunted mansion and the woman freed from repression. It has also often stood for the glamour of outsider status and the strange subcultures that go with that--both Christa Faust and Caitlin Kiernan make luscious Gothery out of old standbys. Quite a few of the writers here are ones we do not associate with these themes--Pat Cadigan, Gwyneth Jones, Connie Willis. What is fascinating about this anthology is that vampirism is a myth so many fine writers inhabit so naturally, whether it is a habit with them or not. Few anthologies are essential--this one is definitively so. --Roz Kaveney
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Got garlic? Silver bullets? A handy stake or a cross? Vampire fans take heart. Despite naysayers who believe the genre has been literally sucked dry of all creativity and originality, British horror maven Jones has assembled an impressive volume packed with period classics and fresh takes before and after the 21st century. This toothsome anthology opens with Anne Rice's only vampire short story, "The Master of Rampling Gate," a traditional romantic piece from 1986; other selections meet, or surpass, this fine beginning. One of the best original tales is "Outfangthief," a stylish debut from Gala Blau, about lost children, a topic also brilliantly explored by Roberta Lannes's "Turkish Delight." Melanie Tem's "Lunch at Charon's" and Nancy Kilpatrick's "La Diente" feature biting social commentary. "Forever Amen," by Elizabeth Massie, provides a magical time-traveling twist. Outstanding reprints include "Jack," by Connie Willis, exploring WWII; "Aftermath," by Janet Berliner, a dark biblical piece; Kathryn Ptacek's "Butternut and Blood," a Civil War horror; and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's elegant Saint-Germain tale, "A Question of Patronage." But the most exciting reprint has to be Mary Elizabeth Braddon's "Good Lady Ducayne," an 1896 novella published a year before Bram Stoker's Dracula. Apart from a few anemic originals and dubious reprints, this is a robust anthology sure to satisfy even the most jaded blood thirst. (Nov. 1)Forecast: The misleadingly cheesy jacket art may attract Buffy fans, who will discover the rich, literary tradition of which the teenage female vampire-fighters on the small screen form only the latest popular manifestation.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
FANTASTIC,
By "mitziauna" (DENVER, CO) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Mammoth Book Of Vampire Stories By Women (Paperback)
THIS BOOK IS A MUST HAVE FOR ANY VAMPIRE LIT. FAN.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Some good, some bad,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Mammoth Book Of Vampire Stories By Women (Paperback)
I wish publishers would stop saying Anne Rice is the 'queen of vampire literature'. She is not an author I care to read. Also, I'm not crazy about Tanith Lee. I always feel like I've missed the point of her stories. Halfway through this book I had to struggle to finish the stories. The first half of the book (other than the Anne Rice story) was fine, then the stories got weird/uncomfortable. That being said, if you like the vampire myth, there are a lot of good/great stories in this book. My favorite is Jack by Connie Willis. Oh, and how come Laurel K Hamilton didn't have a story in this collection?
4.0 out of 5 stars
DON'T LET EITHER THE TITLE OR COVER PICTURE SCARE YOU OFF!,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Mammoth Book Of Vampire Stories By Women (Paperback)
In my quest to read all things vampire, I had purchased this book some few months ago. I kept putting off starting to read it, daunted not only by its size (624 pages) but also by the fact that all the stories were written by women and I feared the majority of them would be nothing more than "bodice rippers." The back cover of the book said there were stories by some of my favorite authors, some of those being Poppy Z. Brite, Nancy A. Collins, and Nancy Kilpatrick; and though I also like Anne Rice's works, I bristled at the publisher's reference to her as "the undisputed queen of vampire literature," which reference only gave me further pause in making a decision to read the book. If they considered her writing to be the epitome, then how could I possibly trust their judgment as to the rest of the stories contained in the anthology? Nevertheless, I decided to read it, at the very least thus decreasing my "to be read" book pile by 624 pages!Was I ever pleasantly surprised, especially after opening it up only to discover that Anne Rice's "The Master of Rampling Gate" was the first one in the book! Of the 34 stories in this anthology, only two or three failed to hold my full interest; and several presented very enjoyable, unique twists on the meaning of vampire. If asked to name my favorites, it would be difficult, but they would probably be "Services Rendered" by Louise Cooper (a story with an ending you can't help but figure out and yet it made me mentally shout, "No! No! No! Don't do it!" and enjoy it just the same); "Butternut and Blood" by Kathryn Ptacek (a story set in a makeshift field hospital during the Civil War and a bedridden soldier helplessly watching Death come closer each night); "Venus Rising on Water" by Tanith Lee (about something that comes to earth through a portal opened by an astrologer's telescope, and a really creepy painting!); "A North Light" by Gwyneth Jones (it's hard to figure out if there's really two or three vampires in this tale that takes place in an out-of-the-way B&B in Ireland!); and "Jack" by Connie Willis (an unforgettable, rather sad story set during the London Blitzkrieg). Overall, I found all the stories to be haunting more than horrifying, ethereal more than erotic. It struck me as a book I might give to friends to read as a way of introducing them to the vampire genre; there is so much more to it than Dracula, and I am so often ridiculed and misunderstood for my interest in it. I gave the book 4 stars because I enjoyed almost all of the stories in this anthology, and will most likely read several of them a second time or more.
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