Blood Thirst: 100 Years of Vampire Fiction

by Leonard Wolf

Book Overview

In the past hundred years, since the publication of Bram Stoker's infamous book, no literary figure has enjoyed a more horrific resiliency than Count Dracula. In film, television, novels, and short stories, he keeps coming back to life, fed by the vital imaginative energies of a world-wide audience that cannot seem to resist his abominable charms. Aristocratic and urbane, deeply erotic and profoundly evil, Dracula's bloodsucking savagery has cast...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195115937
• ISBN13: 9780195115932
• Release Date: October 1997
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.0" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

The best vampire compilation of all time

I have a problem. I love vampire short stories. I'm not gothic or even (overtly) weird, but I am well on my way to having read every scrap of vamp short fiction ever written. So profit from my mis-spent youth, and buy this collection because it is by far the best of the best of what this genre has to offer. There literally is something here to suit every taste. Other reviewers have been kind enough to list individual stories and how the various pieces are organized, so I will not repeat their work. Suffice it to say, even authors you think you know will surprise you. I read Salem's Lot (the novel) and was not the least bit scared or even impressed, yet Stephen King's short story based on the same novel gave me chills and had me sleeping with the covers over my head. Tanith Lee delivers my favorite story in the anthology with a poignancy and beauty uncommon to the genre, and Anne Rice writes a superb gothic romance with more quality than even her earlier works. More than the novel, the short story allows the reader of vampire fiction an undiluted taste of each author's true talent that leaves you more scared, more satiated, infected and thirsty for more.

Great for the Vampire within

Thirty tales of vampire fiction, from the classical blood sucker to science fiction monster to the comic relief. From such great authors as Anne Rice and Stephen King, to interesting choices such as Woody Allen and Hanns Heinz Ewers, and authors I love such as Tanith Lee and Richard Matheson (who are also great), we get a ton of vampire literature. If there is a style of vampire story you like this is the book to get and the best part is if you discover a new author who pushes your buttons you can go find their works. And if they don't push your button you have 29 other stories to make you happy. Read! Feast! Enjoy!

A must for horror/vampire fans

This novel brings together works of so many amazing talented writers: Stephen King, Richard Matheson, Anne Rice, Tanith Lee, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Algernon Blackwood, Joyce Carol Oates...just to name a few! Be on the lookout for "Count Dracula" by Woody Allen; whether you love him or hate him, this short story is a hoot! This one lets you sink your teeth into some quick, sometimes chilling, sometimes humorous, sometimes just plain weird vampire stories. It will also introduce you to some incredible authors, and I bet you'll race to buy more of their works. Wolf breaks down this collection into categories: The Classic Adventure Tale; The Psychological Vampire; The Science Fiction Vampire; The Non-Human Vampire; The Comic Vampire; and The Heroic Vampire. Horror and vampire fans will recognize some of these stories (King's is an excerpt of SALEM'S LOT) from other novels or collections. But this one is a tasty treat (yes, all puns intended) that I found delightful!

Excellent Collection of Stories

I great collection of modern vampire stories. Several of the stories are actually chapters from longer novels, which only entices the reader to read those novels too. Wonderful read, but with the lights on!