REVIEW: VAMPIRE STORIES FROM THE AMERICAN SOUTH

TITLE: VAMPIRE STORIES FROM THE AMERICAN SOUTH

SERIES: --

AUTHOR: LAWRENCE SCHIMEL & MARTIN H. GREENBERG

GENRE: HORROR

EDITION READ: HARDBACK

AMAZON PRICE: USED FROM $2.87

SYNOPSIS:

Few parts of America are as historied as the South, so it’s no surprise that many southern horror stories feature the long-lived vampire. Vampire Stories from the American South is a feast of fear for lovers of vampire fiction, offering a dozen tales in which insatiable vampires prowl plantations and scour the bayous in search of mortal blood.

Spanning settings that range from Virginia to Louisiana, and from Florida to Texas, these stories feature creatures of the living dead that are haunting incarnations of local color and folklore unique to the southern states. Some of those raised here include:

*a blood-drinking monster of the Mardi-Gras in Susan Shwartz’s “The Carpetbagger”
*femme fatale who stalks the Civil War battlefields in Manly Wade Wellman’s
“The Cursed Damozel”
*an Elvis Presley immortalized by more than his music in Tracy A. Knight’s
“Blessed By His Dying Tongue”

The South rises again in these eerie tales of the supernatural, and the shape it takes is sure to bring a chill on the most sultry southern summer night!

MY RATING: 3 STARS

This anthology includes 12 vampire stories set in the south. Being a southerner myself, I thought this would be a neat little read. Honestly, I only enjoyed about half (maybe less) of the stories.

The short stories included in this anthology are:

*The Carpetbagger (Louisiana) by Susan Shwartz

*Claim-Jumpin' Woman, You Got a Stake in My Heart (Georgia) by Esther Friesner

*The Silver Coffin (Virgina) by Robert Barbour Johnson

*Like a Pilgrim to a Shrine (Florida) by Brian Hodge

*The Cursed Damozel (Tennessee) by Manly Wade Wellman

*The Scent of Magnolias (Alabama) by Lawrence Schimel & Billie Sue Mosiman

*The Flame (North Carolina) by Fred Chappell

*God-Less Men (Texas) by James Kisner

*Blood Kin (Louisiana) by Delia Sherman

*Carrion Comfort (South Carolina) by Dan Simmons

*Blessed by His Dying Tongue (Tennessee) by Tracy A. Knight

*She Only Goes Out at Night (West Virginia) by William Tenn

By far, the most famous story included is Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons. I purposely opted NOT to read this particular story. The reason being I actually have the novel sitting on my shelf and I haven't read it yet.

The stories I found enjoyable were:

The Silver Coffin

The Scent of Magnolias

The Flame

God-Less Men

She Only Goes Out at Night

Of Course, being an anthology is going to be a hit and miss with the stories. I have yet to find an anthology in which I enjoyed all the stories. If you chose to read this book, I would suggest checking it out from your library or finding a cheap used copy from Amazon or Thriftbooks.

*Book Hollow*

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REVIEW: DARK DELICACIES

DARK DELICACIES

DEL HOWISON

GENRE: HORROR (ANTHOLOGY)

SYNOPSIS

Winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Best Anthology.

Nineteen original, macabre tales of terror by the world's greatest horror writers, including Clive Barker, Ray Bradbury, Whitley Strieber, F. Paul Wilson, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, and many other masters.

MY TAKE

4 STARS

If you are looking for some really great short stories, Dark Delicacies is the book you need to buy. Out of the 19 short stories in this book, I think there were maybe two I didn't really care for. Some really phenomenal writers contributed to this book such as Clive Barker, Ramsey Campbell, Ray Bradbury, Whitley Strieber, Richard Laymon, and more. You can't go wrong buying this anthology with names like these included.

The stories cover a variety of different extremes of horror. Bradbury's THE REINCARNATE was actually kind of a sad tale. Whitley Strieber created a religious nightmare of a world in KADDISH. Rick Pickman's DARK DELICACIES OF THE DEAD had me laughing. William F. Nolen wrote a pretty good tale with DEPOMPA. Clive Barker's HAECKEL'S TALE was the last story included in this anthology, and probably one of the best. I had actually seen this story on an episode of Masters of Horror. There are many other great stories included in this anthology besides the ones I mentioned above.

I highly recommend you buy this anthology!!

BUY THIS BOOK

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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REVIEW: BOOKS OF BLOOD VOL 1 BY CLIVE BARKER

BOOKS OF BLOOD, VOL. 1

CLIVE BARKER

GENRE: HORROR

SYNOPSIS

"Everybody is a book of blood; wherever we're opened, we're red." For those who only know Clive Barker through his long multigenre novels, this one-volume edition of the Books of Blood is a welcome chance to acquire the 16 remarkable horror short stories with which he kicked off his career. For those who already know these tales, the poignant introduction is a window on the creator's mind. Reflecting back after 14 years, Barker writes:

"I look at these pieces and I don't think the man who wrote them is alive in me anymore.... We are all our own graveyards I believe; we squat amongst the tombs of the people we were. If we're healthy, every day is a celebration, a Day of the Dead, in which we give thanks for the lives that we lived; and if we are neurotic we brood and mourn and wish that the past was still present.

Reading these stories over, I feel a little of both. Some of the simple energies that made these words flow through my pen--that made the phrases felicitous and the ideas sing--have gone. I lost their maker a long time ago."

MY TAKE

4 STARS

This book is so much more than just an anthology of short stories. There is actually a very unique concept in how all these stories tie into each other.

When first opening this book, the page after the Acknowledgments reads a simple but eerie quote:

"Everybody is a book of blood; Whenever we're opened, we're red."

The opening story is called The Book of Blood. It's basically about this guy who pisses off the spirit world and they decide they are going to teach him a serious lesson. They basically carve their stories into his skin. These carvings are the following stories in the book.

-The Midnight Meat Train : This was a pretty good story, a bit gory, but good all the same. After reading this, I don't think I'll be taking the subway anywhere. 

-The Yattering and Jack: This was one of my favorites contained in this anthology. The Yattering is a little demon who likes to cause chaos. This story was actually funny.

-Pig Blood Blues: This was my other favorite. My kids are wonderful and don't ever get into trouble, but if they are ever tempted to do anything bad I will certainly let them read this story and swear it's the truth behind juvenile detention centers. 

-Sex, Death and Starshine: This one was pretty good. Very dramatic, but it's about a theater and actors so it fits the bill.

-In the Hills, The Cities: This is probably the only story I really didn't care for. I suppose it's because I didn't like the two main characters. They seemed contrived and the story seemed forced. There was no connection with the characters and I really didn't care what happened to them.  

I would definitely call this book a success and liked it a lot despite not liking the last story in the anthology. I don't know of anyone who likes every story contained in an anthology. It's most certainly worth the read. I hope to get volume 2 & 3 soon.

Volume 1-3 can be purchased from Amazon.

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My Zombie Valentine

Synopsis (Goodreads)

Tired of boyfriends who drain you dry? Sick of guys who stay out all night howling at the moon? You can do better. Some men want you not only for your body, but your brains. Especially your brains.
It's true! There are men out there who care--early-rising, down-to-earth, indefatigable men who'll follow you for miles. They'll take the time to surprise you, over and over. One sniff of that perfume, and you'll have to use a shotgun to fight them off. And then, once you get together, all they want is to share a nice meal. And another. And another.

Romeo and Juliet, eat your hearts out.

"Bring Out Your Dead" by Katie MacAlister
"Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo" by Angie Fox
"Zombiewood Confidential" by Marianne Mancusi
"Every Part of You" by Lisa Cach
 ____________________________________________________________________________

My Take


I picked up this book at the local Wal-Mart because it was $1.99, and I seen Kate MacAlister's name as one of the contributing authors. I have been planning to read her Dark Ones series for a while now, but just haven't gotten around to it. 


This is a book of 4 short, zombie-toned stories. The first story, Bring Out Your Dead (Kate MacAlister) was enjoyable. The story contains characters from her Dark Ones series. Although I haven't yet read this series, I didn't feel lost. The zombies were just hilarious. I will definitely be reading the Dark Ones series in the future.


The second story, Gentlemen Prefer Voodoo, was enjoyable as well. Amie (practices voodoo and owns a voodoo type shop) had lived a life without true love. She decides to do a spell to bring her one true love to her and she got more than what she bargains for; she answers a knock at her door to find she's raised a zombie claiming to be her true love!


The third story, Zombiewood--Confidential, wasn't as good as the two previous stories. It revolves around the making of a zombie movie on a remote island. Lets just say the zombie extras start having cravings for brains. 


The last story, Every Part of You, wasn't bad, but it was a bit weird. Ever heard of sugar-craving zombies in LA? It's not your typical zombie themed story. 


Overall, this book is an enjoyable weekend read, or just for a rainy day.

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