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atagarev's review against another edition
3.0
Despite the specific topic, the anthology is quite varied both in terms of genre and in terms of quality. Some stories are horror, some are regular urban fantasy, some are exclusively romance and then some I would call new weird. There is a core of solid stories that vary between slightly boring and slightly interesting but there are a few standouts that convinced me I definitely want to check out something more by these authors. There were also a few terrible stories that I mostly finished as a chore just because I don't like skipping stories in an anthology.
The stories that I found most interesting were This Is Now, Sisters, Conquistador de la Noche, Endless Night and The Belated Burial. I had actually just finished reading Kiernan's The Red Tree and was left slightly let down by that book but really enjoyed her story here.
The stories that I found most interesting were This Is Now, Sisters, Conquistador de la Noche, Endless Night and The Belated Burial. I had actually just finished reading Kiernan's The Red Tree and was left slightly let down by that book but really enjoyed her story here.
circuit333's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
billblume's review
4.0
Overall, I think this book delivers a very interesting and diverse take on the vampire myth. On the one hand, that's a good thing, because it keeps the book from getting repetitive. On the down side, it means not every story can be a pleaser for the reader. There were several stories that fell flat for me, but that I could see how my complaints had a lot to do with the type of story versus the quality of the writing. There were a few where the quality of the writing didn't always do well, though.
Perhaps my biggest complaint was the number of typographical errors I encountered throughout the book. I'm not sure how much of that is owed to this being an ebook version borrowed from the library. Perhaps the paperback version would not suffer these problems, or even a purchased ebook. Tough to know. Still, this was an issue for me as I read it, and it would distract me in the middle of several stories.
On a last note, the final story definitely delivered a hell of a close to the book. John Langan's tale is rather original in how it's told and even in how it handles the vampire myth. Definitely a 5 star story. My hats off to the man. He made that an intense ride for me.
Perhaps my biggest complaint was the number of typographical errors I encountered throughout the book. I'm not sure how much of that is owed to this being an ebook version borrowed from the library. Perhaps the paperback version would not suffer these problems, or even a purchased ebook. Tough to know. Still, this was an issue for me as I read it, and it would distract me in the middle of several stories.
On a last note, the final story definitely delivered a hell of a close to the book. John Langan's tale is rather original in how it's told and even in how it handles the vampire myth. Definitely a 5 star story. My hats off to the man. He made that an intense ride for me.
bickleyhouse's review
4.0
Vampires: The Recent Undead is a book of short stories. Inside, I was introduced to a lot of authors that I had never read before (one of the reason I like collections like this). There were some very good stories in this anthology. Among my favorites were "The Coldest Girl in Coldtown," by Holly Black, "Sisters," by Charles de Lint, "Zen and the Art of Vampirism," by Kelly Armstrong, "The Ghost of Leadville," by Jeanne C. Stein, "No Matter Where You Go," by Tanyah Huff, "Conquistador de la Noche," by Carrie Vaughn, "Endless Night," by Barbara Roden, and "Dahlia Underground," by Charlaine Harris. A couple of these authors, I have read before, but there are others of which I will be looking for more.
bookfessional's review
3.0
Zen and the Art of Vampirism - Zoe POV. Hans and Brigid show up wanting to take over Toronto after Katrina destroys New Orleans. Zoe changes their mind ;)
pghbekka's review
3.0
felt like an uneven collection to me, though I quite liked many of the early stories in this anthology.
henryarmitage's review
3.0
Pretty good anthology of vampire stories. It feels like a lot of the horror anthologies I have
read lately have 2 or 3 good stories plus a bunch of crap. But this was an exception. Just about all the
stories were at least worth reading.
read lately have 2 or 3 good stories plus a bunch of crap. But this was an exception. Just about all the
stories were at least worth reading.
jmshirtz's review
5.0
This review us only for Zen and the Art of Vampirism by [author: Kelley Armstrong]. I loved this introduction to Zoe! I would love to read more about her; she's incredibly smart and knows what she wants. Awesome.
sarahnz's review
4.0
I started reading this as research because of a manuscript that came across my desk, but stayed because I enjoyed the writing and the variety of vampires. As in any short story collection there are some stories I think are stronger than others, but it also comes down to taste.