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282nd out of 945 books
—
5,700 voters
Many Bloody Returns (Vampire Files)
You?re invited?to a celebration of vampires by a baker's dozen of favorite authors. Sink your teeth into thirteen original stories, each one a fresh and unique take on what birthdays mean to the undead. From Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse attending a birthday party for Dracula to Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden battling bloodsucking party crashers, these suspenseful, sur...more
Hardcover, 370 pages
Published
2011
by Gollancz
(first published September 4th 2007)
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Sep 26, 2009
Tatiana
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
short-stories,
urban-fantasy
13 stories in this anthology have a theme in common - vampire birthdays. I didn't really read the entire book, simply because after a few failures I realized that I rarely like anthologies and only enjoy the stories written by the authors I know. Therefore out of 13 short stories published in this book I read only 2.
"Dracula Night" by Charlaine Harris - a Sookie story about Eric's party in honor of Dracula's birthday. In one word, disappointing. While I enjoyed some insight in vampire tradition...more
"Dracula Night" by Charlaine Harris - a Sookie story about Eric's party in honor of Dracula's birthday. In one word, disappointing. While I enjoyed some insight in vampire tradition...more
I'm not nearly as "into" vampires as I once was- Anne Rice and Laurell K. Hamilton pretty well cured me of THAT phase... Blech. However, I was hunting for more Dresden Files material, since I've read all the books and am between series, and this book popped up on my search. There are a lot of interesting stories in here. Unfortunately, many of them kind of blur together at this point, which is the problem when one reads a lot of short stories in a short amount of time. I'll review what stuck out...more
5 likes · like · see review
view all 6 comments
Overall, I'm giving Many Bloody Returns three stars, but that's for the general quality of the three stories I read, the value of the theme, and the collection of popular authors. Since all of these stories seem to be set in continuing series, I only read the ones for series I read, since these are unlikely to be good introductions.
Reviews of the stories themselves:
Charlain Harris contributes a rather mediocre Sookie Stackhouse story set on Dracula's Birthday. The story is passable, but it revol...more
Reviews of the stories themselves:
Charlain Harris contributes a rather mediocre Sookie Stackhouse story set on Dracula's Birthday. The story is passable, but it revol...more
5 likes · like · see review
I enjoyed the stories in this book, but I primarily read it for Charlaine Harris' contribution because I'm in love with Sookie Stackhouse, which I think draws a lot of readers to this selection, so I'll focus my review on that. It was a great story and exactly what I needed to hold me over while I acquired the next novel in the series. It left a lot to be desired, which isn't necessarily a strike against it because what was desired was a new novel.
Oddly enough (as the Sookie series is one of my most favorites), the story I liked the least was Dracula Night by Charlaine Harris. The whole premise was so out-of-character for Eric it was silly. Eric has a bad case of hero-worship to the point of being fooled by an imposter? Ridiculous. And it reads even worse. That said several stories were very enjoyable. My favorites included It’s My Birthday, Too by Jim Butcher (never read anything of his before but you can bet I will now), Grave-Robbed by...more
1 like · like · see review
3 stars for the anthology as a whole.
Dracula Night- Harris, 0 stars It felt clunky and off. The recap of Sookie novel background was awkward and took up most of the story. The party felt like an afterthought. If other authors I liked weren't in the collection, I would have put it down half-way through the story, first impressions being what they are.
The Mournful Cry of Owls- Golden, 3 stars. I like the different style of vampire.
I Was a Teenage Vampire- Crider, 1 star. The only thing good about...more
Dracula Night- Harris, 0 stars It felt clunky and off. The recap of Sookie novel background was awkward and took up most of the story. The party felt like an afterthought. If other authors I liked weren't in the collection, I would have put it down half-way through the story, first impressions being what they are.
The Mournful Cry of Owls- Golden, 3 stars. I like the different style of vampire.
I Was a Teenage Vampire- Crider, 1 star. The only thing good about...more
This anthology required authors to write a short story themed around vampires and their birthday (whether it be the day they were born as a human or re-born as a vampire). I've had this one sitting around for years, only bought it because it had a Cassandra story from Kelley Armstrong. And now, several years later, I unearth it and go 'Oh! A sookie stackhouse story is in here too!' and then just kept reading. It's amazing, I never thought I'd gotten so bad at shunning authors just because it eve...more
Tal como o "My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding" e o "My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon", Many Bloody Returns pega num tema geralmente não associado a vampiros (aniversários) e reúne 13 contos baseados nessa premissa.
Devo dizer, desde já, que começo a ficar farta de antologias de contos escritas para "os fãs". Ou seja, os autores de séries conhecidas (Charlene Harris, Jim Butcher, etc.) precisam de ganhar uns trocos rápidos entre duas novelas. QUe fazem? Escrevem contos de caca, baseados nas suas já...more
Jan 05, 2012
Mara
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
anthology,
urban-fantasy
These anthologies used to appear useful to me, since I could sample the work of new-to-me authors without commitment to a novel or series. However, I will have to reconsider any new anthology that features more than a couple of (already proven) writers.
Of the 13 stories here, only a couple were fun. The best of the bunch were "Twilight" by Kelley Armstrong and "Grave-Robbed" by P.N. Elrod. Honorable mentions go to Jim Butcher (a Harry Dresden story), Rachel Caine (a Morganville Vampires story),...more
Of the 13 stories here, only a couple were fun. The best of the bunch were "Twilight" by Kelley Armstrong and "Grave-Robbed" by P.N. Elrod. Honorable mentions go to Jim Butcher (a Harry Dresden story), Rachel Caine (a Morganville Vampires story),...more
If you like vampire supernatural romance stories, this may be for you.
To be honest, I mainly read it for Jim Butcher's Dresden Files short story "It's My Birthday, Too," which was good but not great. Don't read it until after Butcher's book Proven Guilty if you don't want spoilers, however.
I also liked P.N. Elrod's vampire detective in "Grave-Robbed." The fact that it is set in the 30s adds a lot to the atmosphere.
Rachel Caine sets up an interesting universe in "The First Day of the Rest of Your...more
To be honest, I mainly read it for Jim Butcher's Dresden Files short story "It's My Birthday, Too," which was good but not great. Don't read it until after Butcher's book Proven Guilty if you don't want spoilers, however.
I also liked P.N. Elrod's vampire detective in "Grave-Robbed." The fact that it is set in the 30s adds a lot to the atmosphere.
Rachel Caine sets up an interesting universe in "The First Day of the Rest of Your...more
I picked this collection up pretty much because there was a Harry Dresden story in it by Jim Butcher.
I enjoyed the story, "It's My Birthday, Too," with its focus on the relationship between Harry and Thomas (as well as a bit of the relationship between Harry and Molly). The story flows naturally from Thomas' birthday to the actual action. I am glad I waited to read this until the appropriate spot between Dresden books, although I can't say it really spoils anything even remotely major. I suspect...more
I enjoyed the story, "It's My Birthday, Too," with its focus on the relationship between Harry and Thomas (as well as a bit of the relationship between Harry and Molly). The story flows naturally from Thomas' birthday to the actual action. I am glad I waited to read this until the appropriate spot between Dresden books, although I can't say it really spoils anything even remotely major. I suspect...more
Usually books with a number of short stories in them have some big names with great stories and some unknown authors with either surprisingly good or surprisingly bad stories. This was not the case with this book. All of the stories were really good and there was a larger variety of writing styles than I expected given the genre. All of the stories have to deal with vampires and birthdays.
The main reason I read books like this is to get a sampling of some authors I haven't read and get a glimpse...more
The main reason I read books like this is to get a sampling of some authors I haven't read and get a glimpse...more
What a letdown :( Craving more from Charlaine Harris I picked this one up because of the Sookie/Pam/Eric story. Unfortunately, even that wasn't as good as I expected. Without giving away specifics or spoilers, let me just say that at the climax of the story, Sookie acts very out of character. In fact, the vampires act out of character, too. Although I enjoyed the brief trip to Harris' Bon Temps and Shreveport, I was left feeling ripped off. I mean ~ I sort of enjoyed Harris' story because I alre...more
I read this anthology having read nothing before from any of the writers who contributed short stories. Most stories were OK or mediocre. The two I enjoyed the most, by far, were “I Was a Teenage Vampire” by Bill Crider, which was a funny, solid story, and Jim Butcher's “It’s My Birthday, Too." This one was a nice jolt in an otherwise mostly drab collection. Butcher does a good job of creating a story that new readers can enjoy and follow, but that doesn't seem like an insignificant trifle. He i...more
This anthology is dedicated to Joss Whedon. = )
Dracula Night by Charlaine Harris - enjoyed the Sookie tale
The Mournful Cry of Owls by Christopher Golden - odd story with a uniquely interesting concept that didn't make as much sense as it could have
I Was a Teenage Vampire by Bill Crider - boring and seemingly pointless
Twilight by Kelley Armstrong - interesting twist to vampire lore, enjoyable read, makes me want to read her novels
It's My Birthday, Too by Jim Butcher - enjoyable Dresden tale with...more
Dracula Night by Charlaine Harris - enjoyed the Sookie tale
The Mournful Cry of Owls by Christopher Golden - odd story with a uniquely interesting concept that didn't make as much sense as it could have
I Was a Teenage Vampire by Bill Crider - boring and seemingly pointless
Twilight by Kelley Armstrong - interesting twist to vampire lore, enjoyable read, makes me want to read her novels
It's My Birthday, Too by Jim Butcher - enjoyable Dresden tale with...more
I read 7 of the stories offered here. Only 2 of them stood out for me as worthy of 4 stars.
It's My Birthday, Too by Jim Butcher- A snippet into a 'normal' night for Harry with Thomas and Molly along for the ride. Even just those 45 pages pulled me into this world I love. Solid 4 stars.
The First Day of the Rest of Your Life by Rachel Caine- Normally I wouldn't rate a Morganville story a high 4, but this tale focused on my favorite characters: Eve and Michael. It gives us the back story on how Eve...more
It's My Birthday, Too by Jim Butcher- A snippet into a 'normal' night for Harry with Thomas and Molly along for the ride. Even just those 45 pages pulled me into this world I love. Solid 4 stars.
The First Day of the Rest of Your Life by Rachel Caine- Normally I wouldn't rate a Morganville story a high 4, but this tale focused on my favorite characters: Eve and Michael. It gives us the back story on how Eve...more
I should not buy urban fantasy anthologies anymore because most of them - like this one - are an overpriced jumble of seemingly cast-off chapters from paranormal or urban fantasy series. Some well-known author or editor has some time to spare in between series' installments and is asked to use his or her name for a speedy publication of left-over ideas and writing exercises. Reading this collection especially feels like watching the bonus material of some blockbuster on DVD or like reading a few...more
An interesting concept... birthday stories about vampires and the vampire-adjacent -- but it only gets a "meh" from me.
Some of the short stories are a lot of fun, particularly "It's My Birthday, Too" by Jim Butcher and "The First Day of the Rest of Your Life" by Rachel Caine. Both of these tales had intriguing characters and interesting takes on the whole vampire story and made me want to read more.
Most of the entries in this book are so-so, however, with a few really awful ones thrown in. I h...more
Some of the short stories are a lot of fun, particularly "It's My Birthday, Too" by Jim Butcher and "The First Day of the Rest of Your Life" by Rachel Caine. Both of these tales had intriguing characters and interesting takes on the whole vampire story and made me want to read more.
Most of the entries in this book are so-so, however, with a few really awful ones thrown in. I h...more
I liked about half of the stories in this collection of short stories. The ones that really stick out in my mind as ones that were really enjoyable are: It's My Birthday, Too by Jim Butcher, Grave-Robbed by P.N. Elrod, and The First Day of the Rest of Your Life by Rachel Caine. I also liked, Dracula Night by Charlaine Harris and I Was a Teenage Vampire by Bill Crider but they weren't so good that I would seek out more stories by them. The rest were just "ok" or down right bad.
The narrator's wer...more
The narrator's wer...more
I've wanted to "try out" some of the authors in this colletion of short stories and I thought this would be a good way to do it. There were no stories which I didn't like but I had come across two in other anthologies. I'll probably not read any more of some of the authors included in this, but that's just due to personal taste and not a refl;ection of the quality of their writing. I did think there was a slightly odd balance of stories though. The majority appeared to be about vampires in one f...more
Mar 23, 2012
Wendy
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
short-story-collections
Typical collection of 13 stories, some good, others not so much. I've listed them for reference, but only commented on a few.
1. Charlaine Harris’ “Dracula Night” (Sookie Stackhouse #4.3) - (best read BEFORE "Dead As A Doornail") - 3.5
So, Eric's gone all out to host the annual Dracula Night party at his bar, Fangtasia, with hopes that the "actual" Dracula may grace his guests with his presence. (Sounds like someone's got himself a little man-crush!) Really cute, wish this one was longer.
2. Christ...more
1. Charlaine Harris’ “Dracula Night” (Sookie Stackhouse #4.3) - (best read BEFORE "Dead As A Doornail") - 3.5
So, Eric's gone all out to host the annual Dracula Night party at his bar, Fangtasia, with hopes that the "actual" Dracula may grace his guests with his presence. (Sounds like someone's got himself a little man-crush!) Really cute, wish this one was longer.
2. Christ...more
I had not previously read many of these paranormal authors, but plan to do so in the future. Most of these stories are outstanding and really appealed to me; however, some were just not that memorable. Perhaps it is best to say that not every story is for everybody, although I am sure each one has its own following. In any case, MANY BLOODY RETURNS is a fun, entertaining, and creepy read, especially for fans of the genre. It is a great volume to pick up when you only have a few minutes to spare....more
There are a couple of good reasons to read anthologies, in my opinion. One is that there is a theme involved that you enjoy reading about. Another is to discover writers that are new to you. I chose this one for both of those reasons.
Oddly enough, the stories by authors I've read before were my least favorite while I enjoyed more the offerings of writers I've neve read before, such as Jim Butcher, P.N. Elrod, and Toni L. P. Kelner (her How Stella Got Her Grave Back was hysterical, I thought).
To...more
Oddly enough, the stories by authors I've read before were my least favorite while I enjoyed more the offerings of writers I've neve read before, such as Jim Butcher, P.N. Elrod, and Toni L. P. Kelner (her How Stella Got Her Grave Back was hysterical, I thought).
To...more
The short story collection seems to mostly consist of stories by American writers, set in the south, with lots of sex. The best short stories(entries by Harris, Butcher, Caine, and Huff) fit in longer series and are not so focused on romance. There is certainly love and sentimentality, but it is of different sorts. Many stories focus on older women who have lost their looks and/or their reason for living. Elaine Viets' story disturbingly combines these two themes. For me, "The Witch and the Wick...more
This anthology is all vampire and birthday stories. I enjoyed every story in this collection, even though they were all very diffferent. A few of them seem to be excerpts from books as there are things not explained, but that didn't really detract from the stories. I'd look for most of these authors books, the charcters are interesting, the voices and dialogue clear and all in all, an enjoyable read. I'm including a brief synopsis of each story without spoilers
Dracula Night by Charlaine Harris -...more
Dracula Night by Charlaine Harris -...more
Jun 26, 2010
Kathy
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy,
fantasy-other-world
13 short stories about vampires and birthdays (or deathdays)...
two stories (Charlaine Harris' and Kelley Armstrong's) are of series' characters that I am familiar with... I liked learning a little more about the Otherworld vampire Cassandra, who is coming to the end of her days (and how she knows because she can't gather enough energy for her annual, deathday kill... and with the support and pushing of Aaron (whom we also learn more about - his good hearted, batman character; born to be a vampir...more
two stories (Charlaine Harris' and Kelley Armstrong's) are of series' characters that I am familiar with... I liked learning a little more about the Otherworld vampire Cassandra, who is coming to the end of her days (and how she knows because she can't gather enough energy for her annual, deathday kill... and with the support and pushing of Aaron (whom we also learn more about - his good hearted, batman character; born to be a vampir...more
The main reason I bought this book is because it had a short story from the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris. It is an anthology with 12 other contributors about vampires. What I liked the most about it was how different each author interprets vampires. It varies between how they can be killed, whether they can go out in the sunlight or not, between the authors. Some of them had a more serious and morbid tone to them while others had dark humor. My favorites were "Dracula Nights" by...more
Again, read only for Harry Dresden story. I would give this one a 4.5 stars.
This one happens on Valentine's Day which happens to be Thomas's birthday. Go fig. Thomas is attending a LARP as a favor to one of his employees. Harry and Molly stop by to give Thomas a present. Once they're there, an outcasted LARPer comes back after being turned into a Black Court vampire.
This story is full of action and happens after White Knight, maybe after Small Favor, given the reference to Molly's age. If the...more
This one happens on Valentine's Day which happens to be Thomas's birthday. Go fig. Thomas is attending a LARP as a favor to one of his employees. Harry and Molly stop by to give Thomas a present. Once they're there, an outcasted LARPer comes back after being turned into a Black Court vampire.
This story is full of action and happens after White Knight, maybe after Small Favor, given the reference to Molly's age. If the...more
I'm pretty much always looking for new vampire books with interesting world building, so when I saw an anthology of vampire stories with an unusal theme I had to take a closer look. The decision to buy the book, was pretty exclusively influenced by the fact, that the editor dedicated it to Joss Whedon. What could go wrong.
And indeed many of the stories were highly entertaining. Some are part of other series that I was familiar with others I had never heard of. But while I found some to be silly...more
And indeed many of the stories were highly entertaining. Some are part of other series that I was familiar with others I had never heard of. But while I found some to be silly...more
Enjoyable anthology, with several solid contributions-some of which have encouraged me to check out new writers.
Harris: Dracula's birthday party, hosted by Fangtasia. I love anything Eric-related. Pam continues to be the funniest character of the series.
Golden: Eastern European folklore brings a twist to a 16 year old's life. I like Golden, but I think the story would've been better had we seen more of the character post-"big reveal".
Crider: Teenage vampire tells his tale. Trite. Ends very abrup...more
Harris: Dracula's birthday party, hosted by Fangtasia. I love anything Eric-related. Pam continues to be the funniest character of the series.
Golden: Eastern European folklore brings a twist to a 16 year old's life. I like Golden, but I think the story would've been better had we seen more of the character post-"big reveal".
Crider: Teenage vampire tells his tale. Trite. Ends very abrup...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kelley Armstrong | 2 | 13 | Nov 23, 2012 07:05pm |
Charlaine Harris has been a published novelist for over twenty-five years. A native of the Mississippi Delta, she grew up in the middle of a cotton field. Now she lives in southern Arkansas with her husband, her three children, three dogs, and a duck. The duck stays outside.
Though her early output consisted largely of ghost stories, by the time she hit college (Rhodes, in Memphis) Charlaine was wr...more
More about Charlaine Harris...
Though her early output consisted largely of ghost stories, by the time she hit college (Rhodes, in Memphis) Charlaine was wr...more
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“Any time I’m not shooting my mouth off to a clichéd, two-bit creature of the night like you, it’s because I’m up to something.”
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