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Child of an Ancient City
Storyteller Masrur al-Adan relates his journey as a young man into the realm of a dreaded vampyr, who challenges Masrur and his companions to a life-or-death storytelling contest.
137 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 1992
5 people are currently reading
572 people want to read
About the author
Tad Williams
349 books7,846 followersTad Williams is a California-based fantasy superstar. His genre-creating (and genre-busting) books have sold tens of millions worldwide, in twenty-five languages. His considerable output of epic fantasy and science fiction book-series, stories of all kinds, urban fantasy novels, comics, scripts, etc., have strongly influenced a generation of writers: the ‘Otherland’ epic relaunches June 2018 as an MMO on steam.com. Tad is currently immersed in the creation of ‘The Last King of Osten Ard’, planned as a trilogy with two intermediary novels. He, his family and his animals live in the Santa Cruz mountains in a suitably strange and beautiful house. @tadwilliams @mrstad
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
March 24, 2021
This is a lesson in not working where you keep your books (or my books should I say) as for the last year I have been working from home in the midst of my library and yes as I toil away each day all my books are there taunting me to stop and read them.
Well today I picked one at random on the way out - and here we are with Child of an Ancient City.
I think the notes I previously put down still stand however it surprised me how many of the smaller details I had missed or overlooked. Although I am still adding to my collection both in books and interests it is still great fun to go back and re-visit titles I have read in the past. Well I guess here is to picking books and random some more although it might be wise to look for books I have not read before - I need to get down to TBR pile.
This is an interesting interlude- I would struggle to call it a novel at 80 pages long. It is basically a story within a story - in fact several of them and true to the cover text all in the view of a thousand and one nights.
The book although a hard back feels as though it could have been part of much larger piece of work - although as it is there is a suitable closure to it. There is not much you can say about this book without giving away the plot but i can say that the style is most distinctively Tad Williams and strangely even though totally unrelated and literally a world away - I feel echo of memory, Sorrow and Thorn in these pages and for me rather than being a hinderance it feels somehow reassuring.
For me Tad Williams has an easy going informal manner that makes the pages pass by without me even realising it. The only problem now is having read these two the temptation is now to go looking for more.
Well today I picked one at random on the way out - and here we are with Child of an Ancient City.
I think the notes I previously put down still stand however it surprised me how many of the smaller details I had missed or overlooked. Although I am still adding to my collection both in books and interests it is still great fun to go back and re-visit titles I have read in the past. Well I guess here is to picking books and random some more although it might be wise to look for books I have not read before - I need to get down to TBR pile.
This is an interesting interlude- I would struggle to call it a novel at 80 pages long. It is basically a story within a story - in fact several of them and true to the cover text all in the view of a thousand and one nights.
The book although a hard back feels as though it could have been part of much larger piece of work - although as it is there is a suitable closure to it. There is not much you can say about this book without giving away the plot but i can say that the style is most distinctively Tad Williams and strangely even though totally unrelated and literally a world away - I feel echo of memory, Sorrow and Thorn in these pages and for me rather than being a hinderance it feels somehow reassuring.
For me Tad Williams has an easy going informal manner that makes the pages pass by without me even realising it. The only problem now is having read these two the temptation is now to go looking for more.
August 19, 2008
I read this book back when I and my friends were going through our "vampire phases". I have never regretted it (the reading of the book, not the vampire phase). The protagonists are Muslims returning home when they are beset by a vampire, a creature of which they know little. Soon it reveals itself to them, and they do battle with it in the way that Tad Williams excels: telling stories. Whoever tells the saddest stories wins. If the vampire wins, he will take one of them to feed. If they win, he goes. It reads quickly, and ends satisfyingly. A good book to introduce someone new to Williams.
March 23, 2012
This tale was a good one and an interesting to read. My fear of reading mighty tomes made me read this book. I had heard of Tad Williams and I bought, some time ago, after reading good reviews the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn teratology (is this how it is written?). With four books with 3500 pages I got scared so I searched a smaller book. Et voila mon amis... What an excellent read it was... It was a big hardcover book with only 100 pages and beautiful drawings (one of the reasons I read it straight away).
The story is set in a Arab-alike world in the vein of The Arabian Nights. The tale begins with a raid on a merchants caravan where a few lucky (you would think) men are thrown together. Companions by necessity more than choice. Then as they make their way back to civilization they are stalk by a mysterious presence. One by one they are lost (die) until they finally realize that what they face if a similar like Vampire. Nocturnal, Blood Thirsting, Immortal and Invincible. The only way to survive is to sit around camp fires by night, each taking turns to tell tales to keep this creature entertained until the daylight hours. The end is the most important and one of the better endings I can remember. How the main character and the creature talk about sad stories... It's quite good and recommend.
I read somewhere that this book was later converted into a full novel. I would love to read how it went but now I have other priorities. Let us see what the future brings me.
Go go Tad Williams... Keep the stories coming and books out. I will read them eventually... I now have 9 of your books... Well ten with this one.
The story is set in a Arab-alike world in the vein of The Arabian Nights. The tale begins with a raid on a merchants caravan where a few lucky (you would think) men are thrown together. Companions by necessity more than choice. Then as they make their way back to civilization they are stalk by a mysterious presence. One by one they are lost (die) until they finally realize that what they face if a similar like Vampire. Nocturnal, Blood Thirsting, Immortal and Invincible. The only way to survive is to sit around camp fires by night, each taking turns to tell tales to keep this creature entertained until the daylight hours. The end is the most important and one of the better endings I can remember. How the main character and the creature talk about sad stories... It's quite good and recommend.
I read somewhere that this book was later converted into a full novel. I would love to read how it went but now I have other priorities. Let us see what the future brings me.
Go go Tad Williams... Keep the stories coming and books out. I will read them eventually... I now have 9 of your books... Well ten with this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2019
This is a remarkably good little book. It tells the tale of an ill-fated caravan journey between Baghdad and Armenia, and how the book's protagonist and narrator, Masrur al-Adan, manages to survive bandit raids and the attentions of the vampyr stalking them.
The structure of the narrative is a tale within a tale, and in the final third goes even further to include several other tales within the tale within the tale. While this might sound complicated it's surprisingly well done and obviously owes much of its origin to One Thousand and One Nights. The fact that most of the tale is told in the first person by Masrur gave the narrative a much more intimate feel for me, and gave the story a bite that it might not necessarily have had if told in the third person.
There's also a sense that Dracula and other similar works have had a small but significant influence on this tale. The growing sense of dread attributed to the characters is in a similar vein to that imparted by Jonathan Harker during his time travelling towards and then staying at Dracula's castle, though it should be noted that the vampyr in this tale is not at all like the eponymous vampire in Stoker's work. Indeed, by the end of the narrative the authors managed to provide an almost sympathetic view of the vampyr, something I never got from Stoker.
The seven micro tales told by the surviving characters at the end of the book are fantastic little stories in their own right, and the resolution of the conflict between the vampyr and the protagonists came as a bit of a surprise to me. Taken as a whole this is definitely a book worth reading, if you can find a copy; as far as I can tell it's now out of print, which is a bit of a shame to be honest.
A strong four and a half stars.
The structure of the narrative is a tale within a tale, and in the final third goes even further to include several other tales within the tale within the tale. While this might sound complicated it's surprisingly well done and obviously owes much of its origin to One Thousand and One Nights. The fact that most of the tale is told in the first person by Masrur gave the narrative a much more intimate feel for me, and gave the story a bite that it might not necessarily have had if told in the third person.
There's also a sense that Dracula and other similar works have had a small but significant influence on this tale. The growing sense of dread attributed to the characters is in a similar vein to that imparted by Jonathan Harker during his time travelling towards and then staying at Dracula's castle, though it should be noted that the vampyr in this tale is not at all like the eponymous vampire in Stoker's work. Indeed, by the end of the narrative the authors managed to provide an almost sympathetic view of the vampyr, something I never got from Stoker.
The seven micro tales told by the surviving characters at the end of the book are fantastic little stories in their own right, and the resolution of the conflict between the vampyr and the protagonists came as a bit of a surprise to me. Taken as a whole this is definitely a book worth reading, if you can find a copy; as far as I can tell it's now out of print, which is a bit of a shame to be honest.
A strong four and a half stars.
July 26, 2024
Rather boring. Also: there was no reason to be this mean about Armenians or our language
April 30, 2013
This was kinda..eh...A little better than "meh", but not much.
Here be . Except for the fact that I usually hate , I was ok with that. It was short and I had a podcast of an audio reading. So I needed a short audio and it did the trick. It was mildly interesting, and even had a .
Here be . Except for the fact that I usually hate , I was ok with that. It was short and I had a podcast of an audio reading. So I needed a short audio and it did the trick. It was mildly interesting, and even had a .
July 22, 2016
Very atmospheric. I was strangely deeply pulled into this story. Short and wonderfully rendered.
December 22, 2017
I truly do not understand the negative reviews of this fable. Perhaps those who did not enjoy this tale were simply not fans of fables, myths & folk tales.
This story is simple. It is solid. It is thoroughly enjoyable.
If you like good storytelling. If you like things such as the old fairy tales we all grew up on. If you like telling tales around the fire. If you like getting caught up in a tale, letting yourself be carried along for the sheer pleasure of the story.
If you like such things, you may find yourself enjoying this simple folk tale. I hope you do. I certainly did.
This story is simple. It is solid. It is thoroughly enjoyable.
If you like good storytelling. If you like things such as the old fairy tales we all grew up on. If you like telling tales around the fire. If you like getting caught up in a tale, letting yourself be carried along for the sheer pleasure of the story.
If you like such things, you may find yourself enjoying this simple folk tale. I hope you do. I certainly did.
July 23, 2011
This wasn't really of appropriate book length. The font was huge and it didn't even reach three hundred pages, so a lot of my beef with it was assuming that because I had more than half the book left to read, it would last me through an hour on the exercise bike. It didn't.
The skeleton of the story is good but it always felt rushed. If it had been fleshed out more I think it could have been very good.
The skeleton of the story is good but it always felt rushed. If it had been fleshed out more I think it could have been very good.
August 27, 2018
A beautifully written story within a story.
May 1, 2023
This was a surprisingly enjoyable read! I have been working through Williams' Last King of Osten Ard series and loving it, so when I came across a used copy of this book at the store, having not even heard of it, I felt compelled to purchase it. Due to the book's brevity and its middling reviews, I didn't expect much out of it so was pleasantly surprised.
I know nothing about Hoffman's works so can't attest to her contributions, but much of the writing felt well-aligned with Williams' style, even if the prose is perhaps slightly less descriptive and polished than in his major works. The book is a well-drawn fable of stories within stories. The opening frame chapter did a great job of engaging my interest and from there the story got going quickly, though it took longer than I expected to get to the primary story you'll see in the synopsis pitch. However, this was not bad; the first half of the novella impressed me with strong characterizations and a gradually building sense of dread. While reading it I was eager to get to the "meat" but in retrospect I appreciate this structure, as taking time to get to know the characters made their individual tales more interesting; each has echoes of the characters' own lives or personalities (albeit to varying degrees), and serves to add more depth to them. That said, perhaps the most interesting and unexpected aspect of the book was the approach taken to the vampyr, who by the end of the novella ends up quite sympathetic (indeed, the true antagonist of the story is arguably one of the humans).
In all, what I expected to be a fairly rote story turned out to be notably more engaging and surprising than I thought, elevated by strong prose, interesting characterizations, and themes such as empathy, conflicts among society, industry, religion, and nature, and of course the nature and power of storytelling. Nothing truly amazing, but a well worthwhile read that even a relatively slow reader like myself easily made it through in a few hours across two sessions during a busy weekend.
I know nothing about Hoffman's works so can't attest to her contributions, but much of the writing felt well-aligned with Williams' style, even if the prose is perhaps slightly less descriptive and polished than in his major works. The book is a well-drawn fable of stories within stories. The opening frame chapter did a great job of engaging my interest and from there the story got going quickly, though it took longer than I expected to get to the primary story you'll see in the synopsis pitch. However, this was not bad; the first half of the novella impressed me with strong characterizations and a gradually building sense of dread. While reading it I was eager to get to the "meat" but in retrospect I appreciate this structure, as taking time to get to know the characters made their individual tales more interesting; each has echoes of the characters' own lives or personalities (albeit to varying degrees), and serves to add more depth to them. That said, perhaps the most interesting and unexpected aspect of the book was the approach taken to the vampyr, who by the end of the novella ends up quite sympathetic (indeed, the true antagonist of the story is arguably one of the humans).
In all, what I expected to be a fairly rote story turned out to be notably more engaging and surprising than I thought, elevated by strong prose, interesting characterizations, and themes such as empathy, conflicts among society, industry, religion, and nature, and of course the nature and power of storytelling. Nothing truly amazing, but a well worthwhile read that even a relatively slow reader like myself easily made it through in a few hours across two sessions during a busy weekend.
July 12, 2021
Another lost novel that was kicking around inside my head rediscovered. Lol, at this rate, by the time I am forty I may reclaim half of the books I zoomed through before the age of twenty. Curse my old two/three book a day addiction and it's accompanying disdain for record keeping! However, I did set myself up an interesting treasure-hunt that may last the rest of my days, so I suppose it isn't all bad. A side note - I always thought of this as more of an adolescent's book, rather than a children's novel. For a silly romp, it gets a bit bleak, not to mention one distinctly naughty joke, though it is crouched enough that an unobservant child would gloss over it entirely. Yet, it is rather short for an adolescent book, so much like the movie The Black Cauldron (Yes, I know there are books. They are lovely, yet they don't hold the point I'm making) this book exists in that awkward no-man's-land between childhood and adulthood, without fitting easily into hormonal land of adolescent novels.
January 8, 2025
This book a bit hard to get into but its about a group of sexy muscular hung muslim men on their way home when they take a short cut through a land they start getting stalked by a vampire that starts killing them off and the only way to get the vampire to not kill them is to get him interested in tales told around a campfire. Good book like the back says vampire meets the arabian nights. This book does have muslim religious references so if that bothers you probably wont like it as the characters are muslim but i am someone that can actualy enjoy a book even tho i dont identify or believe everything the characters do i know thats a marvel concept in alot of reading circles but you dont have to identify with any character to enjoy a book.
February 15, 2021
Tad Williams may not be best known for shorter fiction, but this co-write with Nina Kiriki Hoffman, first published in 1992, manages to fit in several short fables, within a story, all set within a framing device - and still comes in at under 100 pages. With a few (uncredited) illustrations, too!
Perhaps it is more Hoffman's product than Williams', but that certainly doesn't lessen the clarity of the storytelling or the writing itself. It's certainly worth seeking out as a tale in its own right and deserves greater recognition in a modern market which is increasingly looking to shorter fiction once more.
Perhaps it is more Hoffman's product than Williams', but that certainly doesn't lessen the clarity of the storytelling or the writing itself. It's certainly worth seeking out as a tale in its own right and deserves greater recognition in a modern market which is increasingly looking to shorter fiction once more.
April 23, 2024
A short, atmospheric and to the point novella. Although Tad is better known for his voluminous books, I think that together with Nina, he also excelled in this short format. This is a story within a story and considering its brevity, but exceptional quality, it came in handy as a quick palette cleanser for me. There are also a couple of very nice illustrations inside the book itself, which only adds to the positivity of my impression. Although I'm not a big fan of vampire stories, this Vampyr will remain in my memory.
May 16, 2020
Found this on a free shelf and thought that it sounded hilarious (I'm about 3 times the age of its target reader), and was pleasantly surprised by the skilful storytelling and weaving in of cultural nuances. I'd definitely recommend this to young adult readers.
(This was a +260-page novel, not a short story – there seems to be some confusion...)
(This was a +260-page novel, not a short story – there seems to be some confusion...)
February 4, 2022
I liked this Novella (it's short). The characters were interesting, the stories were cute, all in all a solid story. My one complaint was how short it was, I feel like every aspect of this story could have benefited from being longer. This could have been masterful if it was longer allowing for more detailed tales, more developed characters (including the vampyr), and a more drawn out ending.
October 5, 2020
It’s a tale within a tale within a tale.
It’s quite fun and interesting for a young adult to read this.
I read it as a child and couldn’t really remember it so I took it up and re-read it. Quite fun. Plus, who doesn’t love Vampyr? Good old vampires.
It’s quite fun and interesting for a young adult to read this.
I read it as a child and couldn’t really remember it so I took it up and re-read it. Quite fun. Plus, who doesn’t love Vampyr? Good old vampires.
July 8, 2023
c1992 (6th BTA) Synopsis via Openbook - To entertain his dinner guests, Masrur, a Muslim soldier, weaves a story about his encounter with a vampire on an ill-fated caravan through the Caucassian Mountains years before.
June 15, 2024
My first Tad Williams book.
Tad Williams seems to have mastered the prose in a way no other master has been. After making my way through legends and finally landing upon him I can surely say his prose are pure magic. I love it!!!!
Tad Williams seems to have mastered the prose in a way no other master has been. After making my way through legends and finally landing upon him I can surely say his prose are pure magic. I love it!!!!
July 9, 2017
A short, fun tale of the power of storytelling by a master storyteller.
December 28, 2020
I loved this book, maybe because I was born in Baghdad and the storytelling takes place in Baghdad. Still, I love it.
February 14, 2022
A fun little novella that sits halfway between Vikram the Vampire and The 1001 Nights of Scheherezade.
June 11, 2023
Loved it! The perfect short story to read to your kids before sleep. It would be amazing if it was a full novel, with the vampyr full back story.
February 21, 2024
A Vampire story loaned to me. It was short and full of sad stories.
July 25, 2024
Not bad. A decent quick read but not one I will ever pick up again.
January 2, 2025
Ein kurzes Buch mit noch kürzeren Geschichten drin. Angelehnt an 1001 Nacht nur mit einem Vampir. War nett aber mehr auch nicht.
September 29, 2025
Baghdad, sometime in the first half of the 9th century.
At a party held in the house of rich official Masrur al Adan, the host, deep in his cups, regales his guests with a recounting of what happened to him and his friend Ibn Fahad, who is also among those present, when they were much younger, and first became "aquent".
‐------------------------------------------‐
Baghdad, circa the year 800.
The Caliph Harun al Rashid is sent an embassy from the King of Armenia asking for trade relations. He seems back a caravan comprising soldiers, gifts, and an envoy to open negotiations.
This convoy is ambushed in the hills of Northern Iraq/southern Armenia by Caucasian bandits, most of the members massacred, and only a small contingent, among whom are Masrur and Ibn Fahad, survive. Realising that their only hope of survival is to find their way back to Iraq, they wander at random through the hills for days before they admit to themselves that they need a guide. Finding a Christian Armenian youth, Kurken, praying at a pagan sacred spring, they kidnap him and force him to guide them. Kurken is willing enough to guide them east to Tbilisi in Georgia, from where they can travel back to Baghdad; but he's very unwilling to take them by the direct southern route home. They have to force him.
Later, travelling through thick forests, Kurken admits the reason: these lands are haunted by the "vampyr", which hunts anyone stupid enough to travel through them, and which will undoubtedly kill all of them as well. The men laugh off his warnings, but something seems to be flitting behind them, just out of clear sight...
That night, as they make camp, they are joined by an Armenian girl, Sossi, and just why Kurken was praying at the pagan spring becomes clear; he was betrothed at birth to another woman, but Sossi and he had fallen in love, and he had gone to the spring to pray for a way out of the imbroglio. Now Sossi, braving the vampyr, has followed him, alone, and he is far from happy at her throwing her life away.
The next night, the vampyr strikes, killing a guard, and the night after that, and the night after that, too. Each time it becomes bolder, venturing further and further into the camp, so that not even the sceptical Arabs can any more pretend that the killings are the work of a "wild animal". And on the last occasion, a young mullah who is part of the group manages to actually burn the creature with a Koranic scroll, though he is unable to prevent it from ripping his throat out afterwards.
With no way to deny the reality of the vampyr, Masrur asks Kurken what his people do to ward off its attentions. The only useful tip he has is that it sometimes listens to stories its potential victims tell, and if the stories hold its attention to dawn, it must then leave and return all day to its resting place.
From the next night onwards, the members of the party occupy their time in recounting every story that they can think of, taking turns to sleep, while the vampyr- a black shape in rags, with red burning eyes - crouches at the margin of the firelight, listening. During the day they walk on, but accidents in the unfamiliar mountain terrain reduces their numbers by death, and even worse, injuries that slow them down.
Finally, inevitably, the night arrives when they have no more stories that they can think of to tell, when the vampyr, for the first time, speaks; and it offers them a challenge. Each of them can tell a sad story, the saddest that they can think of. And if this sad story is sadder than the story that the vampyr itself has to tell, it will let them go free.
With no other way out, they have to accept the challenge.
‐------------------------------------------‐
This is a complex story, very much an Arabian Nights homage (there are, for those who have read the original, numerous Arabian Nights references). The framing story is Masrur talking to his guests. Layered inside that is his account of the Armenian journey of his younger days. Layered within that are the disparate tales told by the various members of his group...including Masrur himself, who tells a tale of his even younger days as a destitute porter in the streets of Baghdad. [I must admit I found a couple of these "sad" stories absolutely *hilarious*, but that's just my twisted sense of humour.] And the crowning touch is the story told by the vampyr itself, though it only stretches a couple of pages. The eponymous child of an ancient city speaks.
‐------------------------------------------‐
I enjoy vampire tales, as long as they are intelligent, original, and well written. This one is not only all three, but for once it shifts the vampire from Europe in the 19th to 21st centuries to an Arab milieu in the 9th century, with all the prejudices that will be familiar to anyone who's read the (original, unexpurgated) Arabian Nights.
Very highly recommended.
At a party held in the house of rich official Masrur al Adan, the host, deep in his cups, regales his guests with a recounting of what happened to him and his friend Ibn Fahad, who is also among those present, when they were much younger, and first became "aquent".
‐------------------------------------------‐
Baghdad, circa the year 800.
The Caliph Harun al Rashid is sent an embassy from the King of Armenia asking for trade relations. He seems back a caravan comprising soldiers, gifts, and an envoy to open negotiations.
This convoy is ambushed in the hills of Northern Iraq/southern Armenia by Caucasian bandits, most of the members massacred, and only a small contingent, among whom are Masrur and Ibn Fahad, survive. Realising that their only hope of survival is to find their way back to Iraq, they wander at random through the hills for days before they admit to themselves that they need a guide. Finding a Christian Armenian youth, Kurken, praying at a pagan sacred spring, they kidnap him and force him to guide them. Kurken is willing enough to guide them east to Tbilisi in Georgia, from where they can travel back to Baghdad; but he's very unwilling to take them by the direct southern route home. They have to force him.
Later, travelling through thick forests, Kurken admits the reason: these lands are haunted by the "vampyr", which hunts anyone stupid enough to travel through them, and which will undoubtedly kill all of them as well. The men laugh off his warnings, but something seems to be flitting behind them, just out of clear sight...
That night, as they make camp, they are joined by an Armenian girl, Sossi, and just why Kurken was praying at the pagan spring becomes clear; he was betrothed at birth to another woman, but Sossi and he had fallen in love, and he had gone to the spring to pray for a way out of the imbroglio. Now Sossi, braving the vampyr, has followed him, alone, and he is far from happy at her throwing her life away.
The next night, the vampyr strikes, killing a guard, and the night after that, and the night after that, too. Each time it becomes bolder, venturing further and further into the camp, so that not even the sceptical Arabs can any more pretend that the killings are the work of a "wild animal". And on the last occasion, a young mullah who is part of the group manages to actually burn the creature with a Koranic scroll, though he is unable to prevent it from ripping his throat out afterwards.
With no way to deny the reality of the vampyr, Masrur asks Kurken what his people do to ward off its attentions. The only useful tip he has is that it sometimes listens to stories its potential victims tell, and if the stories hold its attention to dawn, it must then leave and return all day to its resting place.
From the next night onwards, the members of the party occupy their time in recounting every story that they can think of, taking turns to sleep, while the vampyr- a black shape in rags, with red burning eyes - crouches at the margin of the firelight, listening. During the day they walk on, but accidents in the unfamiliar mountain terrain reduces their numbers by death, and even worse, injuries that slow them down.
Finally, inevitably, the night arrives when they have no more stories that they can think of to tell, when the vampyr, for the first time, speaks; and it offers them a challenge. Each of them can tell a sad story, the saddest that they can think of. And if this sad story is sadder than the story that the vampyr itself has to tell, it will let them go free.
With no other way out, they have to accept the challenge.
‐------------------------------------------‐
This is a complex story, very much an Arabian Nights homage (there are, for those who have read the original, numerous Arabian Nights references). The framing story is Masrur talking to his guests. Layered inside that is his account of the Armenian journey of his younger days. Layered within that are the disparate tales told by the various members of his group...including Masrur himself, who tells a tale of his even younger days as a destitute porter in the streets of Baghdad. [I must admit I found a couple of these "sad" stories absolutely *hilarious*, but that's just my twisted sense of humour.] And the crowning touch is the story told by the vampyr itself, though it only stretches a couple of pages. The eponymous child of an ancient city speaks.
‐------------------------------------------‐
I enjoy vampire tales, as long as they are intelligent, original, and well written. This one is not only all three, but for once it shifts the vampire from Europe in the 19th to 21st centuries to an Arab milieu in the 9th century, with all the prejudices that will be familiar to anyone who's read the (original, unexpurgated) Arabian Nights.
Very highly recommended.
February 6, 2022
A short story of a vampire pursuing a company of travellers through the mountains. Illustrated by Bruce Pennington.
February 22, 2017
I do love surprises.
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