A Whisper of Blood: 18 Stories of Vampirism

by Ellen Datlow (Editor), Jonathan Carroll, Suzy McKee Charnas

An anthology of stories dealing with vampires features eighteen tales by such science fiction and fantasy writers as Suzy McKee Charnas, David J. Schow, Robert Silverberg, and Thomas Tessier

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Vampires, Fantasy, Anthologies, Short Story Collection, Historical Fiction

287 pages, Hardcover

First published October 28, 1991

About the author

Ellen Datlow has been editing science fiction, fantasy, and horror short fiction for forty years as fiction editor of OMNI Magazine and editor of Event Horizon and SCIFICTION. She currently acquires short stories and novellas for Tor.com. In addition, she has edited about one hundred science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologies, including the annual The Best Horror of the Year series, The Doll Collection, Mad Hatters and March Hares, The Devil and the Deep: Horror Stories of the Sea, Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories, Edited By, and Final Cuts: New Tales of Hollywood Horror and Other Spectacles.
She's won multiple World Fantasy Awards, Locus Awards, Hugo Awards, Bram Stoker Awards, International Horror Guild Awards, Shirley Jackson Awards, and the 2012 Il Posto Nero Black Spot Award for Excellence as Best Foreign Editor. Datlow was named recipient of the 2007 Karl Edward Wagner Award, given at the British Fantasy Convention for "outstanding contribution to the genre," was honored with the Life Achievement Award by the Horror Writers Association, in acknowledgment of superior achievement over an entire career, and honored with the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award at the 2014 World Fantasy Convention.

Reviews

[Shawn]

Quick placeholder review here:

In Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's "Do I Dare To Eat A Peach?" a man - possibly an operative for an intelligence organization - is being held - after possibly having been "turned" to the "other side" - in a hospital setting (or maybe not) - after having been retrieved (possibly) by "his side" suffering from amnesia and flashes of corpses and atrocities (which he may have witnessed, caused or be imagining). Yarbro does a fine job with this very PRISONER-esque scenario, although the ending is a bit ambiguous - which is funny because as I was reaching the 3/4 mark on this one I was already expecting to have to compose a review that included "the problem with a story like this one, based on missing or possibly false memories and questions of identity, lies not in its writing or conception, which is solid and well-written, but in its placement in THIS specific anthology, which gives the game away." But, as it turns out, there was no game to give away - it's ambiguity all the way and the only hint at why it would be included in a themed anthology like this one is a minor detail about dietary habits (or lack thereof). So, I liked it better than I expected to, but I wonder what the rest of this anthology will be like...

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this anthology of short horror stories up on mostly a whim. Vampire stories by Karl Edward Wagner and Kathe Koja were enough to entice me. Like most anthology collections, it’s a mixed bag. Some of these authors are able to deliver in the short story format, others are not, are frustratingly vague, like a half-remembered dream.

What makes this vampire anthology different, though, is that the stories all push vampirism to its limits, trying to see how far you can push the vampire mythology. My favorites were the Ballardian Home By the Sea, the wonderfully chilling tapestry of The Ragthorn Tree, and K.E.W.’s sarcastic take on inspiration-vampires, The Slug.

[Janne Heinonen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hyviä ja huonoja novelleja, mutta nekin hyviä kuten roskaruoka. Hämärän rajamailla liikkuvat tuotokset ovat heikkouteni.

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Should the title A Whisper of Blood have given me a clue that the stories in this book would have been more subtle than I usually prefer? In hindsight, yes.

I read all but a couple of the stories in this book & I didn't really enjoy them - I just kept reading, hoping for a good one. There were lots of clever tales for sure, but after reading this it's plain that I prefer traditional vampire stories, none of which appeared. If I had picked this one up without the promise of reading about vampires, I may have liked it more as a book of short creepy stories.

[Tatjana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Datlow is a terrific editor, so I think I must have vampire fatigue when I type phrases like, "The stories just seemed fine". Nothing to write home about, but again... vampire fatigue.... Hey, at least none of them sparkle.

[Jude Goulding · Rating 3 out of 5]

I took an average of individual scores for the book, it did higher than I thought. Only The Ragthorn, and The Warm Man are worth reading, if I were to share this with a friend I'd cut just those two out of the book and send them. Perhaps accompanied by some of the 4/5 rated stories afterwards.

1. Lay Me Down: Entertaining but not extremely memorable or meaningful. This interpretation of a vampire was refreshingly unique. 2/5
2. The Slug: Picked up as it went along, this one was enjoyable and I liked the ending. 3/5 3. The Warm Man: This one was excellent, I really enjoyed reading it and it was a nice take on the idea. 5/5
4. Teratisms: This fairs worse in my memory than it did while reading though l didn't like it then. It is written like it's already a classic but it really isn't. The dialogue is hard to follow sometimes and the prose is vague. ⅕
5. M is for many things: I didn't and probably don't understand this one, it was written in a style that reminded me of classic children's tales. Really quite menacing ⅗
6. Folly for three: The syntax of this was interesting but it got quite old half way through, I don't really get what it's trying to say or why it's here. 2/5
7. The impaler in love: I hate this one 0/5
8. The moose church: Fun format, weird story, cool idea 4/5
9. Mrs Rinaldis Angel: Really cool. Classical and interesting style ⅘
10. Pool People: Remarkably powerful, much more serious than any of the others so far. Unexpected but welcome weight 4/5
11. A week in the inside: I liked this one but found it extremely weird how he has sex with the female vampires body after killing her ⅘
12. Lifeblood: Forgot about this one entirely, it left no impression on me good or bad. 2/5
13. Requiem: Really cool, started rough but proved to be interesting. I like the world and its ramifications ⅘
14. Infidel: Well written but very strange at the end. The atmosphere was very good, but I would not recommend it to anyone for anything deeper than the cool surface level descriptions and vibes ⅗
15. Do I Dare Ear a Peach: l, ironically, did not remember this one and had to go back and check it. It was well written and I enjoyed it while l was reading it. Very little actually happens or is learnt so it didn't leave a huge impression on me. Amnesia stories do interest me and this was good 4/5
16.True Love: This one made me quite uncomfortable but it was well written and clearly thought out ⅗
17. Home By The Sea: This one started ok but I think I liked it. Other reviews say this is a standout one and I agree to an extent. It is better than a lot of the rest of this book and l'd like to see more of the wider world. I can't shake the feeling that it was a high quality product that I just didn't enjoy as much as some previous entries that really shone 3.5/5
18. The Ragthorn: this was a standout of this book, perhaps the best story here. I was intrigued the whole length of the story and I enjoyed it 5/5

[Shaitarn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has '18 new tales of vampirism' emblazoned on the front cover, but in the forward the editor states 'that these tales were 'intended to see just how far I could take the concept without any actual bloodsucking.' Huh. If I'd read the forward, I might not have bothered picking this book up in the first place.

Out of 18 stories (and I confess I didn't manage to finish them all), I think about three are vampire stories in the traditional sense. The others are occasionally weird metaphor or alternative vampire tales. there are some decent stories in this collection: I particularly liked Karl Edward Wagner's The Slug, Silverberg's Warm Man (originally published in Science Fiction and Fantasy magazine in 1957(!)), and The Pool People by Melissia Mia Hall, and M is for Many Things by Elizabeth Massie is going to live in my memory because I found it so disturbing.

It was interesting, but not vampiric enough for me - I like genuine bloodsuckers in my vampire anthologies, so I won't be reading this again. Recommended for readers who like weird horror, not really recommended for vampire lovers.

[Riite · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kirja on kokonaisuutena jokseenkin epätasainen, mutta olen varma, että jokainen löytää parinkymmenen tarinan seasta ainakin yhden, joka puhuttelee *juuri sinua*. Itse löysin jopa kaksi.

Osassa tarinoista on ihan mielenkiintoinen ajatus, mutta jokseenkin pitkäveteinen toteutus, osan suorastaan hotkin. Muutama oli puolestaan niin ällöttävä, että oli pakko pitää välillä taukoa. Älkää ymmärtäkö väärin ja luulko, että koin sen huonona asiana. Tietynlainen ällöttävyyshän vähän kuuluu asiaan, eikö vain? Kunhan se ei vain jää kummittelemaan mieleen...

[Edwina Book Anaconda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Strange ... just ... strange ... and not in a good way.

[Heidi Fogelberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short horror stories with vampire-adjacent themes. Some were ok, some were less successful to my mind. My favorites were by Wagner, Tessier, Jeter, and Cadigan.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this collection! I was expecting more traditional vampire stories a la Anne Rice, but it ended up being a nice mix of unconventional vampires of various genres.

[Sono Lumin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like it, but NOT as enjoyable as her "Blood is Not Enough." Very nice concept to extend the definition of vampirism, ... but probably better to not read them all one after another!

[Raven L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the stories were hit or miss for me.....not one of Datlow's better books.

[Jeff McIntosh · Rating 1 out of 5]

In his story "The Girl with the Hungry Eyes"......Leiber wrote "There are vampires and vampires, and not all of them suck blood". Which, I suppose is a good description of the contents.

I read this collection in 2 days....couldn't make an emotional connection to any of them.....in fact, when reading Chelsea Quinn Yarbo's story...I thought I was reading about the main character in Charnas' "Unicorn Tapestry" (forgive me if I'm wrong on this......I'm not going back to the original story...LOL).

A disappointing anthology.

[Harold]

I've read the first three stories so far. Good stuff. I particularly enjoyed the first story, Carrion Comfort. A little research revealed that it had been extended into a novel that many readers thought was overlong. Hmmmmm. As with most short story anthologies, I'll be reading it over a long time frame- coming back to it between books, etc.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent collection which includes the story "The Ragthorn," by Robert Holdstock and Garry Kilworth, as well as stories by Thomas Ligotti, Kathe Koja, and David J. Schow.

[Aricelys]

slighlty confused at first but gett'n the jist now- i've go high hopes :)

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories were good, some not as good. The one that freaked me out, for some reason, was "The Ragthorn Tree."