By Blood We Live

By Night Shade Books

From Dracula to Buffy the Vampire Slayer; from Castlevania to Tru Blood, the romance between popular culture and vampires hearkens back to humanity's darkest, deepest fears, flowing through our very blood, fears of death, and life, and insatiable hunger. And yet, there is an attraction, undeniable, to the vampire archetype, whether the pale European count, impeccably dressed and coldly masculine, yet strangely ambiguous, ready to sink his sharp teeth deep into his victims' necks, draining or converting them, or the vamp, the count's feminine counterpart, villain and victim in one, using her wiles and icy sexuality to corrupt man and woman alike... Edited by John Joseph Adams (Wastelands, The Living Dead), By Blood We Live gathers together the best vampire literature of the last three decades from many of today's most renowned authors of fantasy, speculative fiction, and horror, including Stephen King, Joe Hill, Garth Nix, Neil Gaiman, Kelley Armstrong, Ken Macleod, Harry Turtledove, Carrie Vaughn, and Tad Williams.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Night Shade Books
• Release date: Aug 1, 2009
• ISBN: 9781597802543

Reviews for By Blood We Live

[jbarringer-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The authors represented in this collection are all higher caliber than what I am used to seeing in a short story collection like this, and there were very few stories in this book I didn't love. AND, I am generally not into vampires. I'll have to find other short story collections in this series, because this one was unexpectadly great. The others mentioned in the back pages look equally promising.

[oraclejenn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

With the exception of the contributions from Neil Gaiman, Anne Rice and Stephen King all of the stories were ones that I had not yet had a chance to read. Harry Turtledove's "Under St. Peter's" is by far my favorite, though those who are very focused on their religious background may not like it.

[bellamiaow · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This thing is an enormous tome! I don't know if it has been released in hardback or not, but if it has, that version has to be anchor-worthy. I requested it from the library because Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette had stories in it, and I'll read pretty much anything either of those worthies publish. I didn't expect to care for most of the rest, and didn't plan to do much more than flip through them.As it happens, I read most of the other stories, and there were many surprises. I did skip some of the reprints, such as the Anne Rice story (I wouldn't have read it the first time it was published, and I wasn't about to read it simply because she was in good company now). I had read Carrie Vaughn's "Life Is the Teacher" before, but for some reason my eyes just fell into reading it again, and I felt well rewarded for doing so. On the other hand, while I had enjoyed "Twilight" by Kelley Armstrong the first time I read it a few years back, I wasn't moved to repeat the experience. I believe my favorite story may have been "Finders, Keepers" by L.A. Banks, as I still remember it clearly and with pleasure. I've only read one of Banks' Vampire Huntress novels and didn't find it interesting at all, so I haven't read any more of her work, but I may seek out more of her short fiction in the future."Mama Gone" by Jane Yolen felt fresh, as Yolen's work so often does. Garth Nix's contribution, "Infestation," was a little bit predictable, but that may be due to overexposure to the genre. I found myself returning to the cover art by David Palumbo again and again, intrigued by the fascinating faces he gave the figures there. They aren't classically alluring, and most aren't hideous—most would look perfectly at home on any street. But they also have that, that something, an element you can't quite put your finger on, an element of the other. Take a look and I believe you'll see what I mean.Have fun!

[fireandice_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This collection of vampire short stories started with a bang (the first few stories) and ended with a whimper. I felt that a lot of the stories lacked a point and worse than that, failed to catch my interest.