Monday, July 18, 2011

Teeth.

Title/Author: Teeth: Vampire Tales. Edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling.

Genre: Horror, Supernatural.

Publisher: Harper.

Source: BEA.

Favorite character: Too many to choose.

Favorite quote:  See above.

All in all: Fabulous!

Synopsis: Sink your teeth into these bite-sized tales exploring the intersections among the living, dead, and undead. Features stories by Neil Gaiman, Melissa Marr, Cassandra Clare, Garth Nix, and many more. ~Goodreads.com

My Thoughts: Yes, I am going to gush. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling have done it again.  Usually with a short story collection, there are one or two that am not a fan of, but I loved every story in Teeth.   Okay, I’m not a huge fan of poetry and there are two poems in it, but they were written by Neil Gaiman and Emma Bull, so really, they were good too. And, they were short. (I don’t do well with epic poetry.) I also really loved the introduction. It was informative and easy to read and comprehend.  I would love to take a class with Ms. Datlow!

***Correction: Ellen let me know that Terri Windling wrote the introduction.  My apologies for my carelessness.  I still stand that I would like to take a class with her.  Actually, I would like to take a class with both of them.  If anyone has ever enjoyed Ms. Windling's articles on myth and Fairy Tales in Realms of Fantasy, I'm sure they would agree. 

Each story is entertaining and I became engrossed within the first few lines. Yes! With each one! They are all different from each other, with their own “vampirical” mythos giving the reader a unique take on the vampire. The characters, human and vamp, are alluring.

And look at that cover.  Isn't it awesome?  What supernatural secrets is she holding?  Is she a vamp or human?  Will she stake you or bite you?

People looking for paranormal romance may be disappointed as most of these are old school vamps. Scary and dangerous as opposed to brooding and romantic. The only tale that may be considered romantic is the last one by Tanith Lee.

Some stories were creepy, some sad, some humorous.  Christopher Barzak’s story Gap Year made me think of vampirism as a state of mind. Everyone is a vampire to some extent. It just depends on what they feed on. One of my favorite stories, Sit The Dead by Jeffrey Ford, ironically is the only one that contained one tiny plot element that I had trouble believing.  But it is one of my favorites and one of the scariest tales in the book.  I was able to easily envision the dark setting and the creepy vampire. I can still see it.  Sunbleached had some lovely imagery of the night and reasons why vampires were God’s works of art.  Melissa Marr’s contribution Transition had such beautiful writing that now I’m really looking forward to reading her books.

If you like vampire tales, or just like good stories Teeth brings something new and exciting to the table.  I absolutely recommend reading this.

Challenges:


7 comments:

Savannah said...

I have this book and now I am going to pull it out and read it! Thanks for the review!

Missie, The Unread Reader said...

I love this gushing review! I'm always looking for new vampire tales, and knowing every story and even the poems in this book are good makes me really want to sink my teeth into it.

LOL

Maybe I need to start thinking of vampirism as a state of mind so I can finally call myself one. :[

Datlow said...

Thank you so much for the rave. Just a little correction --Terri wrote the brilliant intro (I hate writing) ;-)

S.A. Larsenッ said...

I haven't heard of this one. Sounds awesome!! Thanks for spreading the word.

Midnyte Reader said...

@Savvy-I'm really looking forward to *your* review now.
@Missie-I really don't see you as being a Vampire. At least not a mean one. But if you want to call yourself one, then by all means do so.
@Ellen-Thank you so much for the correction. I added it to my post. Never in my wildest dreams would I think that Ellen Datlow would ever read and edit something I wrote! Can I put that on my resume now?
@Salarsen-Go! Go read this now!

Chris 'Frog Queen' Davis said...

I too have this book and have just not gotten around to reading it.... definitely moving it to the top of the pile! :)

Cheers!

Anastasia @ Here There Be Books said...

Emma Bull has a thing in this book? I love Emma Bull! Okay, so I don't much like poetry, but...Emma Bull!!

Anastasia @ Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog

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