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.
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