Strange City: Anthology (The World of Darkness)

Rating:
Summary: "Stories of the Dark Predators Behind Our World"
Review: "Strange City" is a horror anthology based on White Wolf's World of Darkness storytelling realm. It involves five major "dark predators" (vampires, wraiths, mages, werewolves, and changelings) and takes place in the 'strange city' of San Francisco, California, where the majority of these stories occur. Of the 14 stories, about half are vampire-oriented, like the first one: "Dancing with the Devil" by Keith "Doc" Herber, where a vampire--in the company of his ghoul and Childe--searches for a lost soul to "save." This one is rich in San Francisco history, but the ending is rather disappointing, mainly because the vamp doesn't get his chance to use his large collection of Spanish Inquisition torture tools that were needlessly mentioned at the beginning of the story.

The other thirteen stories are as follows:

"Hunter's Blues" by Scott Ciencin -- A werewolf/blues guitarist seeks revenge against the two assassins that killed his pack. Some musical aspects to the story. >> "Glimpses of Before" by John H. Steele -- Lots of detail about a man's life remembered after death. Depressing, a bit long-winded. >> "The Voice of the Hummingbird" by S. P. Somtow -- The longest short story here (41 pages). Like "Dancing with the Devil," it's full of ancient history, this time about the Aztecs, in particular a mummified Aztec vampire that comes back to life and tells his story to a museum curator. >> "The Bye-Bye Club" by Ray Winninger -- An orphan boy enters a children's club that's driven by murder. Good story (nice and short), but the ending's a bit too abrupt. >> "The Way It Goes" by Thomas Kane -- When an assassin botches an assignment, he goes on the run for fear of being killed himself. My favorite Wraith story. >> A homeless young woman meets a Toreador vampire in a coffee shop and discovers he's the author of one of her favorite poetry chapbooks, entitled "The Scarlet Letters" (by Scott H. Urban). My favorite Vampire story. >> "Descent" by Sam Chupp -- A Tremere's lesbian lover is abducted and used to lure her into a pact with the Sabbat.

"Wolf Trap" by Richard Lee Byers -- A werewolf is hired to bust a mental patient out of an asylum, but ends up getting trapped on the grounds instead. My favorite Werewolf story. >> "Shards" by Phil Brucato -- A young werewolf is outcast from her pack, as well as dumped by her human boyfriend. Short, quick story. Not too sure about the point of it, though, if there is one. >> "Rootbound" by R. S. Martin -- An obsessed man creates the image of a woman he loves out of wood and roots. Surreal, descriptive writing. Not a lot of action though. >> "The Art of Dying" by Lawrence Watt-Evans -- A vampire attempts to Embrace a talented artist into the Toreador clan, though another vamp wants him as well. As mentioned in the story, it's like the story of Solomon and the two mothers fighting over a baby. Good ending. >> "The Waters of Lethe" by Bill Bridges -- During several sessions with a psychologist, a man with amnesia tries to piece together his past. >> "Power" by Don Bassingthwaite -- A Ventrue forensic pathologist gets involved in one too many murder cover-ups. Good finale.

Most of the stories in "Strange City" are relatively bloody and gruesome (no splatterpunk though), which should appeal to most horror fans, but particularly to readers who have some familiarity with one or more of the WoD games. Of course, you don't need to be an expert (I'm certainly not), but it does help. As mentioned in the intro of this book, readers who are "in the know" of storytelling games like Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, and Wraith: The Oblivion will probably enjoy this "game fiction" anthology a lot more than the average horror reader.

Rating:
Summary: "Stories of the Dark Predators Behind Our World"
Review: This is a good collection of World of Darkness stories. "Wolf Trap" and "Glimpses of Before" were really good, probably the best ones in there. I was very disappointed, though, that it states on the cover that it includes stories about mages and changelings, and not a one even mentioned either. Still, these are top-notch tales.

Rating:
Summary: Good stuff
Review: This is a good collection of World of Darkness stories. "Wolf Trap" and "Glimpses of Before" were really good, probably the best ones in there. I was very disappointed, though, that it states on the cover that it includes stories about mages and changelings, and not a one even mentioned either. Still, these are top-notch tales.