Stagestruck Vampires & Other Phantasms

Rating:
Summary: Stagestruck...
Review: From the macabre to the lightly horrific, this anthology has something for almost anyone. The stories delve into the past and then shoot to the future. A psychiatrist whose aim is to change her clients finds herself the one changed. The last survivors of earth's desolation depend on the mercy of aliens, and a young girl finds within herself the power to avenge the wrongs done by those who torment her. One story in particular stands out as especially haunting- the opening story, Beauty and the Opera or the Phantom Beast; as you might guess, it deals with the Phantom of the Opera- leaning more towards what the internet would term Christine - Erik shippers- but be warned- it's not all roses. That story, if no other, makes this a book worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: More Than Vampires
Review: I am not particularly a vampire fan, although there seem to be many out there. However, I am a Suzy McKee Charnas fan, ever since I read Motherlines lo, those many years ago.

Ms. Charnas is also the winner of a Hugo Award for her "revenge fantasy" werewolf story called "Something Amazon won't let me print, but is mentioned in the review below" which just happens to appear in the Stagestruck Vampires collection.

This book is primarily a collection of dark fantasy, as well as two excellent essays. One, the eponymous "Stagestruck Vampires", is about the travails of bringing her Nebula Award winning novelet "Unicorn Tapestry" to the stage, the other, "They're Right, Art Is Long", deals with the hassles of writing (and getting published) the four book series starting with "Walk To The End Of The World".

As well as the various "monster" stories that Ms. Charnas has written over the years, the book also includes a new story called "Peregrines" a very fun romp that includes a child-shaman and an old, crusty tarot reader in a New York of a few years hence, when Homeland Security, among other things, requires permits for state-to-state travel, just a little throwaway bit, but indicative of the attention to details that are part of Suzy McKee Charnas' charm.

Read this book!

Rating:
Summary: A Smorgasbord of Weird and Wonderful Treats
Review: Stagestruck Vampires by Suzy McKee Charnas is an anthology of both new and vintage works. Included are such favorites as "Beauty and the Opera or the Phantom Beast," the Hugo-award-winning "Boobs" and a trio of tales about Charnas' vampire, Dr. Edward Weyland (of The Vampire Tapestry fame), who evolves toward humanity rather than away from it. A surprise for me was "Advocates," a collaboration between Charnas and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (author of the Saint-Germain Chronicles) in which their respective vampires (Weyland and the Comte de Saint Germain) meet. This was not a combination I would ever have imagined working, yet it does. Each character retains the inimitable qualities that made him so memorable in previous works. Also included in the collection are "Evil Thoughts" (which cannot be kept hidden) and "Listening to Brahms," a post-apocalyptic nightmare in which the beauty and corruption of humankind lives on after our physical annihilation--in a most unexpected way. As for the newest works, there's "Peregrines," appearing for the first time in 2004 as well as "The Stagestruck Vampire" and "They're Right, Art Is Long" published for the very first time in this collection. "Peregrines" is a novella set in a xenophobic near-future New York. This world in which undocumented immigrants are hunted down along with anyone who harbors them becomes a training ground for the holiest of holy. One is forced to ponder how near the world of the spirit may be our dusty, mundane lives. The last two works are essays. "The Stagestruck Vampire" takes the reader step-by-step through the writing and first staging of Charnas' theatrical work Vampire Dreams. They're Right, Art Is Long" documents the author's twenty-plus-year odyssey in creating the acclaimed quartet of novels known as the Holdfast Chronicles. The entire anthology Stagestruck Vampires is an enjoyable read for lovers of fantastic fiction (or for that matter just good fiction) while at the same time providing a depth that rewards repeated readings.