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3.0 

Blood and Other Cravings

By Ellen Datlow & Kaaron Warren &
Blood and Other Cravings by Ellen Datlow & Kaaron Warren &  digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

A collection of “mesmerizing tales, each one creepier than the next” that go beyond the traditional vampire myths (Library Journal).

When we think of vampires, an image instantly arises: fangs sunk deep into the throat of the victim. But bloodsucking is merely one form of vampirism. For this brilliantly original anthology, multiple award-winning editor Ellen Datlow solicited stories from many of the most powerfully dark voices in contemporary horror, who conjure tales that will chill readers to the marrow.

In addition to the traditional fanged creatures, Datlow presents stories about the leeching of emotion, the draining of the soul, and other dark deeds of predation and exploitation, infestation, and evisceration . . . tales of life essence, literal or metaphorical, stolen.

Seventeen stories by such acclaimed authors as Elizabeth Bear, Richard Bowes, Kathe Koja, Margo Lanagan, Carol Emshwiller, and Lisa Tuttle redefine the terror of vampirism.

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6 Reviews

3.0
“Supposedly a collection of stories about vampirism, however, not all actually are about vampires. As the title suggests the stories are all about some form of blood craving making it a unique collection. Most of the authors were new to me. A solid collection of stories which for the most part I really enjoyed. 1. All You Can Do is Breathe by Kaaron Warren - A man is buried in a mine accident and hailed a hero as a survivor. Down there he was visited by the long man who pinched his nose, now he's terribly cold. Ok. Didn't make a lot of sense. (3/5) 2. Needles by Elizabeth Bear - A vampire couple arrives in the town of Needles as one wants to get a tattoo to see if it will change her back. This was beautifully written. Plus, it's a great story. (5/5) 3. Baskerville's Midgets by Reggie Oliver - An actor tells of his stay at a theatre boardinghouse when a troupe of performing midgets arrive. I don't particularly care for theatre stories but this was well told and I liked the ending. (3/5) 4. Blood Yesterday, Blood Tomorrow by Richard Bowes - Hmm, an intricate plot concerning vampire collectables dealers who have taken a cut. But much more than that. This would make a fantastic book. It is incredibly atmospheric and makes one want to know more. (4/5) 5. X for Demetrious - This begins with an author's note explaining the true event the story is based on. After reading I had to Google to find out about the real story. So, here, we have a man obsessed with vampires stalking him. This becomes so profound he doesn't leave his home or eat anymore. Unfortunately, I did not like the writing style at all. I also found the story simple and predictable. I found my mind wandering while reading. (2/5) 6. Keeping Corky by Melanie Tem - A mentally challenged woman thinks of her 15-year-old son whom she gave up for adoption. She still thinks of him as a baby and she thinks that if she concentrates hard enough she can make things happen. Then she gets bad news about Corky. Well written. Not a bad story but a little boring. (3/5) 7. Shelf-life by Lisa Tuttle - A woman finds her childhood dollhouse in her father's attic. She gives it to her daughter and she starts acting strange. I like this author a lot and as usual, she writes a great story. Not her best but still good. (4/5) 8. Caius by Bill Pronzini & Barry N Malzberg - A man is a lauded radio talk show host. This builds up until we're shown the truth at the end. It is a very short, well-told tale with a questionable end. (3/5) 9. Sweet Sorrow by Barbara Roden - A couple who live next door to a missing girl catches Brian's attention. They seem to be getting younger surrounded by the sorrow. Predictable but utterly entertaining story. (4/5) 10. First Breath by Nicole J LeBoeuf - Someone is sent out to find themselves. The rest would be spoilers. A strange but touching story. (4/5) 11. Toujours by Kathe Koja - Gianfranco raises a boy up to be a world-famous fashion designer. Then he meets a woman unlike all the others. They have a battle of the wills to see who will win the fashion designer. (3/5) 12. Miri by Steve Rasnic Tem - A man starts seeing the world without colour. Then he starts hallucinating and losing time. He then starts having visions of an old college girlfriend until he can't tell reality from the visions. (3/5) 13. Mrs. Jones by Carol Emshwiller - Two middle-aged sisters live together one-upping each other until one of them finds a bat-like creature in the orchard. This was a very well-written story. Fun with a twist ending. My favourite so far. (5/5) 14. Bread and Water by Michael Cisco - I have no idea what is happening here. Something with a disease and/or experiment. (0/5) 15. Mulberry Boys by Margo Lanagan - A man comes to the village and takes a young man, the narrator, with him to catch a Mulberry Boy. Just what a Mulberry Boy is and what they are for follows. A bit of a revenge story as a young man tries to make his village a better place. Wonderful storytelling. (5/5) 16. The Third Always Beside You by John Langan - Siblings have thought for over a decade now that their father had an affair. Gert finds out the truth from Auntie V. Nothing supernatural until the last paragraph. Longer story than others and is very well told. (4/5) 17. The Siphon by Laird Barron - A man working for Roache Industries is a part-time agent for the NSA. He takes a group to look at some real estate and they are attacked. A very long story. Great storytelling and characterization. I enjoyed this a lot. (4/5)”
“https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/46138.Ellen_Datlow is one of the leading editors in the horror game and after almost three decades collecting accolades, she's once again in fine form in Blood and Other Cravings, her latest release with Tor Books. Although the title could be misleading, the book is not really about vampires, but about the plethora of ways in which humans can desire, crave and love; how they can be needed and, ultimately, how they can sometimes serve as a nothing more than that which satisfies a hunger. The volume contains eighteen tales and all the stories, while staying true to the cohesive element of the collection, are wide-ranging in subject matter, atmosphere and style. You can read Gabino's full review at Horror DNA by https://www.horrordna.com/books/blood-and-other-cravings-book-review .”

About Ellen Datlow

Ellen Datlow, an acclaimed science fiction and fantasy editor, was born and raised in New York City. She has been a short story and book editor for more than thirty years and has edited or coedited several critically acclaimed anthologies of speculative fiction, including the Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror series and Black Thorn, White Rose (1994) with Terri Windling. Datlow has received numerous honors, including multiple Shirley Jackson, Bram Stoker, Hugo, Locus, and World Fantasy Awards, and Life Achievement Awards from the Horror Writers Association and the World Fantasy Association, to name just a few. She resides in New York.  

Kaaron Warren

Shirley Jackson Award winner Kaaron Warren has published five novels and seven short story collections. She’s sold two hundred short stories to publications big and small around the world and has appeared in Ellen Datlow’s Year’s Best anthologies. Her novel The Grief Hole won three major Australian genre awards. She has lived in Melbourne, Sydney, Fiji, and Canberra; her most recent works are “The Deathplace Set” in Vandal, and Bitters, a novella. Warren won the inaugural Mayday Hills Ghost Story Competition.
 

Reggie Oliver

Reggie Oliver is, is an actor, director, playwright, illustrator, and award-winning author of fiction. Published works include six plays; three novels; an illustrated children’s book The Hauntings at Tankerton Park; nine volumes of short stories, including Mrs Midnight, winner of Children of the Night Award; and a biography of the writer Stella Gibbons. His stories have appeared in over one hundred anthologies, and four “selected” editions of his stories have been published. His newest volume of tales, A Maze for the Minotaur, was published by Tartarus Press in 2021.
 

Steve Duffy

Steve Duffy lives and works in North Wales; his most recent collection of stories, The Faces At Your Shoulder, was published by Sarob Press in 2023. A winner of the International Horror Guild’s short story award and the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novelette, he’s written for publications in the United States and the UK.
 

Melanie Tem

Melanie Tem, British Fantasy and World Fantasy Award–winning author, passed away in 2015. The most important of her short stories are collected in Singularity and Other Stories. Tem’s other works include her last novel, The Yellow Wood, and a recent collection of her plays and poetry, Fry Day Plays & Poems.
 

Barbara Roden

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Barbara Roden is a World Fantasy Award–winning editor and publisher whose short stories have appeared in numerous publications. A collection of her stories, Northwest Passages, was nominated for a World Fantasy Award, while the title story was nominated for the Bram Stoker, International Horror Guild, and World Fantasy Awards. She is also an award-winning journalist and since 2018 has been the mayor of Ashcroft, British Columbia, where she has lived since 1997.
 

Nicole J. LeBoeuf

Nicole J. LeBoeuf is a New Orleanian writer of short speculative fiction and poetry appearing in such venues as Apex Magazine, Cast of Wonders, The Future Fire, Eternal Haunted Summer, Sycorax Journal, and the anthology Community of Magic Pens. She lives in Boulder, Colorado with her husband and their adorably criminal rabbit. Her not-so-secret superhero identity is skater Fleur de Beast with Boulder County Roller Derby. Find her online at nicolejleboeuf.com
 

Steve Rasnic Tem

Steve Rasnic Tem is a winner of the Bram Stoker, World Fantasy, and British Fantasy Awards. He has published five hundred short stories in his decades-long career. Some of his best are collected in Thanatrauma, Figures Unseen, and The Night Doctor & Other Tales. You can find him at www.stevetem.com.
 

Carol Emshwiller

Carol Emshwiller grew up in Michigan and in France and for many years divided her time between New York and California. Her stories appeared in literary and science fiction magazines for over forty years and were published in a number of critically acclaimed collections including The Collected Stories of Carol Emshwiller and In the Time of War/Master of the Road to Nowhere. Emshwiller’s work has been honored with two Nebula Awards and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the World Fantasy Convention. She was also the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts grant and two literary grants from New York State. She died in 2019.
 

Michael Cisco

Michael Cisco is the author of many novels, including The Divinity Student, the International Horror Guild Award winner for Best First Novel; Shirley Jackson nominee The Great Lover; The Narrator; and Pest, as well as the Bram Stoker–nominated nonfiction book Weird Fiction: A Genre Study. His short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies, and his most recent collections are Visiting Maze and Other Quandaries and Antisocieties. He is the author of two novellas: Ethics and Do You Mind If We Dance with Your Legs? He lives in New York City.
 

Margo Lanagan

Margo Lanagan has published two dark fantasy novels, Tender Morsels and Sea Hearts, with a third to come in 2023. She has also published several short story collections, including Black Juice, and collaborated with Scott Westerfeld and Deborah Biancotti on the New York Times–bestselling young adult superheroes trilogy, Zeroes. She is a four-time winner of the World Fantasy Award and has won nine Aurealis and five Ditmar Awards. Lanagan teaches through the Faber Writing Academy and mentors writers through the Australian Writers Mentoring Program. She lives in Sydney.
 

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