Blood Lines: Vampire Stories from New England

by Lawrence Schimel

Overview

The vampire stories in Blood Lines all take place in New England, where the sense of lineage and place is unmatched in any other region of America.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620452202
Publisher:	Cumberland House Publishing
Publication date:	09/01/1997
Series:	American Vampire Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	244
File size:	815 KB

About the Author

Lawrence Schimel (born October 16, 1971) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer, translator, and anthologist whose work frequently deals with gay and lesbian themes, and with Jewish themes. He was born in New York, and received his B.A. in Literature from Yale University. Schimel is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the Academy of American Poets. His is a founding member of the Publishing Triangle, an organization of lesbians and gay men in the publishing industry, which he chaired for two terms (1996–1998). His work has received the Rhysling Award and has twice received the Lambda Literary Award. Mr. Schimel was a juror for the 2010 James Tiptree, Jr. Award.[4] He is also one of the volunteer judges for the 2011 Lamba Literary Award.

Editorial Reviews

As the editors observe in their introduction, vampirism of one kind or another is a central motif of New England's post-Puritan nightmares. Unfortunately, the 10 stories of this collectionthe first volume of Cumberland's American Vampire Seriesdon't quite do the nightmare justice. Too often attention to voice or setting drains the blood out of a promising tale, while most settle for stock foreshadowing deviceswatch out for light-sensitive Hungarians in black. All but one of the stories have been previously published, and only a few deserve the honor. Chief among these are H.P. Lovecraft's eerie 1937 tale "The Shunned House," which bears the master's singular stamp and ties itself off with a neat twist, and Kristine Kathryn Rusch's recent "The Beautiful and the Damned," narrated by the grandson of Gatsby narrator Nick Carraway. Although Rusch is no Fitzgerald, it's fun to watch her literalize the metaphorical vampirism that haunts so much of his fiction. The rest are most likely to please those enthusiasts of the upper mainland states who don't mind when a vampire story fails to keep them up at night. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly