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Blood Is Not Enough: Stories of Vampirism
"An excellent collection" of vampire stories, from authors such as Harlan Ellison, Dan Simmons, Gahan Wilson, Tanith Lee, and Fritz Leiber (Publishers Weekly).
Renowned editor Ellen Datlow has gathered seventeen variations on vampirism ranging from classically Gothic to postmodern satire, from horrific to erotic. These stories reflect the evolution of vampire literature from Bram Stoker to Anne Rice and beyond, resulting in a deeper exploration of their inner lives. Expanding the concept of vampirism to include the draining of a person's will or life force, Datlow's collection transcends the traditional "black capes and teeth marks on the neck" to reinvent an eternally fascinating subgenre of horror.
In Harlan Ellison's "Try a Dull Knife," an empath stumbles bleeding into a nightclub, on the run from emotional vampires. A Broadway actress steals the emotions of her fellow performers in ". . . To Feel Another's Woe" by Chet Williamson. And in "The Sea Was Wet as Wet Could Be," Gahan Wilson offers his own surreal twist on Lewis Carroll's "The Walrus and the Carpenter," as two strangers on a beach lure intoxicated picnickers to a different kind of picnic . . .
Blood Is Not Enough includes contributions by Dan Simmons, Gahan Wilson, Garry Kilworth, Harlan Ellison, Scott Baker, Leonid Andreyev, Harvey Jacobs, S. N. Dyer, Edward Bryant, Fritz Leiber, Tanith Lee, Susan Casper, Steve Rasnic Tem, Gardner Dozois and Jack Dann, Chet Williamson, Joe Haldeman, and Pat Cadigan.
Renowned editor Ellen Datlow has gathered seventeen variations on vampirism ranging from classically Gothic to postmodern satire, from horrific to erotic. These stories reflect the evolution of vampire literature from Bram Stoker to Anne Rice and beyond, resulting in a deeper exploration of their inner lives. Expanding the concept of vampirism to include the draining of a person's will or life force, Datlow's collection transcends the traditional "black capes and teeth marks on the neck" to reinvent an eternally fascinating subgenre of horror.
In Harlan Ellison's "Try a Dull Knife," an empath stumbles bleeding into a nightclub, on the run from emotional vampires. A Broadway actress steals the emotions of her fellow performers in ". . . To Feel Another's Woe" by Chet Williamson. And in "The Sea Was Wet as Wet Could Be," Gahan Wilson offers his own surreal twist on Lewis Carroll's "The Walrus and the Carpenter," as two strangers on a beach lure intoxicated picnickers to a different kind of picnic . . .
Blood Is Not Enough includes contributions by Dan Simmons, Gahan Wilson, Garry Kilworth, Harlan Ellison, Scott Baker, Leonid Andreyev, Harvey Jacobs, S. N. Dyer, Edward Bryant, Fritz Leiber, Tanith Lee, Susan Casper, Steve Rasnic Tem, Gardner Dozois and Jack Dann, Chet Williamson, Joe Haldeman, and Pat Cadigan.
362 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1989
75 people are currently reading
486 people want to read
About the author
Ellen Datlow
271 books1,830 followersEllen Datlow has been editing science fiction, fantasy, and horror short fiction for forty years as fiction editor of OMNI Magazine and editor of Event Horizon and SCIFICTION. She currently acquires short stories and novellas for Tor.com. In addition, she has edited about one hundred science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologies, including the annual The Best Horror of the Year series, The Doll Collection, Mad Hatters and March Hares, The Devil and the Deep: Horror Stories of the Sea, Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories, Edited By, and Final Cuts: New Tales of Hollywood Horror and Other Spectacles.
She's won multiple World Fantasy Awards, Locus Awards, Hugo Awards, Bram Stoker Awards, International Horror Guild Awards, Shirley Jackson Awards, and the 2012 Il Posto Nero Black Spot Award for Excellence as Best Foreign Editor. Datlow was named recipient of the 2007 Karl Edward Wagner Award, given at the British Fantasy Convention for "outstanding contribution to the genre," was honored with the Life Achievement Award by the Horror Writers Association, in acknowledgment of superior achievement over an entire career, and honored with the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award at the 2014 World Fantasy Convention.
She's won multiple World Fantasy Awards, Locus Awards, Hugo Awards, Bram Stoker Awards, International Horror Guild Awards, Shirley Jackson Awards, and the 2012 Il Posto Nero Black Spot Award for Excellence as Best Foreign Editor. Datlow was named recipient of the 2007 Karl Edward Wagner Award, given at the British Fantasy Convention for "outstanding contribution to the genre," was honored with the Life Achievement Award by the Horror Writers Association, in acknowledgment of superior achievement over an entire career, and honored with the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award at the 2014 World Fantasy Convention.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
October 2, 2020
-El impacto sobre el lector está, en general, lejos de su calidad técnica.-
Género. Relatos.
Lo que nos cuenta. El libro Vampiros (publicación original: Blood Is Not Enough, 1989) es una antología con diecisiete relatos seleccionados por Ellen Datlow, responsable también de la introducción, cuyos trabajos en general (en general, ojo) muestran mucho cuidado en su despliegue técnico y no demasiada potencia dentro del tema de los vampiros, tema al que se acercan bastantes relatos de manera nada literal, que nos permitirán conocer una amenaza en un campo de concentración, unas niñas en un centro de cuidado infantil, un club privado bastante particular, una doctora muy ocupada, personas que controlan la voluntad de otros o una modelo fotográfica fascinante, entre otros temas.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
https://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com...
Género. Relatos.
Lo que nos cuenta. El libro Vampiros (publicación original: Blood Is Not Enough, 1989) es una antología con diecisiete relatos seleccionados por Ellen Datlow, responsable también de la introducción, cuyos trabajos en general (en general, ojo) muestran mucho cuidado en su despliegue técnico y no demasiada potencia dentro del tema de los vampiros, tema al que se acercan bastantes relatos de manera nada literal, que nos permitirán conocer una amenaza en un campo de concentración, unas niñas en un centro de cuidado infantil, un club privado bastante particular, una doctora muy ocupada, personas que controlan la voluntad de otros o una modelo fotográfica fascinante, entre otros temas.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
https://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com...
January 24, 2013
I never know what to expect when I borrow books off my mom's bookshelf, but this one has been sitting in my room for ages because it looks so interesting and yet I just never had the time. Well, I made the fucking time. And here I am, essentially four or five hours later (though I read it mostly in chunks), kind of confused.
Yes, it is to be expected in an anthology that some of the works will be good and some will be bad. But that wasn't enough for Datlow. She had to pick some of the best of the best works of Vampiresque fiction, and then the worst of the worst. And by worst, I really do mean worst. Badly written, going on forever, boring, tedious, and predictable. And some were just icky. Not that I don't like gore, not at all, but some of the subject matter was just...eek. Like "Varicose Worms." Essentially about an abusive relationship narrated by a fuck-head and staring him and his future baby mama (he cares about this more than he does about her as a person. My inner/outer feminist rages with indignation, and the author doesn't even have the decency to write their relationship well. The shaman magic he uses is unclear and fuzzy, he has too many names and although the story drags on forever you never really grasp them, and there are no likable characters except for the sixty or so dogs who bark at him when he turns into a bear. Other honorable mentions of awful are "Return of the Dust Vampires," "Dirty Work", and "Good Kids", starring an insomniac doctor named Dr. Insomnia (no, really) and her patient a by-gone actor of shitty science fiction, a pathos-finder (I read all 36 pages of the confused pseudo-sci-fi mess and am still not entirely sure what that means), and a bunch of vampire-erotica-obsessed ten year olds ganging up on their babysitter Dracula, respectively. Just awful.
But then there are also moments of true brilliance. I thought "Lazarus," about the man who rose from the dead and sucked the life out of people just by looking at them, was clever and historical and vampiresque without being cliche. I thought "The Girl With the Hungry Eyes" has an excellent ending despite a slow beginning and works its way through some fascinating story elements before it reaches its conclusion. "The Sea Was As Wet As Wet Could Be" is now in my top ten short stories of all time, as it is short but not skimpy, clever and interesting, full of Alice in Wonderland references that aren't the mad hatter, the white rabbit, or mad old bats screaming about decapitation.
The thing you have to know about this collection is that Datlow's interpretation of what a vampire is is very, very broad. If you're a hard-core Bram Stoker fan and are stuck to your love of tall dark gentleman with sharp fangs and a brooding demeanor, you're probably not going to find what you're looking for in this book. Mostly the criteria for being a vampire seems to be that you suck something from another person. Either personality or humanity or blood or soul or whatever. If you suck something besides genitalia, you're probably in.
So, overall, I could take or leave this anthology. There is some very good, some truly abysmal, but perhaps something for everybody. Certainly not a bad inclusion to your vampire book reportorial if you find it in the 25cent bin at your local used bookstore, or on your mother's bookshelf.
Yes, it is to be expected in an anthology that some of the works will be good and some will be bad. But that wasn't enough for Datlow. She had to pick some of the best of the best works of Vampiresque fiction, and then the worst of the worst. And by worst, I really do mean worst. Badly written, going on forever, boring, tedious, and predictable. And some were just icky. Not that I don't like gore, not at all, but some of the subject matter was just...eek. Like "Varicose Worms." Essentially about an abusive relationship narrated by a fuck-head and staring him and his future baby mama (he cares about this more than he does about her as a person. My inner/outer feminist rages with indignation, and the author doesn't even have the decency to write their relationship well. The shaman magic he uses is unclear and fuzzy, he has too many names and although the story drags on forever you never really grasp them, and there are no likable characters except for the sixty or so dogs who bark at him when he turns into a bear. Other honorable mentions of awful are "Return of the Dust Vampires," "Dirty Work", and "Good Kids", starring an insomniac doctor named Dr. Insomnia (no, really) and her patient a by-gone actor of shitty science fiction, a pathos-finder (I read all 36 pages of the confused pseudo-sci-fi mess and am still not entirely sure what that means), and a bunch of vampire-erotica-obsessed ten year olds ganging up on their babysitter Dracula, respectively. Just awful.
But then there are also moments of true brilliance. I thought "Lazarus," about the man who rose from the dead and sucked the life out of people just by looking at them, was clever and historical and vampiresque without being cliche. I thought "The Girl With the Hungry Eyes" has an excellent ending despite a slow beginning and works its way through some fascinating story elements before it reaches its conclusion. "The Sea Was As Wet As Wet Could Be" is now in my top ten short stories of all time, as it is short but not skimpy, clever and interesting, full of Alice in Wonderland references that aren't the mad hatter, the white rabbit, or mad old bats screaming about decapitation.
The thing you have to know about this collection is that Datlow's interpretation of what a vampire is is very, very broad. If you're a hard-core Bram Stoker fan and are stuck to your love of tall dark gentleman with sharp fangs and a brooding demeanor, you're probably not going to find what you're looking for in this book. Mostly the criteria for being a vampire seems to be that you suck something from another person. Either personality or humanity or blood or soul or whatever. If you suck something besides genitalia, you're probably in.
So, overall, I could take or leave this anthology. There is some very good, some truly abysmal, but perhaps something for everybody. Certainly not a bad inclusion to your vampire book reportorial if you find it in the 25cent bin at your local used bookstore, or on your mother's bookshelf.
July 4, 2009
A collection of vampire fiction edited by Datlow. I have a copy signed by Datlow. There's some good stuff and some rather average stuff. Not much that isn't decent though. Good stories by Gahan Wilson, Fritz Leiber, Chet Williamson, Edward Bryant, and others.
July 30, 2016
I took my time reading this one because from the introduction onward and through each contribution, I was entranced. For me, there was not one dud or a lackluster story in this entire anthology. The excellence of the writing in this book is unmistakable. Within are some scary-talented authors and I am in awe of their way with words and the skill with which they can weave together a tale.
I am unable to designate a favorite. Each story had its own sinister radiance even if it wasn't overt. The book helped reignite the dying embers of my love of the vampire as a literary device, which had started to fade over the years. Ah it's good to be back in those undead arms again!
I am unable to designate a favorite. Each story had its own sinister radiance even if it wasn't overt. The book helped reignite the dying embers of my love of the vampire as a literary device, which had started to fade over the years. Ah it's good to be back in those undead arms again!
April 8, 2025
A rather disappointing anthology and not what I expect from the acclaimed editor. Most of the stories were unremarkable to verging on unreadable; however, two stories were outstanding and made the entire read well worth the effort: The Sea Was Wet as Wet Could Be by Gahan Wilson and The Girl With Hungry Eyes by Fritz Leiber. ⭐⭐⭐
More at my blog: https://bookworminthedark.blogspot.com.
More at my blog: https://bookworminthedark.blogspot.com.
June 28, 2018
A pretty poor collection of dim, uninspired stories, with a few exceptions.
5s - none
4s - "The Sea Was Wet as Wet Could Be"; "To Feel Another's Woe"
3s - "L'Chaim!"; "Down Among the Dead Men"
2s - 9 works
1s - 3 works
My opinion of the editor's taste has plummeted.
5s - none
4s - "The Sea Was Wet as Wet Could Be"; "To Feel Another's Woe"
3s - "L'Chaim!"; "Down Among the Dead Men"
2s - 9 works
1s - 3 works
My opinion of the editor's taste has plummeted.
June 29, 2023
Interesting collection
A collection of weird and wild vampire stories. The interpretations bring a totally different feel to the topic. One of the most interesting of the stories takes place in a concentration camp. A book filled with horror.
A collection of weird and wild vampire stories. The interpretations bring a totally different feel to the topic. One of the most interesting of the stories takes place in a concentration camp. A book filled with horror.
October 14, 2023
A rare misfire from Ellen Datlow. Usually a safe pair of hands unfortunately there were more than a few clunkers in this antho. A few excellent stories but not enough to save it.
January 6, 2025
Just didn't like it overall. Didn't think the stories were all the strong.
July 25, 2019
Please give my Amazon review a helpful vote - https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-re...
This is an anthology of "non-traditional" vampire stories. The non-traditional vampires actually are non-traditional in a number of ways. They feed off of emotions and inhabit death camps and don't fit the norm in a variety of ways.
The nice thing about this anthology is that it was compiled in the late 1980s, which gave the editor Ellen Datlow access to authors who are no longer available, such as Harlan Ellison and Gahan Wilson.
Another nice feature is that each story is followed by a comment by the author offering something about the story. In the case of Harlan Ellison, the afterword is a long story about his time in Hollywood when he hung with Eastwood, Robert Blake and other stars.
As with most anthologies, the stories can be a mixed bag. I felt the strongest were:
"Carion Comforts" by Dan Simons - These vampires control others by dint of their will to cause death and suffering, which they then feed off of. Then, they turn on each other.
"The Sea was as Wet as Wet Could Be" by Gahan Wilson. We think of Wilson as a cartoonist famous for those creepy Playboy cartoons, but he could write. This is a jewel of the story that reads Lewis Carroll's "The Walrus and the Carpenter" as a vampire story.
"Try a Dull Knife" by Harlan Ellison. I was initially not impressed by this story, but I found that it stuck with me. I've never read this one, even though the story reminds me of a lot of the famous Ellison short stories with a character who lives for his audience being drained of energy by his audience. Obviously, it's a metaphor for the writer or singer or artist. What really gives this story "value added" is the end note by Ellison where he talks about his Hollywood years.
"L'Chaim" by Harvey Jacobs was a creepy tale about a very elite group of vampires who cultivate their product for decades.
"To Feel Another's Woe" by Chet Williamson. Set in New York's theater scene, the vampire feeds off, and destroys, the emotions of her creative lovers.
"Down Among the Dead Men" by Gardner Dozois and Jack Dann. A classical vampire finds himself trapped in a Nazi death camp feeding off his sheep.
"Good Kids" by Edward Bryant. A classic vampire gets an appointment to work with a group of children, who are the true monsters of the story.
I would give an honorable mention to "Dirty Work" by Pat Cadigan. The story of Deadpan Allie the Pathosfinder had depth, but it left me with to many questions about the background of the story. Likewise, I wanted to like "The Girl with the Hungry Eyes" by Fritz Lieber because it was a Lieber story I'd never read before, but, again, it didn't come together. I liked the 1948 post-war setting but I was underwhelmed by the idea that the "vampire" could only elicit passion on film and not in person.
This is an anthology of "non-traditional" vampire stories. The non-traditional vampires actually are non-traditional in a number of ways. They feed off of emotions and inhabit death camps and don't fit the norm in a variety of ways.
The nice thing about this anthology is that it was compiled in the late 1980s, which gave the editor Ellen Datlow access to authors who are no longer available, such as Harlan Ellison and Gahan Wilson.
Another nice feature is that each story is followed by a comment by the author offering something about the story. In the case of Harlan Ellison, the afterword is a long story about his time in Hollywood when he hung with Eastwood, Robert Blake and other stars.
As with most anthologies, the stories can be a mixed bag. I felt the strongest were:
"Carion Comforts" by Dan Simons - These vampires control others by dint of their will to cause death and suffering, which they then feed off of. Then, they turn on each other.
"The Sea was as Wet as Wet Could Be" by Gahan Wilson. We think of Wilson as a cartoonist famous for those creepy Playboy cartoons, but he could write. This is a jewel of the story that reads Lewis Carroll's "The Walrus and the Carpenter" as a vampire story.
"Try a Dull Knife" by Harlan Ellison. I was initially not impressed by this story, but I found that it stuck with me. I've never read this one, even though the story reminds me of a lot of the famous Ellison short stories with a character who lives for his audience being drained of energy by his audience. Obviously, it's a metaphor for the writer or singer or artist. What really gives this story "value added" is the end note by Ellison where he talks about his Hollywood years.
"L'Chaim" by Harvey Jacobs was a creepy tale about a very elite group of vampires who cultivate their product for decades.
"To Feel Another's Woe" by Chet Williamson. Set in New York's theater scene, the vampire feeds off, and destroys, the emotions of her creative lovers.
"Down Among the Dead Men" by Gardner Dozois and Jack Dann. A classical vampire finds himself trapped in a Nazi death camp feeding off his sheep.
"Good Kids" by Edward Bryant. A classic vampire gets an appointment to work with a group of children, who are the true monsters of the story.
I would give an honorable mention to "Dirty Work" by Pat Cadigan. The story of Deadpan Allie the Pathosfinder had depth, but it left me with to many questions about the background of the story. Likewise, I wanted to like "The Girl with the Hungry Eyes" by Fritz Lieber because it was a Lieber story I'd never read before, but, again, it didn't come together. I liked the 1948 post-war setting but I was underwhelmed by the idea that the "vampire" could only elicit passion on film and not in person.
Currently reading
July 13, 2024"Try a Dull Knife" by Harlan Ellison - No traditional vampires in this story but Eddie Burma is a person who craves the attention of those around him, and as the years pass leaving him feeling drained, he realizes he is a kind of food and they are the feeders.
"A Child of Darkness" by Susan Casper - Daria is arrested for behaving like a vampire and her allies attempt to convince her and the judge that she suffers from a rare blood disorder but she isn't buying it.
"Good Kids" by Edward Bryant - A blood-drinking vampire targets kids at a boarding school but the children there turn out to be vampires of the energy-draining kind.
"L'Chaim!" by Harvey Jacobs - wc
"A Child of Darkness" by Susan Casper - Daria is arrested for behaving like a vampire and her allies attempt to convince her and the judge that she suffers from a rare blood disorder but she isn't buying it.
"Good Kids" by Edward Bryant - A blood-drinking vampire targets kids at a boarding school but the children there turn out to be vampires of the energy-draining kind.
"L'Chaim!" by Harvey Jacobs - wc
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 6, 2016
-- A Child of Darkness --
Susan Casper's story is not exactly what I expected. It's a realistic tale with a different take on vampirism. It's interesting though not captivating enough for me. It made me curious about the condition she based her story on. It's well written, it has an almost "artistic" way to it, with mixtures of memory and present, making it a great format to include as many facts as possible in such a short story.
It's good, I recognize that, but it isn't particularly my kind of story.
Susan Casper's story is not exactly what I expected. It's a realistic tale with a different take on vampirism. It's interesting though not captivating enough for me. It made me curious about the condition she based her story on. It's well written, it has an almost "artistic" way to it, with mixtures of memory and present, making it a great format to include as many facts as possible in such a short story.
It's good, I recognize that, but it isn't particularly my kind of story.
January 11, 2016
this is a weird and very creepy little short. it is also very poorly written. there's no clue during what time period this takes place though due to the poor conditions of the mental institution she was in I hope very very long ago. the shifts between past and present were very sloppy and the ending was rather abrupt
September 9, 2009
Good anthology. Favorite stories were "Try A Dull Knife" by Harlan Ellison, the short-short "L'Chaim!" by Harvey Jacobs, and "...To Feel Another's Woe" by Chet Williamson. The others were solid too, not a dud in the bunch.
July 4, 2008
This is another stellar collection from Ellen Datlow, with stories from Fritz Leiber, Harlan Ellison, Tanith Lee, and Gahan Wilson.
Read
August 22, 2008Blood Is Not Enough by Ellen Datlow (1994)
August 19, 2010
Yes, dear, there were vampires before Twilight. And they didn't sparkle. But we loved them anyway.
November 2, 2014
3.5 pretty good.
November 16, 2013
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12308464
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12308464
December 14, 2013
A nice collection of odd and sometimes quirky vampire short stories.
November 8, 2014
This is extremely tedious collection, which has not much to do with vampires. The Silver Collar by Garry Kilworth is a standout and that´s it. I threw it to trash when I moved.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews