Robert eighteen

I was truly looking forward to reading this one after finding it in a used bookstore in Asheville, but it has turned out to be a bit of a let-down.

There is, if looked at honestly and objectively, only two or three tales in this collection that could be called "vampire" stories, and one of those is a stretch because it's the Sherlock Holmes case of the Sussex Vampire which, as with most Holmes cases, has an entirely non-supernatural resolution. This is disappointing as I know that Conan Doyle spent a good part of his life studying the paranormal, and reading his fictionalized versions of those accounts would have been a true treat.

Instead, there are three truish "vampire" stories; "The Captain of the Pole-Star," "The Winning Shot," and "The Parasite." The first deals with a ship stuck in the ice as something unnatural calls to the captain and crew, while the next two deal with mesmerism and the third features a psychic vampire leeching off her victim.

The remainder of the tales, chosen by editor Robert Eighteen-Bisang, require a great deal of convincing as to their inclusion here, and most of them just don't make the mark. Several he claims were inspired by or the inspiration for moments in Bram Stoker's Dracula, so warrant inclusion. Personally, I disagree, and I think the collection suffers for their addition, especially the Holmes tales that aren't the "Sussex Vampire."

The final tale is not even a Conan Doyle story, instead it is a Holmes pastiche written by Bill Crider that features Bram Stoker himself and Professor van Helsing asking Holmes for help with a vampire on the loose. It's an alright tale, but again its inclusion here is shaky to me.

A solid collection of short stories by master writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I just object to most of those included being called "vampire" stories.… (plus d'informations)