Stagestruck Vampires and Other Phantasms

“An intoxicating mix of exhilaration and terror…every story will have an effect on your psyche, thanks to Charnas’ magnificent style. Her writing is almost poetic in its beauty, but damning in its subject; similar to chocolate-covered arsenic.“— Horror-web.com “In ‘Listening to Brahms’ Charnas proves that she can take global tragedies and extract the most minute yet potent seed of hope from the rubble. Three linked stories comprise a nuanced portrait of her vampiric antihero Dr. Weyland. With its Leiberesque love affair with the stage, this entertaining volume deserves to run as long as Cats.” — Paul di Filippo, Asimov’s SF

From Booklist

Acclaimed horror author Charnas gathers several of her best stories as well as a new novella and two new essays in this inventive collection. The opener, "Beauty of the Opera; or, The Phantom Beast," reimagines the ending of Phantom of the Opera: what if Christine had stayed with the Phantom? Charnas' Christine is shrewd enough to bargain the Phantom down to five years of marriage, but during that time she finds her feelings for him growing complicated. In "Evil Thoughts," a woman's petty thoughts are represented by hideous mushrooms in her front yard; try as she might, she is unable to eradicate either mushrooms or thoughts. "Advocates," a collaboration with Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, brings together Charnas' vampire villain, Wayland, and Yarbro's hero of the ages, Saint-Germain. Charnas addresses writing in the two essays: in one, she struggles to turn a novella into a play; in the other, she wrestles with getting her ideas across in her writing. This imaginative compilation ably showcases Charnas' creativity and talent. Kristine HuntleyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Asimov’s Science Fiction

“Stagestruck Vampires and Other Phantasms exhibits the author at her wide-ranging best.”

January Magazine

“So, broad range of talent, nonfiction essays, engaging fiction that dates back 20 years and that was written recently along with a spot-on collaboration. What are you waiting for?”

Bella Online

“Stagestruck Vampires and Other Phantasms is a feat of storytelling showcasing an extremely talented writer undergoing a broad scope of undoubtedly personal experiences.”

From the Publisher

Locus Magazine’s 2004 Recommended Reading List book

About the Author

Suzy McKee Charnas’s ground-breaking novel The Vampire Tapestry was a popular and critically acclaimed exploration of the vampire mythos. The Holdfast Chronicles, a quartet of books that has been hailed as a great work of feminist science fiction, garnered her several Tiptree Awards. She has also won the Hugo, Nebula, and Mythopoeic awards. Charnas adapted The Vampire Tapestry into a two-act play entitled Vampire Dreams. The play had runs in both San Francisco and New York, debuting as part of Springfest in San Francisco in 1990.

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