Martin Greenberg and Brittiany A. Koren, Editors: Single White Vampire Seeks Same

Daw Books (Paperback), ISBN 0886779227

Ah, to be single, carefree, and ready to party at a moment’s notice. To be ready to snatch that sidelong glance at a bar and turn it into a night of hot sex — and maybe something more. Many of the men and women in Single White Vampire Seeks Same find that more translates into, “Tilt your head a bit farther to the left so I can suck a bit more blood, please…”

And why not? Even vampires — and aliens, succubi, wizards, witches, serial killers, demented artists, and yes, even hapless fellows who lie to their goth girlfriends that they get furry during the full moon — have the right to look for love in all the wrong places like everybody else.

Don’t let the title fool you. As the above paragraph illustrates, Single White Vampire Seeks Same not only celebrates bloodsuckers looking for that special bloodtype, but all the other…er, lonely hearts mentioned. The stories range from Mickey Zucker Reinhardt’s cutesy “Personals Wishes,” to Bradley H. Sinor’s unlikely lovers in “Fireflies,” to Nina Kiriki Hoffman’s teenaged witchy angst in “Secret Identities.”

Not all the stories hit the mark — some merely deliver vampire romance 101 (“A Kiss at Midnight” by R. Davis), while others just fall flat (“Folk Lure” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch). But you will find gems among the pebbles — “Starless and Bible Black” by Gary A. Braunbeck relates the tale of a man who finds the woman of his dreams — and madness. Esther Friesner inspires gales of laughter with “Werotica” — a hilarious story about a young man and the comic and bloody mayhem that results from his personal ad.

Tanya Huff shows readers a different side of her vampire hero, Henry Fitzroy in “Someone to Share the Night.” Poor Henry, even vampires find that it’s a small, small world — especially for singles. I also recommend Tim Waggoner’s “Fixer Upper” and Charles de Lint’s “Trading Hearts at the Half Kaffe Café.”

Despite a few duds, fans of the supernatural will find much to enjoy in Single White Vampire Seeks Same. After all, one must kiss many frogs before finding a prince. Or, in this case, perhaps that should be, one must lose a lot of blood before finding that perfect fiend….

Teri Smith

Raising hell for fifty years from Alaska to the Azores and all points in between, Teri Smith (nee Dohmen) was an Air Force brat who never stopped traveling. She was also a mother, a grandmother (of ten!), a help desk wizard, a financial assistant, acquisitions editor for Samhain Publishing and, most importantly, the Queen Nag of the Known Universe. A multi-published short story writer, her first novel, With Nine You Get Vanyr, written with Jean Marie Ward, was published in 2007. Contrary to common belief, she never stopped living.