Daughters of Darkness: Lesbian Vampire Stories

I have yet to finish reading this book but I'm very happy with what I have read so far.I was surprised with the detail given on the legand of vampires and the very origin of them, great reading.

Editor Pam Keesey has done several anthologies of spooky lesbian stories and this is one of her best. Every single story works as part of a chain to add up to some truly nightmarish, sexy chills.

I never imagined myself that I would buy a book of erotic vampire stories but I have. Several years ago I saw Kim Deal reading Pam Keesey's book in the pages of a magazine. I admit I was curious about the book being the huge vampire fan that I am. I try to avoid the more cartoonish, horror vampire novels that plagues the book market (i.e Tanya Huff). I found a copy of the book at a local bookstore and decided to get it, not so much for the titilation of the sexual depictions described in the book but more from a feminist point of view in terms of female empowerment. In the introduction, Pam explores female empowerment through mythology, namely the supernatural as in vampires and other demons. I was tired of reading the same ridiculous cheesy vampire novel where women were usually the helpless victims or the sultry demon. I was more interested in reading stories of female vampires and how they differentiate from their male counterparts. I thought the stories were interesting to say the very least. And they are definitely different. One of the more interesting stories in the book was "Lousiana: 1850" by Jewelle Gomez. This particular story wasn't something I was expected. Normally I am used to reading about vampires who kill without prejudice and without conscience. Gilda was far from any vampire character I have read in any book. She didn't get off on killing people, let alone kill her victims. She merely would take a drink from her victim and leave. "Lilith" is more in tuned with any modern vampire novel where the vampire's intentions is completely sinister. The vampire seduces her victim and vamps her. The one story I didn't enjoy was "Carmilla" which honestly I found to be a complete bore. I have tried to read it in its entirety but I could not muster up the energy to finish the story, let alone get into it. Otherwise I enjoyed the majority of the stories in "Daughters of Darkness" (as well as in "Dark Angels"). If anything, Pam Keesey's books weren't entirely intended for titilation because the stories certainly underline female empowerment or feminism in some sort of way. As a vampire fanatic, I enjoyed Pam's books. They are a big guilty pleasure of mine.

For those of us interested in the Queer Horror Genre, Daughters of Darkness is yet another of Keesey's exceptional contributions. First, the editorial introduction provides more insight into the genre, a map to seeing more between the lines of the stories -- in what has become a rarity in writing about literature -- an easy to read, accessible format. I actually _learned_ about what I was reading in the stories that followed. Second, the book provides an outlet for what are historically and contemporarily undervalued authors of meaningful horror stories, all respectful of the positive contribution of lesbian imagery and ideas in literature. No, this isn't an erotic pulp novel. It is also NOT the usual feminist PC approach in which all lesbian vampires are made out to be evil or pornographic characters. Instead, sexy and empowering images of lesbian vampires is celebrated in another luscious volume.

I really enjoyed this book a lot. I read a lot of vampire stories and this book really stood out above all the others. Not only was the original lesbian vampire story "Carmilla" included, but a whole slew of other interesting stories too.