Virtuous Vampires

We have become used to stories, novels, movies and TV series that portray vampires in a sympathetic light. From Twilight to The Vampire Lestat, we have met vampires who fall in love with humans and those who act with responsible concern for all humans. Well, most humans. In this volume, editors Stefan Dziemianowicz and Robert Weinburg--aided by the prolific serial anthologist Martin Greenberg--have collected eighteen stories that present these creatures of the night in a kinder light. The virtues of these vampires range from peaceful coexistence with humans to benevolent service to their supposed prey. Four favorites from a pretty good group: Robert Bloch's "The Cloak" begins the collection with the story of a man transformed by a "genuine" vampire's cloak worn to a costume party--and by the angelic woman he meets there. Ray Bradbury's "Homecoming" clothes a family gathering of vampires in its own cloak of Walton's Mountain normality. Alan Ryan's "Following the Way" tells of a student's repeated encounters with a patient priest as he pursues his educational goals--and repeatedly fends off invitations to join the priesthood. Roger Zelazny's "The Stainless Steel Leech" tells of the duel between the last man and the last vampire. And of the vampire's last friend. This is an enjoyable collection of vampire stories and is recommended to fans of that genre. It includes stories written by a large number of established science fiction writers--Ray Bradbury, Henry Kuttner, C. L. Moore, Spider Robinson, Brian Stapleford, Harry Turtledove and Roger Zelazny. This is understandable given Martin Greenberg's other anthology work. Interestingly, most of the stories from these authors do not have a science fiction theme.