Trisha Telep

Overall, this is a decent anthology of vampire stories that will easily find an audience among the vampire-crazed. It�Ûªs got a stellar line-up of A-list teen authors, many who write urban fantasy/paranormal romance. However, there were enough stories in this anthology that I either didn‰Ûªt like or felt ‰ÛÏmeh‰Û about that I can‰Ûªt say it‰Ûªs a wholly successful collection. Yes, the vampires in the stories are diverse, ranging from show more terrifying to romantic to just plain folks, and the lore (whether they combust in sunshine, look beautiful or hideous, can or can not turn into bats, etc.) varies from story to story as well, but that‰Ûªs not enough to make this whole collection a stand-out.

One of the best stories is titled, very appropriately, ‰ÛÏUndead is Very Hot Right Now‰Û. In this story, by Sarah Rees Brennan (author of The Demon‰Ûªs Lexicon), Chris is a half-hearted member of the boy band, 4TheLuv. And oh, he‰Ûªs also a vampire (or what the band‰Ûªs publicist refers to as the ‰ÛÏgimmick‰Û, meaning she forces him to wear a cape in public so that he can do ‰ÛÏthat vampire thing‰Û). In addition to poking fun at the music industry, boy bands, the media, rabid fangirl groupies, and vampires, Brennan also writes a rather melancholy little love story about Chris falling for a fan and how their expectations of one another conflict (he wants her to help him feel more human, but she wants him to be more of a vampire). Chris‰Ûªs voice is dry and snarky while also being painfully vulnerable, so the story manages to be both hilarious and poignant. It‰Ûªs one of the only funny stories in the anthology so it really stands out.

My other favorite story is ‰ÛÏThe Coldest Girl in Coldtown‰Û by Holly Black, a very dark story about life after a pandemic turned thousands of people into vampires. The only way to stop spreading the infection and also deal with the rise of vampires, who still want their political rights, was to create segregated areas called Coldtowns. While the Coldtown broadcast on television looks like an endless party, Matilda refuses to give in when she is infected. The virus lasts 88 days, and if she can stop herself from drinking blood for that long, she will remain human. With only a short time left to go, however, a friend tells her that his sister and Matilda‰Ûªs boyfriend have entered Coldtown looking for her, and he asks her to save his sister. Matilda, worried about her boyfriend, decides to drink blood and die in order to enter Coldtown, but once she‰Ûªs there she finds out some terrible truths. This story has a perfect ending, shocking, gritty, and meaningful all in one.

My other favorite stories in this anthology:
‰ÛÏThe Thirteenth Step‰Û by Libba Bray is about a girl who takes a secretarial job at a halfway house for troubled teens and, despite loving the people she meets, starts to worry about what goes on in the ‰ÛÏdetox‰Û area late at night.

‰ÛÏAll Hallows‰Û by Rachel Caine is a Morganville Vampire story that mixes humor and action in equal amounts. Eve has to come to her vampire boyfriend‰Ûªs rescue when he is supposedly kidnapped, but of course nothing is that simple.

‰ÛÏAmbition‰Û by Lili St. Crow is a nuanced portrayal of a very lonely girl who is presented with a disturbing moral dilemma when she meets Johnny, who may or may not be a vampire. It has an ambiguous and yet disturbing ending, and it‰Ûªs one of those stories you have to think about for a while before you can let it go. show less

Like many anthologies of its kind, "Corsets and Clockwork" does veer a little toward the *inconsistent* end of things, but not nearly as much as most. None of the stories are real clunkers, but there were a couple that stood out. Among others, Lesley Livingston's "Rude Mechanicals" had many things I love in any story: run down theaters, idealistic artists and finely-wrought automatons. Its ending hangs like a puppet on a wire, creating that breathlessness only short stories can provide. But show more then there was the one that REALLY stood out for me. Caitlin Kitteredge's "The Vast Machinery of Dreams", a clockwork Lovecraftian masterpiece, that doesn't function as a traditional Twilight Zonish punch-packing short story, neither as a self contained novel chapter, but instead it functions as a truly "Weird Tale" in the best possible sense of the term. It's the one story that made me question the Young Adult sticker on the library's binding. It's the story I liked so VERY much that my review went from three to four stars.

Recommended show less

You know, I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. There really aren't any "bad" stories in it, more like.. "okay" stories and "better" stories. I intended to write a short review of each one, but then I realized that was a lot of writing and getting up and down and... yeah, so instead I'll give you a few reviews of the stories I liked best.

Errant - Diane Peterfreund

I'm not a big unicorn fan, I admit it. I think I got burned out when unicorns were all over the cartoons when show more I was a little girl. Then of course there was more recent youtube videos with unicorns that made them feel.. cheesy and hokey. That said, this short story was interesting and finally made them out to be a little more bloodthirsty and not quite all rainbows and ponies. Enjoyable story and I'll be looking into more of Peterfruend's writing.

Lost – Justine Musk

I really enjoyed this story about a girl who can find things that are “lost”. I love mythology, though, so it isn't really a surprise that I enjoyed this as much as I did. Unlike some of the other stories in this book, this one had a definite beginning, middle and the perfect ending so, while I wish it had been longer, I was satisfied with what I read.

The Spy Who Never Grew Up – Sarah Rees Brennan

Hands down, my favorite story of the book. Okay, so I admit to rolling my eyes a little at the introduction of 69 the Spy, but the story got better from there, I promise! Such a fun and interesting take on an old story. I'm laughing remembering the introduction to the Queen even as I type this. This story alone is worth picking up this collection.

Hare Moon – Carrie Ryan

Oh Carrie Ryan, how I love you. Carrie has this way of turning zombies into something even more terrifying than zombies! Just the mere mention of the “unconsecrated” and I shiver and get cold chills. In this short story about Tabitha she gives you a small, perfect taste of her longer books and has me remembering I still need to read that second one – soon!

A few surprises - I'm not a big Hush, Hush fan but the Becca Fitzpatrick story kind of blew me away with how good it was. Also, I think I'm done with vampires. Way too many vampire stories out there and when you start mixing them with other fantastical creatures (such as Djinn), it's too much.

Overall enjoyable set of short stories and not nearly as mushy as I thought it would be! show less

Did... I find a whole new host of supernatural creatures to crush on?: YES. Djinn anyone? Angels? Unicorn hunters?

Did... I decide to add every single author to my TBR?: YES. I'm already a dyed-in-the-wool Stiefvater fan, but now my list of authors I'm slavishly reading has grown!

Did... I find I was even excited to read about vampires?: YES. I'm still not 100% in the vampires-are-awesome camp, but this collection made me pretty happy to have one as my hero or heroine.

Review: This solid show more collection of paranormal short stories is engaging and perfect for the approaching autumn season (for those in the Northern Hemisphere). Many of the authors are recognizable from their novels -- Becca Fitzpatrick, Carrie Ryan, Rachel Vincent, Maggie Stiefvater, Diana Peterfreund -- and even a few offer stories within the universes they write about. In fact, one of the stand out stories in the collection, Becca Fitzpatrick's "Dungeons of Langeais", grabs the reader from the first line, regardless of their familiarity with the Hush, Hush series (says one who hasn't read any of them!).

I enjoyed every story, which is pretty rare. Of course, I liked some less than others. One even had me completely flummoxed (emotionally)! Sarah Rees Brennan's "The Spy Who Never Grew Up" is super twisted and kind of awesome and kind of sketchy, and I can't say if I loved it or hated it. And it challenged the idea of 'love', which is the uniting theme of this collection. As editor Trisha Telep explains, love can be light and fluffy and sweet, but it can also be dark and twisted and wrong, and every story in this collections hits solidly on that spectrum.

Other highlights included Diana Peterfreund's "Errant", which might be set in her killer unicorn universe; Karen Mahoney's "The Spirit Jar", which includes a vampire (yawn) and a djinn (yum!); Maggie Stiefvater's "The Hounds of Ulster", which is all about teenage musicians and dreams of getting big (and also, faeries); and Daniel Marks' "Vermillion", which sort of felt like being plunked midstream in a story but was so good, I eventually didn't care.

In terms of heat, this is a solid PG rating, if that; I actually found few of the stories openly romantic and some really twisted and played with the idea of love and being in love. I wasn't wild about Trisha Telep's introduction to this collection, but I like her taste, so I might even pick up her vampire collection of stories, The Eternal Kiss. show less