Vampire Stories


I found this collection at a library and thought it pretty interesting that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote other types of stories in addition to his more famous work, the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, master detective of Victorian England.

As with other reviewers I have to agree that the marketing ploy by Skyhorse Publishing in this 2009 edition was quite misleading. Further dubious honor for this deceit goes to editor Robert Eighteen-Bisang, who write a brief piece on why the stories would evoke vampirism.

Example: In one story we have a sea captain stuck on the ice floes of the north with his crew beginning to mutiny. The narrator fears for the captain's sanity as he rants and raves about something he sees out in the ice. Finally he jumps ship and he later is found dead. The editor gives the reader some verse about there being an Eskimo vampire that sucks the heat out of people.

Looking carefully, the words Eskimo and vampire are not mentioned at all in Doyle's story, The Captain of the Pole Star, regardless of it being quite well-written and interesting.

There were several stories like this: of Mesmerism, of witches and of people who could make you think you see something that is not actually there. In each case, though they are fine tales, the editor keeps throwing in his justification for why he is calling each a vampire story.

Quite a stretch, Robert!

And to compound the felony, the last story is not even written by Doyle, a tale called "The Case of the Vanished Vampire," written by a Bill Cryder and about the author Bram Stoker who attempts to get Holmes involved in a false story about a vampire loose in London in order to create publicity for his book (which is not named in the story and is obviously "Dracula.") I thought the story forced and not really up to Doyle's standards.

I don't want this brief review to be a complete slam on the editor and publisher. I though Doyle's stories were fun to read though the Victorian English may take some getting used to. One of the stories I liked best was "Adventure of the Sussex Vampire," which protagonist is not an actual vampire but is a case of mistaken intentions - quite interesting, and is a Sherlock Holmes story to boot.

Of the ten stories in the collection, nine are from Doyle and three by Doyle are Sherlock Holmes' stories. And yes Bram Stoker was a contemporary of Doyle's but clearly these stories are nothing like Stoker's Dracula. Still, an enjoyable read.

Recommended.

( )

Even though there's no actual mentioning of vampires in this book, it's still an enjoyable read. It's really a shame that Conan Doyle's work outside Sherlock Holmes was never really given the credit that it deserved. ( )

Vampire Stories


I found this collection at a library and thought it pretty interesting that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote other types of stories in addition to his more famous work, the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, master detective of Victorian England.

As with other reviewers I have to agree that the marketing ploy by Skyhorse Publishing in this 2009 edition was quite misleading. Further dubious honor for this deceit goes to editor Robert Eighteen-Bisang, who write a brief piece on why the stories would evoke vampirism.

Example: In one story we have a sea captain stuck on the ice floes of the north with his crew beginning to mutiny. The narrator fears for the captain's sanity as he rants and raves about something he sees out in the ice. Finally he jumps ship and he later is found dead. The editor gives the reader some verse about there being an Eskimo vampire that sucks the heat out of people.

Looking carefully, the words Eskimo and vampire are not mentioned at all in Doyle's story, The Captain of the Pole Star, regardless of it being quite well-written and interesting.

There were several stories like this: of Mesmerism, of witches and of people who could make you think you see something that is not actually there. In each case, though they are fine tales, the editor keeps throwing in his justification for why he is calling each a vampire story.

Quite a stretch, Robert!

And to compound the felony, the last story is not even written by Doyle, a tale called "The Case of the Vanished Vampire," written by a Bill Cryder and about the author Bram Stoker who attempts to get Holmes involved in a false story about a vampire loose in London in order to create publicity for his book (which is not named in the story and is obviously "Dracula.") I thought the story forced and not really up to Doyle's standards.

I don't want this brief review to be a complete slam on the editor and publisher. I though Doyle's stories were fun to read though the Victorian English may take some getting used to. One of the stories I liked best was "Adventure of the Sussex Vampire," which protagonist is not an actual vampire but is a case of mistaken intentions - quite interesting, and is a Sherlock Holmes story to boot.

Of the ten stories in the collection, nine are from Doyle and three by Doyle are Sherlock Holmes' stories. And yes Bram Stoker was a contemporary of Doyle's but clearly these stories are nothing like Stoker's Dracula. Still, an enjoyable read.

Recommended.

( )

These stories are only very loosely related to vampires, more of an excuse to bundle some stories together and cash in on the craze, and says as much on the cover. They’re not bad though, and if you’ve never read any Doyle it’s a little intro. It’s like one of those truck stop "greatest hits" CD’s that just feature a few random songs by a band. ( )

I expected to love this book, because I love Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. However, the lack of passion that works brilliantly for Holmes, made these vampire stories a little dull. I may be tainted from all of the other modern day vampire stories that I adore, but I think it's possible many other readers would feel the same. There's a reason Conan Doyle is not known for these stories - it's because they're not that great. ( )