All of these stories suck. I mean literally! Poppy Z. Brite returns with a sequel to her Love In Vein vampire anthology (you can read my review of Love in Vein I here.). Love in Vein II‘s best stories are “First Date” by Richard Laymon about a horny young couple who decide to visit a cemetery at night for a frolic. You can make a good guess at what happens…

Neil Gaiman’s “Snow, Glass, Apples” blends a Queen’s problems ruling a declining kingdom after the death of her husband with a rapacious daughter who has her own deadly agenda.

If your Halloween could use a little spice, you’ll find the stories in both Love in Vain I & II can remedy that situation. GRADE: B

Table of Contents:

• Snow, Glass, Apples – (1995) – short story by Neil Gaiman
• Bela’s Plot – (1997) – short story by Caitlín R. Kiernan
• Armies of the Heart – (1997) – short story by Christopher Fowler
• Whispers in Walled Tombs – (1997) – short story by O’Neil De Noux
• Ceilings and Sky – (1997) – short story by Lucy Taylor
• The Fly Room – (1997) – novelette by Thom Metzger
• The Subtle Ties That Bind – (1997) – short story by David Niall Wilson
• When Memory Fails – (1997) – novelette by Roberta Lannes
• The I of the Eye of the Worm – (1997) – short story by Janet Berliner and George Guthridge
• Stigmata – (1997) – short story by Jean-Daniel Brèque (trans. of Stigmates)
• The Dripping of Sundered Wineskins – (1997) – novella by Brian Hodge
• I’m Not Well, But I’m Better – (1997) – short story by Pat Califia
• Kingyo no fun – (1997) – novelette by Nicholas Royle
• First Date – (1997) – novelette by Richard Laymon
• To Have You with Me – (1997) – short story by Randy Fox
• Dusting the Flowers – (1997) – novelette by David J. Schow
• Bloodlight – (1997) – short story by Stephen Mark Rainey
• The Privilege of the Dead – (1997) – short story by Thomas S. Roche