My favorite story in The Ultimate Dracula (1991) is Edward D. Hoch’s “Dracula 1944.” Dracula is scary enough to blend in a German concentration camp really amps up the horror!
Although most of the stories in The Ultimate Dracula present various incarnations of the vampire, I would hardly call this anthology “ultimate.” It just okay. GRADE: C+
If you’re a vampire fan, I recommend a book I reviewed recently: The Vampire Archives. You can read my review here.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- The Ultimate Dracula • interior artwork by David Johnson
- 1 • Happy Birthday, Dracula! • essay by Leonard Wolf
- 15 • The Master of Rampling Gate • (1984) • novelette by Anne Rice
- 45 • All Dracula’s Children • novelette by Dan Simmons
- 75 • A Matter of Style • novelette by Ron Dee
- 101 • Selection Process • short story by Ed Gorman
- 117 • The Vampire in His Closet • short story by Heather Graham
- 139 • The Tenth Scholar • short story by Melanie Tem and Steve Rasnic Tem
- 155 • Nobody’s Perfect • short story by Philip José Farmer?
- 171 • Dracula 1944 • short story by Edward D. Hoch
- 189 • The Contagion • short story by Janet Asimov
- 203 • Sugar and Spice and… • short story by Karen Robards
- 221 • Vampire Dreams • short story by Dick Lochte
- 237 • Much at Stake • short story by Kevin J. Anderson
- 255 • The Name of Fear • short story by Lawrence Watt-Evans
- 267 • The Dark Rising • short story by Rodman Philbrick [as by W. R. Philbrick]
- 281 • Los Niños de la Noche • short story by Tim Sullivan
- 295 • A Little Night Music • short story by Mike Resnick
- 305 • Mr. Lucrada • short story by John Lutz
- 321 • In the Cusp of the Hour • short story by John Gregory Betancourt
- 327 • Children of the Night • short story by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
- 349 • Selected Filmography (The Ultimate Dracula) • essay by Leonard Wolf
I’ve always found Preiss’s ULTIMATE series (DRACULA, WEREWOLF, FRANKENSTEIN, DINOSAUR, WITCH, ZOMBIE, DRAGON. ALIEN, and UNDEAD) to be a very mixed bag: C+ anthologies sometimes wandering into B- territory. Favorites here were the Simmons, Gorman, and Hoch; many of the other authors really tried, bless their hearts.
Jerry, same here. Preiss’s anthologies feature a few good stories and a lot of average to below average stories. The cover artwork is pretty cool.
I like vampire movies and of course True Blood, but don’t recall reading too many short stories. It sounds interesting
Among those you might like better than at least most of these, Mary (New Hampshire Masons, btw?) include: “My Dear Emily” by Joanna Russ; “Blood Son” by Richard Matheson, “The Cloak” by Robert Bloch, and a slew of others…
Todd, many of the stories you mention are included in THE VAMPIRE ARCHIVE: http://georgekelley.org/wednesdays-short-stories-290-the-vampire-archives-edited-by-otto-penzler/
None of my named trio are listed, but some I can also resoundingly recommend are. Mine are all also No Fangs About It vampire stories, some of those “variant” vampires…and some excellent ones.
Todd, THE VAMPIRE ARCHIVES is my go-to anthology for vampires.
Maggie, I have a stack of vampire novels and anthologies. I thought I’d share them with you as we approach Halloween.
Thanks. You’re very kind
There’s Bela Lugosi and then there’s everyone else!
Bob, Bela owns the role!