Finished
The Vampire Tapestry by Suzy McKee Charnas.
In the 80s Stephen King churned out two things: bestsellers and cover blurbs. Much like the coke fueled novels he pounded out, his cover blurbs were equally suspect. The quote that graces
the Vampire Tapestry cover is probably his most head-scratching quotes. The book is anything but scary. In fact, creating scares was the last thing on the Suzy McKee Charnas's mind.
In the five connected novellas that comprise the book, Charnas's vampire is largely devoid of traditional horror trappings. Its a more ground approach that deals with the creature as a real animal, instead of a supernatural being. It's an interesting approach that largely works, even when the novellas don't.
The biggest problems is the characters. They're mostly an aloof and unpleasant lot, especially the vampire Dr. Weyland. He's described as handsome and fatherly, but behaves like a major asshole. He's rude and cruel and rarely has time for anyone. As a result it's hard to see how he ever became so respected. But when the characters aren't unpleasant douchebags, the stories shine. "The Unicorn Tapestry", the novel's heart, is great and makes up for the rest of the book's shortcomings. The central premise of a vampire going to a therapist (and pretending he's delusional) is compelling. The characters aren't fuckwads and it also represents the only time Charnas makes Weyland menacing.
Overall, I can't really recommend the book, although I ultimately liked it. The parts that are great, truly are great. Charnas writes eloquently about the effects of time on a vampire and the loneliness of its existence. Those passages, and "The Unicorn Tapestry" ultimately make me forgive the book's more unpleasant qualities.
Up next:
This is one of three Ramsey Campbell books I've always wanted to read (the others being The Doll Who Ate His Mother and Hungry Moon) but never really had a chance. I recently bought a nice hardcover edition from Millipede Press, so I thought I'd finally give it a shot.
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