Another Review for Many Bloody Returns

I'm not mentioned in this one from Amy's Book Nook, but it's still fun to see:

Birthdays mean another year is behind you, that you are another year older. But what if you were an immortal creature, such as a vampire? How would a birthday’s significance affect you? That is the issue several best-selling authors tackle in "Many Bloody Returns" edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner, who also contributed a tale for the anthology.

New York Times best-selling authors Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher and Kelley Armstrong all bring back well-known characters from their series to mark another year older — regardless of whether they age.

Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse attends the vampire holiday of Dracula’s birthday — the party is held on my birthday, which is a fun coincidence. But as all vampires gather around the world to hope the presumed dead Dracula will show up at one of the festivities — what would happen if he actually did? Hilarity and chaos, of course!

Armstrong’s Cassandra also must tackle her vampire birthday, a time at which all vampires must feed or start the process of dying. Cassandra is finding it hard to maintain interest in her immortal lifestyle — is it a sign of ennui or something more deadly? Armstrong proves what a talented writer she is in this short, heart-wrenching piece.

Butcher’s wizard detective Harry Dresden is looking to celebrate his vampire half-brother’s birthday. But when delivering his gift he stumbles upon a group of humans playing vampires - to the deadly delight of some real vampires. It is up to Harry to save the day again, in typical Harry fashion, by practically destroying the place!

"Many Bloody Returns" also invites readers to try stories from Christopher Golden, Bill Crider, P.N. Elrod, Rachel Caine, Jeanne C. Stein, Tanya Huff, Carolyn Haines, Tate Hallaway and Elaine Viets.

"Many Bloody Returns" is published by Berkley, a division of Penguin. It is $24.95 and 355 pages long.