Salutations, traveler of The Internets! Welcome to William's Bloody Hell, so named after our founder, Sir Bloody William.
He is seen in the likeness above in a rare, 19th century woodcut. This
image was rumoured to have been
commissioned after a bout of unpleasantness
in the White Chapel district of London. Do enjoy your stay and peruse our many, varied offerings, much of which cannot be found elsewhere!
:: Tales of the Slayer, various authors ::
by William the Bloody
Tales of the Slayer is a collection of short stories by different authors, each dealing with various slayers from various eras, all preceding Buffy.
1. "A Good Run, Greece 490 BC" by Greg Rucka: Deals with one of the oldest slayers to that date, reaching 29 years of age. This tale tell of her last foray against the vampires, protecting Phidippedes as he races from Athens to Sparta to gather aid against the Persian army. Unbeknownst to the Greeks who will soon be under siege, the Persian ships carry hulls filled with a vampire army.
2. "The White Doe, London, 1586" by Christie Golden: The Counsel has foresight to a powerful slayer who will be born in the colonies. Unfortunately, her settlement is that of the ill-fated Roanoke. The English settlers ravaged by vampires, with only an infant survivor, who was taken in by the natives. She is the Slayer, and their White Doe.
3. "Die Blutgrafin, Hungary, 1609" by Yvonne Navarro. A slayer for only 6 months, decides to take on the mysterious and horrific goings-on in the castle of Countess Bathory.
4. "Unholy Madness, France, 1789" by Nancy Holder: The Slayer is a French aristocrat who mainly serves directly the aristocracy of France and the Royals as a personal body-guard and protector.
5. "Mornglom Dreaming, Kentucky, 1886" by Doranna Durgin: A young girl of 15 who wants nothing more than the simple type of life her parents had finds that her life will never be the same again when a ferocious beast attacks the villagers and she alone has the strength to stop it.
6. "Silent Screams, Germany, 1923" by Mel Odom: A newly called slayer, but long under the tutelage of a watcher, gets lured into a vampire's film-making death trap.
7. "And White Splits the Night, Florida, 1956" by Yvonne Navarro: A 17 year old Negress battles vampires who kill under the guise of the Klu Klux Klan.
Having each tale take place in different eras keeps each situation and slayer unique. The progression from earliest date in time to most recent keeps in feeling like and evolution of sorts; the world modernizes, but fighting vampires is still the same. Opening with "A Good Run", was a good choice not only because of its date, but because of the way the story is in medius rae, already in full action when it starts. Each slayer comes from varying heritages and stations in life, and this is refreshing to see what their thought and point of view of their calling and place in the world. The slayer in Greece is the ward of the hierophant, a man of importance. White Doe is an English born but native bred girl, who earned the right to be the first woman in the tribe to sit in on elder meetings, and their greatest warrior. The slayer in Hungary is a poor girl in a modest shack. The French slayer is the true picture of French aristocracy, snobbish and believing on the rich and royal deserve protection, as they are the only people who matter. The Kentucky girl is pure simple, country folk who cannot even imagine the life ahead for her beyond the hills of her youth. The slayer of Germany is wealthy, but fairly down to Earth. The slayer of Florida lives is a worn down shack but bold and brave. They are definitely different characters, each their own.
Out of these 7 tales, I have to say the ones I liked best were "A Good Run", "The White Doe" and "Mornglom Dreaming." "White Splits the Night" and "Silent Screams" were pretty good. "Die Blutgrafin" and "Unholy Madness" were not that great.
I think I liked "Mornglom Dreaming" the best because it was the most original of them all. This was the only story in the whole book which dealt with a demon attack rather than vampires. The author did a great job portraying the slayer as a simple country girl with simple wants. The contrast between her and the country folk with her Watcher as he tries to locate her is well done; the Watcher's proper English standing out in the backwoods hills. When this slayer comes to her own and kills the beast who had been slaughtering people in their village, we really can feel what she feels as her life as she knew it to slips away forever.
"White Doe" was an interesting take on what might have happened to mysterious disappearances at the Roanoke settlement. The one big problem I had with it though was sort of a continuity thing with the whole Slayer-verse. White Doe exhibited slayer abilities from birth and did not have a sudden call. Is this even possible? Usually a girl is relatively normal her whole life until the slayer before dies, then she is suddenly blessed with enhanced abilities. Not so here, and it kinda bothered me. Other than that, it was a fine tale, which besides the Roanoke massacre, has little to do with vampires, but instead a story of jealousy.
I liked "A Good Run" very much and I suppose it stands out the most in way of story-telling. It jumps around in time constantly, retelling important parts of this slayer's life, and not just about the task at hand. Her youth as a slave until her purchase by the hierophant, her vicious battle against a vampire horde where she was predicted to die, but did not, and her search since then to do that one Great Thing to be remembered for.
I couldn't like "Silent Screams" more because it felt like they cheated a bit. It seemed like the author saw Shadow of the Vampire and did a sort of rip-off. "Silent Screams" had a film-maker looking out-horrify Nosferatu, and of course turns out to be a vampire who films his own killings in a film he calls Silent Screams. The slayer is lured to his mansion along with many others from the wealthy community under the guise of investing in the film. However, after watching what had been completed of the film so far, it is clear that they are all meant to be massacred and put on film in the process. I didn't hate this one for cheating like this, because there were times it smacked of a true horror tale. It is from the Watcher's point of view, as he tries to transcribe his life in his journal before being found and killed. He is trapped in the mausoleum of the slayer's family, because while he escaped the slaughter out of cowardice, the slayer did not, and may have been turned. He sneaks into the crypt to stake her before she reawakens, only to find that the film-making vampire anticipated this, smacks him unconscious, and locks him in. Now the only sounds he hears are that of the mice and the whir of cameras awaiting to record his death. The way this tale ends is superb, and is genuinely creepy.
"White Splits the Night" was in the middle of the road. It's not terrific, but it isn't bad either. The descriptions of the Florida swamp really put you there. The way this slayer is really attuned to her abilities shines through. The addition of the vampiric KKK kinda gritted my teeth.
I didn't care for "Die Blutgrafin" and "Unholy Madness" for close to the same reason. Here we are in a country at a particular time in history and the Slayer just happens to be from there, too. I can almost buy the French one, but definitely not the Hungarian. She just happens to live in the town where Elizabeth Bathory recruits unsuspecting hand-maids? For such an instance I would think that the Watcher's Council would have sent a slayer to Hungary. But, no. I did like that the Hungarian slayer's inexperience proved her undoing, and that the tale ends without us knowing for certain whether the Countess was a vampire or just a sadist with vampires in her employ. I didn't like that they each also had native Watchers, too. The Hungarian, mmmmaybe, but the French one too? I would have found it more believable had she an English Watcher. I also didn't like Unholy Madness for the rabble rouser starting the revolution being a vampire. Come on!! Are there going to be stories where all causes of unrest are vampires? Is Adolph Hitler going to be a vampire now? Mussolini? Ramses? The guy who shot Arch Duke Ferdinand? Jack Ruby? Please. And the fact that the vampire rabble rouser egged the peasants on with promises of turning them just didn't fly. I don't think they really needed additional encouragement for a revolution. These poor people were starving and freezing. Their dead would lie in the streets. Fleas and excrement everywhere. But the promise of eternal life, by God, is just the thing to push them over the edge! I don't think so.
A Good Run: A
The White Doe: B-
Die Blutgrafin: C-
Unholy Madness: D
Mornglom Dreaming: A+
Silent Screams: B-
And White Splits the Night: B
Overall: B-
