The World of Darkness Anthology [Mass Market Paperback]

The other thirteen stories are as follows:

"Hunter's Blues" by Scott Ciencin -- A werewolf/blues guitarist seeks revenge against the two assassins that killed his pack. Some musical aspects to the story. >> "Glimpses of Before" by John H. Steele -- Lots of detail about a man's life remembered after death. Depressing, a bit long-winded. >> "The Voice of the Hummingbird" by S. P. Somtow -- The longest short story here (41 pages). Like "Dancing with the Devil," it's full of ancient history, this time about the Aztecs, in particular a mummified Aztec vampire that comes back to life and tells his story to a museum curator. >> "The Bye-Bye Club" by Ray Winninger -- An orphan boy enters a children's club that's driven by murder. Good story (nice and short), but the ending's a bit too abrupt. >> "The Way It Goes" by Thomas Kane -- When an assassin botches an assignment, he goes on the run for fear of being killed himself. My favorite Wraith story. >> A homeless young woman meets a Toreador vampire in a coffee shop and discovers he's the author of one of her favorite poetry chapbooks, entitled "The Scarlet Letters" (by Scott H. Urban). My favorite Vampire story. >> "Descent" by Sam Chupp -- A Tremere's lesbian lover is abducted and used to lure her into a pact with the Sabbat.

"Wolf Trap" by Richard Lee Byers -- A werewolf is hired to bust a mental patient out of an asylum, but ends up getting trapped on the grounds instead. My favorite Werewolf story. >> "Shards" by Phil Brucato -- A young werewolf is outcast from her pack, as well as dumped by her human boyfriend. Short, quick story. Not too sure about the point of it, though, if there is one. >> "Rootbound" by R. S. Martin -- An obsessed man creates the image of a woman he loves out of wood and roots. Surreal, descriptive writing. Not a lot of action though. >> "The Art of Dying" by Lawrence Watt-Evans -- A vampire attempts to Embrace a talented artist into the Toreador clan, though another vamp wants him as well. As mentioned in the story, it's like the story of Solomon and the two mothers fighting over a baby. Good ending. >> "The Waters of Lethe" by Bill Bridges -- During several sessions with a psychologist, a man with amnesia tries to piece together his past. >> "Power" by Don Bassingthwaite -- A Ventrue forensic pathologist gets involved in one too many murder cover-ups. Good finale.

Most of the stories in "Strange City" are relatively bloody and gruesome (no splatterpunk though), which should appeal to most horror fans, but particularly to readers who have some familiarity with one or more of the WoD games. Of course, you don't need to be an expert (I'm certainly not), but it does help. As mentioned in the intro of this book, readers who are "in the know" of storytelling games like Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, and Wraith: The Oblivion will probably enjoy this "game fiction" anthology a lot more than the average horror reader.