For the month of October, the month of Halloween, I thought I’d review something of a “darker” nature. The Amulet of Elisabeth Bathory and Other Short Stories by Kevin Eads is a collection of vampire tales.

Now, this is definitely not my genre. I didn’t read the Twilight saga or watch the movies, nor do I want to. I’m not a fan of horror movies, either. I read a little Stephen King when I was younger. Now I’m just generally not into any of that. The jacket of this book reads, however, “...“not the Edward Cullens of Twilight, but rather for a bygone era of beautiful stalkers of the night, the Brides of Dracula styled.” This intrigued me. As a literature major, I have read a few books of this kind that I have enjoyed. I would say these books are a bit elevated in terms of theme, meaning, character development, and so on. And that’s what I found when I read Kevin Eads’ book.

This book is written like a play, which might appeal more or less to some people, depending upon familiarity with this style. I enjoyed the format. The cover, by the way, might be all it takes for certain prospective readers to open the book, as it contains a picture of a very blonde, very voluptuous vampire. But moving on.