The Vampire Tapestry

Available From:

Add to your Goodreads To-Read Shelf

Tor Essentials presents new editions of science fiction and fantasy titles of proven merit and lasting value, each volume introduced by an appropriate literary figure.

The Nebula Award-winning

reinvention of the vampire novel, described as a "masterpiece" by Guillermo del Toro.

Edward Weyland is far from your average vampire: not only is he a respected anthropology professor but his condition is biological — rather than supernatural. He lives discrete lifetimes bounded by decades of hibernation and steals blood from labs rather than committing murder. Weyland is a monster who must form an uneasy empathy with his prey in order to survive, and The Vampire Tapestry is a story wholly unlike any you've heard before.

With a new introduction by Nicola Griffith, author of Spear.

Reviews

“The best vampire novel I’ve ever read.” —Peter S. Beagle, author of The Last Unicorn

“Among the genre’s few modern classics.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Devastatingly powerful.… Savage and intense and brilliantly satisfying.… rich and impressive.… a serious, startling, and revolutionary work.” —The Washington Post

“Probably the best vampire novel ever written.” —Oxford Times

“A consensus classic, so recognized when first published in 1980…. It’s a fascinating conception, handled with masterly skill. Nothing better has been done in this, er, vein since Bram Stoker’s legendary Dracula in 1897. And, as a pure piece of writing, Charnas’ deeply intelligent, disturbing novel may actually be the superior book.” —USA Today

About the Author

Suzy McKee Charnas (1939-2023) was the author of over a dozen works of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, including the Holdfast series from Tor Books and the Sorcery Hall series of books for young adults. She was the winner of the Hugo Award (for her short story "Boobs"), the Nebula (for her novella Unicorn Tapestry) and won the James Tiptree, Jr. Award twice, once retrospectively for the first two Holdfast books and then for The Conqueror's Child, final volume of the Holdfast series. She adapted her novel, The Vampire Tapestry, for the stage in the late 1990s.

She was born and brought up in New York City, and lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Learn More About Author

Nicola Griffith (she/her) is a dual UK/US citizen living in Seattle. She is the author of award-winning novels including Hild and Ammonite, and her shorter work has appeared in Nature, New Scientist, New York Times, etc. She is the founder and co-host of #CripLit, holds a PhD from Anglia Ruskin University, and enjoys a ferocious bout of wheelchair boxing. She is married to novelist and screenwriter Kelley Eskridge.

Learn More About Author

Book Details

Imprint: Tor Books

Genre: Horror

ISBN: 9781250343635

Page Count: 288

On Sale:

March 18, 2025

Books By Suzy McKee Charnas

Books By Nicola Griffith