Title: The Ghost of Leadville
Author: Jeanne C. Stein
In: The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance 2 (Trisha Telep) & Vampires: The Recent Undead (Paula Guran)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal romance, Vampires, Westerns, Wild west
Dates read: 29th October 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2009
5th sentence, 74th page: We do not.
She’s lived in Leadville before. But it was a different time, a different place, and full of fond memories. The Wild West meets vampires and a life full of regret.
This is a beautiful, bittersweet short story about loss and the possibilities of a future. It’s kind of sweet, incredibly nostalgic and a nice little read to occupy your time for about 10 minutes. I loved the narrative voice of this tale – she’s waxing nostaligic about her past love, but not in a way that makes you completely regret her past.
I thoroughly enjoyed the time travelling aspects of this – it starts in the present, flickers to the past, and then shudders back into the present again. Giving the reader not only an insight into modern-day vampiric life, but also the joys and tragedies of her past as she works towards a more interesting future. Or at least one that she’s a little happier with and more involved in.
I loved the fact that this is a Western Vampire story. you have Doc Holliday and Billy the Kid. A saloon. And a prostitute. All aspects of stories which I quite enjoyed and want to find out more about in the future…
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