Vampires are everywhere, hiding in the seemingly most innocuous places. The RPG game, The Masquerade, dates back to the early 1990s but three authors are breathing new life into the clans and the vampires. Step inside the pages of WALK AMONG US and see what Genevieve Gornichec, Cassandra Khaw, and Caitlin Starling have in store for us….

Genevieve Gornichec starts us off with “A Sheep Among Wolves.” Clea Albright is a college student who is struggling with her depression, her roommate’s nasty best friend, and loneliness. She wanders the campus of Ohio State University at all hours of the night with insomnia and to avoid her roommate. One night she spies a flyer that asks, “Do you feel invisible?” The flyer is cheaply made but its message resonates with Clea and she attends the Common Cause meeting. Soon, Clea finds herself with friends, such as Jade Mendez, Brendan, and Finn, along with a sense of purpose. But is there a darker side to Common Cause?

“A Sheep Among Wolves” is deceptively simple at first, as we get to know a small group of lonely folks near a college campus. We get a taste of the animosity that exists between vampire clans while learning quite a bit about the recruitment process. While I love all three stories in WALK AMONG US, it was Genevieve Gornichec’s story that is my favorite, perhaps because the story takes the benign and makes it frightening- and those are my favorite types of horror tales. I can’t wait to read more of Genevieve Gornichec’s work!

“Fine Print” by Cassandra Khaw still gives me chills! The story line is fairly simple as Duke Guillo, a tech genius, seeks to become a vampire and live eternally. Unfortunately for Duke, he didn’t read the “Fine Print” and now he’s trapped in a cage of his own making. Cassandra Khaw takes Duke’s dreams and desires and shows just how nightmarish things can be when someone gets exactly what they want- and forgot to ask for context or to clarify details. I can’t say more for risk of spoiling the plot but Duke is a horrid toad of a man and his eternity doesn’t look to be the lavish party he had hoped for. Cassandra Khaw reminds us that the vampire clans can be very nasty and devious. I’ve already got my eye on several of her books coming out soon, too!

The third and final story in the compilation is “The Land of Milk and Honey by Caitlin Starling. Leigh manages a blood farm under the human concept of being an ecovillage. Things are thriving in Leigh’s experimental farm until she meets Robin Joy. Robin touches something within Leigh, as Leigh begins to crave a relationship with her- something that is strictly forbidden by the rules and boundaries she has established within the farm. After all, humans are merely food, just like the lambs and ewes they raise for slaughter. But can Leigh follow her own rules? “The Land of Milk and Honey” is an excellent story to close the anthology as it touches on the vampire politics a bit while digging far more into the ethics and survivability of a race that needs human blood to live.

WALK AMONG US features three vampire stories all set within the world of the RPG game, The Masquerade. One doesn’t have to know a single thing about the RPG game to enjoy the stories, although it may whet your appetite for some of the earlier books set in the same world (or even the game itself). I loved many of the earlier books and am thrilled to see The Masquerade making a return! WALK AMONG US features vampire stories told at their best and is easily recommended for all fans of vampires before vampires sparkled!