short fiction has been occasional and follows no es-
tablished pattern. “Fool’s Gold” (1997) is so far her
best at that length.
“Dust Motes”P. D. Cacek (1997)
P. D. Cacek is one of a handful of potentially impor-
tant new dark fantasy and horror writers who
emerged during the 1990s, writers who have almost
abandoned the traditional icons and images of the
genre in favor of terrors more appropriate to the
modern age. Her vampires will not be found sleep-
ing in coffins, and they have contemporary sensibil-
ities. Although she has written a few interesting
novels, her greatest strength is at shorter length, for
she has a definite talent for creating complex char-
acters and vivid settings with a very economical use
of words and delivers each story succinctly and
powerfully, like a sharp blow to the chest.
The protagonist in this case is Leslie Carr, a
woman who has developed apparently terminal
cancer. Unable simply to sit at home, she is drawn
to a large library for which she has pleasant memo-
ries, but even here she feels awkward and out of
place, as though her cancer were visible and a
source of shame. She is also troubled by the pres-
ence and attention of a distinguished-looking man
dressed in gray who strikes up a conversation with
her. He identifies himself as Howard Ross, a ghost,
visible and audible to Leslie because she is dying.
Her startled reaction nearly causes her to be ex-
pelled from the library, but she is quick-witted
enough to cover herself.
Ross explains to her that more than a hun-
dred ghosts are trapped in the library, waiting for
the chance to tell a living person the most impor-
tant moment of their lives, a necessary step before
they can proceed to the afterlife. Leslie agrees to
listen and returns day after day, releasing each of
the ghosts in turn, but toward the end she begins
to have trouble seeing them. She is elated to dis-
cover that this means she is going to survive the
cancer after all but dismayed by the realization
that there is not enough time to listen to all the
remaining stories.
Although this gentle, heart-warming story
first appeared in a collection called Gothic Ghosts,
it is neither horror nor a traditional ghost story.
In recognition of its poignant depiction of a
woman facing her own death who still finds time
to help others, it received the World Fantasy
Award.Dying in BangkokDan Simmons(1992)
Dan SIMMONSis one of the most versatile writers
working today. He has won acclaim and awards for
his horror fiction and his science fiction and has
also produced mainstream novels that have been
favorably received. This particular story takes
place during two different times, the first during
the war in Vietnam in which two soldiers are on
leave in Cambodia, and the other describing the
return to Bangkok by one of them, Merrick, in the
present. The former sections are told in the past
tense and the latter in present tense to emphasize
the gap in time.
Merrick originally came to Bangkok with
Robert “Tres” Tindale, a fellow soldier to whom he
felt a special bond. Tindale was fascinated with the
more arcane aspects of local life, and he convinces
Merrick to accompany him to witness a bizarre cer-
emony in which a vampirelike woman and her
baby feed off a willing volunteer in an overtly sex-
ual public encounter. Merrick is repulsed, but Tin-
dale becomes fascinated and eventually returns
alone to participate in the ceremony himself. Un-
fortunately, something goes wrong, and his bleed-
ing is excessive. Despite the danger to his life,
Tindale tries to make a third visit, and his muti-
lated body is found in a river bed.
The present-day Merrick is a wealthy man, a
prominent doctor who has returned to Bangkok
searching for the vampire mother and daughter,
Mara and Tanha. He knows that they are still
alive, but they have become cautious and only
cater to a very limited number of rich customers.
He is nearly murdered during the search but finally
meets them, offering an immense sum of money for
their services. Although initially reluctant, he con-
vinces them that he is sincere, and the bizarre rit-
ual of blood and sex is completed. It is only in the
final paragraphs that we learn the true nature of
Merrick’s obsession. He is not drawn by the bizarre100 “Dust Motes”