concentrated on events within a group of interre-
lated kingdoms varied enough to allow virtually any
form of mainstream fantasy adventure. The series is
heavily influenced by the work of J. R. R. TOLKIEN
and less obviously by Robert E. HOWARD.
The various titles have generally been ar-
ranged in subseries, which are split into two types.
The first is composed of novels by a single author
that tell a single, continued tale or that feature the
same set of characters. These more closely resem-
ble mainstream fantasy. Authors who have written
in this vein include R. A. SALVATORE, Elaine CUN-
NINGHAM, Ed Greenwood, and Paul Kemp. Other
more loosely connected series have been written
by multiple authors, not necessarily telling a single
story and sometimes sharing only a common set-
ting, character, or situation. These include The
War of the Spider Queen, the Harpers, Sembia,
and the Return of the Archwizards sequences.
Several authors who started writing for TSR
later enjoyed success with other publishers, the
most notable of whom is R. A. Salvatore. Ed
Greenwood, Mark ANTHONY, Troy DENNING, James
Lowder, Carrie Bebris, and Elaine Cunningham
have also made successful leaps to general fantasy.
At the same time, several authors better known for
their independent work have contributed at least
one volume to this growing saga, including Chet
WILLIAMSON, Mel Odom, Scott Ciencin, Lynn
ABBEY, and Victor Milan. There have also been
more than a dozen collections of short stories, usu-
ally edited by one or another of the regular contrib-
utors. Most of the Forgotten Realms novels are
minor and derivative, although they are rarely
badly written, and Salvatore in particular has man-
aged to produce some surprisingly creative and
original work given the restrictions of the setting.
“For the Blood Is the Life” F. Marion
Crawford(1911)
Although F. Marion Crawford was an American
writer, he spent most of his adult life in Italy, which
is where this story is set, writing novels about high
society in Europe. His handful of short supernatu-
ral tales include several classics, of which this vam-
pire tale is one of the two best, the other being
“THE UPPER BERTH” (1886), a ghost story. The tale
opens when the narrator and a friend observe an
unusual phenomenon, a burial mound upon which,
from a distance, there appears to lie an indistinct
human body. After a subtle but effective introduc-
tory sequence, the story reverts to the origin of the
apparition.
Angelo was the son of a retired criminal whose
hoarded fortune was stolen by two cronies while he
lay on his deathbed. They are in the process of bury-
ing the strongbox for later retrieval when a young
woman happens upon them. To prevent her from
raising the alarm, they assault her and bury her with
the money, then return to establish an alibi. The
woman, Cristina, appears to have been in love with
Angelo, who is absent on business when his father is
fatally stricken. Angelo is left penniless, and Cristina
has, of course, vanished without a trace.
Vampire lore had not become as rigid as it is
today when Crawford was alive. His description of
Cristina’s nocturnal visits to Angelo are more like
those of an incubus than a vampire, and he does
not provide an explanation for her transformation
other than the brutal nature of her death and
burial. She appears in Angelo’s dreams, looking
emaciated but intense, and he wakens feeling weak
and unrested. The visitations become more com-
pulsive, and he begins to waste away toward the
inevitable end. Fortunately for Angelo, a new-
comer to the village and a priest take his side,
warding Cristina off with holy water, exhuming her
body, and driving a stake through her heart. An-
gelo’s missing legacy is retrieved in the process.
Crawford’s story has much in common with
Bram STOKER’s classic DRACULA(1897), but his
vampire is more resilient. Even after being laid to
her final rest, Cristina can manifest herself visually
and even exert some small influence on those who
travel too near her grave. The highly melodramatic
events are delivered in a low-key, almost casual
style, and the missing details, rather than detract
from the story’s verisimilitude, actually make it feel
like a more authentic account.“The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for
Sacnoth”Lord Dunsany(1908)
Early 20th-century fantasy stories often bore con-
siderable resemblance to fairy tales in that they“The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth” 119