The Vampire Soul
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THE VAMPIRE SOUL AND OTHER SARDONIC TALES
by Villiers de L'Isle-Adam
adapted by Brian Stableford
cover by Ladrönn
"There are other beings who know the roads of life and are curious about the paths of death." So says the eccentric Doctor Tribulat Bonhomet of the Eventualists' Society, adding "if we were able to see Nature as it truly is, it is probable that we would shiver in horror."
Meet the Vampire Soul -- the savage OTTYSOR. "They are veritable shades," says Doctor Bonhomet. "Not one of them has ever been captured, and in spite of the many volleys discharged at them, no one has ever seen them fall or flee. No one knows what they do with their dead, if they do die..."
Jean-Marie-Mathias-Philippe-Auguste, Comte de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam (1838-1889), pioneer of the Symbolist Movement, is known for his proto-science fiction works Axel (1885) and L'Eve Future (1886) and his "Cruel Tales" collected in The Scaffold. He also chronicled the colorful adventures of Doctor Bonhomet collected in The Vampire Soul. Poet Paul Verlaine called Villiers' works a "genial melange of irony, metaphysics and terror" and translator Brian Stableford dubs it "a bizarre literary landmark."
Contents:
The Vampire Soul (Claire Lenoir) (incl. The Swan-Killer; The Eventualists' Banquet;
Doctor Tribulat Bonhomet's Motion Regarding the Utilization of Earthquakes; and
Epilogue: The Marvelous Visions of Doctor Tribulat Bonhomet)
A New Profession
The Golden Candlestick Agency
The Disquietor
Maître Pied
Introduction and Notes by Brian Stableford