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Evolve is a different kind of book for me; I usually don’t read either anthologies or vampire fiction. I’m more of a novel reader and while I enjoy vampire fiction the recent trends in that genre haven’t really struck a chord with me.

Still, I think I was fated to read this book. When I first opened it to a random page, the story was taking place in Calgary where I live. That doesn’t happen every day so I picked up the book. I read it cover to cover over the course of a week during my daily commute.

Evolve has a nice assortment of 24 short stories from a wide-range of authors including Kelly Armstrong and Tanya Huff as well as many others. You might even run across a character or two you already know.

The vampires in the anthology are not the sparkly kind, in case you are wondering, but instead pay a much closer homage to Dracula with a few modern twists. The stories feel both familiar and, at the same time, new.

The anthology was a thoroughly enjoyable read. It contains mystery, fantasy, intrigue and, of course, horror. Naturally, vampires are central to every piece.

Correction: Evolve was released in Canada in April 2010, will be released in the US in August 2010 and is available on Amazon.ca for $12.24 Canadian. (Thanks to Janice Shoults for the correction)

Tags: Book Review, Edge Publishing, Evolve, horror, Kelly Armstrong, Michell Plested, Nancy Kilpatrick, tanya huff, vampire