Strange City is a World of Darkness fiction anthology, edited by Staley Krause and Stewart Wieck and published by HarperCollins in 1996.
Overview[]
The book reprints short stories from three White Wolf-published World of Darkness anthologies: The Beast Within (Vampire: The Masquerade), When Will You Rage? (Werewolf: The Apocalypse), and Death and Damnation (Wraith: The Oblivion). The titular city is San Francisco, the common setting of the stories reprinted in this volume; the city also served as the setting to a number of other World of Darkness novels and short stories that were published by White Wolf (or HarperCollins) in the mid-1990s.
Another subsequent World of Darkness fiction anthology, City of Darkness: Unseen, was likewise set in and named after San Francisco. Most stories in that volume shared a cast of characters with - or were direct sequels to - other short stories published in the same time period; several of the stories that were revisited in City of Darkness: Unseen were republished in Strange City.
Summary[]
From the Back Cover:
- Very Strange, Indeed
- For millennia they have preyed on us from the shadows. Vengeful werewolves hunger for our flesh. Ravenous vampires crave our blood, while eerie wraiths seek our very souls. Our reality shatters at the whims of mages-and even our dreams are not safe from the changelings' mad caprices. For millennia they have ruled over us from the shadows, secure in their invisibility.
- Now, White Wolf's brightest talents illuminate their World of Darkness and dispel the comforting veils shrouding the predators from us... and us from them. Strange City includes stories by S.P, Somtow, Richard Lee Byers, Keith Herber, and others.
Contents[]
- Introduction by Stewart Wieck
- "Dancing with the Devil" by Keith "Doc" Herber (reprinted from The Beast Within)
- "Hunter's Blues" by Scott Ciencin (reprinted from When Will You Rage?)
- "Glimpses of Before" by John H. Steele (reprinted from Death and Damnation)
- "The Voice of the Hummingbird" by S.P. Somtow (reprinted from The Beast Within)
- "The Bye-Bye Club" by Ray Winninger (reprinted from When Will You Rage?)
- "The Way It Goes" by Thomas Kane (reprinted from Death and Damnation)
- "The Scarlet Letters" by Scott H. Urban (reprinted from The Beast Within)
- "Descent" by Sam Chupp (reprinted from The Beast Within)
- "Wolf Trap" by Richard Lee Byers (reprinted from When Will You Rage?)
- "Shards" by Phil Brucato (reprinted from When Will You Rage?)
- "Rootbound" by R.S. Martin (reprinted from Death and Damnation)
- "The Art of Dying" by Lawrence Watt-Evans (reprinted from The Beast Within)
- "The Waters of Lethe" by Bill Bridges (reprinted from When Will You Rage?)
- "Power" by Don Bassingthwaite (reprinted from The Beast Within)
Trivia & Background Information[]
- The cover uses art by Joshua Gabriel Timbrook from the 'A World of Darkness' book (Pg. 50).
- The Mail Order Form and the inside of the Back Cover at the back of the book lists: Such Pain (4/95), Netherworld (6/95), Wyrm Wolf (2/95), Dark Prince (12/94), Conspicuous Consumption (8/95) and Sins of the Fathers (10/95).
- "Dancing with the Devil" would continue in the novel, "Dark Prince."
- "Rootbound" would continue in the story, "All Rootless Angels Falling," in the fiction anthology, City of Darkness: Unseen.
- "Glimpses of Before" would continue in the story, "Some There Be That Shadows Kiss," in the fiction anthology, City of Darkness: Unseen.
- "The Art of Dying” would continue in the story, "Eye of the Beholder" in City of Darkness: Unseen.
- There is a complete lack of stories selected from Mage's Truth Until Paradox.
- A sequel anthology to Strange City was planned (City of Shadows), but it was never published.
Memorable Quotes[]
Characters[]
- Dancing with the Devil
- Delfonso - Vampire
- Juan - Delfonso's Ghoul
- Domingo - Vampire, Delfonso's childe
- Vannevar Thomas
- Grandfather - Chinese Vampire
- Sullivan - Vampire, Grandfather's childe
- Christine, "Christy" - Mortal, Died
- Hunter's Blues
- Larry Santos, "The Pilot" - Hunter, Human, Died
- Joe Entwhistle, "The Choirboy" - Hunter, Human, Died
- Old Lou the Repairman - Larry and Joe's agent, Human
- Desmond Willits, "Old Paw" - Human, Owner of the Blue Note Cafe
- Bobbi Willits - Desmond's Wife, Human
- Donovan McKinley, "Wakiza" - Lupus, Galliard, Garou
- Melinda - Female ally to Donovan, Unknown
- Calle Ann - Human, Donovan's Wife, died
- Jimmy Wang - Human, Died
- Archibald Leitch - Glass Walker
- Killian Cross - Black Spiral Dancer, Died
- Glimpses of Before
- Justin Parker - Wraith
- Randi - Mortal
- Uncle Vinny - Spectre
- Leonard Parker - Wraith
- The Voice of the Hummingbird
- Huitzilopotchtli
- Julia Epstein - Mortal, Archaeologist, aware of Vampires
- Nezahualcoyotl - Vampire, Hortator's Sire
- Hortator - Vampire
- Travis - Vampire
- Sebastian Melmoth
- The Bye-Bye Club
- Ash-eye, "Chatterjack" - Child
- Mrs. Tremond - Human, Teacher, Died
- Gap-tooth - Child
- Rust-top - Child
- Little Cobra - Child
- George Feeney, the Seaside Strangler - Black Spiral Dancer, The Bye-Bye Club
- Paul Todd Earley, the Red River Ripper - Black Spiral Dancer, The Bye-Bye Club
- Ms. Suarez - Human, Teacher
- The Way It Goes
- Mr. Praeger - Human, DNA Incorporated Employee
- Julie Rochon - Human, DNA Incorporated Employee
- Von Roon - Runs the Ries-Dillon Consortium Company
- Mr. Donald Mozyr - Human
- Mr. Stephen Myers - Wraith, Former DNA Inc. Employee
- Halperin - Wraith, Former DNA Inc. Employee
- The Scarlet Letters
- Corrinda - Female Toreador
- Ambrose Bierce - Toreador, Virgil's Sire
- Virgil - Toreador, Corrinda's Sire
- Vannevar
- Descent
- Wolf Trap
- Jennifer Ryan - Female Kinfolk, related to Nikos
- Nikos Ripthroat - Shadow Lord
- Erik Mikkelsen - Get of Fenris Metis
- Peggy Travis - Human, Secretary
- Scott Ryan - Human, Married to Peggy
- Howard Cooper - Psychiatrist for Aesop Research Company, works for Pentex, Died
- Shards
- Gerald - Human
- Sara - Female Garou Outcast
- Tanglewood - Garou
- Bessa - Female Lupus
- Rootbound
- Andrew Patrick Malone - Wraith, Pardoners
- Ceille, Celatia Thompson - Mortal, Died
- Samuel Brannan - Wraith, Legion of Thorns
- The Art of Dying
- Bethany - 8th Gen. Toreador, Artiste
- Anton Prihar - Mortal, Artist, Died
- Allanyan Serata - 5th Gen. Toreador Primogen, Poseur, Stefan's Sire
- Vannevar Thomas
- Stefan - Toreador, Poseur
- Tex R. Cainen - Vampire
- Sebastian Melmoth
- The Waters of Lethe
- Doctor Murry F. Bruckner - Human, psychoanalyst
- Charles, Mr. Barnes, Daniel Robertson, "Holds-Their-Songs" - Galliard Garou
- Celeste
- Edward Gorrel - Human, psychoanalyst
- Power
- Emily Grange - Female Ventrue
- John - Human
- Jean-Claude - Follower of Set
- Barr - Human, Cop
- Long - Human, Cop, Died
- Vannevar Thomas
- "Doc" Michaels - Venture
Terminology[]
Aesop Research Company, Alaska, Amazon, Anarch, Artistes, Arizona, Banes, Beacons, Beast, Black Hand, Black Spiral, Blights, Blood, Blood Bond, Blood Hunt, Blue Light (Donovan's Guitar), Blue Note Cafe (San Fran. Location), Brood, Café Prague, Caine, Cainite, California, Camarilla, Central America, Chains, Chantry, Charon, Childe, Child Services Northrock Facility (Location), Chimera, Chinatown, Citadel, Clan, Connecticut, Curse of Tremere, Damned, Delaware, Delirium, Diablerie, Disciplines, DNA Incorporated, Elder, Embrace, Emerald Legion, Enticer, Esbats, First Change, First Team, Follower of Set, Fomori, Frenzy (VTM), Frenzy (WTA), Gaia, Galliard, Garou, Gauntlet, Generation, Get of Fenris, Ghosts, Gifts, Golconda, Haight-Asbury, Harano, Harbingers, Haven, Hunger, Infernal, Inquisition, Kindred, KOTO Request Line, Larva, Lexralionis, Loremaster, Los Angeles, Lost Cubs, Luigi's (Location), Masquerade, Massachusetts, Metis, Mexico City, Mindspeak, New Jersey, New York, Oblivion, Pack, Pardoners, Path of Finding, Pennsylvania, Pentex, Poseur, Primogen, Prince, Progeny, Rage, Realm, Ries-Dillon Consortium (Company), Rite, Rite of Initiation (VTM), Ronin, Sabbat, San Andreas, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, The Scarlet Letters by Virgil (Book), Sept Leader, Setite, Shadow Lords, Silver, Sire, Soul, Spectres, Spirit World, Step Sideways, Tempest, Temple, Toreador, Tremere, Vampires, Vampire Club (Alexandrian Club), Umbra, Umbral, United States, Utah, Veil, Vitae, Void, Walter's Restaurant (San Fran. Location), Werewolf, Werewolves, Winchester House, Wraiths, Wyrm,
References[]
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