The Vampire Tapestry
#11133.59 adjusted 3.69 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 1980 Reading commitment Low Suzy McKee Charnas Last reviewed 2026-11-02
Overview
Suzy McKee Charnas published The Vampire Tapestry in 1980 through Simon & Schuster. It is a fix-up novel of five linked, novella-length episodes, one of which, 'Unicorn Tapestry', first appeared on its own. Its central figure is Dr Edward Lewis Weyland, an anthropology professor who is secretly a vampire, a predator of a separate species rather than a supernatural undead. Each episode is told from the viewpoint of a person whose life touches his, including a colleague, a teenager and a psychotherapist, and the later chapters follow him to New Mexico and into his own struggle with his nature. It is a single standalone novel with no sequels.
Dark fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
The Vampire Tapestry Suzy McKee Charnas
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Vampire Tapestry; A fix-up of five linked novella-length chapters; the third, 'Unicorn Tapestry', was first published separately. | 1980 | 1 | core | 3.59 (2,593 ratings) |
A standalone novel of five linked episodes about a vampire anthropologist.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Vampire Tapestry? The Vampire Tapestry's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is The Vampire Tapestry finished? Complete (1980).
- How much reading does The Vampire Tapestry take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book).
- How is The Vampire Tapestry ranked? #1113 in this site's official ranking, based on 2,593 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #1113?
Ranked #1113 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.59 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (2,593 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- 0.01 behind #1112, Rusalka.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Modestly rated · 1 book · Complete · 3k ratings · Ranks #1113 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment dark fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- World Fantasy Award (Best Novel), 1981: finalist: The Vampire Tapestry
- Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 1981: finalist: The Vampire Tapestry
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what The Vampire Tapestry and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Mexican Gothic Dark fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.66
- The Endsong New Weird / Dark fantasy · Ongoing · Low commitment · 3.65
- Wilderwood Romantasy / Dark fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.62
- The Charlatan Duology Dark fantasy / Urban fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.59
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.59 across 2,593 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon Extension: 28 universes; 3 candidates ruled out accepted 2026-11-02
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-11-02
Rule: Core Canon = The Vampire Tapestry (1980).