Anno-Dracula [Hardcover]

 

 

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Anno Dracula is a novel that has been on my `to read' list for years. Mrs Cheesecake has mentioned it in passing many times. She read the short story version when it was first published as Red Reign, in the collection the Mammoth Book of Vampires in 1992. Her enjoyment of this prompted her to seek out the novel when it was released later that year. Mrs Cheesecake suggested that I give this a whirl when the re-release appeared again recently.

I read Bram Stoker's Dracula many moons ago, what self respecting horror fan hasn't? Anno Dracula is pitched as a direct sequel based on the premise that Van Helsing and his group failed. Dracula has survived their encounter and wormed his way into the highest echelons of Victorian society and marries the Queen to become Prince Consort.

Charles Beauregard is an agent of the Diogenes Club, a secret cabal tasked with protecting the crown. He is ordered to bring Silver Knife to justice and protect new-born vampires from the serial killers' wrath. Charles is the very definition of a Victorian gentleman. He comes across as single minded and driven. He is willing to sacrifice his private life in order to get results.

Genevieve Dieudonne is an elder vampire, older than Dracula himself, who works as a doctor in a charitable hospital in the heart of Whitechapel. She is appalled with the way the Count's bloodline is corrupting society. Genevieve is quite a mysterious character. She has been a vampire for hundreds of years and travelled the world but the reader only gets a small glimpse of her experiences.

The two characters meet at a crime scene, and discover they have a common goal. The two find themselves working together to stop the killings, and their partnership is one of the highlights of the novel for me.

The cast of additional characters in Anno Dracula is a veritable who's who of Victorian fact and fiction and this adds a depth and richness to the narrative. Everyone from The Elephant Man and Oscar Wilde, to Fu Manchu and Dr Henry Jekyll make an appearance. As a fan of old vampire/horror movies, I was also delighted at some of the other names that appear. For those uninitiated there are appendices at the end of the book where Newman details the various sources the character names are taken from. There is also information highlighting the differences between the original short story and the finished novel. There are even some scenes from a proposed movie script. All these extras were a nice added bonus.

Hiding just under the surface there is a strong social commentary running throughout that novel. Newman uses the vampire plague to illustrate the societal and economic problems of the Victorian era. The divide between the different classes is made that much more obvious with the additional split of humans and vampires.

I enjoyed the novel but I have to admit I was a bit surprised by how little page time the character of Dracula actually receives. He only shows up in the final chapters. Don't get me wrong his presence is writ large throughout but I expected him to appear a bit more often. In fairness, however, there are another two novels already published in this series, and it may be the case that he is a more central character in these.

From the dimly lit alleyways and opium dens of Whitechapel, to the throne room of Buckingham Palace, Newman captures the sights and sounds of Victorian London. There are some fantastic moments when the reader follows Silver Knife out on the prowl. If you have never read Anno Dracula before I strongly recommend that you seek it out.

Anno Dracula is available now. The second novel in the series, The Bloody Red Baron, is due for re-release next year.

I've got quite a few of Newman's books but, alas, I missed out on this when it first appeared almost 20 years ago (and it has now been out of print for the past 17). Despite living in the Glasgow/Edinburgh area, I've never in all those years came across a secondhand copy - and even the old UK and US paperbacks go for a pretty sum on eBay.

Well, thanks to the good folks at Titan Books it's now back in print - and not simply a reprint with a spanking new cover.

Think of this as the DVD equivalent of a 20th Anniversary Special Edition, for it comes with 120 pages of bonus material:

*alternate scenes and endings
*16 pages of annotations
*extracts from the author's unproduced screenplay
*essays
*and even a bonus short story.

Also, the main text features minor corrections to the 1992 edition.

Titan will also reissue the other two novels in the sequence, together with the long-awaited fourth volume, Johnny Alucard.

Got my copy this morning, and I'm really chuffed to bits: glad, now, I didn't fork out for an old copy off eBay or Abebooks - this new B-format edition is far superior.

This takes up the notion that Van Helsing and the gang failed in their attempts to stop Dracula from taking over the British Empire. A gripping read which moves quickly and builds to a fine climax. This also takes in many other literary figures, Jeckyll and Hyde, Allan Quatermain etc. which initially I found irritating but it all contributes to the sense of a time and place changed irrevocably. This also has a sense of humour without being flippant or undercutting the impact of the nasty events that take place. Well worth reading, particularly if you've read Bram Stoker's Dracula.

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4.0 out of 5 stars brilliantly researched, gory and great fun
Kim Newman is an Empire Magazine hero, single handedly guarding the dungeon at Empire HQ and watching those straight to DVD films, separating the wheat (not much) from the chaff... Read more

Published 27 days ago by bennyben80

2.0 out of 5 stars Meh
Not that great to be honest. Not sure what everyone else is on about. Good concept - just didn't enjoy reading the book.

Published 1 month ago by Twiglet

3.0 out of 5 stars Good...but not fangtastic
The story is an alternative to Van Helsing's success in Bram Stokers Dracula. Vampires are common knowledge and thriving. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Kevin O'Brien

5.0 out of 5 stars Anno "Anno Dracula" 19!
More than 100 years ago Bram Stoker had created a legend out of several stories (including a classic: Carmilla) and mythologies & superstitions, and that creation still marches... Read more

Published 1 month ago by RIJU GANGULY

5.0 out of 5 stars Loads of fun!
Not my usual genre but very glad I read it. Highly entertaining, very page-turning, extremely imaginative. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Rogue Eyebrow

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining but shallow
While I was reading this book, I kept thinking of both "From Hell" and "I am Legend". It doesn't stand comparison with either. Read more

Published 2 months ago by A Reader

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just another Vampire novel
Given vampires seem to be back in vogue this is a timely republishing of the film reviewer (among other things) Kim Newman's alternative Dracula book. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Lord Of All He Surveys

4.0 out of 5 stars Full Blooded Alternate History
IN SHORT
Dracula expanded into an alternative history. Overcoming the resistance detailed by Bram Stoker, the Count establishes himself in London and enthrals Victoria... Read more

Published 4 months ago by Yet Another Geek

3.0 out of 5 stars Different but not great
This was ok but just as it was getting started it ended and the last third of the book with the author telling how he got his ideas etc. I thought was a waste. Read more

Published 4 months ago by CathyQuorn

3.0 out of 5 stars My Review
While a good concept, I've struggled to get in to the story. I keep picking it up and putting it down and despite being over 200 pages in to the story, I'm not enthralled by it.

Published 5 months ago by A. Harrison

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