Lee Allen's Blog - Posts Tagged "dracula"

Dracul by Dacre Stoker

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A haunting and captivating origin story to Bram Stoker’s gothic horror masterpiece.

“I am quite convinced that there is no doubt whatever that the events here described really took place, however unbelievable and incomprehensible they might appear at first sight.” Bram Stoker

What led Bram Stoker to record the events told in ‘Dracula’ and thus recount the most famous vampire tale of all time? ‘Dracul’ takes us back to 1868, many years before the events of the original novel. Bram, alone and barricaded in the tower of a deconsecrated abbey, armed with crucifixes, white roses and holy water, is under siege from malevolent forces which surround him. In his journal, he begins to record the events that led him here.

So we return with Bram to 1854, when the terror truly began. Sickly and confined to his bedroom most the time, the young Brad leads a lonely life – close only to his sister, Matilda, and their nanny, Ellen Crone. Bram and Matilda soon begin to notice that there is something strange about their nanny - her mysterious wanderings away from the family home in the middle of the night; her bizarre disappearances sometimes for days at a time; her ageless beauty, at times interrupted by the rare appearance of one who has aged considerably. When she appears to bring Bram back from the brink of death, it only serves to deepen the mystery that surrounds her.

The children are determined to uncover Ellen’s secrets, a quest that is destined to follow them into adulthood and lead them into the path of a malevolent evil, one so ancient and malignant that escape may be impossible. The legend of Dracul is buried deep; uncovering it may come at a price that none are prepared to sacrifice.

This is an origin story on multiple levels – part prequel to the original novel, part alternative history biopic of how it came to be written – and a gripping vampire thriller in its own right. Co-written by Dacre Stoker, great-grand-nephew to Bram, and horror and thriller author J.D. Barker, it was inspired by the notes and journals Bram left behind from the original writing of ‘Dracula’. The story of the missing first one-hundred pages of the novel is legendary; the short story ‘Dracula’s Guest’, published posthumously as part of a short story collection, is believed to have originally been the first chapter of the novel, and it is believed that much more of the original story was excised. Dacre Stoker has spent many years researching the life and works of his ancestor, having also previously published a sequel to the original, ‘Dracula: The Un-Dead’, co-written with Ian Holt.

Stoker and Barker have seamlessly stitched together history and fiction into a superbly written, dark, supernatural drama, brimming with tension and riddled with unease. It builds to an intensely satisfying climax, followed by the perfect close in 1890; one that leaves you yearning to dive straight back into the original classic. The undead still walk and the legend of the vampire continues to endure.

Composed of pure gothic atmosphere and slow-burning terror, ‘Dracul’ is a fine addition to Bram Stoker’s legacy and the ever-expanding mythology of Dracula and his fellow literary vampires.

(Also included is an Authors’ Note that blends eerily well with the fiction; and, in the paperback edition, a letter reportedly written by Charlotte Stoker to her son, Bram, telling of the horrors of the cholera pandemic. It makes for timely reading, with echoes through to the present day. Perhaps vampirism isn’t the true horror after all.)



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The Classified Dossier: Sherlock Holmes and Count Dracula by Christian Klaver

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Two titans of Victorian literature collide in a series of supernatural adventures.

Holmes' attention has been drawn to multiple unexplained events, discerning connections between them that only serve to be more perplexing and lead to one inescapable conclusion - the existence of vampires.

Count Dracula enlists Holmes' help to find his missing wife, Mina, kidnapped by an enemy who Holmes fears may present a greater threat than Dracula himself.

So begins a series of perplexing new cases for Holmes and Watson, descending into new realms of terror unlike any they've faced before.

'Sherlock Holmes and Count Dracula' is the first in 'The Classified Dossier' series; Dr Watson chronicling Holmes' investigations into the supernatural that were previously locked away, never to be published. This volume contains four stories - each a novella with its own defined narrative, with an ongoing story arc throughout that culminates in the final novella. The original versions of the first three were first published as 'The Supernatural Case Files of Sherlock Holmes'; indeed, the new title is a little misleading, with Dracula only featuring in two of the stories and in more of a supporting role as opposed to co-lead protagonist or chief antagonist.

I must admit I was dubious about this book, having loved both distinctly separate characters and original stories from a young age. Of course, there have been many adaptations and interpretations of both characters in the last century, and it isn't the first time they've been combined either, so I decided to give it a try. Personally, I found changes to the literary canon of both unnecessary and struggled to embrace one major twist in particular, which didn't seem to contribute much to the overarching narrative. Purists of either or both should proceed with caution.

Despite my misgivings over certain plot elements, this was nevertheless an enjoyable read, with the original stories' shared elements of mystery, action and adventure threaded throughout, and the intrigue of detective fiction moulded well with the atmosphere of gothic horror and graphic imagery of vampire fiction. Holmes' scientific approach to the phenomenon of vampirism is detailed well, with some interesting exploration of the concept. Klaver has crafted a well-written collection, demonstrating a detailed knowledge of Conan-Doyle's tales and believably capturing Watson’s narrative voice. The third and fourth stories were my favourites, bringing the emotional turmoil to the forefront and delivering a thrilling climax and satisfying overall conclusion to the story arc of the enemy lurking in the shadows.

A second volume, 'Sherlock Holmes and Mr Hyde', continues the series, exploring another icon of Victorian gothic horror literature and furthering Holmes’ supernatural cases.



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The Classified Dossier - Sherlock Holmes and Mr Hyde by Christian Klaver

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Holmes and Watson hunt a sinister evil in another unearthed adventure from the supernatural case files.

Holmes' services are sought by Dr. Henry Jekyll, appealing to him to assist as his dark counterpart Mr. Edward Hyde is accused of murder.

Meanwhile, the police appeal to Holmes for help as a new series of murders suggest the Ripper has returned to stalk London's streets once again.

As the investigation leads Holmes and Watson into darker territory than ever before, they stumble across a plot that could mean the end of civilisation.

'Sherlock Holmes and Mr. Hyde' is the second volume in 'The Classified Dossier', an alternate Holmesian universe featuring characters of gothic horror fiction. Packed with action and adventure, mystery and the supernatural, as well as the real horror of Jack the Ripper and a fanatical cult, Klaver delivers a thrilling novel in the tradition of the classic fiction it emulates and expands upon.

Not only does the story feature Jekyll and Hyde, but Count Dracula and Mina return, as well as appearances from werewolves, and brushes with the Lovecraftian universe and the work of HG Wells. Ultimately, the novel delivers an exciting, thrill-ride with a mash-up of characters and bending of lore that you'd expect to see on the screen rather than the page; often, I was reminded of the original Dark Universe monster movies.

While diverting, in some elements significantly, from the established events of the source material of Stoker's Dracula, Stevenson's Jekyll and Hyde, and Conan Doyle's Holmes stories, Klaver does demonstrate a detailed knowledge of all three canons and his changes are perhaps not as audacious as they may feel - those stories largely comprised of first person narratives or witness testimony and thus, by definition, presenting single perspectives with the potential to have been economical with the truth.

Building on the events of the previous volume, the novel develops the narrative threads that began in the separate novellas of the first book and deeper explores the rewriting of Dracula's tale and discoveries of the esoteric and the supernatural, culminating in a climatic action-packed finale that satisfies both narratively and emotionally.

The series will continue with 'Sherlock Holmes and Dorian Gray', promising a mystery for Holmes and Watson wrapped up with Egyptology and Wilde's anti-hero.



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A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A rapturous Gothic horror romance of the brides of Dracula.

Constanta is saved from the brink of death on the battlefield by a mysterious stranger, thus beginning their romance of blood and lust.

But Constanta soon learns her beloved’s darkness is far beyond her imagining, before he takes another bride with whom she must share him.

As their family of the undead expands to include a third bride, Constanta must confront the truth of their master’s nature and pursue the only avenue of escape that can truly set them free.

'A Dowry of Blood' is the debut novel by S.T. Gibson, a tale of gothic horror and dark romance, reimagining the Dracula legend from the perspective of one of his brides, Constanta. Told in the form of a letter to her murdered husband, Constanta looks back over centuries of their life together, an immersive and seductive history drenched in blood. So deeply familiar are we with the image of the three vampire brides who hunt Jonathan Harker in the dead of night at Castle Dracula; here they are given a voice, a history, and an identity. Beautifully written and instantly immersive, Gibson’s delicious, poetic prose sweeps us away with a narrative of vampirism, seduction, sadomasochistic yearning, polygamy and survival.

Constanta’s recounting of the early decades of her undead life as the vampire’s bride are equally entrancing and discomforting, a torrid tale of psychological abuse and coercive control, rich with desire and decadence; haunting, intense and emotive. She introduces us to the brides who succeed her – Magdalena and Alexi – the envy and discomfort this initially inspires and the total disregard on her husband’s part for how she may feel about sharing him emotionally, consent manipulated from her rather than sought, and the life they lead under the dominion of their master as a polyamorous family.

Dracula's presence dominates over the narrative – his power, his control over his brides, his capacity for evil; but also his charm, his beauty, his intellect, his allure enduring through the centuries, as much in reality as in fiction. Yet, through her narrative, Constanta strips his identity from him, as he has done to her and her fellow brides, so much so there are only minor direct references that would allow us to identify him. Her eternal struggle is to not see this twisted and obsessive devotion as anything but love, despite the fear he instils in them all, each experiencing something akin to Stockholm Syndrome in their unflinching belief that he truly loves them.

It should be noted that the novel diverts from the canon of Stoker's novel, for the most part in subtle ways, but significantly in the timeline (the family are in Berlin at the time the Count was in Transylvania and London) and in disregarding the conclusion of 'Dracula'. It would have been exciting to explore the alternative history of those events from the perspective of the brides, while ‘Dracula’ purists may prefer to take advantage of Dracula’s reduced identity. Yet the novel is so well-written, this doesn’t detract from its excellence.

Evocative and provocative, ‘A Dowry of Blood’ is one of those books that sucks you into its embrace and sinks in its teeth; horrific and romantic in equal measure, harking back to Gothic classics, with a sleek, modern edge – dark, sensual, disturbing, and psychologically and emotionally stark. I adored it from beginning to end.



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