The Mammoth Book of Dracula

by Stephen Jones (Editor), Nancy Holder (Contributor), Brian Lumley (Contributor)

With his 500-year lifetime so far, and centuries yet ahead, the character of Dracula has an ever-unfolding biography, to which this 100th-anniversary tribute contributes 33 stories (only 6 of which have been previously published). Dracula visits, in these pages, such locales as the Côte d'Azur, the wilds of Oregon, the Los Angeles of Raymond Chandler, communist Eastern Europe, Rome at the dawn of the 21st century (a chilling tale in which he is forced to imitate the Messiah), and the ruins of post-apocalyptic New Jersey. He encounters Bettie Page, Aleister Crowley, Timothy Leary, Lou Reed, and Francis Ford Coppola (with the entire cast and crew of Apocalypse Now, in a hilarious spoof). The authors include such contemporary masters as Kim Newman, Nicholas Royle, Terry Lamsley, Joel Lane, Brian Stableford, and Ramsey Campbell. The book also has a foreword by Bram Stoker's great-nephew, and includes the never-before-published prologue to Stoker's theatrical version of Dracula.

CONTENTS
Introduction: I Bid You Welcome by Stephen Jones
Foreword: Geeat Uncle Bram And Vampires by Daniel Farson
Dracula: or The Un-Dead: Prologue by Bram Stoker
Dracula's Library by Christopher Fowler
The Heart of Count Dracula, Descendant of Attila, Scourge of God by Thomas Ligotti
Daddy's Little Girl by Mandy Slater
Conversion by Ramsey Campbell
The Devil Is Not Mocked by Manly Wade Wellman
Teaserama by Nancy Kilpatrick
Blood Freak by Nancy Holder
Zack Phalanx is Vlad The Impaler by Brian Lumley
When Greek Meets Greek by Basil Copper
Coppola's Dracula by Kim Newman
The Second Time Around by Hugh B. Cave
Endangered Species by Brian Mooney
Melancholia by Roberta Lannes
Children Of The Long Night by Lisa Morton
Mbo by Nicholas Royle
The Worst Place In The World by Paul J. McAuley
Larry's Guest by Guy N. Smith
A Taste Of Culture by Jan Edwards
Rudolph by R. Chetwynd-Hayes
Roadkill by Graham Masterson
Volunteers by Terry Lamsley
Black Beads by John Gordon
Your European Son by Joel Lane
Quality Control by Brian Stableford
Dear Alison by Michael Marshall Smith
Bloodlines by Conrad Williams
Windows '99 Of The Soul by Chris Morgan
Blood Of Eden by Mike Chinn
The Last Testament by Brian Hodge
The Last Vampire by Peter Crowther
The Lord's Work by F. Paul Wilson
Lord Of The Undead by Jo Fletcher

Genres: Horror, Vampires, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction, Fantasy, Alchemy

520 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1997

About the author

Stephen Jones is an eighteen-time winner of the British Fantasy Award.

Reviews

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the past few months, I have gone through (again) the annotated version of Bram Stoker’s legendary novel (“Dracula Unearthed”), a revisionist view about how the myth might have some actual historical foundation (“The Dracula Papers”), and an action-packed graphic novel dealing with Sherlock Holmes out-witting Dracula (“Victorian Undead: Vol. II”). I had started feeling intrigued with the idea that “Dracula in the past is fair game, but how might he act/react if he gets a chance now, i.e. in this present?”, and hence, exhaustive reading in the shape of this anthology.

This book had been published originally in 1997 (to commemorate the centenary of the publication of Stoker’s novel), and it already seems dated, with several stories being concerned with the millennium, and nothing about the near apocalyptic threat of terror that pervades our lives now (nobody even knew the name of OBL at that point).

The contents are:

• Introduction: I Bid You Welcome: Stephen Jones explains the idea behind this anthology.
1. Dracula: or The Un-Dead: Prologue: the dramatized version of Harker’s first meeting with the count, that had been written by Bram Stoker for actual performance: PATHETIC & UTTERLY AVOIDABLE!
2. Dracula’s Library: a very good story by Christopher Fowler that evokes the sensual & sexual appeal of vampire-related fiction in the form of a hypothetical experience of Jonathan Harker. GOOD.
3. The Heart of Count Dracula, Descendant of Attila, Scourge of God: Thomas Ligotti’s wry look at the probable future of the Count. TOO SHORT & EXPERIMENTAL.
4. Daddy’s Little Girl: a modest piece by Mandy Slatter, TOO GOTHIC.
5. Conversion: Ramsay Campbell’s narrative reads like an experience of a somnambulist, but the dénouement is chilling. GOOD.
6. The Devil is Not Mocked: a stunning piece of pulp fiction from the great Manly Wade Wellman. ABSOLUTELY SUPERB.
7. Teaserama: a teasing look at Dracula’s probable fate, had he been enamoured by one of Hollywood’s legends in the ‘50-s. VERY GOOD.
8. Blood Freak: Nancy Holder tries to juxtapose Dracula, the flower children, drugs, and a con-man, in a mosaic-kind of story that goes nowhere. NOT BAD, NOR GOOD.
9. Zack Phalanx is Vlad the Impaler: experiences of a filming party in the Carpathians. POSITIVELY MEDIOCRE.
10. When Greek Meets Greek: an enigmatic story from Basil Copper that would unleash threads in your mind that you would keep on trying to unravel. VERY GOOD.
11. Coppola’s Dracula: the lengthiest piece of the book, a novella from Kim Newman set in his ‘Anno Dracula’ universe, which, deservedly, is getting released as a book next year. VERY GOOD.
12. The Second Time Around: Hugh B. Cave pens a pulpy story about crime & retribution. GOOD.
13. Endangered Species: an exceptional monologue from Brian Mooney that is riveting as well as disturbing. VERY GOOD.
14. Melancholia: Roberta Lannes’ story is about the inevitable psychological breakdown of the immortal in a society obsessed with psychotherapy, but the handling was quite dissatisfactory. NOT GOOD.
15. Children of the Long Night: Lisa Morton writes a strange piece that seeks to establish Dracula as the lesser evil compared to the Nazis, and even some of the present members of mankind. NOT GOOD.
16. Mbo: Nicholas Royle’s story has nothing to do with Dracula, but it is a gripping vampire yarn set in Africa, which is surprising because for some reason people don’t think it as a suitable location to be haunted by vampires. VERY GOOD.
17. The Worst place in the World: a poignant story by Paul McAuley, about the travails of a vampire in Africa who tries to retain his humanity while humans around him become worse than animals. VERY GOOD.
18. Larry’s Guest: a short piece from Guy N. Smith, set in London of Blitz. MEDIOCRE.
19. A Taste of Culture: Jan Edwards composes a mocking piece which is quite charming. GOOD.
20. Rudolph: R. Chetwynd-Hayes’ brazen attempts to mix sex, comedy and horror bombs again. BAD.
21. Roadkill: Graham Masterton eschews his usual sex-oriented penmanship, in producing a neat story. GOOD.
22. Volunteers: Terry Lamsley produces a compact & surprisingly enjoyable story about personal tastes & preferences of social service volunteers. VERY GOOD.
23. Black Beads: John Gordon writes a very mature & disturbing story without an extra word in place. VERY GOOD.
24. Your European Son: Joel Lane’s tory about organized crime & vampires seem to be following age-old tropes. MEDIOCRE.
25. Quality Control: a taut & thrilling story from Brian Stableford. VERY GOOD.
26. Dear Alison: one of the most poignant & humane stories in the collection, from Michael Marshall Smith. VERY GOOD.
27. Bloodlines: Conrad Williams produces a gut-wrenching piece involving psychopaths, sex and revenge. VERY DARK.
28. Windows of the Soul: an intelligent story from Chris Morgan that envisions Count Dracula as a computer virus. GOOD.
29. Blood of Eden: a very short techno-thriller from Mike Chinn. TOO SHORT, BUT VERY GOOD.
30. Dracula Night: Charlaine Harris pens a Sookie Stackhouse story. ENTERTAINING.
31. The Last Testament: a haunting story from Brian Hodge that would disturb you, chill you, and keep you intrigued for a ling-time. VERY GOOD.
32. The Last Vampire: what would be the reaction of desperate mankind towards Count Dracula in the post-apocalyptic world? VERY GOOD.
33. The Lord’s Work: F. Paul Wilson gives us a gripping story about retribution. EXCELLENT.
34. Lord of the Undead: a poem from Jo Fletcher. SO-SO.

Overall, this anthology has several satisfying and some very good to excellent stories. Recommended.

[N.N. Heaven · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have rarely read anthologies and I think I know why now. This book took a long time for me to finish. I learned some key things about short story compilations. If, within a couple of pages you are flipping to see how many pages are left, you do not like the story. If you can't put the book down until you finish the short story...you have found a winner. This book covers Dracula from inception (the first short story is from Bram Stoker) to beyond modern day. Some of the stories are incredible, some are ok and some are horrible. I will keep the book as I love the great ones and will want to read them again. There are some amazing vampire stories here. They are:

'Daddy's Little Girl' - Mandy Slater; 'When Greek Meets Greek' - Basil Cooper; 'The Second Time Around; - Hugh B. Cave; Endangered Species - Brian Mooney; 'Larry's Guest' - Guy N. Smith; 'A Taste of Culture' - Jan Edwards; 'The Devil is Not Mocked' - Manly Wade Wellman; 'Volunteers' - Terry Lamsley; 'Quality Control' - Brian Stableford.

Those nine stories out of 34 make this a keeper. Each reader may like different aspects of this collection. I am confident enough to say if you are a fan of vampires you will like this book.

[Taysha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although some of the stories here are truly baffling in the sense that I can't imagine how the editor who compiled these works ever thought they were of high enough quality to merit inclusion, some of these are so great that I'd venture to say they have better premises than the source material. Overall uneven but pretty enjoyable.

[Annabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always been fascinated by vampires. Given the choice of tall tales involving Frankenstein, mummies, zombies, werewolves, and vampires, I choose the articulate, Slav-accented, learned and cultured vampire of unknown vintage: Count Dracula.

Not all stories here however, moved me enough to offer a carotid artery. And only two are standouts. Still, I give this 3.5 stars. A quick breakdown:

1 Dracula: or The Un-Dead: Prologue by Bram Stoker (an excerpt from the novel Dracula)
Sheridan le Fanu's Carmilla may have preceded Stoker's Dracula, but it was the latter who introduced the narcoleptic, urbane count to the world. Carotid-worthy.

2 Dracula's Library by Christopher Fowler
A distinguished, if exceedingly scarce host. A most impressive, intriguing, limited edition library at the bibliophile guest's disposal. Definitely carotid-worthy.

3 The Heart of Count Dracula, Descendant of Attila, Scourge of God by Thomas Ligotti
Flash fiction. But I can't make heads nor tails nor fangs of it. Hold the platelets.

4 Daddy's Little Girl by Mandy Slater
For "fathering" that troublesome Aleister Crowley, daughter must die. So decrees Daddy Dracul. I'll pass.

5 Conversion by Ramsey Campbell
Dracula compartmentalizes. And ultimately, fails. Hold the platelets.

6 The Devil is Not Mocked by Manley Wade Wellman
Nazis en route to Castle Dracula via the Borgo Pass. Where a hungry host awaits. Carotid-worthy.

7 Teaserama by Nancy Kilpatrick
Porno freak Dracula--the very antithesis of Count Dracula as we know him. Pass!

8 Blood Freak by Nancy Holder
Awash with cash, Count Dracula has hied off to his own Hearst Castle in San Diego, where he acquires a hippie following, turning him into an incidental, reluctant cult sensation. Enter trickster Timothy Leary, and one irreversible bad trip, man! Carotid-worthy.

9 Zack Phalanx is Vlad the Impaler by Brian Lumley
Not even worth a paper cut.

10 When Greek Meets Greek by Basil Copper
The dreamy setting of the Cote d'Azur, the respectable, cultured cast of three, and the fleeting conversations over cosmopolitan meals and iced drinks made me wonder if the writer was channeling Somerset Maugham. Carotid-worthy, Maugham being my favorite writer.

11 Coppola's Dracula by Kim Newman
Faulkner’s Heart of Darkness morphed into Apocalypse Now. Retaining Brando and the rest of the cast, but adding vampires, Dracula's actual castle, and an ongoing Transylvanian civil war into the mix makes this one extremely confused mixed bag of trick or treats. Surely all that effort deserves an artery.

12 The Second Time Around by Hugh B. Cave
Multiple times around: this is a familiar story, with familiar characters, and a very familiar ending. Still, the writing evokes atmosphere, and deserves a minor artery or two.

13 Endangered Species by Brian Mooney
Nosferatu, now Oregon-based, takes to the classifieds. "Reclusive European nobleman, living far from civilization, promises an inquiring soul unique experience, interesting narrative and rich reward. Intelligent young persons only, of sturdy good health, apply to Box NumberV1214." Oh Count D, just bite me already!

14 Melancholia by Roberta Lannes
Melancholic Martyr Dracula meets girl. Goes into therapy. Loses girl. Loses it. Worth a minor artery.

15 Children of the Long Night by Lisa Morton
Count Dracula, betrayed by one of his own. A woman at that. Worth a tiny wrist vein.

16 Mbo by Nicholas Royle
Heart of Darkness meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets the African continent. Pass.

17 The Worst Place in the World by Paula McAuley
This is a Graham Greene banana republic novel given the Lovecraftian treatment. Found it too gory for my platelets.

18 Larry's Guest by Guy N. Smith
Larry's guest and his gustatory predilections were just a tad too predictable here. Pass.

19 A Taste of Culture by Jan Edwards
Flash fiction. Yep, I supposed it IS "hard to beat a good French red." Take both carotids!

20 Rudolph by R. Chetwynd-Hayes
A spinster that sounds straight out of a Jane Austen novel has fallen on hard times. Salvation comes in the person of Mr Rudolph Acrudal. Carotid-worthy.

21 Roadkill by Graham Masterson
This one channels Edgar Allan Poe. Reminiscent of the unearthing of Richard III's corpse beneath a parking lot in Leicester in 2015, this had the ending which disturbed me the most. Worth both carotids.

22 Volunteers by Terry Lamsley
The count as a charity case. Pass.

23 Black Beads by John Gordon
Dreamy and fairy tale-ish. Allegorical? Wrong anthology! Not my cuppa blood.

24 Your European Son by Joel Lane
Gangster Dracula. Pass.

25 Quality Control by Brian Stableford
DNA Drac. A Michael Crichton-John Grisham-Neil Gaiman mishmash. This may have worked better in a Sandman standalone graphic novel. Pass.

26 Dear Alison by Michael Marshall Smith
Very subtle storytelling here, with a twist I did not foresee, not by a mile. This one gets 5 stars. Artery smorgasbord!

27 Blood Lines by Conrad Williams
Serial killing is a dangerous business. Violence and gore take center stage. But there was no point to this story. Pass.

28 Windows of the Soul by Chris Morgan
AI Dracula. Too synthetic for my blood.

29 Blood of Eden by Mike Chinn
The G-men are on to the Count, whose omnipotence seems patterned after that of Colombia's Pablo Escobar at the height of his notoriety. Throw in omniscience and a hologram for the Count, and you've got yourself a winner. Still, this didn't do it for me. All that tech and layers of security were overkill, and strayed too far from my vampire ideal. Pass.

30 Dracula Night by Charmaine Harris
Chick-lit Dracula. Works if taken as comedy fare. Worth a pinprick or two.

31 The Last Testament by Brian Hodge
Excellent storytelling. With an ending that makes you ponder...and prompts you to reread the whole thing. This one's the best of the lot. Carte blanche on the arteries!

32 The Last Vampire by Peter Crowther
Required reading on how to survive the post-apocalypse. This had the combined overtones of certain episodes from the Twilight Zone of the sixties (The Monsters are Due on Maple Street, Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up). While the end was pretty predictable, the getting there was fun. Carotid-worthy.

33 The Lord's Work by F. Paul Wilson
Yet another take on Richard Matheson's I Am Legend. Narrated in the style of a Stephen King short story. Worked for me. Carotid-worthy.

34 Lord of the Undead by Jo Fletcher
The only poem among the stories. I may have appreciated this more if I hadn't reread Yeats's The Second Coming right before reading this. Worth a paper cut.

[Sara]

Gd collection in cold time of years.match the snow.i read to kim coppols dracola terror mix with civial war.and read to kim in another place.McCarthy witch hunt.the percie arrow.

[Bailey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This anthology contains 34 short stories, so prepare for a long review. The anthology is a good idea in theory, but fails itself in the execution. The problem with putting short stories together all about one topic, or one character, is that the element of surprise and subversion is gone. I'm sure these stories in isolation have a better punch, because you aren't expecting the reveal to be Dracula or Dracula related. And as for subversion, when Dracula is a character in a novel, he is either the stereotype of the vampire- evil, Eastern European who invites guests into his home for dinner- or there's attempt at subversion. But when all these stories are lumped together the stereotype and subversion is predictable, weak and ultimately disappointing. I would not recommend this book, the good stories aren't enough to purchase the anthology. Below I will give my thoughts on each story, some more than others. Stories I would suggest to read will have "*" in front.

Bram Stoker: The Undead- The anthology begins with Bram Stoker's script he performed on stage to advertise Dracula. As a business manager and assistant working in theater, it makes sense he would do this. And since Dracula didn't initially sell well, attempting a stage version was a good idea. If you've read the novel, you know the story. This scene is Harker having dinner with Dracula. The exposition being performed aloud was weak but I guess inevitable in a play.

*Christopher Fowler: Dracula's Library- A very good short story about a man hired to catalog and organize the Count's library, and slowly getting sucked into his world. Eerie with good storytelling, but with some "sex/sexy ladies are bad" moments that I didn't enjoy. But I enjoyed this one!

Thomas Ligotti: The Heart of Dracula, Descendant of Attila, Scourge of God- What a big title for one page of Dracula mooning over Mina, weak and boring.

Mandy Slater: Daddy's Little Girl- A story that would work better in isolation. A female vampire who meets up with her "father" Dracula. It repeated itself a lot. One particular description was, word for word: "I could feel the blood tears rolling down my cheeks. They were tears of blood." A bit too weak to recommend.

Ramsey Campbell: Conversion- A boring 2nd p.o.v choose-your-own-adventure type story. I don't like those, so I didn't enjoy it.

Manly Wade Wellman (wtf kind of name): The Devil is Not Mocked- A very interesting, self-indulgent idea of Dracula killing Nazi's. I'm sure it was one of the first of its kind, since the author is an older one. I wish more had been done with it.

Nancy Kilpatrick: Teaserama- This story is nuts. A 1920's Dracula attempts to get his groove back by falling in love with Bettie Page and stalking her! Weird, not good enough to recommend.

Nancy Holder: Blood Freak- Stupid, typical 1960's story where Dracula gets high and deals with all the "peace and love, man" of the era.

Brian Lumley: Zack Phalanx is Vlad the Impaler- A story about a movie being filmed but he is actually Vlad? Or does some impaling or something? Hard to follow and dumb.

Basil Copper: When Greek Meets Greek- A married Greek couple seduce a man into feeding from them, but more so on the woman. Dracula's tomb is mentioned ONCE. I am not kind to the stories that have nothing to do with Dracula.

Kim Newman: Coppola's Dracula- This one is confusing. I have read "Anno Dracula" by Newman and enjoyed it for the most part. I understand he has created an entirely alternate universe for his stories. But this one has Francais Ford Coppola direct a Dracula feature- something he actually did in 1992! But the story, actors, etc in this version have nothing to do with the real film. And this story was written after the 1992 Dracula! I would have been more invested in this story if I wasn't trying to compare everything to the real film.

Hugh B Cave: The Second Time Around- A man named Howell (get it? Children of the Night- haha) gets attacked by thugs and Dracula turns him to enact petty revenge. Simple enough.

*Brian Mooney (ha!): Endangered Species- A hilarious premise, you are a Y/N in a story where you date Dracula! He tells you his life while on a dinner date. I liked the idea that modern death practices such as embalming and cremation prevent vampirism. The recommendation is hesitant, cause I just find it funny.

Roberta Lannes: Melancholia- Dracula dates an underaged prostitute, gets depressed and goes to therapy....cause MODERN LIFE IS SO HARD! Nasty, next.

Lisa Morton: Children of the Long Night- Another problem I have with these Dracula stories is when Dracula suffers with modernity cause "its too hard/different than the past/etc." GROW UP DRAC! It's such a stupid take. Anyway, this story is a cop helping vampire Lucy kill Dracula, who has become "disillusioned with modernity" and kills people. Boring.

Nicholas Royle: Mbo- Vampires kidnap white people in Africa, Dracula is not named but maybe implied? Didn't like it, only liked the connections of mosquitoes and vampires, but that is obvious comparison.

Paul McAuley: The Worst Place in the World- Dracula kidnaps a guy to help cure his tainted blood. A cool idea, but don't understand why its set in Africa again?

*Guy N Smith: Larry's Guest- Another hesitant recommend, because its a hilarious premise but ends poorly. Dracula's coffin gets brought to a fifty year old man's flat, and he still lives with his mother. Dracula is confused with modernity and he and the man bicker about silly things. That part is funny, but then the ending is weak when Dracula brings a prostitute home and tries to turn her and stuff. Funny premise but weak execution. I'd still recommend for the funny premise.

Jan Edwards: A Taste of Culture- Dracula thinks modernity is gross and chooses a victim based on their ethnicity. Gross.

R Chetwynd Hayes: Rudolph- Basically "Rosemary's Baby" but with Dracula. Wish it was better.

Graham Masterson: Roadkill- Another thing I hate about Dracula stories is how they make the character focus so hard on the story in Stoker's novel. He's like 700 years old, I think he can get over two hot girls he met in 1894! Anyway this story is about him eating a girl and angsting over Lucy and Mina.

Terry Lamsley: Volunteers- A social assistant volunteer signs up to help an elderly man who turns out to be Dracula, and helps him rid a bad guy. A good idea, but a bit boring.

John Gordon: Black Beads- A man and woman go back to the woman's old home. She's a vampire and eats him. NO DRACULA, why is this in the anthology?

*Joel Lane: Your European Son- Dracula is a landlord, and he and his tenant do rockstar "sex, drugs, rock and roll" type things. He turns his tenant into a form of himself, a more emotional vampire, hedonistic and gluttonous. Very interesting, creative and not cliche.

Brian Stableford: Quality Control- A man discovers an expert drug dealer is Dracula trying to spread vampirism through his new elite drugs. Very interesting concept, and the author knew what they were talking about with their scientific knowledge. Altogether an alright story.

Micheal Marshall Smith: Dear Alison- A man writing a letter to his wife about how he cheated on her. NO DRACULA AT ALL, THIS SUCKED. I don't care if its a metaphor for marriage or cheating being like vampirism or whatever! BAD!

Conrad Williams: Bloodlines- A very cliche story about a serial killer in a facility taunting a worker there. Very "Silence of the Lambs" but gets more cliche when you find out the serial killer is Dracula and main character Naim is actually... a descendant of MINA! GASP! Because ALL descendants just have anagram names of their ancestors!

Chris Morgan: Windows of the Soul- A very late 90's/ early 00's story about a vampire being a computer, eating data and whatnot. A lot of "future computer tech" jargon. Very dull.

*Mike Chinn: Blood of Eden- An interesting concept!- Dracula is the head of a big corporation negotiating and threatening nuclear winter for vampires to thrive. An excellent way to compare billionaire corporations to vampirism, but some poor choices were made such as Dracula's motivation being World War Two Nazi revenge and him negotiating the cure for AIDS casually.

**Charlaine Harris: Dracula Night- My favourite story in the anthology! If you read the Sookie Stackhouse books you'll enjoy this short story of Sookie attending Dracula's birthday party at Fangtasia and helping defeat a Dracula imposter!!!

Brian Hodge: The Last Testament- Dracula is pope or something? Talks to a medieval vampire older than him? I don't know.

Peter Crowther: The Last Vampire- A circus arrives amongst a war to show off their oddities, including who they claim is "Dracula- The Last Vampire". In the end, the circus handlers are vampires and its all fake. Boring.

F Paul Wilson: The Lord's Work- Nuns, cowboys, and Dracula- OH MY! But it isn't exciting, it's boring.

Jo Fletcher: Lord of the Undead- The anthology ends with a little poem about Dracula, it's alright.

[Hokuto · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most of the stories lack either interest or decent writing, but there are a few decent ones among the lot. Not worth a buy, but not a bad borrow.

[Bingsy Bings · Rating 3 out of 5]

some stories were unsuccessful, but most were really entertaining/ some were exceptionally done

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

As usual with short story collections this is a mixed bag...
In some Dracula seems to have less bite than the legend whilst others do him justice.
It's somewhat chronological in eras the count and appears and the last two stories which offer a futuristic vision I do think are amongst the strongest in this collection.
Personally I do like short stories generally they can be punchy and do in a few pages what some books can't in three hundred odd pages..there's a few examples of that here ..though in truth not too many.

[Rhys Causon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Think these stories mostly failed for me because I have never really enjoyed Dracula in the modern day, which most of these tended to be.

[Duncan Steele · Rating 2 out of 5]

Becomes very dull, very soon.

The same story repeated time and time again but in differing time periods.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good collection of vampire shorts from various authors.

[Sydney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confession: I've never read Dracula, though I know extremely bare bones about the plot. It was hilarious to try to figure out the common threads and characters between each story. Some of these stories were REALLY good, some were lackluster (as is the usual with a collection of stories). This wasn't as creepy as I was hoping when I picked it up, but I think you'll enjoy it if you like retellings and/or are a fan of Dracula. As I proved, you don't need to know the original story to appreciate this collection.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a volume of around 30 Dracula short stories. The 1st is where it all began with the prologue to Bram Stoker's play "Dracula" based on his book. The first 10 tales were quite good and I enjoyed them. After that the stories started to get somewhat predictable and down right silly.

Someone once told me that collections of stories begin with the best ones and the quality deteriorates as you progress. I found that to be true of this volume.

[Bill Borre]

"Children of the Long Night" by Lisa Morton - Dracula's wife Lucy hires a detective to help her kill her husband.

"Conversion" by Ramsey Campbell - A peasant attempting a rescue is no match for the Lord of Vampires.

"Blood Freak" by Nancy Holder - wc
"Melancholia" by Roberta Lannes - wc
"Larry's Guest" by Guy N. Smith - wc

[Eric Camarillo · Rating 2 out of 5]

The last five stories are probably the best. Everything else was tedious to get through. Might recommend. Would not re-read.

[Vanlilith · Rating 5 out of 5]

-

[Stefanie]

My mother got me this book for my birthday shortly after it was published and personalized it with the message "So you can look back when you're older and remember what fascinated you at 16!" Haha, years later vampires still fascinate me - it never went away. Gonna have to re-read this one, though, before giving it a proper rating.