The Vampire, Undead, and Bloodsucker thread

[C.T. Phipps]

I really do need to read Fevre Dream.

It's on a list of my vampire books to read:

* Anno Dracula by Kim Newman
* Tanya Huff's Vicki Nelson series
* The Sonja Blue series by Nancy Collins
* The Vampire Files by P.N. Elrood

Inspiration for my next Straight Outta Fangton novel.

Edit:

* Checked off Fevre Dream and Vicki Nelson. Progress!

[C.T. Phipps]

I just read Fevre Dream for the first time!

https://booknest.eu/reviews/charles/2234-fevredream

4.5/5

I became acquainted with Fevre Dream due to a very unusual story. The song "George R.R. Martin is not your [Expletive]", a letter by Neil Gaiman that was put to music by John Anealio. It's a message that fans should stop harassing the author into completing the series. One of the lyrics is recommending the reader try Fevre Dream, a one-shot vampire novel by George R.R. Martin completed in 1982. Being the addict of all things undead that I am, I couldn't help but pick it up. So, what did I think?

It's an amazing novel and one that I almost gave 5 out of 5. I ended up giving it a slightly lower score due to the fact that I was off-put by the period appropriate hate speech for the Antebellum South, lack of focus on black characters, and a rather abrupt ending that I felt deserved a better denouement. I actually feel a little guilty about the former but it is something that I know some readers will find troublesome. Raise the score to 5 out of 5 if you don't think it would bother you.

The premise is a peculiar combination of steamboats and vampires ("Bram Stoker meets Mark Twain" as Martin himself called it). Abner Marsh is a middle-aged steamboat captain in 1857 who has recently lost most of his shipping company when he's contacted by a mysterious European investor, Joshua York, who promises to give him all the money he needs to build the world's most luxurious steamboat in exchange for following some seemingly arbitrary rules. It's questionable whether Joshua is a vampire or vampire hunter during the first half of the book and the revelation there is quite interesting.

Opposing Joshua York's activities is Damon Julian, the Satanically named owner of a plantation who is leader of a twenty-vampire strong coven of the undead. Damon is more Bram Stoker's Dracula than most as while he's rich, he's allowed his plantation to crumble to ruins and fed on most of his slaves to the point that he has exhausted their numbers. He cares about little other than feeding and is only able to keep his lifestyle running due to the efforts of his human servant, Sour Billy Tipton, who is a vile racist Overseer hoping to become immortal.

Much of the book's first half is focused on Martin's painstaking research into life on steamer ships as well as the sheer luxurious opulence of the Fevre Dream. It is not only the most luxurious river boat ever built but also the fastest and Abner develops an idolatrous love of the thing. So much so that when vampirism starts becoming an issue he has to deal with both on and off his boat, he barely notices at first since all he wants is to be the captain of the vessel. Bloodsucking horrors be damned. In that respect, he's not that different from Sour Billy.

Martin creates his own rules for his vampires and as a longtime fan of Vampire: The Masquerade, I noticed they included many things that would be incorporated into Mark Rein Hagen's classic tabletop creation (via homage or parallel development). These include vampires believing themselves to the descendants of Cain, a horrifying "Beast" that dominates their actions, and the red thirst that turns even normal people into blood starved fiends. There are "nice" vampires but I rather appreciate that Martin makes it clear even they have body counts in the double if not triple digits.

The second half of the book is a good deal less engaging than the first half due to the fact the focus is less on the Fevre Dream and life on a steamer. Much of the book's appeal is soaking up the atmosphere and Martin has always been best at anticipation versus delivery, IMHO. It doesn't help that a decent number of the events are only recounted to Abner Marsh when they would have been better experienced. However, Martin is determined to keep the perspective of the book divided between Sour Billy and Abner Marsh with nothing from the viewpoint of the undead. Eventually, the book abruptly ends and we're left with more questions than answers.

Despite this, I believe that Fevre Dream is one of the classics of vampire literature. I also think that its nice to have a Martin book that is completely finished in its storytelling. This is a complete story so you don't have to worry about ever getting the ending. Honestly, I think this would make a spectacular HBO series and I wonder why they haven't done it. True Blood by the author of Game of Thrones!

[C.T. Phipps]

5/5

Anno Dracula is a book that I didn't initially think I would read for reasons that now escape me. It certainly is the best book I've read in 2021 and that's a pretty big deal since I read Fevre Dream just recently. Given I loved that book, I find that to be high praise indeed. Of the various works I've read over the years, I'd have to say this is closest to The League of Extraordinary Gentleman. I mean this in the most literal sense as it invokes the kind of surreal Wold Newton shared universe of literary characters that Alan Moore created as well as its relentless cynicism yet peculiar sense of hope. It really must be experienced to be understood what I mean.

The premise is a simple but novel one: what if Van Helsing lost? We've had hundreds of stories where Dracula pops up immediately after death or returns to bedevil the Van Helsing and Harker families after his initial defeat. I, myself, was first introduced at a tender age of eight to the world of Dracula by the old Tomb of Dracula comics that I happened to find some reprints of. There, Dracula battled Rachel Van Helsing and Quincy Morris. However, are there many stories where Van Helsing and company just flat out botch the job?

In the original Dracula, particularly if you are familiar with the Powers of Darkness edition, the Dark Lord wasn't interested in Lucy or Mina's necks as his primary goal. Indeed, he wanted nothing less than the domination of England itself then the British Empire. Indeed, there were some proto-fascist elements that made him a proper template for the coming supervillain as well as the true-life dictators that would dominate the 20th century. Here, Dracula successfully takes over the British Empire and makes Queen Victoria his vampire bride. The domination of the undead happens and, ironically, the best social satire Kim Newman displays is how little changes as a result.

Dracula rules as a dictator and has installed numerous infamous vampires in various offices throughout the United Kingdom but most of the wealthy are willing to collaborate with the new regime. After all, vampires can convert the local leadership of any nation to immortal undead parasites, so they have an advantage over most conquerors. Indeed, soon Britain is overrun with vampires with some of the lower classes (GASP!) having become undead as well. Whitechapel is overrun with vampires and a parallel is drawn between the undead and the spread of disease as well. Which is another nod to the original handling of vampirism by Stoker.

I could go on about the plot for pages but the heart of it is an adaptation of Jack the Ripper's murders. I'm actually kind of iffy about using those as I don't feel they're usually done with taste toward the man's real-life victims. We also know, at last, the identity of the killer in Aaron Kosminski. However, this is an alternate version of reality so making it a vampire prostitute hunting Jack Seward (this is revealed in the first chapter), isn't a bad thing. Killing vampires, even impoverished and diseased ones, is a threat to the Prince Consort and must be stopped at all costs!

This isn't so much a mystery novel, the killer being revealed at the start, but a slice of life story that shows the rise of Dracula's effect on the Victorian world. We get to see it from the perspective of centuries-old vampires, rich gentlemen, impoverished young women, and more. Kim Newman throws together Sherlock Holmes, Polidori's The Vampyre, James Bond (or at least his 19th century predecessor), Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu, Doctor Moreau, Henry Jekyl, and other more obscure sources to make a bizarre but authentic feeling Gothic Horror London.

There are some elements of the book that don't quite land for me. I don't think Fu Manchu is really a character who can ever be used, no matter how you adapt him, and his unrionic presence here doesn't help the book. I also think the attempt to vilify Dracula by making him violently homophonic accidentally has the opposite effect as it seems to revel in his cruelty to gay men. It doesn't help that the one mass execution we see by Dracula’s forces has a rapist and pedophile be among those executed. However, the rest of the book is fangtastic (forgive the pun) with some deep character development. I also feel like the book was interested in Lucy Westerner’s story but cared little for Mina Harker’s. She’s barely a footnote.

Perhaps the best recommendation I can give Anno Dracula is the fact that I cared about the protagonists. I wanted to see how Genevieve, Charles, Penelope, Mary Kelly, Doctor Seward, and Arthur Holmwood's character stories ended. Rare is the vampire story where I ponder the social ramifications of wanting to stay human versus turn into a vampire after an arranged marriage, but this is the case here. I would have easily read three or four novels in this setting without the subsequent books continuing to advance the timeline as Kim Newman chose to do. In short, I loved this book and I bought copies for two of my friends.

[Derfel Cadarn]

13 hours ago, C.T. Phipps said:

5/5

Anno Dracula is a book that I didn't initially think I would read for reasons that now escape me. It certainly is the best book I've read in 2021 and that's a pretty big deal since I read Fevre Dream just recently. Given I loved that book, I find that to be high praise indeed. Of the various works I've read over the years, I'd have to say this is closest to The League of Extraordinary Gentleman. I mean this in the most literal sense as it invokes the kind of surreal Wold Newton shared universe of literary characters that Alan Moore created as well as its relentless cynicism yet peculiar sense of hope. It really must be experienced to be understood what I mean.

The premise is a simple but novel one: what if Van Helsing lost? We've had hundreds of stories where Dracula pops up immediately after death or returns to bedevil the Van Helsing and Harker families after his initial defeat. I, myself, was first introduced at a tender age of eight to the world of Dracula by the old Tomb of Dracula comics that I happened to find some reprints of. There, Dracula battled Rachel Van Helsing and Quincy Morris. However, are there many stories where Van Helsing and company just flat out botch the job?

In the original Dracula, particularly if you are familiar with the Powers of Darkness edition, the Dark Lord wasn't interested in Lucy or Mina's necks as his primary goal. Indeed, he wanted nothing less than the domination of England itself then the British Empire. Indeed, there were some proto-fascist elements that made him a proper template for the coming supervillain as well as the true-life dictators that would dominate the 20th century. Here, Dracula successfully takes over the British Empire and makes Queen Victoria his vampire bride. The domination of the undead happens and, ironically, the best social satire Kim Newman displays is how little changes as a result.

Dracula rules as a dictator and has installed numerous infamous vampires in various offices throughout the United Kingdom but most of the wealthy are willing to collaborate with the new regime. After all, vampires can convert the local leadership of any nation to immortal undead parasites, so they have an advantage over most conquerors. Indeed, soon Britain is overrun with vampires with some of the lower classes (GASP!) having become undead as well. Whitechapel is overrun with vampires and a parallel is drawn between the undead and the spread of disease as well. Which is another nod to the original handling of vampirism by Stoker.

I could go on about the plot for pages but the heart of it is an adaptation of Jack the Ripper's murders. I'm actually kind of iffy about using those as I don't feel they're usually done with taste toward the man's real-life victims. We also know, at last, the identity of the killer in Aaron Kosminski. However, this is an alternate version of reality so making it a vampire prostitute hunting Jack Seward (this is revealed in the first chapter), isn't a bad thing. Killing vampires, even impoverished and diseased ones, is a threat to the Prince Consort and must be stopped at all costs!

This isn't so much a mystery novel, the killer being revealed at the start, but a slice of life story that shows the rise of Dracula's effect on the Victorian world. We get to see it from the perspective of centuries-old vampires, rich gentlemen, impoverished young women, and more. Kim Newman throws together Sherlock Holmes, Polidori's The Vampyre, James Bond (or at least his 19th century predecessor), Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu, Doctor Moreau, Henry Jekyl, and other more obscure sources to make a bizarre but authentic feeling Gothic Horror London.

There are some elements of the book that don't quite land for me. I don't think Fu Manchu is really a character who can ever be used, no matter how you adapt him, and his unrionic presence here doesn't help the book. I also think the attempt to vilify Dracula by making him violently homophonic accidentally has the opposite effect as it seems to revel in his cruelty to gay men. It doesn't help that the one mass execution we see by Dracula’s forces has a rapist and pedophile be among those executed. However, the rest of the book is fangtastic (forgive the pun) with some deep character development. I also feel like the book was interested in Lucy Westerner’s story but cared little for Mina Harker’s. She’s barely a footnote.

Perhaps the best recommendation I can give Anno Dracula is the fact that I cared about the protagonists. I wanted to see how Genevieve, Charles, Penelope, Mary Kelly, Doctor Seward, and Arthur Holmwood's character stories ended. Rare is the vampire story where I ponder the social ramifications of wanting to stay human versus turn into a vampire after an arranged marriage, but this is the case here. I would have easily read three or four novels in this setting without the subsequent books continuing to advance the timeline as Kim Newman chose to do. In short, I loved this book and I bought copies for two of my friends.

Great series of books. Next up is ww1. Then a Bond homage with Hamish Bond (copyright I assume). Still to finish Johnny Alucard, which starts with Francis Ford Coppolla in the 70’s directing an awesome mish-mash of Apocalypse Now and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, with Sheen playing Harker travelling to Wallachia by wagon akin to the river travel in AN. 
Also has a Buffy homage

[C.T. Phipps]

On 5/6/2021 at 12:15 PM, Derfel Cadarn said:

Great series of books. Next up is ww1. Then a Bond homage with Hamish Bond (copyright I assume). Still to finish Johnny Alucard, which starts with Francis Ford Coppolla in the 70’s directing an awesome mish-mash of Apocalypse Now and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, with Sheen playing Harker travelling to Wallachia by wagon akin to the river travel in AN. 
Also has a Buffy homage

This convinced me to read the next books in the series rather than switch up! Thanks!

[C.T. Phipps]

https://booknest.eu/reviews/charles/2238-thebloodyredbaron

4.5/5

THE BLOODY RED BARON is the sequel to Kim Newman's classic ANNO DRACULA and a fantastic (fangtastic?) novel that, nevertheless, didn't quite stick with me the same way the original novel did. I would give it a 4 out of 5, still a respectable number, but it came with a novella at the end that I absolutely adored. "Vampire Romance" is a story every bit as enjoyable as the original Anno Dracula and I wish it was its own separate novel.

The premise of the main novel is that the Victorian Age is over and Dracula has fled England to join with the Central Powers during World War 1. Kim Newman's preferred version of Dracula is less the assaulter of young maiden's virtue and more the world's first supervillain. Nothing less than world domination will satisfy the Count and he's working with the Kaiser in order to take over Europe by force. One of his plans is to turn Baron von Richthofen and his Flying Circus into a special breed of vampire that will be unstoppable in the air. Kim Newman blatantly acknowledges that they are based on the Neal Adams and Frank Robbins creation, The Man-Bat.

As you can see, this book is already beginning in utterly batguano terms. It's surreal reading about such a depressing and horrifying conflict with machine gun toting mutant vampires having their adventures chronicled by Edgar Allan Poe. Yes, he's a vampire in this universe and a really awful person with sympathies for both the failed Confederacy as well as fascist Dracula. It is a bizarre world where vampires are out in the open and considered to be the perfect weapons for winning war, only to be undermined by their many weaknesses.

Like the original novel, the book is curious mixture of historical fact and dozens of period appropriate fictional characters. I feel like World War 1 is a bit of an odd choice for this as the majority of fiction set during it is going to be unknown to audiences unlike the Victorian Era. Kent Allard is a minor supporting character in the Allied aces opposing the Flying Circus but how many modern readers are going to know that is the identity of the Shadow versus Lamont Cranston as popularized by the Alec Baldwin movie?

Unsurprisingly, the best characters are the original ones and it is here that a lot of the ones who will define the rest of the Anno Dracula series really come into their own. Kate Reid, Irish journalist, works as both romantic lead as well as chief outside observer to World War 1's evils. Edwin Winthrop is the chief male protagonist, obsessed with destroying Manfred von Richthofen even though it will do nothing to bring the war closer to its end.

This is an epic war story and often touches on the very real horrors of the first World War. It's just a bit dissonance with its giant batmen having dog fights. I also felt that the vilification of Edgar Allan Poe and Baron Von Ricthofen was a bit off-putting. The latter especially as he's portrayed as a sociopathic soldier who shoots a dog for no reason. Admittedly, it was a small white beagle but that was really off-putting as a dog owner. I also felt that Dracula once more is a presence ala Sauron rather than a character and that seems like a waste.

Ironically, the novella that accompanies the book in "Vampire Romance" is a 5/5 work that I absolutely loved. The premise is Genevieve Dieudonné going to visit a isolated country mansion in order to investigate a bunch of Elder vampires arguing over who shall be the new "King of Cats" (or Queen of Cats). Much of the story is narrated by Lydia, who is a parody of every teenage vampire fiction fan ever made. Much like Christopher Moore's Abby Normal, I absolutely loved Lydia and her aggressive ignorance about vampiredom. There's homages to Dance of the Vampire, The Brides of Dracula, Kill Bill, and Carmilla. The reveal of the villain is a bit underwhelming for an Agatha Christie parody (and could have used more Clue homages) but it was still incredibly fun.

In conclusion, I don't quite love the Bloody Red Baron as much as I do Anno Dracula. I really think the Victorian setting was the ideal one and the absence of the Dracula cast is keenly felt. However, it's still a very entertaining novel and so utterly insane that it works well. It really should be a comic book or movie. "Vampire Romance" is great, though, and definitely something worth reading for its mixture of mystery and humor. It's telling that the only objection I have to that story is that it portrays Baron Meinster from The Brides of Dracula as gay when he was one of the most aggressively heterosexual vampires in fiction. Just pretty.

[AssHat Ahai]

On 11/10/2020 at 2:42 PM, C.T. Phipps said:

Jerusalem's Lot is a prequel that is an homage to H.P. Lovecraft's "Rats in the Walls."

 

True, but from the same collection, Night Shift, “One for the Road” is the Vampire story and the predecessor of “‘Salem’s Lot”. Delightful short story, one of my favorites. Maybe 7 pages front and back. I love it because it could be anywhere. I’ve been in a thousand places like it. Every time I drive through a town on the verge of winking out, I think of the ‘Lot. The story definitely pays homage to the vampires are sexy idea, but only as a device by which they lure their prey. And they do love luring prey. I am not suggesting King had written the definitive work on the topic, but he hits a chord with the story and novel that resonates in rural America. I am not an expert, but put me in the camp of like Anne Rice, love ‘Salem’s Lot”. Please read One for the Road and tell me if I’m crazy.

[Isis]

Finally bought Interview with the Vampire for my Kindle because it dropped to a reasonable price, finally. Let's see if it really is a classic.

Re Anno Dracula - interesting - I have wanted to read this for years. I bought a copy for my Dad years ago but still haven't had a loan of it.

[C.T. Phipps]

https://booknest.eu/reviews/charles/2247-bloodriders

4.5/5

BLOOD RIDERS by Michael P. Spradlin is one of the rare books that I am very upset is a one and done. Published in 2012, I'm pretty sure that there's not going to be a sequel but this is a work I probably would have continued to read over a dozen novels. It has very strong Dresden Files energy and while utterly ridiculous in places is hardly a turn off for someone who absolutely adores that. I have some minor complaints about it but wish this had many a sequel after all the build-up of the first book.

Jonas R. Hollister is a Union soldier and Civil War veteran who has had quite enough of the Army after serving under George Armstrong Custer. However, it is not that man's vainglorious ways that destroy his career but a chance encounter with a pack of vampires. Unfortunately, even in the 19th century, claiming undead horrors killed your unit is enough to get you labeled a madman. Thankfully, sort of, the vampires keep killing and Ulysses S. Grant provides Jonas with a pardon as well as a mission to exterminate the undead in the Wild West.

This is both a profoundly silly and entertaining book without ever getting into camp. If I were to compare it to anything then I would say it is closest to a better version of Will Smith and Kevin Kline's Wild Wild West. John is recruited to join a task force of steampunk adventurers using modern 19th century technology to hunt down the undead. Doctor Van Helsing, John Pinkerton, a mixed race man who can talk to animals, and the protagonist that stubbornly clings to his atheism despite holy water burning vampires. Oh and they have a beautiful female vampire helping them because of course they do.

I was genuinely surprised we didn't see Quincy Morris in this book and am actually kind of disappointed we didn't. Seriously, once you have it established they're traveling on a super-train with far more advanced locomotive power than available in this time, you understand this book is about a vampire-hunting Western Justice League. Still, it's nice to see the government overreact by recruiting a bunch of super people and give them unlimited resources to fight monsters rather than ignore the problem until its ready to take over the world.

Opposing our antiheroes are the vampires who want to rule over our kind that don't get much characterization. Malachi is pretty one-note while his followers are closer to zombies than they are to actual people. This isn't bad because there's a Walking Dead siege of the undead in a nearly-deserted town that is one of my favorite parts of the book. Zombies and Westerns need to be combined more often than in just Deadlands. There's also a ruthless United States Senator and his chief henchman who are stock characters from the John Ford days of filmmaking. They're not very developed either but they don't have to be, just hateable.

I'm a little iffy about the romance between Jonas and Shaniah. It's developed fine but it's never quite clear what either sees in the other beyond being really hot. I also have trouble believing the only person who would have a problem with Jonas being with one of the things they're sworn to exterminate would be the mixed race member of the group. You'd think Van Helsing, of all people, would think it was an unhealthy romantic choice.

This is a book full of action, adventure, and fun. I would give it a higher ranking but for the fact that it really should have been a trilogy and knowing it's not continuing makes me sad given how the book ends with some shocking twists. I also feel like Chee, a multiracial man, is a bit of a magical Native stereotype as well as a Chinese one (since he can talk to animals as well as use kung fu!) but he's a likable character regardless. In short, this is definitely worth picking up.

[ants]

How the hell could you have a premise like that, and not have Biggles? 

[C.T. Phipps]

On 5/31/2021 at 6:14 AM, ants said:

How the hell could you have a premise like that, and not have Biggles? 

Biggles is in ANNO DRACULA's second book.

[ants]

On 6/5/2021 at 10:20 AM, C.T. Phipps said:

Biggles is in ANNO DRACULA's second book.

Ah, that was what I was referring to.  You didn't list him in that long post on the second book, which given it involved dogfighting seemed very weird he'd been left out. 

[C.T. Phipps]

Not familiar with the character, I got less from THE BLOODY RED BARON's use of Biggles and the Shadow's pre-vigilante identity than I did from the original Anno Dracula.

Same with this novel:

DRACULA CHA-CHA-CA

4/5

DRACULA CHA-CHA-CHA is the third volume of the Anno Dracula series and moves our story up to the late 1950s. It is an homage to the European romance movies of the period like Roman Holiday as well as Italian giallo (proto slasher films). It is certainly a far cry from the original steampunk Anno Dracula novel but it is still an impressive mixture of historical as well as fictional characters from the time period. It also has Commander Hamish Bond, barely disguised from his Sean Connery incarnation.

The premise is that Dracula is getting married. The old war criminal managed to avoid prosecution for his terrorist activities during the Victorian Era and World War 1 by being against Hitler during World War 2. Now living in a palace in Italy, he is going to marry Princess Asa Vajda (Black Sunday's villain) and every major vampire in the world is invited. This includes Genevieve, Kate Reid, and Charles Beauregard despite their lifelong opposition to the Impaler as well as everything he stands for.

Unfortunately, for vampires at least, there's a masked wrestler murdering ancient vampires coming to visit the wedding. Kate Reid watches some fellow undead tourists horribly killed and investigates what is generally regarded as a set of murders no one actually cares to solve. Because while Genevieve and Kate are wonderful people, almost all older vampires are some variety of scum or another. Also, there's just not enough time to investigate vampire murders when there's weddings to plan and romance to experience!

The primary focus of the book isn't on the murders but the final days of Charles Beauregard and how his decision to remain human has impacted the vampire women who love him. Kate is learning to deal with immortality and also use/abuse her boyfriends to distract her from the pangs of time. Genevieve is dealing with how this is something she should be used to but isn't. Penelope is wondering why they just don't turn Charles and apologize later. There's also lengthy subplots involving a vampire James Bond and a very human Talented Mr. Ripley.

Part of the book's quirk is the fact that it has the view that Dracula has been outlived by time. Despite being a terrifying monster and supervillain, the Earth's peoples can get used to anything. As such, Dracula is just considered a quirky celebrity and has been that ultimately no longer matters in the larger world stage. His fade to irrelevance in the plot is something that all of the characters are affected by even as they struggle to deal with a post-Dracula world (despite Dracula being still in it).

As an end to the Anno Dracula series, which it's not, I think it's pretty good but I feel the series has suffered the more it goes from the Victorian Era into the future. Making a bunch of 1950s and European vampire cinema references will never be as entertaining as the joys of all the various ones in the 19th century. Also, as much as I love how blatant James Bond's inclusion is, having him chase after a vampire cat mastermind is just plain silly.

One plotline I did like was the fact that Genevieve and Kate insist on trying to deny vampires are supernatural (opening up all manner of questions regarding God, sin, death, and damnation). They want to believe vampires are just people, no more or less. This book completely blows that to hell and makes it clear the supernatural is real. Neither woman really is capable of fully embracing that, though, and I was rather disappointed with that as it would have been an excellent change to their characters.

The pace of Dracula Cha-Cha-Cha is kind of languid and flowing with nothing really of consequence happening until the very end. In the original book, the murder of a half-dozen vampire women shook the world to the core. Here, killing a bunch of elders is treated as boring and distracting from our heroes' vacation. I liked the book but am kind of sad that it ends with not a bang but a "and life went on because that's what life does."

[Inkdaub]

I just started Brian James Gage's The Nosferatu Conspiracy.  Promising so far but I really am just a few pages in.

Google Books says...

Quote

A historical fiction horror epic set in St. Petersburg, Russia against the backdrop of the impending Russian Revolution of 1917. Evoking historical elements of Jack the Ripper and Dracula, The Nosferatu Conspiracy is an atmospheric and action-packed retelling of Rasputin's diabolical influence over the final days of the Romanov Dynasty.