THIS IS A VAMPIRE BOOK REVIEW BY RICK TAUBOLD ON MY BLOG. HE BEGGED ME, SO I GRACIOUSLY LET HIM POST IT FOR THE CLASSIC VAMPIRE AFICIONADOS AMONG YOU.
“Draculas” is an interesting attempt to get back to the more horrific, classical vampire, except that the authors take it a step beyond that. It begins with an eccentric millionaire Mortimer Moorecook purchasing the alleged skull of Dracula. He has terminal pancreatic cancer and is looking to do something about that.
Let me issue a disclaimer here. I’m am not a horror aficionado, and very few horror stories have ever creeped me out. I wish I could say that this novel did that, but I’d be lying. I do find it interesting that one of the memorable horror novels I’ve read was “The Keep” by Paul Wilson (one of the authors of this novel). Nevertheless, “Draculas” has a great concept to it, and it’s certainly terror-laden. Hollywood would love this because as a movie it has an enormous body count.
If you like the idea of vampires begetting new vampires from a single bite within a short span of time (I’m talking minutes, a little longer in some cases, but not over an hour), and if you like a cast of characters you can sink your teeth into (sorry, couldn’t resist), then this novel is for you.
If, on the other hand, you’re looking for a novel with a more complex story line and rich subplots, you may not find this satisfying. There are subplots, and they’re all integral to the story, but everything is mostly straightforward, with very little twisting and turning. Well, in truth, a lot of body parts get twisted off and there’s a LOT of turning into vampires by men, women, and children. This isn’t a story for the squeamish.
The authors have taken an interesting approach to the narrative in that they put the reader into the heads of each of the characters at one time or another (sometimes even after they’ve turned). In that regard, this novel is highly experiential for the reader. Given that four different authors constructed this novel, I found it amazing that the narrative was seamless. I know they split up the characters among them, but there’s no way to tell who wrote which character. On top of that, they’ve made all the characters three-dimensional individuals and interesting. My hat’s off to all of them for pulling this off so well with so many characters.
I should also mention that the hospital scenes and terminology were accurately detailed. They should be because one of the hats F. Paul Wilson wears is that of a doctor.
So, how did I rate this novel? I gave it 4 out of 5. It’s better than your average vampire romance fare these days, and it’s a nice return to the more classical vampire. I would have liked more background on the Dracula skull, but given how this story is designed and plays out, that would have been difficult to pull off without interrupting the forward momentum of the story.
And there’s clearly a sequel planned. Even if I hadn’t seen it mentioned at the end of the e-book material, the story telegraphs one at the end.
