Fans of Science Fiction, Steampunk, Alternative History and Gothic Horror will rejoice worldwide this week as the long out of print “cult classic”, Anno Dracula by Kim Newman is being reprinted by Titan Books and released on May 24th, 2011.
Anno Dracula is an amazing blend of gothic horror, vampire, steampunk and alternative history, and is a must read for anyone who a fan of any of those genres. The author asks the reader a simple question: What if Dracula had won in his confrontation with Dr. Van Helsing and the other protagonists from Stoker’s novel? His ultimate objective, it appears, was to 
marry Queen Victoria and claim the British throne for himself. To cement his rule, the vampire spreads his curse to create a whole new class of subject, the undead. Within this mess Dr. Seward finds himself cast in the role of Jack the Ripper as he seeks to destroy the undead in his quest for vengeance. With a fine eye for literary satire Newman throws in plenty of Victorian characters from other great works just for kicks.
Newman fills the book with an amazing cast of characters. To begin, there are the two main characters, The vampire Genevieve Dieudonne and the human Charles Beauregard who are sent to investigate the Ripper murders. While they can’t be much more different from each other, the two of them share a great chemistry, particularity as both are world weary from their respective lives. It is through them, and their respective views of this world, that the reader is shown not only this world but the large cast of supporting characters. These supporting characters include real historical figures such as Sir Charles Warren, Florence Stoker (Bram’s Wife), the victims of Jack the Ripper and Oscar Wilde amongst others. Then there’s the cast of fictional characters including characters from the Sherlock Holmes stories (such as Inspector Lestrade and Mycroft Holmes plus the occasional reference to the great detective himself), Inspector Mackenzie and the good doctors Jekyll and Moreau who not only say true to the original characters who fit into this world almost seamlessly with the real ones. There’s also characters from Stoker’s original novel as well including Dr. Jack Seward who plays a major role in the proceedings of the novel. Queen Victoria and her Prince Consort, the infamous count from Transylvania himself, only appear in the novel’s ending but their appearance is well worth the wait as it makes for an incredible and unforgettable finale. The result is a great and fun to read novel that is full of an incredible characters as. Anno Dracula is a must read for anyone who is fan of Science Fiction, Alternative History, and Steampunk.
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Long out-of-print Science Fiction Classic Now Available: “Anno Dracula” By Kim Newman is a post from: Best Book Recommendations and Reviews
