When you hear about a book with the premise that Count Dracula marries Queen Victoria, you just have to read it. And when you find out that the sequel features a vampire Red Baron, that’s just further inducement. So that’s how I came to read Kim Newman’s newly republished Anno Dracula.
The premise alone was sufficient enticement, but as I started reading, I started to notice a whole host of literary cameos. I spotted Dr. Jekyll, Daniel Dravot, Mina Harker and Jack Seward, Fu Manchu, Hawley Griffen (not actually invisible here), and a bunch of others. There are historical cameos, too. Since the plot involves the Ripper murders, the book features almost every key member of the London police.
To return to the plot for a moment: this book begins in late August of 1888 with Seward committing what, in our history, are the Jack the Ripper murders. This isn’t a spoiler, by the way. The killer is revealed near the beginning of the book. The tension comes from whether or not he’s going to be caught. Meanwhile, London and England are adjusting to being ruled by Count Dracula. The city is swamped with vampires, creating all kinds of interesting sociological and criminal problems.
This is not a deep book. It’s purely entertainment. And, since I’m going to try and read Theodore Dreiser and Thomas Hardy in the near future, I need a little pure entertainment.
…but before I dive into the heavy stuff, I need to go to the book story and get the next book in this series.