Dracula: The Un-Dead

A Classic Perversion

This book completely perverts Bram Stoker's masterpiece by being touted as a "sequel" to something as iconic as 'Dracula.' 'The Un-Dead,' as well as its authors, can be described with one word: arrogant. It practically steps on the original novel in order to establish a laughable mythos of its own, and is therefore riddled with inconsistencies in the eyes of any true fan of the original masterpiece. Dacre Stoker isn't fit to bear the Stoker surname. He should never have been allowed near a keyboard, let alone a publisher. As for Ian Holt, I am at a loss to sufficiently describe the degree of my distaste for him, except to say that he is the literary equivalent of a grave-robber. If you choose to read this book, consider it not as a sequel, but as a mediocre alternative universe tale with story lines that are predictable and characters that are dimensionless.

12 out of 16 people found this review helpful.

Dracula: The (better off) Unread

Had this book not been marketed so heavily as an "official" Stoker-family-endorsed sequel, it would have been a mildly entertaining, adequately written re-imagining of the classic tale. Unfortunately, the fact that a "direct" descendant of Bram Stoker was involved seems to have sent the publisher into a frenzy. Readers are expected to ignore the fact that this "sequel" discredits the original story and the characters who narrated it, and portrays Bram Stoker himself as a miserable wretch who couldn't even be bothered to change the names of the people who's story he published as his own. Likewise are we expected to accept the complete change in personalities of the characters, as well as the vampire lore that Stoker established.

True Dracula fans will likely be frustrated by the repeated inconsistencies between this new storyline and the original, and may (like me) be thoroughly offended by the way Stoker's own great grand nephew has treated him and his magnum opus.

6 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

A fascinating adventure

Stoker and Holt are to be congratulated for successfully reintroducing the original characters -- now 25 years later -- in the renewed quest for the destruction of their common enemy. All is not well with Mina, Jonathan, Dr. Seward, Van Helsing, and Holmwood. This isn't the "they lived happily ever after" story. And it's not only Dracula and the un-dead they fight but a London police officer attempting to bring murder charges against them all for deaths they had nothing to do with. These are characters we already know but now added dimensions expand the story. Our two authors have succeed in keeping the same menacing atmosphere that the original Stoker invoked. But the real surprise is the twists to the original story that will leave readers turning pages long into the night. And what may be the most pleasant of surprises (and well worth the time to read) is the authors' addition, at the end of the book, of the research they did before beginning their story; the "tipping of their hats" to the names of famous actors who have portrayed Dracula in the movies.
Thankfully, we are finally spared of another tedious example of the archetypical, shallow, pulp fiction, modern-day, teen aged, angst ridden, one dimensional, serial vampire drivel that haunts the bookstores and is trumpeted by too many shallow breathers as great literature when in truth they are a squander of paper and time.
Take heart, dear reader, there is hope. Sit back, read, and be prepared to be drawn into a very dark and engrossing story. It deserves the worthy title: sequel.

3 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

Don't Wait to Read This!

All I can say is OH MY GOODNESS!!! I have been debating since this book was released last year whether or not to buy it. I saw the mixed reviews, and was torn for months. I kept saying I would read this after I finish The Lost Symbol (which I just can not get into). While Stoker may not have the most original ideas, the way he uses historical events and legends in this tale is thrilling. I was literally thrilled from start to finish. This book is a must-add to any avid reader's collection!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Better than I expected

i was too curious to care if this novel would just be a pot boiler cashing in on the Stoker name. I expected cliches, but I found that instead the novel spun the old characters into new territory, especially with the son of Mina and Jonathan Harker, Quentin. I was satisfied that I had not wasted my money. Enough of the old conventions were honored so that i did not feel ripped off, but enough new things were introduced so that I didn't feel that Stoker's descendant, Dacre Stoker, had put little thought into it.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

One of the Best Reads of 2009

The stage is set, the characters have gathered and we the readers are very fortunate indeed to be able to witness the production. The time is 25 years after the grand adventure to Transylvania the characters are the survivors of that adventure with the addition of Quincy Harker and the production is non other than Dracula.
Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt give us a new twist on the old story of Price Vlad Dracula. We get to see how the characters have faired in the past 25 years and we get to see the return of the most infamous of villains, but is the villain who we are led to believe or is there something or someone more sinister to deal with. And we get a rare chance to meet the author of the first novel as a character in this one.
Mr.'s Stoker and Holt have given readers a most remarkable piece of literature. Fully intending it to be a sequel to the original written by his great-granduncle. They have hit the mark. How many times do we as readers wonder what becomes of the characters after their happy endings, how many times do we wish to be a fly on their wall to see them after the story has ended for us. Well now we get to do just that. In this rendition of Dracula we find ourselves in Europe just after the turn of the century and are able along with the characters in the book to discover the wonder or in some cases the disgust of the technological advances in the early part of the last century. We get to experience the culture of England and we get to share in the horrors of what's happening there. The characters are vivid and interesting and follow very closely to the feel we remembered from the original work. Quincy Harker makes an absolute wonderful hapless hero in the novel, followed closely by Mina and of course our Dark Prince. The authors have taken every care in learning their characters every nuance and delivered it onto the pages of their novel with care and expertness. The story/plot is unique and exciting filled with intense mystery and abject horror, they take your senses through many emotions not many of them easy to read. But read you will because this is a page turner, with dialogue that fits with the time, that describes the scenes so vividly that the reader can easily picture it in their minds and those pictures aren't for the faint of heart.
So ask yourself. Are you prepared to be scared witless? Are you ready to believe again in the myth of Vampires? Are you ready to experience fear like you never have? Are you ready for a can't put it down page turner, a nail biting edge of your seat adventure? And are you prepared to have everything you've ever believed about Dracula to be shot to hell? Well if so and with a note from your doctor saying you can withstand the stress be prepared to read one of the best novels of 2009.

2 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

A Bloody & Frighteningly Great Read!

This is not a sequel although it draws heavily upon Bram Stoker's original notes. Instead this is a frighteningly great read {especially at Halloween or late at night}. It combines Jack the Ripper, Dracula, & vampyres into a spine~chilling, exciting, & bloody tale! This a literary triumph ~~ destined to be a literary classic that belongs alongside its namesake on your bookshelf. Superb!!!!!!!!

2 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Disappointing

This novel is definitely not gothic - there is no atmosphere, no mystique, no seductiveness. I also found the portrayal of Bram Stoker insulting. In the "Authors' Notes" (which apparently were never proofed as they contain a number of errors) Stoker and Holt claim they wanted to answer questions and fill in gaps in the original Dracula, which they do. However, the result is not a good story. I have read the original many times and find that much of the intrigue comes from the gaps and unanswered questions. After all, vampires are supposed to be mysterious! There's nothing about this novel that makes me look forward to a sequel. I do look forward to my next reading of Bram's novel and will have a new appreciation for his work. Obviously it is not easy to write an unforgettable, captivating, spine chilling, gothic novel.

2 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Hard to Follow

I really enjohyed this book. The book was written as a novel with sex, drugs, and vampires. It does not surprise me that this book has gotten both good and bad reviews. Following Dracula is a difficult feat and I admire the authors, because anything they wrote would fail in comparison to a classic. However, I enjoyed it and read it over two days. I knew the ending and the twists at the end prior to getting there, but had an enjoyable ride. It appears the authors are thinking of a sequal to the sequal with the cliff hanger ending. It will be a great movie if cast without celebs, but you know that won't happen. I would recommend this book to any fan of Dracula or the un-dead. I didn't find it scary, but gory...however friends couldn't read at night. Enjoy.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

super vampire thriller

Twenty-five years has passed since the horrific events of 1897 ended with Dracula turning into dust; none involved have moved on as each remains haunted by the encounter with the Count. Mina and Jonathon married, but neither obtained closure when the vampire was killed; stressed and estrnaged, they conceal from their son Quincey what happened. Seward survives with heroin while Holmwood became a hermit. Their mentor Van Helsing obsessively lives for the return of Dracula as the vampire's death was his life's goal so he has nothing else. Scotland Yard believes Van Helsing was involved in the unsolved Ripper murders.

In 1912, Stoker is frustrated as he struggles to convert his horror thriller Dracula to the London stage. However, although the author knows the full truth, he and the others except perhaps the ever vigilant Van Helsing are unprepared for a gruesome serial killer horrifying London. Scotland yard once again believes a fanatic Van Helsing is deeply connected to the killings, but too old to perform them. Those involved with what happened back then find themsleves and their loved ones under siege as if Van Helsing's belief the Count will return from the dust has occurred. The survivors of the previous encounter regroup to battle evil again although they are unsure who stalks them.

This is a super vampire thriller that brings forward the stars of Dracula into the Edwardian Era with a where are they now tale. The clever story line is fast-paced while introducing the audience to the survivors of the previous horrific encounter to include Bram Stoker. Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt explore the essence of evil and good through a cast of humans who have used psychological defense mechanisms to barely survive and a vampire who may or may not be Dracula, but has the same attitude re the food chain as well as a thirst for the blood of vengeance. Filled with terrific twists fans of Dracula and those who appreciate a strong historical urban fantasy will relish the THE UN-DEAD.

Harriet Klausner

2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Sorry I bought the book

Although the authors can put words and sentences together in a skillful fashion, the story line was a great disappointment. The book takes the original Dracula and completely turns the story around. It had that all to contemporary tone that blurs the line between right and wrong. The authors went so far as to make the evil attractive and the good pitiful. I am glad I bought a hard copy, so that it doesn't reside on my nook.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Exploitation, pure and simple

You have to be kidding, right? They borrow the Stoker name, hire a ghostwriter and, voila, expect us to take them seriously? Stupid idea and stupid book. One glance at the first few sentences and you can smell a phony. A discredit to the original classic novel: avoid this one like fleas!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not For Dracula Purists

I was so upset with the first page of the book that I almost didn't finish reading it. With its contradictory facts, I wondered if the authors had forgotten to read the original Dracula. Determined to give it a chance, I continued on. As I read I continued to be disgusted at the distortions of Bram Stoker's characters and ideas. Additionally, the plot line was predictable, especially the Star Wars moment between Dracula and young Quincy. Finishing the book became an act of stubbornness rather than desire.

In the afterword Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt claim that they wrote this 'sequel' to honor Bram Stoker and right the wrongs done to his original story by popular culture. In the same breath they explain that they changed details of Bram Stoker's story so that it would fit the popular culture idea of what a vampire should be. This popularization of Bram Stoker's story does nothing to celebrate his legacy. If nothing else it tarnishes it.

If you've never read Bram Stoker's Dracula, or don't mind that his story has been reworked to attract popular culture, then Dracula Un-Dead is an okay read. If, however, you are a purist and prefer to stick with the original, save yourself and those around you the pain of reading this book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

no so good

I really expected this book to be a hit. I absolutely love Dracula and I thought maybe this book could help me relive the love between Dracula and Mina. WEll, the book was very slow and even though there were some parts that were very interesting the ending was a bad. I was very disappointed, not worth it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Let sleeping vampires lie

I don't often write a negative review (check my history), but this book is calling out for a thrashing. I had many problems with the style, plot, and characters, which I will attempt to summarize for you below.

1) The supposed "sequel" to a true classic should at least be written in the same style, but instead the authors (authorS - there's one of the issues) chose to abandon Stoker's epistolary method because they were either too lazy or simply unable to match it.

2) The book attempts to explain things from the original which needed no explaining. In fact, many of my favorite parts of Dracula are now ruined because of the "hole-filling" our authorS needed to create their own unoriginal plot.

3) Not a single interesting character is introduced, and the characters remaining from the original are treated basically as puppets without any actual purpose.

4) The plot is both predictable and disappointing. The key plot twists, if they can even be called that, are foreseeable hundreds of pages in advance because the authorS shove the clues in the reader's face unendingly.

5) Bram Stoker himself is introduced as a character in the book, which also draws upon other historical figures to create a sense of realism. As if I am supposed to now believe that everything happening in the book is a historical fact! The denouement, which also has a historical bent, is probably the most disappointing final chapter I have ever read. It's like when your parents say they aren't mad, they're just disappointed... this is exactly how I felt about the authorS - disappointed.

I could continue, but instead I'll close with this: If you are a fan of Bram Stoker's Dracula, DO NOT read this book. It will ruin Dracula for you as it did for me. Let sleeping vampires lie.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Awful.

Bram Stoker's "Dracula" is one of my favorite books, a classic thriller on many levels. I bought this as soon as I heard of it. Don't. It is AWFUL, TRITE, NEEDLESSLY GORY, AND TOTALLY WITHOUT THE APPEAL OF THE ORIGINAL.

If you want a genuinely intriguing thriller, a kind of "Dracula Redux", get Elizabeth Kostova's excellent "The Historian". I've read it twice, and it was fascinating, exciting, and rewarding both times.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Stick With the Original Dracula (and the original Stoker too!)

The original "Dracula" was darkly sweet, like a deep chocolate truffle with a slightly poisonous center. Even now, I can again pick it up, read it through, and feel that chilly frisson down my spine that comes from a well-written horror novel. "Dracula the Un-Dead," on the other hand, is jejune and trifling. The writing is clumsy and stilted and the plot is entirely predictable. I found it extremely difficult to beat my boredom into submission long enough to finish the book. Disappointing - apparently literary prowess isn't genetic. But I do smell a script in here somewhere...

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

I sold it for $1.49 and was glad to get it

This novel started out elegant, creepy, beautiful, disturbing--as if Stoker were alive today and writing for a new audience. But it degenerated quickly into absurdity. I am quitting reading on pg. 300 and am going to sell it to my local used bookstore. It's degenerated into ludicrousness, with dragon-gargoyles flying out of the sky, everybody shooting everybody, most people turning into vampires, and liberal use of swear words. Basarab was obvious, so don't try to "trick" your audience. Thin excuses to tie in the Titanic and Jack the Ripper didn't even pique the curiosity.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

good sequel

This book is a well done sequel to Dracula. It maintains the tone of the original, the creepiness with a painful look at how the events in Dracula damaged lives. give it a go.

LIGHTMIST TO SCOURGE

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