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verkisto's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not a big fan of fixup novels, where an author takes a string of shorter works and ties them together with some common element. It always feels less like a novel and more a series of short stories, no matter how much is put into relating one section to another. In the previous Titan editions of Newman's Anno Dracula series, the bonus novellas were added at the end as bonus content, not woven into the existing story. And it's hard to complain about Titan and Newman putting the remaining stories in one volume (if you get all four of the Titan editions, you'll have everything written for the series, save for the original short story), but dang it, I didn't really want to read a series of short stories.
For the record (it's not available anywhere I could find, nor is there a table of contents in the book to list all the individual stories), here are the stories collected in this volume:
Promises to Keep (1944)
Coppola's Dracula (1976-77)
Castle in the Desert (1977)
Andy Warhol's Dracula (1978-79)
Who Dares Wins (1980)
The Other Side of Midnight (1981)
You Are the Wind Beneath My Wings (1986)
You'll Never Drink Blood in This Town Again (1990)
Miss Baltimore Crabs (1990)
A Concert for Transylvania (1990)
Dr. Pretorius and Mr. Hyde (1991)
Charles' Angels (1991)
The first section of the book, "Coppola's Dracula," is an experiment, as it's a retelling of the behind-the-scenes story of making Apocalypse Now, complete with the actual actors' names, but making the movie a retelling of Dracula and set in Romania. Most of the infamous events surrounding the actual movie -- Martin Sheen's heart attack, using actual rebels as extras and having to deal with them having to leave to fight their real revolution, and Brando's lack of care about the entire production -- is there, so what's new to this retelling is fitting a remake of Dracula into the place of Apocalypse Now. It also introduces us to Ion, a teenaged vampire who then becomes the recurring character linking the remaining stories in the collection, but even his inclusion felt tacked on.
Beyond that, the stories sketch out a greater picture of Ion as he becomes Johnny Alucard, but everything feels a little disjointed. We go back and forth from Kate to Genevieve to Johnny, sometimes through the eyes of fictional characters, other times through the eyes of historical characters. The stories have a lot to do with movies, and you can see Newman's love of film shine through as he takes us through the world of making movies, but what I wanted was more story, more depth, and more coherence. To be fair, Newman takes us through these events with that one overarching plot in mind, but by the end of the book, nothing has been resolved. It's frustrating, especially when he paints the suggestions for Johnny's downfall along the way.
The connections between this story and the fictional and historical characters is still clever, but this time around it doesn't feel as natural. When Johnny makes it big in Hollywood and begins producing movies, it makes more sense, but his connections with Sid and Nancy and Quentin Tarantino feel more forced, as if he's trying to make himself look clever instead of just being clever. The other novels handle these commandeering of characters better, and given that those intertwined worlds of story make up such a large part of the series overall, it was disappointing to see it not work as well in this case.
There's still a lot here to like, but I think it's important to treat the book as a collection of short stories instead of a novel. I think knowing that going in will help more, especially when the blurb on the back of the book calls this "The brand-new novel." It's fairly misleading, enough so to possibly hinder the reader's experience.
For the record (it's not available anywhere I could find, nor is there a table of contents in the book to list all the individual stories), here are the stories collected in this volume:
Promises to Keep (1944)
Coppola's Dracula (1976-77)
Castle in the Desert (1977)
Andy Warhol's Dracula (1978-79)
Who Dares Wins (1980)
The Other Side of Midnight (1981)
You Are the Wind Beneath My Wings (1986)
You'll Never Drink Blood in This Town Again (1990)
Miss Baltimore Crabs (1990)
A Concert for Transylvania (1990)
Dr. Pretorius and Mr. Hyde (1991)
Charles' Angels (1991)
The first section of the book, "Coppola's Dracula," is an experiment, as it's a retelling of the behind-the-scenes story of making Apocalypse Now, complete with the actual actors' names, but making the movie a retelling of Dracula and set in Romania. Most of the infamous events surrounding the actual movie -- Martin Sheen's heart attack, using actual rebels as extras and having to deal with them having to leave to fight their real revolution, and Brando's lack of care about the entire production -- is there, so what's new to this retelling is fitting a remake of Dracula into the place of Apocalypse Now. It also introduces us to Ion, a teenaged vampire who then becomes the recurring character linking the remaining stories in the collection, but even his inclusion felt tacked on.
Beyond that, the stories sketch out a greater picture of Ion as he becomes Johnny Alucard, but everything feels a little disjointed. We go back and forth from Kate to Genevieve to Johnny, sometimes through the eyes of fictional characters, other times through the eyes of historical characters. The stories have a lot to do with movies, and you can see Newman's love of film shine through as he takes us through the world of making movies, but what I wanted was more story, more depth, and more coherence. To be fair, Newman takes us through these events with that one overarching plot in mind, but by the end of the book, nothing has been resolved. It's frustrating, especially when he paints the suggestions for Johnny's downfall along the way.
The connections between this story and the fictional and historical characters is still clever, but this time around it doesn't feel as natural. When Johnny makes it big in Hollywood and begins producing movies, it makes more sense, but his connections with Sid and Nancy and Quentin Tarantino feel more forced, as if he's trying to make himself look clever instead of just being clever. The other novels handle these commandeering of characters better, and given that those intertwined worlds of story make up such a large part of the series overall, it was disappointing to see it not work as well in this case.
There's still a lot here to like, but I think it's important to treat the book as a collection of short stories instead of a novel. I think knowing that going in will help more, especially when the blurb on the back of the book calls this "The brand-new novel." It's fairly misleading, enough so to possibly hinder the reader's experience.
johanna_hedstrom's review against another edition
2.0
Do I need to read the whole series from start now? idk it was okay but so slow
mackle13's review
2.0
1.5
Well, fuck.
I was a bit reticent to start this book. The first Anno Dracula book remains one of my favorite vampire novels to date. I loved the blending of history and fiction, mingling Queen Victoria and Jack the Ripper with Dracula and Mina and Dr. Seward, etc.
I was a bit less thrilled with the next two books, but I did like the third better than the second.
So when I heard about this new release in the series - I can't really say "long awaited" 'cause I had no idea there were even plans to continue - I was excited. But when it came time to actually read it, I was worried. I really wanted to like it, but my history with Newman, aside from that first book, has never really been spectacular...
After two days of not reading, I finally bit the bullet.
And now there's a part of me which wishes I never had.
***
The book is written in parts, each part having a different character as the main point-of-view. Some of these follow Johnny directly, but many follow familiar faces from the other books (and the sort of off-shoot Diogenes books): Kate Reed, Geneviève Dieudonn , and Penelope Churchward. Each part covers a year or so span on time, with some years skipped in between, and, after the prologue, we cover from the 70s thru the 90s.
It was interesting to see the different pop cultures represented - both through their takes on Dracula (starting with a Coppola version which is based on stories of Apocalypse Now) and going through to a sort of Live Aid for vampires. And it was kind of fun to play spot the reference for awhile, as both historical and fictional figures are, again, interwoven into the story.
But the different parts were uneven. I liked the Warhol better than the Coppola part, for instance, but the Welles part started well, then dragged. Apparently, according to some stuff I've read, Newman wrote this story over a 10 year period, and several parts of it have already been released as short stories. And you can sort of tell, because it almost feels like its written by different people at times.
Ultimately, the biggest problem is I was just bored. The only attachment that I had to the three female leads is mostly due to my prior encounters with them. Johnny, himself, was an interesting mind to travel in, and Kitty/Holly was kinda cool - but when it got bogged down in references and details and historical trivia, I started losing interest.
For most of the book, though, I was gonna give it 2-stars, 'cause it was good in places and I liked the overall conceit, if not always the execution... but then that ending.
Oh my gods, that ending.
Or, rather, lack of ending.
I kept going, trudging along despite my boredom and the general tedium of it, expecting a real knock-down, drag-out, spectacular showdown - or something - but this book is so incomplete. At the end, it feels like set-up. 400-some pages of set-up with no punch.
I mean, it basically ends with a promise for a future battle. It's the first half of a story. Hell, maybe the first third of a story - depending on how much the next parts get strung out.
***
I still can't decide if I want to go 2-stars for the good parts, or 1-star because, ultimately, I didn't like it. I think, for now at least, I'll go 2, because there's still a part of me that thinks I might read the next book in the series - and hope it's gotten an editor. ('Cause if there wasn't just so much *stuff* - trivia and minutae and pointless detail - in this book, it still could've been pretty decent.)
I won't rush out an put a hold on it as soon as it comes out, though. I'll wait awhile and see what the reviews say - mostly because I'll want to know if it at least ends in the next book or not. That might be the deciding factor, ultimately, about whether I'll read it or not.
I guess we'll see...
Well, fuck.
I was a bit reticent to start this book. The first Anno Dracula book remains one of my favorite vampire novels to date. I loved the blending of history and fiction, mingling Queen Victoria and Jack the Ripper with Dracula and Mina and Dr. Seward, etc.
I was a bit less thrilled with the next two books, but I did like the third better than the second.
So when I heard about this new release in the series - I can't really say "long awaited" 'cause I had no idea there were even plans to continue - I was excited. But when it came time to actually read it, I was worried. I really wanted to like it, but my history with Newman, aside from that first book, has never really been spectacular...
After two days of not reading, I finally bit the bullet.
And now there's a part of me which wishes I never had.
***
The book is written in parts, each part having a different character as the main point-of-view. Some of these follow Johnny directly, but many follow familiar faces from the other books (and the sort of off-shoot Diogenes books): Kate Reed, Geneviève Dieudonn , and Penelope Churchward. Each part covers a year or so span on time, with some years skipped in between, and, after the prologue, we cover from the 70s thru the 90s.
It was interesting to see the different pop cultures represented - both through their takes on Dracula (starting with a Coppola version which is based on stories of Apocalypse Now) and going through to a sort of Live Aid for vampires. And it was kind of fun to play spot the reference for awhile, as both historical and fictional figures are, again, interwoven into the story.
But the different parts were uneven. I liked the Warhol better than the Coppola part, for instance, but the Welles part started well, then dragged. Apparently, according to some stuff I've read, Newman wrote this story over a 10 year period, and several parts of it have already been released as short stories. And you can sort of tell, because it almost feels like its written by different people at times.
Ultimately, the biggest problem is I was just bored. The only attachment that I had to the three female leads is mostly due to my prior encounters with them. Johnny, himself, was an interesting mind to travel in, and Kitty/Holly was kinda cool - but when it got bogged down in references and details and historical trivia, I started losing interest.
For most of the book, though, I was gonna give it 2-stars, 'cause it was good in places and I liked the overall conceit, if not always the execution... but then that ending.
Oh my gods, that ending.
Or, rather, lack of ending.
I kept going, trudging along despite my boredom and the general tedium of it, expecting a real knock-down, drag-out, spectacular showdown - or something - but this book is so incomplete. At the end, it feels like set-up. 400-some pages of set-up with no punch.
I mean, it basically ends with
Spoiler
Dracula coming back through Alucard, and***
I still can't decide if I want to go 2-stars for the good parts, or 1-star because, ultimately, I didn't like it. I think, for now at least, I'll go 2, because there's still a part of me that thinks I might read the next book in the series - and hope it's gotten an editor. ('Cause if there wasn't just so much *stuff* - trivia and minutae and pointless detail - in this book, it still could've been pretty decent.)
I won't rush out an put a hold on it as soon as it comes out, though. I'll wait awhile and see what the reviews say - mostly because I'll want to know if it at least ends in the next book or not. That might be the deciding factor, ultimately, about whether I'll read it or not.
I guess we'll see...
theartolater's review
4.0
Consider me surprised that the latest Anno Dracula entry is the best of them so far, especially given that the previous title, Dracula Cha Cha Cha, felt like a logical endpoint.
Johnny Alucard takes place in a much more modern time, where John Alucard is looking to produce a movie about Dracula and the lineage. This means cameos and scenes with Francis Ford Coppola, Andy Warhol, Orson Welles, tons of crazy Hollywood drama, and some interesting modern results of the hundreds of years of history that has come before it.
Given that there was quite some time between Dracula Cha Cha Cha and Johnny Alucard, there are some short stories in here that have come out between now and then which help fill in some gaps, but what's surprising is that it has a decidedly modern feel while not abandoning what made the initial books stand out. For such a long time span in between titles, I'm not sure what I expected, but it wasn't this, and that's a good thing.
What's weird about Johnny Alucard, however, is not so much that it exists or that the story feels modern and current, but that it's really the first time Newman explores what the vampire-led world is like. That sort of flavor was missing throughout the earlier tales, and comes along quite well here.
Overall, a nice addition to the Anno Dracula canon. Given how things had appeared to end, this is a much more welcome bonus than one might have initially thought.
Johnny Alucard takes place in a much more modern time, where John Alucard is looking to produce a movie about Dracula and the lineage. This means cameos and scenes with Francis Ford Coppola, Andy Warhol, Orson Welles, tons of crazy Hollywood drama, and some interesting modern results of the hundreds of years of history that has come before it.
Given that there was quite some time between Dracula Cha Cha Cha and Johnny Alucard, there are some short stories in here that have come out between now and then which help fill in some gaps, but what's surprising is that it has a decidedly modern feel while not abandoning what made the initial books stand out. For such a long time span in between titles, I'm not sure what I expected, but it wasn't this, and that's a good thing.
What's weird about Johnny Alucard, however, is not so much that it exists or that the story feels modern and current, but that it's really the first time Newman explores what the vampire-led world is like. That sort of flavor was missing throughout the earlier tales, and comes along quite well here.
Overall, a nice addition to the Anno Dracula canon. Given how things had appeared to end, this is a much more welcome bonus than one might have initially thought.
egglescake's review against another edition
3.0
Good solid read as always, but hardly mind-blowing. It felt much more disjointed that the previous books in the series, but I actually liked that. That said, the ending was not entirely satisfactory. I guess there will be another installment?
taranana's review against another edition
4.0
"Anno Dracula: Johnny Alucard" by Kim Newman [4/5]
This is the fourth book in Kim Newman's Anno Dracula series. I was surprised, to say the least, to learn there are more books after the initial trilogy because I think it wrapped up quite nicely. But here we are, another book - expanding the universe.
The premise seems to be an interesting one; Johnny Alucard is one of the vampires from Dracula's bloodline and he goes to the US and from there on everything revolves more or less around his actions in the 80s. The reader gets to see familiar faces too - Penelope, Kate, and Geneviève are also POV characters but if you read this book because you love those characters I suspect you might find this a bit of a disappointing read. The focus of this novel is Johnny Alucard, not the three female vampires the reader already knows (and possibly loves). I think it works fine because the blurb does not suggest that this novel is NOT about Johnny Alucard but instead about them. Johnny Alucard begins his rise to fame - both outside vampire society and inside.
Spot the Reference
If you have ever read a book by Kim Newman, you probably know how much he likes to throw reference around. If you like to play spot and guess the reference this is totally fine (I know I do and it is one of the reasons I try to get my hands on his entire backlist). But if you don't... You probably gave up after the first book. I have to say I am not well versed regarding history of the 1980s in the US. I know of certain figures (e.g. Warhol) but I think I missed a lot of the references. Both regarding cultural and historical stuff. But it was fun nonetheless.
Being a Vampire
Johnny Alucard is an intriguing character and I think he works fine as a POV character in this book. It is a bit difficult to connect to his point of view though. I think it might be on purpose because he is not as human as Geneviève or Kate and he is a contrast to both women when you compare their view on humanity. I think it is also interesting how he differs from the elders we see in this book. Johnny Alucard is quite unique in regards to his view on Romania and it's importance for the vampires.
Romania is also a huge aspect of this book - it is not the place most of the novel takes place (Johnny Alucard is a vampire novel about vampires in the US) but Romania is one of the aspects that drive the novel. There is this conflict in the novel that Baron Meinster wants to claim it as a country for all vampires and Johnny Alucard gets involved in this process too. It is very interesting to see the differences and similarities between those two. Meinster behaves more like a conservative noble while Johnny seems to be the one with the revolutionary ideas, looking into the future and not the past. But both seem to share their contempt for the human race.
There is a Story and there is an End...Kind of
If you are looking forward to a real and definitive ending... you won't get one in this book. It seems much more like the beginning of a new story for Kate and Geneviève. I am a bit annoyed because of this because I know the next book in the series takes place back in the 19th century and in Japan and I have no idea when Kim Newman wants to deal with this somewhat more open ending.
The story itself presented in this novel is sometimes a bit boring, I think the book could have done with less pages. Sometimes it seems as if scenes won't come to an end. It is not as annoying as this could be because most of the characters (both fictional and based on real people) are quite interesting. I really like the chapters revolving around Orson Welles even if they dragged on a bit.
In the end this book is a 4/5 for me. I do not like it as much as I like the original trilogy but still enjoyed it a lot. I think you should not try to use this book as an entry point for the Anno Dracula universe even though it is the beginning of a new story within it because there are many references to the books before this one.
This is the fourth book in Kim Newman's Anno Dracula series. I was surprised, to say the least, to learn there are more books after the initial trilogy because I think it wrapped up quite nicely. But here we are, another book - expanding the universe.
The premise seems to be an interesting one; Johnny Alucard is one of the vampires from Dracula's bloodline and he goes to the US and from there on everything revolves more or less around his actions in the 80s. The reader gets to see familiar faces too - Penelope, Kate, and Geneviève are also POV characters but if you read this book because you love those characters I suspect you might find this a bit of a disappointing read. The focus of this novel is Johnny Alucard, not the three female vampires the reader already knows (and possibly loves). I think it works fine because the blurb does not suggest that this novel is NOT about Johnny Alucard but instead about them. Johnny Alucard begins his rise to fame - both outside vampire society and inside.
Spot the Reference
If you have ever read a book by Kim Newman, you probably know how much he likes to throw reference around. If you like to play spot and guess the reference this is totally fine (I know I do and it is one of the reasons I try to get my hands on his entire backlist). But if you don't... You probably gave up after the first book. I have to say I am not well versed regarding history of the 1980s in the US. I know of certain figures (e.g. Warhol) but I think I missed a lot of the references. Both regarding cultural and historical stuff. But it was fun nonetheless.
Being a Vampire
Johnny Alucard is an intriguing character and I think he works fine as a POV character in this book
Spoiler
I really enjoyed it whenever he became DraculaRomania is also a huge aspect of this book - it is not the place most of the novel takes place (Johnny Alucard is a vampire novel about vampires in the US) but Romania is one of the aspects that drive the novel. There is this conflict in the novel that Baron Meinster wants to claim it as a country for all vampires and Johnny Alucard gets involved in this process too
Spoiler
killing Meinster in the process and proclaiming himself DraculaThere is a Story and there is an End...Kind of
If you are looking forward to a real and definitive ending... you won't get one in this book. It seems much more like the beginning of a new story for Kate and Geneviève. I am a bit annoyed because of this because I know the next book in the series takes place back in the 19th century and in Japan and I have no idea when Kim Newman wants to deal with this somewhat more open ending.
The story itself presented in this novel is sometimes a bit boring, I think the book could have done with less pages. Sometimes it seems as if scenes won't come to an end. It is not as annoying as this could be because most of the characters (both fictional and based on real people) are quite interesting. I really like the chapters revolving around Orson Welles even if they dragged on a bit.
In the end this book is a 4/5 for me. I do not like it as much as I like the original trilogy but still enjoyed it a lot. I think you should not try to use this book as an entry point for the Anno Dracula universe even though it is the beginning of a new story within it because there are many references to the books before this one.
flying_monkey's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Johnny Alucard (work it out, it's not hard...) starts in Eastern Europe, but takes place mostly in the USA in the 1970s (New York) and 80s (LA). It is centred on a new 'Dracula', the eponymous cypher, Johnny Alucard, who goes from being a gopher on Francis Ford Coppola's epic and troubled version of the Dracula story (Apocalypse Now with vampires!) to being a protegé of Andy Warhol (there's a brilliant and quite moving twist in this part) to finally emerging as a producer and studio executive in Hollywood. It's a vicious and encyclopedic satire of American film and media culture over this most self-obsessed period (the vampire version of Top Gun is hilarious), but it's too big and too unwieldy, too clever and just too much. But then maybe that's the USA.
bookeared's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Dracula goes to Hollywood. The fourth instalment of Kim Newman's 'Anno Dracula' series, this one seems to have been written over about ten years and is a little more disjointed; it reads more like a series of interlinked novellas. Still, Newman's trademark profusion of references remains, and will hopefully delight film buffs (I am not one, so many many refs were doubtless lost on me). The book has got an endearing and boisterous B-movie energy to it that made it very enjoyable.