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Review

“Fred Saberhagen has always been one of the best writers in the business.” *—Stephen R. Donaldson*

“Vampires with a difference! And the difference is Fred Saberhagen. His writing mesmerizes.” *—Brian Lumley*

“Immensely engaging.” *—Kirkus Reviewson A Sharpness on the Neck*

Product Description

The immortal Count Dracula--Vlad Tepes, Prince of Wallachia--hunts the murderous art thieves who have stolen the portrait of his lost love. But the thieves are after more than art. From the Master Vampire they would steal the very secrets of life--and death!

Product Description

When two ancient, ruthless beings, locked in a struggle for the ultimate magic Weapon, bring their blood feud to New York, Vlad Tepes races to hide the coveted weapon.

About the Author

FRED SABERHAGEN was the author of the popular Dracula Series, Berserker (tm) Series, and the bestselling Lost Swords and Book of Lost Swords. Fred Saberhagen lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

From Publishers Weekly

Taking a break from his successful Berserker and Book of Lost Swords series, Saberhagen returns to his modern-day Count Dracula tales in this fast-paced sequel to An Old Friend of the Family . After more than a decade, the Chicago-based Southerland family again finds itself involved with the 500-year-old fiend who loved their great-great-grandmother in Bram Stoker's original story (and in The Dracula Tape , Saberhagen's first vampire tome). Finding the Count (now known as Uncle Matthew) poisoned and comatose in his upscale condo, John Southerland and his fiancee try to nurse him to health while defending the apartment against various living and "undead" foes. They also discover a tape-recorded autobiography telling of the Count's early bloodsucking days and his encounters with 15th-century legends Cesare and Lucretia Borgia, who may be masterminding the current attack. The Chicago characters become less interesting once the historical intrigue begins, but overall this thriller/romance will please fans thirsting for more adventures of a gentlemanly ghoul.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“Fred Saberhagen has always been one of the best writers in the business.” *—Stephen R. Donaldson*

“Vampires with a difference! And the difference is Fred Saberhagen. His writing mesmerizes.” —*Brian Lumley*

“Immensely engaging.” *—Kirkus Reviews on A Sharpness on the Neck*

From Publishers Weekly

Saberhagen, whose Thorn mixed Arthurian legend, time travel and vampires, once again blurs genre distinctions in this horror fantasy featuring that beloved SF device, time travel. Joe Keogh is a Chicago-based private investigator who is hired to find a teenager lost in the Grand Canyon in 1991. He brings three assistants, as well as one "Mr. Strangeways." Ominously, two other people-- a Civilian Conservation Corps worker in 1935 and a woman in 1965 --were kidnapped by a vampire named Edgar Tyrell in the same part of the canyon where Keogh searches nearly six decades later. The two plots, linked by Tyrell (who is the missing teenager's father), come crashing together in a climax that is more confusing than exciting. Although the cast is crowded (two of Keogh's assistants could have been removed to no effect), the nosferatu Strangeways--a Saberhagen regular whose other name is Drakulyasp correct --is a fascinating character, and the novel's quick pace holds reader interest.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

From his lair in the Grand Canyon's mysterious depths, a vampire reaches out across time to entrap his victims. The author of The Dracula Tapes (Tor Bks., 1989) continues the adventures of his nosferatu detective, "Mr. Strangeways," in this tale of time travel, missing persons, and an eccentric family. The horror aspects are downplayed in a story that concentrates on fast pacing and vampiric lore. Vampire fiction is always popular, and this title is a good selection for libraries already owning Saberhagen's other "Dracula" titles.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

A year before Anne Rice published Interview with the Vampire, Saberhagen published The Dracula Tape (1975), in which he dreamed up a sympathetic vampire of his own, launching a horror subgenre. Now Saberhagen's Vlad Dracula returns for his ninth novel (after A Matter of Taste, etc.), still driven by a sense of honor and still explaining himself to humans; here, to two whose survival depends on their believing his supernatural origins and history. Thrills and chills are provided by Vlad's malevolent brother, Radu. The narrative flickers between two eras: Revolutionary France, where Vlad and his gypsy-vampire companion, Constantia, try to save Phillip Radcliffe, an illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin, from Radu and the guillotine, and modern America, where they kidnap Radcliffe's identically named descendant and his wife in order to save them from the still-vengeful Radu. There's plenty of crisp historical detail, including appearances by Napoleon and the Marquis de Sade. The series' ironic contrast between Vlad's innocence and the bloodlust of humans continues, with Vlad's aristocratic narrative voice (which alternates with third-person passages) continuing to impress. To be sure, the pace is languorous at times, but when you're spending quality time with someone who has centuries on his undead hands, what's the hurry?
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Saberhagen adds another volume to his long-running, sadly underrated Dracula series that masterfully mixes historical and contemporary characters and settings. In 1790s France, Philip Radcliffe, an illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin, befriends Vlad Dracula, thereby incurring the enmity of Vlad's brother, Radu. Two hundred years later, a Radcliffe descendant and his bride are kidnapped and imprisoned by one Mr. Graves--for their own protection, he says. In fact, Radu is on the prowl again, and the Dracula version of a family feud has caught up with the young couple. By now, Saberhagen's well-imagined Dracula is almost an old friend to long-term followers of the series. Since this latest entry is well up to the highest standards, nobody is likely to be disappointed, unless libraries fail to shelve this one with its predecessors. Roland Green