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Book Review: Dracula of Transylvania by Ricardo Delgado

cover art for Dracula of Transylvania by RIcardo Delgado

Dracula of Transylvania by Ricardo Delgado

Clover Press, LLC, 2021

ISBN-13: 9781951038229

Available: Hardcover, paperback

Buy:  Bookshop.org |  Amazon.com

 

Ricardo Delgado has an impressive resume. He is an American-born artist and writer of Costa Rican descent, and a graduate of, and teacher at, the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He has worked as a film illustrator on Star Trek: First Contact, Jurassic Park 3, The Matrix Reloaded, Revolution, and others. He has also worked on designs for animated films such as The Emperor’s New Groove, WALL-E, How to Train Your Dragon, and more. His creative endeavors don’t end there. He created the acclaimed comic series Age of Reptiles for Dark Horse, wrote Sam Specter and the Book of Spells, and the hard-boiled science fiction noir Warhead. He decided to take on the subject material of Dracula of Transylvania in a new vision of the classic tale.

 

Young solicitor Jonathan Harker, headstrong and curious natured Mina, newly engaged Lucy, brave Arthur, timid but honorable Ian, drawling gunslinger Quincy, and old professor and friend Van Helsing brave the supernatural and mundane in their quest to stop the Son of Satan, Dracula of Transylvania, and his three wives, Andromeda, Petra, and Venus, from destroying all of humanity.

 

I’ll start by discussing the pros of Delgado’s epic retelling. First, the characters are much more fleshed out than they are in Stoker’s work. While Delgado took liberties with such things as character backgrounds (e.g. Jonathan is from America in this version), the changes do not distract from the story. There is much more focus on Mina and her point of view, and frankly, she is my favorite character out of all of them. The reader gets a better feel for the characters and, truly feels invested in what happens to them. Van Helsing is well-developed, and his influence can be felt throughout the journey to find Dracula, even when he is not present in the pages. Even side characters, like the villagers fearing for their lives but wanting to provide Harker and the others with as much aid as they can, come across as being very real and more than merely bit players.

 

Then, there are the villains of the piece. Dracula, of course, is portrayed as an imposing, cruel master and conqueror, but he is not alone in his travels. His wives follow him wherever he goes, but not out of any love or familial devotion. Andromeda, Petra, and Venus each have distinct personalities and histories, and are welcome improvements from Stoker’s original novel. The reader only gets a glimpse of them in Stoker’s tale, and then they are practically forgotten. In Delgado’s revision, while they are treated as concubines by Dracula, the author gives them more than a passing mention. Another addition to Dracula’s entourage is the skeleton army led by the Roman-clad warrior Primus, also a skeleton, and an ever present swarm of rats. The hulking figure of Renfield is terrifying, and Delgado gives him a backstory that tells the tale of the source of his mental illness, as well as adding a dash of a legendary serial killer who roamed Whitechapel into the mix. War time is hell, and Renfield, Van Helsing, and the other parents were not immune to the trials they experienced.

 

The pacing is fantastic. Delgado’s action scenes are incredible, and when the characters need to slow down and take a breath or plan their next move, it does not feel forced. It almost feels like it is a break for the reader to catch their breath! Delgado provides ample footnotes throughout the novel that describe Biblical passages and various facts to further embed the reader in the Victorian era.

 

Now, I’ll discuss the negatives. While there were illustrations between the chapters, they were all black and white. The artwork included in the back of the book were in colour, and gorgeous. I think if Delgado used the same colour palette for the other pieces they would have been more striking and effective. Another aspect that was interesting to begin with but gradually became a distraction and quite daunting was the use of different languages followed by translations that Delgado admits came from using Google Translate. Since I do not read any of the languages used, I cannot determine their accuracy. I know in my own experience using the translation feature can result in terrible mistakes, so I am hoping that Delgado consulted with people who could properly translate to verify accuracy. It would have also benefited the book for another round of editing. There were grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors throughout that could have been spotted by a careful editor.

 

Despite the negatives to the book, the story was solid and well executed. The danger of Dracula and his accomplices is much improved from the original story, as is the interaction and growth of the characters, and the action is much more intense and exciting. The accompanying artwork is a welcome addition, and we get a better sense of Delgado’s vision. I recommend this for readers who hoped for a more action packed, character driven story than the source material delivered. Recommended.

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

 

 

Book Review: It Came From: …The Stories and Novels Behind Classic Horror, Fantasy, and Science Fiction Films by Jim Nemeth and Bob Madison

cover art from It Came From... by Jim Nemeth and Bob Madison

(  Bookshop.org )

It Came From:  …The Stories and Novels Behind Classic Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction Films by Jim Nemeth and Bob Madison

Midnight Marquee Press, Inc., 2020

ISBN-13: 9781644300916

Available: Paperback

In this book, critics Jim Nemeth and Bob Madison explore genre films and the written works that inspired their creation,  Each is presented in its own section, chronologically, and the written works that inspired them. While this book primaritly covered fantasy and science fiction films, this review will concentrate on the aspects of  the horror genre presented. The authors include information on the production of the films, as well as the differences between the texts and the movies. At times they also posit the view that the film may be better than the books, a controversial opinion among some audiences.

The author of the horror section introduction argues that horror is the most difficult genre to adapt because movies “that merely provides a book’s ‘Boo!’ moments are but empty shells, lacking the underlying background and context that frequently makes the literary piece the more satisfying experience” (p. 12). He then moves to his example of The Shining. While I do not necessarily agree completely with the author, he does make some interesting points. Films included in the horror section include The Body Snatcher, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Night of the Demon, Psycho, The Day of the Triffids, and Don’t Look Now.

Two titles receive special treatment in that they each have a significant chapter devoted to them: Dracula and Frankenstein. The authors look at “several of the best, worst, and most popular of their cinematic incarnations” (p. 11). Dracula films covered range from Nosferatu (1922) to Bram Stoker’s Dracula  (1992), while the Frankenstein films range from the first film version of Frankenstein (1910) to Victor Frankenstein (2015).

My primary criticism of the book is focused more on the overall contents rather than specific chapters. The authors interject their own opinions into the chapters in a way that can be a bit heavy handed. For instance, when it comes to science fiction, one of the authors makes it abundantly clear that he does not like the gritty, darker, current sci-fi storylines. Additionally, while it seems that each chapter is written by an individual author, it is difficult to tell who wrote which one.

This could be a good resource for anyone interested in exploring the literature upon which genre films are based, as long as readers are aware that the authors’  strongly expressed opinions are interspersed throughout.

Recommended with reservations.

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Musings: Breaking Out of Your Reading Slump

A note from the editor:

We are now more than midway through October and Monster Librarian still needs to raise the funds to pay for our hosting fees and postage in 2021. If you like what we’re doing, please take a moment to click on that red “Contribute” button in the sidebar to the right, to help us keep going!  Even five dollars will get us closer to the $195 we need to keep going at the most basic level. We have never accepted paid advertising so you can be guaranteed that our reviews are objective. We’ve been reviewing and supporting the horror community for 15 years now, help us make it another year! Or, you can purchase titles mentioned in this post through our store at Bookshop.org. Thank you!

Horatio P. Bunnyrabbit with a pumpkin for trick-or-treating

For a list of the books mentioned in this post, check out the Monster Librarian store on Bookshop.org!

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October is the big month for the horror genre, and in hopes of getting up a review every day, I do a lot of reading in hopes that I can do exactly that. The pandemic has killed my ability to focus, though, and especially if I’m reading something long, it seems to take longer to read about it, think about it, and write about it. That’s especially true if I’m reading similar kinds of books– after awhile I just have to stop.

This has been especially aggravated by my library closing down and my kids’ schools going virtual so that I don’t get time in those libraries either. Libraries are my haven and not physically getting to be in that space is so difficult for me! I know I’m not the only person who is dealing with this right now. A dear friend of mine who typically gobbles up anything horror-related has stacks and stacks of books that he just keeps buying but is unable to focus enough to finish anything. So what can you do?

First, it’s okay to put a book down if you just can’t handle it.  I like ebooks for really long books because holding those in my hands gets me thinking on how much there is to read, which sometimes can be intimidating. Is your fiction too close to your current reality?  This month was not the month I needed to start watching The Man in the High Castle.  I also read Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House, not realizing how intense it was going to be. Reading Goodreads reviews after the fact, I found that readers were providing content warnings to potential future readers. If a book is stressing you out instead of entertaining you, you don’t need to keep going.

Second, mix it up! Short stories are great, and I love them, but if you’re reading several anthologies in a row from cover to cover, it’s no longer a vacation. I just finished the excellent SLAY: Stories of the Vampire Noire, edited by Nicole Givens Kurtz, so I’ll be switching to something different before I start another one. There are plenty of authors who don’t get the kind of attention they should, classic authors you might not have read, and new books coming out all the time. Reading T. Kingfisher’s new book The Hollow Places led me to track down The Willows by Algernon Blackwood. In addition to the HWA’s newly published series of genre classics, if you are short on funds, many classics are available free as ebooks through Project Gutenberg.

There’s some really good horror-related nonfiction out there, such as Lisa Morton’s recently released Calling The Spirits.  Although these can seem long, nonfiction is great because you can read a chapter and put it down for awhile until you’re ready to come back to it. Kit Powers’ My Life in Horror, Volume 1 is a series of standalone personal essays on growing up as a horror fan, easy to pick up and put down until you’re ready for more. You might also consider checking out some poetry. Even if you’re convinced it’s not your thing, Alessandro Manzetti’s Whitechapel Rhapsody might change your mind, although it’s not for the faint of stomach.

This is also a great time to check out some of the titles that tie into current television and movies. The HBO series   Lovecraft County is based on a book of the same name by Matt Ruff, a great book of interconnected stories. Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor riffs on the ghost stories of Henry James, notably The Turn of the Screw.

You don’t have to seek out anything new, though. I’ve reread some old favorites when I needed a break. Looking for something lighter? Maskerade by Terry Pratchett isn’t horror, but it is an entertaining riff on a story that definitely is, The Phantom of the Opera.  Seanan McGuire’s InCryptid series, starting with Discount Armageddon, takes a lighter approach to slayers, monsters, and ghosts than is typical for horror, but it is a lot of fun. Sometimes a thriller is what you need, as long as it’s not too close to life for you. Alyssa Cole, mostly known for her excellent romance novels, has an #OwnVoices thriller out right now on gentrification spiraling out of control titled When No One Is Watching, and David Simms has a supernatural thriller, Fear the Reaper, that reveals the dark history of American eugenics.

Despite protestations that they aren’t “real reading”, graphic novels definitely are, and if too many words on the page is a struggle right now, you might try them. Marjorie Liu’s Monstress has even won awards, Or try a novella. A recent entry into the novella category that I raced through was Stephen Graham Jones’ Night of the MannequinsThere are a lot of great titles in the middle grade and YA fiction categories as well. No, you are not too old for good middle-grade fiction. If you haven’t read Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book in either its novel or graphic novel formats it is well past time.

If you are a doer or a maker, I don’t personally have the patience for audiobooks or most podcasts, but if you spend a lot of time driving or run long distance, that’s another opportunity. And it’s the perfect time of year to explore Halloween cookbooks and crafts! My son collected and loved these even before he could read them, and a lot of gruesome-looking foods are pretty easy to make. We’ve worn out Ghoulish Goodies There is even an unofficial Walking Dead cookbook called The Snacking Dead

Third, go outside. It’s a little cool where I am to go outside and sit and read right now, but I went for a long walk yesterday that really cleared my head and got me focused again. All the sitting inside, social media, news, attempting to get along with your family you’ve been stuck inside with for seven months leaves you feeling tired and your brain cloudy. Reading is supposed to be relaxing, but apparently you need to really relax before you can enjoy it.

Clear out your brain, clear space for yourself inside and out, turn off your television, and give yourself permission. It’s the Halloween time of year, so, whatever makes you feel the season, give yourself a treat.