Tag: dracula

Posted on

#BookReview: The Vampire’s Valet by Kent Holloway

Stoker Meets Doyle With A Touch Of The MCU Approach. If you love the non-sparkly, dark, horrific, brooding, *evil* vampire lore… you’re gonna love this book. If you love the Sherlock Holmes type detective tale, perhaps with a more solo “beat people until they give you answers” Batman/ Jack Reacher type bent… you’re gonna love this book. If you like MCU style storytelling with a shared universe with lots of different well known characters… you’re gonna love this book.

Here, Holloway clearly shows that he too is a massive fan of all of the above, and he uses his skills as a writer to manage to combine elements of each into a cohesive tale that works both on its own and works to set up a “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” type saga. At just under 300 pages, this isn’t the shortest book out there, but it provides just enough… *ahem* red meat *ahem*… to tell its tale well without overstaying its welcome (a danger, with these types of characters, just sayin) and while effectively both satisfying the reader of this tale and leaving them wanting a subsequent tale in this shared universe.

Meaning the book did its job on all fronts, and did them all well.

Now I just need y’all to fall in love with this book and start preaching its wonders so we can see how far Holloway can take it. 😉

Very much recommended.

This review of The Vampire’s Valet by Kent Holloway was originally written on August 7, 2024.

Posted on

#BookReview: No Hallow’s Eve by Kane Gilmour

Gilmour Again Makes Stoker Proud. In a bit of an ironic twist, I was reading this as my wife was watching one of her sparkly “vampire” movies. If you detest those as “not real vampires” as so many of us do, you’re going to love this tale where yet again Gilmour *finally* comes back with an old school Dracula tale that shows the Black Prince in all his glory – while actually setting in motion much grander plans. Gilmour has author’s notes at beginning and end explaining the delay since Crypt of Dracula was published 6 yrs ago and his future plans for hopefully 2020, and if all goes as planned fans of old school Dracula (among others) should be very pleased indeed. Very much recommended.

This review of No Hallow’s Eve by Kane Gilmour was originally written on November 30, 2019.

Posted on

#BookReview: The Crypt of Dracula by Kane Gilmour

Gilmour warns at the outset to the book that he is a big fan of the 70s and earlier incarnations of Count Dracula, and he sticks to that warning throughout the book while doing a superb job of showing what vampires are SUPPOSED to be like.

From the opening scene of the book where a pile of ash gets bloody and a creature arises, to the first time we see our hero and see the reaction of the villagers when they are told where he is going to be working, to the first time we see Castle Dracula, and at every point in this book… you get the dark, mysterious, awe inspiring power of evil that is Vampire.

None of that sparkly, angsty, weak crap here. The only romance you’ll see is just a touch of it between our hero and his wife – who are both subsequently put in mortal danger along with a couple of their friends.

Instead, you get intriguing mystery – what happened at this castle? Why is it in such disrepair? Who is the mysterious Count? Why are his servants never seen? – and fast paced action.

With a particularly good ending.

If you want to see what Vempires – and particularly the infamous Count Dracula – are REALLY supposed to be, do yourself a favor and pick up this book!

This review of The Crypt of Dracula by Kane Gilmour was originally published on May 2, 2013.