ANNO DRACULA 1999: DAIKAIJU / AUTHOR: KIM NEWMAN / PUBLISHER: TITAN BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
The latest instalment in Kim Newman’s ever-expanding Anno Dracula series – which now consists of six novels, a short story collection, and a comic book – is here. A slighter read than earlier books, it’s essentially the second half of the previous novel, One Thousand Monsters, as it checks in on the same setting 100 years later, but it also acts as a possible finale to the vampire-filled alternate universe.
In Daikaiju, the action jumps forward to the turn of the millennium where the world’s rich and famous, whether alive or undead, have gathered in Tokyo for the occasion. In a dinosaur-shaped skyscraper, no less. Unfortunately, various unsavoury characters, from cyberterrorists to doomsday cultists to a mysterious vampire elder, have decided to crash the party and end the 20th century with a bang.
As ever, the mind boggles at Newman’s deft ability to soak up so many disparate influences from across pop culture and weave them all into one coherent original tale. This time around, the setting and time frame allow the author to pull from fresh material like anime and action movies. Where else would you find a Die Hard pastiche set in a Godzilla building?
Not that Daikaiju is all about the references, as Newman has an underrated ability to craft well-drawn, memorable characters all his own. One of them, Richard Jeperson, star of the author’s separate but related Diogenes Club stories, makes a rare AD appearance here, with the super-spy having to face the reality of his advancing years. Another standout is Nezumi, the 1000-year-old katana-wielding school girl.
Witty, weird, and highly readable, Daikaiju would serve as a strong way for the Anno Dracula series to bow out, as it fulfils the series’ mission statement of documenting a century of this timeline’s history. Our fingers are crossed, though, that Newman has plans for more. Just think of all the juicy social satire and renewed supply of media to draw from that could be found in the pages of Anno Dracula 2019.
