Bram Stoker’s Dracula comes as a bit of surprise to many. The classic work of horror is written in an unusual way, filled with different points of view and novel narrative approaches, which is an unexpected but pleasant surprise to many. Rebellion’s latest horror anthology, Dracula Rise of The Beast does something similar, by approaching this quintessential story in unique and clever ways.
For a start, the framing device for the stories is two people researching Dracula itself. They’re presented in a style strongly reminiscent of Stoker himself. Editor David Thomas Moore has brought together five writers to form a coherent story made of individual elements. It’s a trick he’s done before with the excellent Monstrous Little Voices. Dracula Rise of The Beast is yet another example of how a very skilled editor can curate a collection of excellent stories into something greater than the whole.
The central idea behind each story is the tale of Dracula taken from other angles. The leads in the original are, after all, very specific members of society and quite privileged. There’s little room for nuance with any of them. With this anthology, we get some clever insights and a broader spread of characters. All the stories utilise also uses Stoker’s stunt of being a mix of letters and scenes, which interrupt the flow somewhat at times.
We open with Bogi Takacs the Souls of Those Gone Astray from the Path. Written as a series of letters dating back to the 15th century, it’s an earnest attempt at ‘Dracula the Early Years’. Such a tale has been done better elsewhere, Kiersten White’s And I Darken springs to mind. However, Takacs does some clever things with the narrative here. The point of view of the Rabbi character is especially interesting and Vlad’s own approach the court politics is both novel and engaging. A curates egg of surprises and a little slow, but still good.
Adrian Tchaikovsky’s contribution, Noblesse Oblige looks at Dracula’s impact on the world at large and the vampire myth in particular. Tchaikovsky is very good at the slow reveal and the sudden challenge, and this is a tale not really of Dracula but Elizabeth Bathory. It’s a solid ‘Journey into Darkness’ tale and one of the high points of the collection.
Milena Benini ‘s A Stake Too Far is a faster paced, jolly little tale of vampire hunters versus Dracula, with more than a touch of the movie The Fearless Vampire Killers mixed in. Strong notes of tragedy for all the characters move the story along, and you even feel a little sorry for the king of vampires himself at times.
Emil Minchev’s Children of the Night is a gorgeous fairy tale with strong eastern European sensibilities. On the face of it, the story asks the question why someone like Dracula would even be interested in a city like London, but underneath it all there’s, well, it’s not a love story. But it is delightful.
We finish with Caren Gussuf Sumption’s The Woman, a sweeping generational tale about Romani/ Szgany clan who follow and serve Dracula. It’s a finely balanced story that challenges prejudice on a number of different levels and addresses some of the key problems in Stoker’s original. Cracking stuff and compelling reading.
Dracula Rise of The Beast is not light reading, and each story is hefty and well considered. One to take with you on holiday, especially if that holiday involves long trips across the Eastern European countryside.
DRACULA RISE OF THE BEAST / AUTHOR: DAVID THOMAS MOORE / PUBLISHER: ABADDON / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
