Just Finished Reading: The Dracula Tape by Fred Saberhagen

This was quite an entertaining (if sometimes tedious) retelling of the Dracula story by Bram Stoker. What makes it different is the view point of the narrative – that of Count Dracula himself. Added to this interesting shift of perspective is that Dracula is portrayed as the ‘good guy’ hunted for no other reason that he is ‘different’ and therefore ‘misunderstood’ by the dangerously fanatical Professor Van Helsing.

As I said – an interesting idea which is fairly well executed. It is, however, too well known a story to produce must dramatic tension or surprise. The main characters are already known to us. We know before hand who lives and who dies and this restricts the liberties that Saberhagen can take with the story.

Certainly readable and of some interest to vampire fiction fans but hardly “the novel of the century” announced on the front cover.