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Dracula #1
The Dracula Tape
Count Dracula tells his own version of his fateful journey to England in 1893, presenting a surprising revision to the well-known tale. Original.
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
90 people are currently reading
2550 people want to read
About the author
Fred Saberhagen
334books486followersFred Saberhagen was an American science fiction and fantasy author most famous for his ''Beserker'' and Dracula stories.
Saberhagen also wrote a series of a series of post-apocalyptic mytho-magical novels beginning with his popular ''Empire of the East'' and continuing through a long series of ''Swords'' and ''Lost Swords'' novels. Saberhagen died of cancer, in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Saberhagen was born in and grew up in the area of Chicago, Illinois. Saberhagen served in the [[U.S. Air Force]] during the Korean War while he was in his early twenties. Back in civilian life, Saberhagen worked as an It was while he was working for Motorola (after his military service) that Saberhagen started writing fiction seriously at the age of about 30. "Fortress Ship", his first "Berserker" short shory, was published in 1963. Then, in 1964, Saberhagen saw the publication of his first novel, ''The Golden People''.
From 1967 to 1973, he worked as an editor for the Chemistry articles in the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' as well as writing its article on science fiction. He then quit and took up writing full-time. In 1975, he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
He married fellow writer Joan Spicci in 1968. They had two sons and a daughter.
Saberhagen also wrote a series of a series of post-apocalyptic mytho-magical novels beginning with his popular ''Empire of the East'' and continuing through a long series of ''Swords'' and ''Lost Swords'' novels. Saberhagen died of cancer, in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Saberhagen was born in and grew up in the area of Chicago, Illinois. Saberhagen served in the [[U.S. Air Force]] during the Korean War while he was in his early twenties. Back in civilian life, Saberhagen worked as an It was while he was working for Motorola (after his military service) that Saberhagen started writing fiction seriously at the age of about 30. "Fortress Ship", his first "Berserker" short shory, was published in 1963. Then, in 1964, Saberhagen saw the publication of his first novel, ''The Golden People''.
From 1967 to 1973, he worked as an editor for the Chemistry articles in the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' as well as writing its article on science fiction. He then quit and took up writing full-time. In 1975, he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
He married fellow writer Joan Spicci in 1968. They had two sons and a daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 178 reviews
March 18, 2020
Not as good as the Nixon tapes, however.
March 2, 2019
Absolutely must read if you're a fan of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Why? Here Dracula tells and comments his own version of the story and what really happened from his point of view. This is extremely well done and convincing narrated by the author. Dracula gets a human component here and illuminates the motivations of the other characters involved. His description of Van Helsing is outstanding. You didn't see that character in that light before reading Saberhagen's book. Also Mina's relationsship to Dracula is quite interestingly described by the main character himself. Jonathan Harker is rather a pale character and Saberhagen enforces this in his phenomenal book. I also liked Dracula's confession that he traversed himself as a coachman at the beginning to bring Jonathan to his castle. Also the ending of the story is quite interesting and plausible with regard to all the Dracula follow ups. You shouldn't miss this book. It's extremely entertaining and tells the story from Dracula's view. I rather liked that. Dracula being less a monster and more a kind of noble adventurer. I shall continue with this series to see if the author can keep this brilliant level! Highly entertaining, clearly recommended!
July 22, 2019
-Reinterpretación y saqueo de la obra original.-
Género. Narrativa fantástica.
Lo que nos cuenta. El libro La voz de Drácula (publicación original: The Dracula Tape, 1977) es la transcripción de una cinta magnetofónica que apareció en el asiento trasero del coche del señor Harker. Harker y su esposa, Janet, llegaron a pie hasta un hospital en Dartmoor tras caminar varios kilómetros bajo una fuerte tempestad y no quisieron hablar ni de la cinta ni de la razón por la que abandonaron el vehículo. Segundo libro de la serie La voz de Drácula en español, aunque en su edición original es el primero.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
Género. Narrativa fantástica.
Lo que nos cuenta. El libro La voz de Drácula (publicación original: The Dracula Tape, 1977) es la transcripción de una cinta magnetofónica que apareció en el asiento trasero del coche del señor Harker. Harker y su esposa, Janet, llegaron a pie hasta un hospital en Dartmoor tras caminar varios kilómetros bajo una fuerte tempestad y no quisieron hablar ni de la cinta ni de la razón por la que abandonaron el vehículo. Segundo libro de la serie La voz de Drácula en español, aunque en su edición original es el primero.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
October 12, 2019
An entertaining retelling of Bram Stoker's Dracula presenting Dracula's side of the story. It's quite clever in explaining away most of the events to un-vilianize Dracula. For instance, Lucy dying from the 3 unnecessary blood transfusions from completely random donors rather than from Vlad drinking too much of her blood still has me chuckling.
Overall a fun read.
Overall a fun read.
August 14, 2017
Honestly, not the worst book I have ever read. But why the fuck would you want to do this??? Why lay a copy of on the ground, squat over it and spread your ass cheeks wide, and proceed to take a great big stinking shit on top of every single page of Bram Stoker's original brilliantly written story??!!
*SPOILER ALERT* (actually, I'm not spoiling shit for you, cause this book sucks)
Okay, it's the twentieth century and Mina and Jonathan Harker's great grand kids are trapped in a car during a snowstorm and Count Dracula is sitting in the back seat with a tape recorder telling them that they were lied to by their family and that the event's in were not the correct account of what happened. Basically tells how Dracula was just the misunderstood guy. It makes, although well explained, tall claims about what "really" happened in . Like, "Oh no, that part where Jonathan Harker said I fed my brides a baby. That wasn't a baby, it was a piglet!". And constantly talks about how he hated Van Helsing, but portrays him as stupid, self righteous and cowardly. He refers to Van Helsing as "The Butcher" throughout the whole book. It's not surprising that these two characters would hate one another, but Van Helsing is portrayed as a careless, sadistic asshole in this...not the wise hero that Stoker meant him to be. Oh, and R. M. Renfield was a rapist. Yeah of course, it was real convinient to say Renfield was a rapist cause he had psychological problems! And therefore he has to be full of shit too then! Also stripping away his heroic and redeeming death in the original.
Even Dracula expert, , said "It is a gimmicky fiction whose primary gimmick is is that Dracula is the book's narrator and the fun is supposed to come from the ways in which the characters Stoker invented are made to look lugubrious or silly as they are seen from Dracula's point of view. The trouble is that Saberhagen like many practitioners of vampire fiction who have chosen to depict their vampires as sympathetic figures, leaches the horror from the image of the vampire. The result is that The Dracula Tape, though it is a pleasant enough fiction, is thin."
Yeah, it's like all the other characters are made to be one dimensional cartoon characters...and "Oh, poor Dracula...he was just in love with Mina, that was it! He wasn't evil!". It's not listed in the credits to the movie, but supposedly Fred Saberhagen had a hand in writing the script for Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula. I actually liked that film, but the only thing I didn't like was the Romeo & Juliet/Anne Rice bullshit between Dracula and Mina in there.
Not to speak ill of the dead, but...FUCK YOU, FRED SABERHAGEN FOR WRITING THIS!!!.
*SPOILER ALERT* (actually, I'm not spoiling shit for you, cause this book sucks)
Okay, it's the twentieth century and Mina and Jonathan Harker's great grand kids are trapped in a car during a snowstorm and Count Dracula is sitting in the back seat with a tape recorder telling them that they were lied to by their family and that the event's in were not the correct account of what happened. Basically tells how Dracula was just the misunderstood guy. It makes, although well explained, tall claims about what "really" happened in . Like, "Oh no, that part where Jonathan Harker said I fed my brides a baby. That wasn't a baby, it was a piglet!". And constantly talks about how he hated Van Helsing, but portrays him as stupid, self righteous and cowardly. He refers to Van Helsing as "The Butcher" throughout the whole book. It's not surprising that these two characters would hate one another, but Van Helsing is portrayed as a careless, sadistic asshole in this...not the wise hero that Stoker meant him to be. Oh, and R. M. Renfield was a rapist. Yeah of course, it was real convinient to say Renfield was a rapist cause he had psychological problems! And therefore he has to be full of shit too then! Also stripping away his heroic and redeeming death in the original.
Even Dracula expert, , said "It is a gimmicky fiction whose primary gimmick is is that Dracula is the book's narrator and the fun is supposed to come from the ways in which the characters Stoker invented are made to look lugubrious or silly as they are seen from Dracula's point of view. The trouble is that Saberhagen like many practitioners of vampire fiction who have chosen to depict their vampires as sympathetic figures, leaches the horror from the image of the vampire. The result is that The Dracula Tape, though it is a pleasant enough fiction, is thin."
Yeah, it's like all the other characters are made to be one dimensional cartoon characters...and "Oh, poor Dracula...he was just in love with Mina, that was it! He wasn't evil!". It's not listed in the credits to the movie, but supposedly Fred Saberhagen had a hand in writing the script for Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula. I actually liked that film, but the only thing I didn't like was the Romeo & Juliet/Anne Rice bullshit between Dracula and Mina in there.
Not to speak ill of the dead, but...FUCK YOU, FRED SABERHAGEN FOR WRITING THIS!!!.
May 5, 2018
Before Anne Rice, Saberhagen was writing a modern vampire tale based on Stoker's own. In this book, we get Vlad's take on how things actually went down in . It's a great first person narrative complete with some of the most damning paragraphs reproduced here & explained in a far more logical tone.
I see some reviewers have said that Vlad is the good guy. I don't fully agree. He's a cold-blooded bastard in many ways, but he has a code of honor that he follows rigorously, too. He's a man who has endured much, but also has expectations as befitting an older gent who rules a land. The unreasoning fear that the rest of mankind has for him is their problem & he does little to dispel it.
I only wish I had read more recently before reading this. I think that would have made it better.
I see some reviewers have said that Vlad is the good guy. I don't fully agree. He's a cold-blooded bastard in many ways, but he has a code of honor that he follows rigorously, too. He's a man who has endured much, but also has expectations as befitting an older gent who rules a land. The unreasoning fear that the rest of mankind has for him is their problem & he does little to dispel it.
I only wish I had read more recently before reading this. I think that would have made it better.
October 22, 2013
I'm wavering between 3 & 4 stars on this one....
As I'm a Dracula fan, I quite enjoyed this twist on Stoker's Dracula tale, told from the viewpoint of Dracula himself. There are fairly big portions that are quotes from Stoker's work, followed by a differing response in Dracula's voice. Any weak points in Stoker's work have been fully exploited here in presenting Dracula's view. Of course, Dracula saves a special dislike for Van Helsing; Dracula considers him both a quack & a religious nut. Some of Dracula's descriptions of Van Helsing had me rofl, such as...
and
This is a fun October read, especially if you are team Dracula.
As I'm a Dracula fan, I quite enjoyed this twist on Stoker's Dracula tale, told from the viewpoint of Dracula himself. There are fairly big portions that are quotes from Stoker's work, followed by a differing response in Dracula's voice. Any weak points in Stoker's work have been fully exploited here in presenting Dracula's view. Of course, Dracula saves a special dislike for Van Helsing; Dracula considers him both a quack & a religious nut. Some of Dracula's descriptions of Van Helsing had me rofl, such as...
"...the old maestro of obfuscation..."
and
"The vision of Van Helsing as a vampire is one before which my imagination balks; this is doubtless only a shortcoming on my part; he may have been well fitted for the role, since as we have seen he had already the power, by means of speech, to cast his victims into a stupor."
This is a fun October read, especially if you are team Dracula.
December 21, 2012
This book starts out with a tape recording found in a car. On the tape, Count Dracula tells his account of what really happened in the book Dracula. Only in Vlad’s account, he is a great guy who’s been horribly maligned, and Van Helsing is an evil quack.
I suppose when The Dracula Tape was first published it was probably quite innovative. Unfortunately, it lacks suspense, because it follows the events of Bram Stokers classic almost exactly. There are even long quotes from Dracula (which is kind of jarring considering Stoker’s prose is so much more gothic than Saberhagen’s.) I knew exactly what was going to happen. Vlad is pretty much invincible. Most of Van Helsing’s weapons are rendered useless since religious artifacts don’t affect vampires. Vlad is also always twelve steps ahead of everybody. He’s smarter, sexier and nobler than all the other characters. I certainly wasn’t worried about him. This makes him a Gary Stu. *yawn*
Yes there are parts that are funny and the book has some clever ideas. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to carry a whole book. I found it kind of dull.
I suppose when The Dracula Tape was first published it was probably quite innovative. Unfortunately, it lacks suspense, because it follows the events of Bram Stokers classic almost exactly. There are even long quotes from Dracula (which is kind of jarring considering Stoker’s prose is so much more gothic than Saberhagen’s.) I knew exactly what was going to happen. Vlad is pretty much invincible. Most of Van Helsing’s weapons are rendered useless since religious artifacts don’t affect vampires. Vlad is also always twelve steps ahead of everybody. He’s smarter, sexier and nobler than all the other characters. I certainly wasn’t worried about him. This makes him a Gary Stu. *yawn*
Yes there are parts that are funny and the book has some clever ideas. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to carry a whole book. I found it kind of dull.
May 10, 2022
Dedicated with affection to my friend Krisi Keley Krisi Keley (Author of On the Soul of a Vampire) | ŷ
Ladies and gentlemen after having my review of "Moby Dick" Fonch (Valladolid, 47002, Spain)'s review of Moby-Dick or, the Whale | ŷ . I didn't say it, but he pointed it out now, if there's anything I love. A guilty pleasure as my dear friend Julie Davis Julie Davis (Author of Happy Catholic) would say | ŷ Happy Catholic: Glimpses of God in Everyday Life by Julie Davis | ŷ . If there is something, that attracts me it is precisely a novel of adorable aquatic beings that eat people. As a friend of my father's said, "What is not morbid is not interesting." Unfortunately in this case the idyll with the cetacean did not work.
We move from a disappointment to one that is relatively so. Not why "The Dracula Tapes" (I prefer to use the title in English, although I like it more in Spanish). In Spanish the title was translated as The Voice of Dracula). However, although it is not as beautiful as the Spanish title, it is still more faithful to what this novel tells. Of course you can see my impressions of this novel on my Instagram account. Here my purpose is to expand on what was said.
I said this book is a relative disappointment, because I expected so much from it. Of the books that have entered the competition this year with the exception of "The Magdeburg Wedding" by Gretrud von Le Fort Gertrud von le Fort (Author of The Song at the Scaffold) | ŷ Die Magdeburgische Hochzeit by Gertrud von le Fort | ŷ of all the potential candidates to be the best fiction book of this year the book that has fallen along with the previously cited novel. There have been surprise guests at the party such as "The Third That Never Existed" by José Javier Esparza Fonch (Valladolid, 47002, Spain)'s review of The Third That Never Existed: Glory and Tragedy of Spanish Soldiers in Scotland | ŷ José Javier Esparza (Author of The Great Adventure of the Kingdom of Asturias) | ŷ, or "The Boy 44" Child 44 (Leo Demidov, #1) by Tom Rob Smith | ŷ . The other candidates were in my opinion serious candidates for victory as Anthony Burgess's "1985" 1985 by Anthony Burgess | ŷ (which despite the low rating it has in ŷ) seems to me a more than worthy variant of "1984" of Orwell 1984 by George Orwell | ŷ, almost better than the original, and closer to our reality. The other candidate, and it is logical was "Znachor" by Tadeus Mostowicz-Dolega, and more after that with "The race of Nykodim Dyzma" this will remain at the gates of triumph Fonch (Valladolid, 47002, Spain)'s review of Znachor | ŷ Fonch (Valladolid, 47002, Spain)'s review of La carrera De Nikodem Dyzma | ŷ Tadeusz Dołęga-Mostowicz (Author of Znachor) | ŷ and it was very likely that Giovani Papini could also sneak in, although I didn't think that "El libro negro" Fonch (Valladolid, 47002, Spain)'s review of Il libro nero | ŷ . You always have potential candidates in mind, and then some surprise guests are added to the party. In English this word would be described as outsider, and then unfortunately there are people, who without offering a bad level are demanded so much that they are below expectations, and this is the case.
The first thing I must say is that Fred Saberhagen Berserker Series by Fred Saberhagen | ŷ Fred Saberhagen (Author of Berserker) | ŷ author of this novel is for me one of the great writers of science fiction, and one of the most underrated. I had heard about him from Sandra E. Miesel Sandra Miesel (Contributor of Lost Dorsai) | ŷ and I looked for the very little (we already know how Spanish publishers work. A little more will be said in front of this matter.) Unfortunately, Fred Saberhagen has only had five books published in my country. Two of his Berserker saga in which humanity fights space battles against machines. One of these stories emulates the battle of Lepanto, and another story of his inspired my friend Professor Manuel Alfonseca Manuel Alfonseca (Author of El Agua de la Vida) | ŷun article in his scientific blog Divulciencia (by the way to the user both English-speaking and Spanish I recommend my friend's books). Another work in his Berserker "Brother Assassin" Brother Assassin saga (Berserker, #2) by Fred Saberhagen | ŷ seemed to me a very worthy imitation of Poul Anderson's "The Time Patrol" by Poul Anderson | ŷ Poul Anderson (Author of Tau Zero) | ŷ . Particularly interesting about "Brother Assassin" is the final chapter that deals with one of the most decisive clashes between science and faith in history with one of the most beautiful medieval legends. The courage and bravery of Saberhagen in this story is very surprising. Another gem that was published in this country of his was "Píramides" Pilgrim Series by Fred Saberhagen | ŷ a novel that leaves Rick Riordan's Kane saga The Kane Chronicles Series by Rick Riordan | ŷ Rick Riordan (Author of The Lightning Thief) | ŷ crying with envy the quality of this novel by Saberhagen that does not stop having a touch to Stargate, and here is the weak point, which the Professor confessed to me. The impossibility of reproducing in a Newtonian world the universe that Saberhagen creates, but despite this great defect, it is perhaps the most interesting novel of alternative Egypt I have ever read.
Of the Dracula saga only two books were published this one that I am commenting for the users of ŷ, and crossroad that mixes Dracula, and Sherlock Holmes, which could be more interesting than this novel. I don't know if I've said it on other occasions, but neither Dracula nor Sherlock Holmes fascinates me Dracula by Bram Stoker | ŷ Sherlock Holmes Series by Arthur Conan Doyle | ŷ On the other hand, I am much more interested in pastiches, or what popular genius has done with these myths in the world of video games, comics, and movies. In fact, I loved the Sherlock Holmes pastiche written by Cay van Ash Ten Years Beyond Baker Street: by Cay Van Ash | ŷ (in Spain it was titled Sherlock Holmes vs. Fu Manchu) that allows Sherlock Holmes to meet the sinister Fu Manchu, and that mixes the two worlds. Something similar is done by Fred Saberhagen allowing Dracula's (who is not Stoker's) encounter with the Baker Street detective. There are much more interesting variants of Dracula, but they have not had that impact such as Jules Verne's "The Castle of the Carpathians by Jules Verne | ŷ or "The Bloody Doll" by the almost always interesting Gaston Leroux La poupée sanglante (La poupée sanglante, #1) by Gaston Leroux | ŷ Gaston Leroux (Author of The Phantom of the Opera) | ŷ . You will have seen that I have given Dracula 4 stars do not be fooled. Actually, what it has is (2'5/5), but in ŷ there are no half stars so it should have 3 stars, but it happens that the edition I have evaluated is the annotated edition of Leslie S. Klinger Leslie S. Klinger (Author of The Sherlock Holmes Book) | ŷ that every lover worth his salt of Dracula can have, and that is a collector's gem, such as "The Annotated Hobbit" by Douglas A. Anderson Le Hobbit annoté by J.R.R. Tolkien | ŷ Douglas A. Anderson (Author of Tales Before Tolkien) | ŷ . There was mention of "Dracula Tapes" and "Anno Dracula" by Kim Newman Anno Dracula (Anno Dracula, #1) by Kim Newman | ŷ , Kim Newman (Author of Anno Dracula) | ŷ that are actually alternative stories, or retellings of bram Stoker's work.
I have been reading many reviews of "The Dracula Tapes" and the one that is most successful is undoubtedly Olethros, but he disagreed that he shot the original, although the great failure of this novel, is that if he does not shoot him he has to take parts of it. Saberhagen does not make this book his. The most he does is try to recount Stoker's Dracula from the point of view of Count Dracula himself. Vlad (here is one of the intelligent variants introduced by Fred Saberhagen), the already equating Dracula with Vlad Tepes II the impaler belonging to the Order of the Dragon, and together with Skandenberg fought to prevent the religion of peace and love, and the plus for the room from spreading peacefully through central Europe *irony in case no one has captured it*. I'm sorry, but an irresistible impulse made me write this comment. More after the hostile comments my review received from the book of The Crusades by Dan Jones Fonch (Valladolid, 47002, Spain)'s review of Crusaders: The Epic History of the Wars for the Holy Lands | ŷ . In fact, in this review I plan to take some outstanding accounts, but always trying to be as measured, and charitable as possible, invoking the spirit of my beloved G.K. Chesterton G.K. Chesterton (Author of Orthodoxy) | ŷ as does my admired Joseph Pearce Joseph Pearce (Author of Tolkien) | ŷ, when he must refute authentic barbarities poured out by critics, and intellectuals of half hair.
I don't know if you know, but this novel inspired the wonderful film (although now in an exercise in political correctness Mr. Copolla denies it). I'm referring to Bram Stoker's Dracula, where it goes to me seems to surpass the material in which it is supposedly inspired. I already say another flaw, which can throw back some medrous readers. This novel will not please those who think that Count Dracula is the embodiment of evil, as a journalist who worked in a religious supplement believed, and who by the way block me on twitter for saying, do not worry that I would not pay you with money, as if you would think of perversions. When what I wanted to propose is that he will dedicate himself to promoting certain Catholic and Protestant writers that I have met in ŷ (the list allowed me to draw up that list that can be partially seen in my review of the "King receives" Fonch (Valladolid, 47002, Spain)'s review of The King Receives | ŷ) if my plan had been heeded, my idea of re-evangelizing Spain, and Western Europe, through fiction, could have been advanced, but since my absurd ideas were always ignored, they did not even let me expose them. Because it's all very well to say that a movie adulterates, and corrupts the myth. Allowing that a variant cannot be allowed, but instead promoting a literature that does not encourage a Catholic fiction, and sometimes is anti-Catholic, as was the case with certain books recommended by that religious weekly. One of his books more or less said that we had to shut up against the Chinese dictatorship, so that Catholics would grow up in China. Another book recommended by this weekly was an anthology of Walking Dead with podemite proclamations Worlds Z: Sociologies of the zombie genre by Mariano Urraco Solanilla | ŷ, while attacking the only party trying to defend the Catholic religion. This newspaper tried to rescue the left-wing reader without realizing that along the way he was losing right-wing readers, who because of these vagaries are increasingly irreligious. Not to mention that they were more devoted to politics than to dealing with questions concerning the Church. Suffice it to say, that for reasons like that I stopped reading it, and I am satisfied, because Religion in Freedom gives them a thousand turns, and it is much closer to my points of view. As for me I have never blocked anyone on twitter, and that I have had very hard discussions with palmeros of Teruel Existe (I am surprised that these people talked about repopulating empty Spain, and do not propose a law to repeal the abortion law, or to promote a law in favor of the family. So I have my most serious doubts about the effectiveness of these platforms. No offense to the contrary). I also quarreled with someone from India, because of the dead numbers of the Holodomor, and there I do recognize, that I lost control, but they should not see me as a psychopath, or a bully (actually what I am is very heavy), but as a person who tries to do what he considers fair. Recently in a tweet from a friend in the wake of the Hazard issue, he told me that if you kissed the ex in front of the girlfriend. Well, he kisses her. Here I allow myself a digression, it may not come to mind, but I think it is absolutely necessary. For me the great evil that Spain suffers, and much of the world is that the forms, and the parameters of civics, and education are being lost. Society is becoming more tense, and more divided, and people only use social media to pour out their bile, and their hatred, and this I think in the long run is going to be harmful, and one day it will cause great evil. For me the great evil is original sin, and the worst of its effects is hatred, and divisions between family, friends, and partners. I may disagree with a person because of their political, cultural, and religious beliefs, but I try not to hate them. That would be the easy way, but it is not the way God told us to follow, but that of the cross. We were told to love our neighbor, not whoever we want, but what merit we would have even prostitutes, publicans, and gentiles do that. That a person has failed in a relationship does not mean that he should hate the other. I have never had a girlfriend, but if I had had one, and I had failed, I would not vent my hatred on her, nor would I try to hate her. I only say one thing to people that they are not afraid of me and I hope not to provoke them with my interventions neither anxiety, nor anger, nor fear.
Returning to Dracula after this digression perhaps the only original of this book is the beginning where Dracula leaves his voice recorded, and tries to justify himself to the Harkers, that what his enemies (read Bram Stoker's version) is false, and in this recording he retells Stoker's novel from his point of view. I said of the version of Olethros that seems to me the most intelligent, that Saberhagen I do not believe, that what he does is to do as the politician in power who answered the opposition. That's what Dracula does try to bring down, and delegitimize what his enemies have said about him. The problem is that except for some discrepancies he is telling us the same thing. The big flaw is that Saberhagen does not take this earth to his land, and does not manage to escape Stoker's version, which ends up parasitizing, and devouring the story of Saberhagen. That despite the criticism of that journalist she had her right to tell her story. I belong to the group Catholic Vampire al que pertenecen Eleanor Bourg Nicholson A Bloody Habit de Eleanor Bourg Nicholson | ŷ , Eleanor Bourg Nicholson (Autora de A Bloody Habit) | ŷ , Karen Ullo Karen Ullo (Autora de Jennifer the Damned) | ŷ , Gabiel Blanchard Gabriel Blanchard (Autor de Death's Dream Kingdom) | ŷ o J.B. Toner J.B. Toner (Autor de Whisper Music) | ŷ . Tengo otros amigos católicos, y protestantes que no pertenecen a est grupo, pero que han tratado éste tema como Werner A. Lind Werner A. Lind (Author of Lifeblood) | ŷ , Ellen C. Maze Ellen C. Maze (Autora de Rabbit) | ŷ , Jerry Guern No Moon To Pray To por Jerry Guern | ŷ Jerry Guern (Autor de No Moon To Pray To) | ŷ mi amiga Fiorella de Maria (junto con K.V. Turley) ha sucumbido recientemente a éste fenómeno en una de sus últimas novelas This Thing of Darkness by K.V. Turley | ŷ K.V. Turley (Autor de This Thing of Darkness) | ŷ Books de Fiorella De Maria A Bloody Habit by Eleanor Bourg Nicholson | ŷ , Eleanor Bourg Nicholson (Author of A Bloody Habit) | ŷ , Karen Ullo Karen Ullo (Author of Jennifer the Damned) | ŷ , Gabriel Blanchard Gabriel Blanchard (Author of Death's Dream Kingdom) | ŷ J.B. Toner (Author of Whisper Music) | ŷ . Werner A. Lind (Author of Lifeblood) | ŷ , Ellen C. Maze Ellen C. Maze (Author of Rabbit) | ŷ , Jerry Guern No Moon To Pray To by Jerry Guern | ŷ Jerry Guern (Author of No Moon To Pray To) | ŷ This Thing of Darkness by K.V. Turley | ŷ K.V. Turley (Author of This Thing of Darkness) | ŷ Books by Fiorella De Maria (Author of Poor Banished Children) | ŷ
Answering that journalist, Can a vampire be saved? This is a topic that my friend and I have discussed a lot. If the vampire is a demonic creature, it cannot be saved. This is what this journalist seems to believe. Leonardo Castellani Leonardo Castellani (Author of Cómo sobrevivir intelectualmente al siglo XXI) | ŷ in an essay on literary archetypes he makes it very clear, that while the Tenorio (the mocker), Hamlet the skeptic could save himself not so the Faust, because who sells his soul to the Devil his destiny is hell. However, if that vampirism is not the work of a demonic possession, it is possible. Already the French writer Paul Feval Paul Féval père (Author of Le Bossu) | ŷ already in his account of the vampire woman Paul Féval père (Author of Le Bossu) | ŷ Tratado sobre los vampiros by Antoine Augustin Calmet | ŷ The Bride Of Corinth And Other Poems by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe | ŷ they already talked about this possibility (vampirism does not begin with Stoker has father Calmet as its precursor and the first account is Goethe's Bride of Corinth and there are many stories like those of Tieck, Tolstoy, or Francis Marion Crawford to cite my favorites) F. Marion Crawford (Author of The Upper Berth) | ŷ Mr. Stoker is not the Bible, and he can be refuted. I recognize that the novel without being bad (which it is not) goes from more to less, and that as we move forward it loses interest. Sometimes (I have not said this, but as Sir Thomas More said Thomas More (Author of Utopia) | ŷ that if the Devil asked for his defense, and he was right, he would have to give it to him, so everyone deserves a lawyer) Dracua's attempts to defend himself are very clumsy. Because if he did not deliberately commit the villainy that his enemies refer to him, it shows his clumsiness. If he wanted to befriend Harker, so he could go to London. The first thing he should have done was to have expelled his vampires Anna, Melissa, and Wanda, because he knew they would be too weak to resist temptation. In some cases the shields are weak as when he convinced the wolves to find the woman's son, and with Harker he was very clumsy. I also don't think it was a good idea to go by boat carrying the crew to their deaths. The explanations are very caught by the hair, and what has no excuse is Lucy's seduction. Stoker is Victorian, and it is normal for him to consider it indecent
Ladies and gentlemen after having my review of "Moby Dick" Fonch (Valladolid, 47002, Spain)'s review of Moby-Dick or, the Whale | ŷ . I didn't say it, but he pointed it out now, if there's anything I love. A guilty pleasure as my dear friend Julie Davis Julie Davis (Author of Happy Catholic) would say | ŷ Happy Catholic: Glimpses of God in Everyday Life by Julie Davis | ŷ . If there is something, that attracts me it is precisely a novel of adorable aquatic beings that eat people. As a friend of my father's said, "What is not morbid is not interesting." Unfortunately in this case the idyll with the cetacean did not work.
We move from a disappointment to one that is relatively so. Not why "The Dracula Tapes" (I prefer to use the title in English, although I like it more in Spanish). In Spanish the title was translated as The Voice of Dracula). However, although it is not as beautiful as the Spanish title, it is still more faithful to what this novel tells. Of course you can see my impressions of this novel on my Instagram account. Here my purpose is to expand on what was said.
I said this book is a relative disappointment, because I expected so much from it. Of the books that have entered the competition this year with the exception of "The Magdeburg Wedding" by Gretrud von Le Fort Gertrud von le Fort (Author of The Song at the Scaffold) | ŷ Die Magdeburgische Hochzeit by Gertrud von le Fort | ŷ of all the potential candidates to be the best fiction book of this year the book that has fallen along with the previously cited novel. There have been surprise guests at the party such as "The Third That Never Existed" by José Javier Esparza Fonch (Valladolid, 47002, Spain)'s review of The Third That Never Existed: Glory and Tragedy of Spanish Soldiers in Scotland | ŷ José Javier Esparza (Author of The Great Adventure of the Kingdom of Asturias) | ŷ, or "The Boy 44" Child 44 (Leo Demidov, #1) by Tom Rob Smith | ŷ . The other candidates were in my opinion serious candidates for victory as Anthony Burgess's "1985" 1985 by Anthony Burgess | ŷ (which despite the low rating it has in ŷ) seems to me a more than worthy variant of "1984" of Orwell 1984 by George Orwell | ŷ, almost better than the original, and closer to our reality. The other candidate, and it is logical was "Znachor" by Tadeus Mostowicz-Dolega, and more after that with "The race of Nykodim Dyzma" this will remain at the gates of triumph Fonch (Valladolid, 47002, Spain)'s review of Znachor | ŷ Fonch (Valladolid, 47002, Spain)'s review of La carrera De Nikodem Dyzma | ŷ Tadeusz Dołęga-Mostowicz (Author of Znachor) | ŷ and it was very likely that Giovani Papini could also sneak in, although I didn't think that "El libro negro" Fonch (Valladolid, 47002, Spain)'s review of Il libro nero | ŷ . You always have potential candidates in mind, and then some surprise guests are added to the party. In English this word would be described as outsider, and then unfortunately there are people, who without offering a bad level are demanded so much that they are below expectations, and this is the case.
The first thing I must say is that Fred Saberhagen Berserker Series by Fred Saberhagen | ŷ Fred Saberhagen (Author of Berserker) | ŷ author of this novel is for me one of the great writers of science fiction, and one of the most underrated. I had heard about him from Sandra E. Miesel Sandra Miesel (Contributor of Lost Dorsai) | ŷ and I looked for the very little (we already know how Spanish publishers work. A little more will be said in front of this matter.) Unfortunately, Fred Saberhagen has only had five books published in my country. Two of his Berserker saga in which humanity fights space battles against machines. One of these stories emulates the battle of Lepanto, and another story of his inspired my friend Professor Manuel Alfonseca Manuel Alfonseca (Author of El Agua de la Vida) | ŷun article in his scientific blog Divulciencia (by the way to the user both English-speaking and Spanish I recommend my friend's books). Another work in his Berserker "Brother Assassin" Brother Assassin saga (Berserker, #2) by Fred Saberhagen | ŷ seemed to me a very worthy imitation of Poul Anderson's "The Time Patrol" by Poul Anderson | ŷ Poul Anderson (Author of Tau Zero) | ŷ . Particularly interesting about "Brother Assassin" is the final chapter that deals with one of the most decisive clashes between science and faith in history with one of the most beautiful medieval legends. The courage and bravery of Saberhagen in this story is very surprising. Another gem that was published in this country of his was "Píramides" Pilgrim Series by Fred Saberhagen | ŷ a novel that leaves Rick Riordan's Kane saga The Kane Chronicles Series by Rick Riordan | ŷ Rick Riordan (Author of The Lightning Thief) | ŷ crying with envy the quality of this novel by Saberhagen that does not stop having a touch to Stargate, and here is the weak point, which the Professor confessed to me. The impossibility of reproducing in a Newtonian world the universe that Saberhagen creates, but despite this great defect, it is perhaps the most interesting novel of alternative Egypt I have ever read.
Of the Dracula saga only two books were published this one that I am commenting for the users of ŷ, and crossroad that mixes Dracula, and Sherlock Holmes, which could be more interesting than this novel. I don't know if I've said it on other occasions, but neither Dracula nor Sherlock Holmes fascinates me Dracula by Bram Stoker | ŷ Sherlock Holmes Series by Arthur Conan Doyle | ŷ On the other hand, I am much more interested in pastiches, or what popular genius has done with these myths in the world of video games, comics, and movies. In fact, I loved the Sherlock Holmes pastiche written by Cay van Ash Ten Years Beyond Baker Street: by Cay Van Ash | ŷ (in Spain it was titled Sherlock Holmes vs. Fu Manchu) that allows Sherlock Holmes to meet the sinister Fu Manchu, and that mixes the two worlds. Something similar is done by Fred Saberhagen allowing Dracula's (who is not Stoker's) encounter with the Baker Street detective. There are much more interesting variants of Dracula, but they have not had that impact such as Jules Verne's "The Castle of the Carpathians by Jules Verne | ŷ or "The Bloody Doll" by the almost always interesting Gaston Leroux La poupée sanglante (La poupée sanglante, #1) by Gaston Leroux | ŷ Gaston Leroux (Author of The Phantom of the Opera) | ŷ . You will have seen that I have given Dracula 4 stars do not be fooled. Actually, what it has is (2'5/5), but in ŷ there are no half stars so it should have 3 stars, but it happens that the edition I have evaluated is the annotated edition of Leslie S. Klinger Leslie S. Klinger (Author of The Sherlock Holmes Book) | ŷ that every lover worth his salt of Dracula can have, and that is a collector's gem, such as "The Annotated Hobbit" by Douglas A. Anderson Le Hobbit annoté by J.R.R. Tolkien | ŷ Douglas A. Anderson (Author of Tales Before Tolkien) | ŷ . There was mention of "Dracula Tapes" and "Anno Dracula" by Kim Newman Anno Dracula (Anno Dracula, #1) by Kim Newman | ŷ , Kim Newman (Author of Anno Dracula) | ŷ that are actually alternative stories, or retellings of bram Stoker's work.
I have been reading many reviews of "The Dracula Tapes" and the one that is most successful is undoubtedly Olethros, but he disagreed that he shot the original, although the great failure of this novel, is that if he does not shoot him he has to take parts of it. Saberhagen does not make this book his. The most he does is try to recount Stoker's Dracula from the point of view of Count Dracula himself. Vlad (here is one of the intelligent variants introduced by Fred Saberhagen), the already equating Dracula with Vlad Tepes II the impaler belonging to the Order of the Dragon, and together with Skandenberg fought to prevent the religion of peace and love, and the plus for the room from spreading peacefully through central Europe *irony in case no one has captured it*. I'm sorry, but an irresistible impulse made me write this comment. More after the hostile comments my review received from the book of The Crusades by Dan Jones Fonch (Valladolid, 47002, Spain)'s review of Crusaders: The Epic History of the Wars for the Holy Lands | ŷ . In fact, in this review I plan to take some outstanding accounts, but always trying to be as measured, and charitable as possible, invoking the spirit of my beloved G.K. Chesterton G.K. Chesterton (Author of Orthodoxy) | ŷ as does my admired Joseph Pearce Joseph Pearce (Author of Tolkien) | ŷ, when he must refute authentic barbarities poured out by critics, and intellectuals of half hair.
I don't know if you know, but this novel inspired the wonderful film (although now in an exercise in political correctness Mr. Copolla denies it). I'm referring to Bram Stoker's Dracula, where it goes to me seems to surpass the material in which it is supposedly inspired. I already say another flaw, which can throw back some medrous readers. This novel will not please those who think that Count Dracula is the embodiment of evil, as a journalist who worked in a religious supplement believed, and who by the way block me on twitter for saying, do not worry that I would not pay you with money, as if you would think of perversions. When what I wanted to propose is that he will dedicate himself to promoting certain Catholic and Protestant writers that I have met in ŷ (the list allowed me to draw up that list that can be partially seen in my review of the "King receives" Fonch (Valladolid, 47002, Spain)'s review of The King Receives | ŷ) if my plan had been heeded, my idea of re-evangelizing Spain, and Western Europe, through fiction, could have been advanced, but since my absurd ideas were always ignored, they did not even let me expose them. Because it's all very well to say that a movie adulterates, and corrupts the myth. Allowing that a variant cannot be allowed, but instead promoting a literature that does not encourage a Catholic fiction, and sometimes is anti-Catholic, as was the case with certain books recommended by that religious weekly. One of his books more or less said that we had to shut up against the Chinese dictatorship, so that Catholics would grow up in China. Another book recommended by this weekly was an anthology of Walking Dead with podemite proclamations Worlds Z: Sociologies of the zombie genre by Mariano Urraco Solanilla | ŷ, while attacking the only party trying to defend the Catholic religion. This newspaper tried to rescue the left-wing reader without realizing that along the way he was losing right-wing readers, who because of these vagaries are increasingly irreligious. Not to mention that they were more devoted to politics than to dealing with questions concerning the Church. Suffice it to say, that for reasons like that I stopped reading it, and I am satisfied, because Religion in Freedom gives them a thousand turns, and it is much closer to my points of view. As for me I have never blocked anyone on twitter, and that I have had very hard discussions with palmeros of Teruel Existe (I am surprised that these people talked about repopulating empty Spain, and do not propose a law to repeal the abortion law, or to promote a law in favor of the family. So I have my most serious doubts about the effectiveness of these platforms. No offense to the contrary). I also quarreled with someone from India, because of the dead numbers of the Holodomor, and there I do recognize, that I lost control, but they should not see me as a psychopath, or a bully (actually what I am is very heavy), but as a person who tries to do what he considers fair. Recently in a tweet from a friend in the wake of the Hazard issue, he told me that if you kissed the ex in front of the girlfriend. Well, he kisses her. Here I allow myself a digression, it may not come to mind, but I think it is absolutely necessary. For me the great evil that Spain suffers, and much of the world is that the forms, and the parameters of civics, and education are being lost. Society is becoming more tense, and more divided, and people only use social media to pour out their bile, and their hatred, and this I think in the long run is going to be harmful, and one day it will cause great evil. For me the great evil is original sin, and the worst of its effects is hatred, and divisions between family, friends, and partners. I may disagree with a person because of their political, cultural, and religious beliefs, but I try not to hate them. That would be the easy way, but it is not the way God told us to follow, but that of the cross. We were told to love our neighbor, not whoever we want, but what merit we would have even prostitutes, publicans, and gentiles do that. That a person has failed in a relationship does not mean that he should hate the other. I have never had a girlfriend, but if I had had one, and I had failed, I would not vent my hatred on her, nor would I try to hate her. I only say one thing to people that they are not afraid of me and I hope not to provoke them with my interventions neither anxiety, nor anger, nor fear.
Returning to Dracula after this digression perhaps the only original of this book is the beginning where Dracula leaves his voice recorded, and tries to justify himself to the Harkers, that what his enemies (read Bram Stoker's version) is false, and in this recording he retells Stoker's novel from his point of view. I said of the version of Olethros that seems to me the most intelligent, that Saberhagen I do not believe, that what he does is to do as the politician in power who answered the opposition. That's what Dracula does try to bring down, and delegitimize what his enemies have said about him. The problem is that except for some discrepancies he is telling us the same thing. The big flaw is that Saberhagen does not take this earth to his land, and does not manage to escape Stoker's version, which ends up parasitizing, and devouring the story of Saberhagen. That despite the criticism of that journalist she had her right to tell her story. I belong to the group Catholic Vampire al que pertenecen Eleanor Bourg Nicholson A Bloody Habit de Eleanor Bourg Nicholson | ŷ , Eleanor Bourg Nicholson (Autora de A Bloody Habit) | ŷ , Karen Ullo Karen Ullo (Autora de Jennifer the Damned) | ŷ , Gabiel Blanchard Gabriel Blanchard (Autor de Death's Dream Kingdom) | ŷ o J.B. Toner J.B. Toner (Autor de Whisper Music) | ŷ . Tengo otros amigos católicos, y protestantes que no pertenecen a est grupo, pero que han tratado éste tema como Werner A. Lind Werner A. Lind (Author of Lifeblood) | ŷ , Ellen C. Maze Ellen C. Maze (Autora de Rabbit) | ŷ , Jerry Guern No Moon To Pray To por Jerry Guern | ŷ Jerry Guern (Autor de No Moon To Pray To) | ŷ mi amiga Fiorella de Maria (junto con K.V. Turley) ha sucumbido recientemente a éste fenómeno en una de sus últimas novelas This Thing of Darkness by K.V. Turley | ŷ K.V. Turley (Autor de This Thing of Darkness) | ŷ Books de Fiorella De Maria A Bloody Habit by Eleanor Bourg Nicholson | ŷ , Eleanor Bourg Nicholson (Author of A Bloody Habit) | ŷ , Karen Ullo Karen Ullo (Author of Jennifer the Damned) | ŷ , Gabriel Blanchard Gabriel Blanchard (Author of Death's Dream Kingdom) | ŷ J.B. Toner (Author of Whisper Music) | ŷ . Werner A. Lind (Author of Lifeblood) | ŷ , Ellen C. Maze Ellen C. Maze (Author of Rabbit) | ŷ , Jerry Guern No Moon To Pray To by Jerry Guern | ŷ Jerry Guern (Author of No Moon To Pray To) | ŷ This Thing of Darkness by K.V. Turley | ŷ K.V. Turley (Author of This Thing of Darkness) | ŷ Books by Fiorella De Maria (Author of Poor Banished Children) | ŷ
Answering that journalist, Can a vampire be saved? This is a topic that my friend and I have discussed a lot. If the vampire is a demonic creature, it cannot be saved. This is what this journalist seems to believe. Leonardo Castellani Leonardo Castellani (Author of Cómo sobrevivir intelectualmente al siglo XXI) | ŷ in an essay on literary archetypes he makes it very clear, that while the Tenorio (the mocker), Hamlet the skeptic could save himself not so the Faust, because who sells his soul to the Devil his destiny is hell. However, if that vampirism is not the work of a demonic possession, it is possible. Already the French writer Paul Feval Paul Féval père (Author of Le Bossu) | ŷ already in his account of the vampire woman Paul Féval père (Author of Le Bossu) | ŷ Tratado sobre los vampiros by Antoine Augustin Calmet | ŷ The Bride Of Corinth And Other Poems by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe | ŷ they already talked about this possibility (vampirism does not begin with Stoker has father Calmet as its precursor and the first account is Goethe's Bride of Corinth and there are many stories like those of Tieck, Tolstoy, or Francis Marion Crawford to cite my favorites) F. Marion Crawford (Author of The Upper Berth) | ŷ Mr. Stoker is not the Bible, and he can be refuted. I recognize that the novel without being bad (which it is not) goes from more to less, and that as we move forward it loses interest. Sometimes (I have not said this, but as Sir Thomas More said Thomas More (Author of Utopia) | ŷ that if the Devil asked for his defense, and he was right, he would have to give it to him, so everyone deserves a lawyer) Dracua's attempts to defend himself are very clumsy. Because if he did not deliberately commit the villainy that his enemies refer to him, it shows his clumsiness. If he wanted to befriend Harker, so he could go to London. The first thing he should have done was to have expelled his vampires Anna, Melissa, and Wanda, because he knew they would be too weak to resist temptation. In some cases the shields are weak as when he convinced the wolves to find the woman's son, and with Harker he was very clumsy. I also don't think it was a good idea to go by boat carrying the crew to their deaths. The explanations are very caught by the hair, and what has no excuse is Lucy's seduction. Stoker is Victorian, and it is normal for him to consider it indecent
February 7, 2016
Here we have the "true" story of Dracula. Well at least the story from Dracula's point of view. He defends himself and his actions as told in the original novel. Good read. Very recommended
January 8, 2017
Bram Stoker's classic rewritten from Dracula's point of view. And guess what...?
He's the good guy !
I loved this. Spend almost the entire audiobook laughing. Good thing I listened to it at home. Of course I'm a fan of the original, so I guess I was fair game on this one.
Special mention to the narrator who did an amazing job personifying Vlad, with all his humor and volatile temper. I especially enjoyed how insincere he sounded sometimes.
Many of the flaws from the first novel have been exploited, or explained away with brio. If you ever had, like me, some questions about Stoker's plot,
they'll be answered here.
Some parts were a bit weaker, but I guess even Fred Saberhagen couldn't do better with the ship or Mina's story. Or maybe Vlad was just a bit less convincing on these parts ;)
All in all, it was amazing. But to enjoy it to the fullest, you have of course to like the original and not minding read or listen to the same story again, even if a bit... different.
He's the good guy !
I loved this. Spend almost the entire audiobook laughing. Good thing I listened to it at home. Of course I'm a fan of the original, so I guess I was fair game on this one.
Special mention to the narrator who did an amazing job personifying Vlad, with all his humor and volatile temper. I especially enjoyed how insincere he sounded sometimes.
Many of the flaws from the first novel have been exploited, or explained away with brio. If you ever had, like me, some questions about Stoker's plot,
they'll be answered here.
Some parts were a bit weaker, but I guess even Fred Saberhagen couldn't do better with the ship or Mina's story. Or maybe Vlad was just a bit less convincing on these parts ;)
All in all, it was amazing. But to enjoy it to the fullest, you have of course to like the original and not minding read or listen to the same story again, even if a bit... different.
January 8, 2008
This is an old novel, but still a long time favorite, and one I have reread quite a few times. Saberhagen essentially took the Stoker "Dracula" story, and told it from Dracula's point of view. He also brings up certain details that I never considered in reading the original, that does call into question some of the events in the Stoker story. This turned out to be the first in a series of Dracula novels by Saberhagen. The only one that I really feel had close to the same level of enjoyment was The Holmes/Dracula File. (yes, just what it sounds like)
December 6, 2019
I knew this was going to be a retelling of Dracula from the point of view of Count Dracula himself, so I thought a great idea would be to read the original so I would get any references in Saberhagen's novel.
That ended up being a big mistake: Saberhagen liberally quotes from Dracula (he retains a lot of dialogue and he quotes passages from the diary-style format of the original), and Dracula was too fresh on my mind--I should've waited a few months before reading The Dracula Tape.
All that combined to frustrate me, since I would've enjoyed this book because Saberhagen otherwise has a more relatable writing style than Stoker's. In addition, I think a few conceits that the author employed made things a bit more difficult: the frame story is that Dracula is telling the story of this book into a tape recorder, but aside from a few comments, it doesn't really have an impact, and because Stoker is quoting from the "diaries" in Dracula, it ends up straining credulity.
I feel like the author was trying to thread the needle of casting Dracula as a good-ish guy without changing as many of the events of the novel as he could, but failed by sticking a little too closely--especially since Dracula still does some not great things or I have no reason to believe Dracula over the human characters.
I will say, though, that I enjoyed Saberhagen pointing out some various plot holes that Stoker had in the original and making fun of the male characters for condescending to Mina Harker.
That ended up being a big mistake: Saberhagen liberally quotes from Dracula (he retains a lot of dialogue and he quotes passages from the diary-style format of the original), and Dracula was too fresh on my mind--I should've waited a few months before reading The Dracula Tape.
All that combined to frustrate me, since I would've enjoyed this book because Saberhagen otherwise has a more relatable writing style than Stoker's. In addition, I think a few conceits that the author employed made things a bit more difficult: the frame story is that Dracula is telling the story of this book into a tape recorder, but aside from a few comments, it doesn't really have an impact, and because Stoker is quoting from the "diaries" in Dracula, it ends up straining credulity.
I feel like the author was trying to thread the needle of casting Dracula as a good-ish guy without changing as many of the events of the novel as he could, but failed by sticking a little too closely--especially since Dracula still does some not great things or I have no reason to believe Dracula over the human characters.
I will say, though, that I enjoyed Saberhagen pointing out some various plot holes that Stoker had in the original and making fun of the male characters for condescending to Mina Harker.
July 15, 2009
The Dracula Tape by Fred Saberhagen is a book with the power to make me go WOOT. Well it's got vampires in it which helps. But more importantly this is a bloody good book!
Back when I first read it in 2000 I wrote the following review on Amazon UK.
"This is a gem in my opinion. The case for the defense as it were and in places it truely tears the prosecution (Dracula by Bram Stoker of course :-)) to shreds. In others the defense case has it's own weaknesses but I suspect this was deliberately done by Saberhagen. There are three sides to every story, your side, my side and the truth inbetween. So now we have two sides... will we ever have the third? Well not until the Dracula tape goes out of Copyright I guess :-). That's the one problem the dracula tape, it does quote large chunks of Dracula verbatim, then again it never claims to do otherwise. This is not a book that could have been written while the original was still in copyright. Then again we have our imaginations... don't we."
I stick by this even now nine years later. (Though hopefully with better punctuation and without the missing words). This book is still a gem.
It's no spoiler to say that this novel consists of Dracula telling his version of the events of "Dracula" by Bram Stoker to the descendents of Jonathan and Mina Harker while they tape it. That's just the starting point for a very interesting sideways look at "Dracula".
Saberhagen's novel is in many ways a deconstruction of Stoker's most famous work. It gleefully points out all the plot holes in "Dracula". Plot holes that when considered at length make Stoker's storyline a real mess. I will say no more, because if I describe the plot holes there's no point in reading Saberhagen's classy tale.
It's these plot holes that allow Saberhagen to have Dracula make a compelling -- if occasionally rocky -- case in his own defense.
The book is actually the first in a series but I have only read the original book.
My verdict: Classy, witty and very imaginative. This is definately a novel I recommend to anyone and everyone.
Back when I first read it in 2000 I wrote the following review on Amazon UK.
"This is a gem in my opinion. The case for the defense as it were and in places it truely tears the prosecution (Dracula by Bram Stoker of course :-)) to shreds. In others the defense case has it's own weaknesses but I suspect this was deliberately done by Saberhagen. There are three sides to every story, your side, my side and the truth inbetween. So now we have two sides... will we ever have the third? Well not until the Dracula tape goes out of Copyright I guess :-). That's the one problem the dracula tape, it does quote large chunks of Dracula verbatim, then again it never claims to do otherwise. This is not a book that could have been written while the original was still in copyright. Then again we have our imaginations... don't we."
I stick by this even now nine years later. (Though hopefully with better punctuation and without the missing words). This book is still a gem.
It's no spoiler to say that this novel consists of Dracula telling his version of the events of "Dracula" by Bram Stoker to the descendents of Jonathan and Mina Harker while they tape it. That's just the starting point for a very interesting sideways look at "Dracula".
Saberhagen's novel is in many ways a deconstruction of Stoker's most famous work. It gleefully points out all the plot holes in "Dracula". Plot holes that when considered at length make Stoker's storyline a real mess. I will say no more, because if I describe the plot holes there's no point in reading Saberhagen's classy tale.
It's these plot holes that allow Saberhagen to have Dracula make a compelling -- if occasionally rocky -- case in his own defense.
The book is actually the first in a series but I have only read the original book.
My verdict: Classy, witty and very imaginative. This is definately a novel I recommend to anyone and everyone.
December 7, 2012
This book was a bit underwhelming. I kept thinking of that scene from the movie version of Interview with the Vampire (I can't remember if it was in the book or not) where Tom Cruise said to Christian Slater something to the effect of "Man, aren't you sick of that whining?" That's pretty much Dracula in this book "I'm so misunderstood! Van Helsing was just a big meanie!" And so on.
As I understand it, this is the first (or at least one of the first) in the "vampires aren't really so bad after all" line of books, only later to be matched by "Interview with the Vampire", the Chairlane Harris things, and that series where they glitter instead of explode. So well done Mr. Saberhagen there. And I fully admit that this particular retelling of Dracula from the vampire's point of view was also clever. The problem was, it was a retelling of Dracula. There was some innovation, but by and large it was the same story (and the innovation wasn't good enough to make up for it).
That said, Saberhagen is a competent enough writer. So this book is worthy enough if you're looking for an older take on the vampire legend.
As I understand it, this is the first (or at least one of the first) in the "vampires aren't really so bad after all" line of books, only later to be matched by "Interview with the Vampire", the Chairlane Harris things, and that series where they glitter instead of explode. So well done Mr. Saberhagen there. And I fully admit that this particular retelling of Dracula from the vampire's point of view was also clever. The problem was, it was a retelling of Dracula. There was some innovation, but by and large it was the same story (and the innovation wasn't good enough to make up for it).
That said, Saberhagen is a competent enough writer. So this book is worthy enough if you're looking for an older take on the vampire legend.
September 7, 2012
Seeing that 'Dracula' was the first classic novel I truly fell in love with, I am always on the lookout for pastiches and have found, like in most other venues of art, there are many, many bad ones; however a friend suggested this to me and I was more than willing to give it a go.
And I'm so glad I did! Usually the narration of these types of novels gets a bit muddled and lost when trying to craft a new story within the limits of the already existing story; however, this being narrated be Dracula himself gave the story the clarity and whole new point of view it needed to both work and be independent, but still existing within Stoker's world.
If you are at all interested in Dracula, or real vampires (aka not Twilight ones) the I highly recommend this to you and hope you love it as much if not more than I did. It's a wonderful new side of a classic, that's not often done justice.
And I'm so glad I did! Usually the narration of these types of novels gets a bit muddled and lost when trying to craft a new story within the limits of the already existing story; however, this being narrated be Dracula himself gave the story the clarity and whole new point of view it needed to both work and be independent, but still existing within Stoker's world.
If you are at all interested in Dracula, or real vampires (aka not Twilight ones) the I highly recommend this to you and hope you love it as much if not more than I did. It's a wonderful new side of a classic, that's not often done justice.
March 1, 2012
Saberhagen really knows the source text and is true to the original story, although he does add a few scenes that suit his purpose. I was anxious to read this one after enjoying Seance for a Vampire, in which Drac meets Holmes and Watson. In that book Drac was a formidable ally, full of swagger and charisma. In The Dracula Tape not so much. He came off to me as, dare I say it, a whiner--complaining that he got blamed for this or that or trying to make himself seem to be the good guy in the story. He is one of the great villains of all time but seems very uncomfortable with the role. I really wanted the strong, swaggering, formidable Count (of the original or of Saberhagen's Seance for a Vampire) back and didn't recognize the guy in this book. I will keep reading, but this isn't my favorite of the series.
August 14, 2019
THE DRACULA TAPE is an amusing retelling of the novel Dracula from the perspective of the count where he is just a misunderstood foreigner (and vampire) who decides to seduce the young women of England yet gets mistaken for a monster by the psychotic Van Helsing. The story is from the perspective of the Count attempting to clear his name and is quite amusing. It doesn't entirely hold up as a "defense" but I assume the count is using some artistic license. I listened to the audiobook version and think the narrator did a good job with his theatrical Slavic accent. The "joke" wears a bit thin by the end but remained entertaining. I'll probably go on to read more books in the series.
9/10
9/10
December 15, 2012
This is a re-telling of Bram Stoker's Dracula from the point of view of the vampire himself. I thought the book well written but found myself bored at times as it was a little too much of a "re-telling" with multiple excerpts from the original text.
3 1/2 STARS
3 1/2 STARS
December 26, 2017
Good light-hearted fun.
August 10, 2020
Хм...
Интересна като цяло, но твърде бързо омръзва.
Книгата разказва историята на Стокър, но от гледна точка на граф Дракула. Саберхаген се е придържал стриктно към оригинала, което му изиграва лоша шега в един момент.
Някъде през седемдесетте години наследниците на Джонатан и Мина Харкър засядат в колата си по време на снежна буря. Там за няколко часа имат неканен гост, който оставя няколко касетки с устна изповед, относно събитията обхващащи оригиналния роман.
Дракула, естествено се изкарва невинна жертва на обстоятелствата и човешката глупост. Първите стотина страници бяха забавни. Сабеерхаген/Дракула успява убедително да направи Джонатан наивен глупак, Луси - лекомислена кифла, ван Хелзинг - садистичен извратеняк и прочие. Смял съм се с глас, но само хуморът не е достатъчен и бързо омръзва. А, и разбрах най-после от къде дойде романса между Влад и Мина във филма на Копола - там Саберхаген е сценарист и се вижда, че още от тук му е фикс идея.
В последната третина - пътуването с Царица Катерина/Ориент експрес - най-сетне авторът е успял да поеме малко въздух и си позволява да избяга от стокъровия коловоз, което обещава следващите книги, изцяло на чичо Фред, да са бомба.
Все пак, когато отнемеш от ужаса на Дракула и го направиш човек, отнемаш почти целия чар на образа, а и тая любовна история за капак...
Другото - Саберхаген е сладкодумен, но там където директно е цитирал Стокър се вижда как издиша пред уменията със словото на класика.
Интересна като цяло, но твърде бързо омръзва.
Книгата разказва историята на Стокър, но от гледна точка на граф Дракула. Саберхаген се е придържал стриктно към оригинала, което му изиграва лоша шега в един момент.
Някъде през седемдесетте години наследниците на Джонатан и Мина Харкър засядат в колата си по време на снежна буря. Там за няколко часа имат неканен гост, който оставя няколко касетки с устна изповед, относно събитията обхващащи оригиналния роман.
Дракула, естествено се изкарва невинна жертва на обстоятелствата и човешката глупост. Първите стотина страници бяха забавни. Сабеерхаген/Дракула успява убедително да направи Джонатан наивен глупак, Луси - лекомислена кифла, ван Хелзинг - садистичен извратеняк и прочие. Смял съм се с глас, но само хуморът не е достатъчен и бързо омръзва. А, и разбрах най-после от къде дойде романса между Влад и Мина във филма на Копола - там Саберхаген е сценарист и се вижда, че още от тук му е фикс идея.
В последната третина - пътуването с Царица Катерина/Ориент експрес - най-сетне авторът е успял да поеме малко въздух и си позволява да избяга от стокъровия коловоз, което обещава следващите книги, изцяло на чичо Фред, да са бомба.
Все пак, когато отнемеш от ужаса на Дракула и го направиш човек, отнемаш почти целия чар на образа, а и тая любовна история за капак...
Другото - Саберхаген е сладкодумен, но там където директно е цитирал Стокър се вижда как издиша пред уменията със словото на класика.
April 18, 2025
I really enjoy reading Dracula's point of view.
March 31, 2016
I rather enjoyed this alternate retelling of Dracula. The basic premise is this: Count Dracula, tired of being maligned for years (remember, Bram Stoker's novel was published in 1897 and this book takes place in the 1970s), decides to tell his side of the story. For hours, he speaks into a tape recorder telling his version of events. He isn't quite as bad as everyone thinks he is, and the group of people who pursued him (Jonathan Harker, Abraham Van Helsing, and the like) were bumbling idiots at best and malicious at worst.
For those readers who reviewed it and criticized the fact that we know both the story line (since the events of Bram Stoker's novel are present in this one) and the ending (presumably, if Dracula still exists in the 1970s, Van Helsing and his posse didn't succeed in killing him, if killing is the right word to use for the undead!), I want to ask: why read this book?! If you want something new and with a surprising ending, it's probably smarter not to read a book that is a retelling of a classic. It's like complaining about knowing the end of Wide Sargasso Sea. Since this novel overlaps and complements the events described in Jane Eyre, of course one would know the basic premise of the ending if one has read the original work!
So yes, I quite enjoyed this book. I enjoyed Dracula's voice throughout it. I think the author did a good job of capturing his erudite, slightly old-fashioned English. And the fact that Dracula's actually quite witty makes the book all the more enjoyable to read. There are nine other books following this one, if I remember correctly, and I enjoyed this one enough to want to seek out the others.
For those readers who reviewed it and criticized the fact that we know both the story line (since the events of Bram Stoker's novel are present in this one) and the ending (presumably, if Dracula still exists in the 1970s, Van Helsing and his posse didn't succeed in killing him, if killing is the right word to use for the undead!), I want to ask: why read this book?! If you want something new and with a surprising ending, it's probably smarter not to read a book that is a retelling of a classic. It's like complaining about knowing the end of Wide Sargasso Sea. Since this novel overlaps and complements the events described in Jane Eyre, of course one would know the basic premise of the ending if one has read the original work!
So yes, I quite enjoyed this book. I enjoyed Dracula's voice throughout it. I think the author did a good job of capturing his erudite, slightly old-fashioned English. And the fact that Dracula's actually quite witty makes the book all the more enjoyable to read. There are nine other books following this one, if I remember correctly, and I enjoyed this one enough to want to seek out the others.
May 5, 2013
This book is a very entertaining breath of fresh air. I was always left a little underwhelmed by Stoker's original text, and I always wanted to believe that there was more to Dracula than meets the eye. Saberhagen fulfills that belief of mine. He turns the Count into a totally different but at the same time familiar character. He's also very likeable. I love how the premise of this story is a clearing up of matters by Dracula. He's been slandered in Stoker's text and he's now setting the record straight. I simply LOVE it! It's a very funny book, and Saberhagen knows his original text very well. Yes, he does take liberties with the source material, but the very nature of this book will require him to. Thankfully, he does it very well. Sure, this book has now totally colored my understanding of Dracula, but I don't care. I'd like to think that Dracula was a misunderstood vampire.
November 9, 2014
The Dracula Tape is a wonderful retelling of the classic story from Dracula's perspective. It is an exceptionally easy read in which Dracula is portrayed as a fallible, rational, introspective being, not at all like the cold, calculating, ravenous predator as told from living's point of view in Bram Stoker's work. Because of my esteem for the classic story, Saberhagen's portrayal of the events of that story from the Count's perspective was so much fun to read. Simply a fanciful twist to a wonderful story. There is not much new in terms of plot or events so I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series, The Holmes-Dracula File. For which I've seen there have been better reviews than for books later in the series. A definite recommendation from me for fans of Dracula.
November 6, 2020
Overall interesting look at the Dracula tale from Dracula's point of view. Not entirely certain what lies ahead in what seems an overly long series stemming from this idea. I have several more of the books, but have now satisfied my curiosity and don't think I'll be returning any time soon.
Reasonably well-written, with a mocking, self-deprecating tone by our protagonist, which I appreciated, yet was a trifle bored with. Once all was said (and said and said) and done, really not too much had happened other than telling readers the other side of the story. So - lots of telling about, not much of the doing.
Reasonably well-written, with a mocking, self-deprecating tone by our protagonist, which I appreciated, yet was a trifle bored with. Once all was said (and said and said) and done, really not too much had happened other than telling readers the other side of the story. So - lots of telling about, not much of the doing.
August 23, 2017
Definitely a unique take on the Dracula mythos. I was put off initially because it was just that different, and I'm generally a purist at heart. But as I read on and saw it as more of a perspective change than a retelling or alternate version it became fascinating. Fred Saberhagen never disappoints in his writing either. Very well done.
August 29, 2018
In 1970s America, Dracula tells tale to descendants of Mina and Jonathan Harker. This book is from the cassette recordings made of that story.
The driven, near-homicidal Dr. Van Helsing and his band of mislead heroes against the VERY maligned Count and his true love.
Romance, adventure, tragedy, and someone finally explaining the ending of Stoker's novel, which just never made sense.
The driven, near-homicidal Dr. Van Helsing and his band of mislead heroes against the VERY maligned Count and his true love.
Romance, adventure, tragedy, and someone finally explaining the ending of Stoker's novel, which just never made sense.
July 20, 2017
Dracula in modern-day (or rather, 1980s) America. Well-written and workmanlike, but not a keeper in my opinion. There were other books in this series: Thorn is the only other title I can remember.
June 12, 2022
I'll give it three and a half stars, particularly for a strong and emotional ending. It was a quick read and entertaining. I had a few issues that kept it from rating more stars, though. 1). I'm used to Saberhagen's heightened language in his Fantasy and SF but there's none of that here. The prose is workmanlike, although it certainly kept me reading. 2). The book is almost exclusively telling rather than showing. There's little dramatization. It's an interesting story but I'd have enjoyed more visuals, which I usually get in spades from Saberhagen. 3). This is a retelling of Dracula from the point of view of the count. As such, there's no suspense, at least if you've read Dracula. There's curiosity about how the count escapes the Dracula ending but no more than that.
This series has at least 9 books in it and I enjoyed this one enough to go on to book two, entitled "The Holmes-Dracula File." If it doesn't bring in some dramatization there I may not read further.
This series has at least 9 books in it and I enjoyed this one enough to go on to book two, entitled "The Holmes-Dracula File." If it doesn't bring in some dramatization there I may not read further.
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