Dracula: The Un-Dead Goes Platinum

Just when I was starting to think that my cynicism over Dracula: the Un-Dead was misplaced, and that Dacre Stoker (who claims he'd rather go fly fishing and read Tom Clancy than have anything to do with vampires) isn't really just cashing in on his family name to produce an unnecessary sequel (and revision) to his great-grand-uncle's classic--along comes this:

That's right, it's a Dracula: The Un-Dead Platinum Visa card. According to Stoker junior's sales pitch in the official Dracula: The Un-Dead newsletter:

If the Dracula bloodline is in your DNA like it's in mine, you’ll want to carry this exclusive, limited edition Visa Card.

This amazing--did I mention it's a limited edition?--card is yours for no annual fee and low, low interest. And I'll bet you can use it to stock up on all sorts of Dracula: The Un-Dead official merchandise. Oh yeah, and there's a book in there somewhere.

Right.

Cynicism: comfortably back in place.

I'm not sure about anyone else but I'm getting pretty tired of people who are neither writers nor vampire fans writing books about vampires. To paraphrase Jorge Luis Borges, don't write unless you can improve the silence.

Dracula: The Un-Dead

The new trend in publishing seems to be making sequels for books that have entered the public domain. That these sequels almost always end up being abysmal doesn't seem to bother anyone. But forgive me if I'm not holding out much hope for Dracula: The Un-dead, even if (or maybe particularly because) it's written by Bram Stoker's great-grandnephew, Dacre (oh yeah, and Dracula historian Ian Holt). The mere fact that Dracula has been made over into a sympathetic character (effectively rewriting the original) is enough to set my skeptic sense tingling. I'll do my best, however, to reserve judgment until I actually get a chance to read it.

In the meantime, you might want to check out this preview, or visit the official website.

Dracula: The Undead by Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt. From Dutton. Available 13 October 2009.