Barbara Hambly: Renfield, Slave of Dracula
Nov. 8th, 2009 09:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ellarienRe-weaving of Bram Stoker's Dracula largely from the viewpoint of the lunatic Renfield, incorporating parts of the original but with a lot of new material. I'm not a huge fan of vampires in general, but I make an exception for authors I already enjoy, and I even went to the length of reading the original Dracula in preparation for this one.
I seem to remember wondering, when I read the original Dracula, how the unfortunate Renfield escaped vampirification. In this version, he doesn't, and continues to have pov and agency in his undead state, existing on the fringes of the rest of the original story. One of Dracula's wives also gets a personality and a certain amount of agency, and we also see a bit more of the inside of Van Helsing's head.
It seemed to me that the vampires have a slightly more modern vibe than Stoker gave them, more self-aware and even introspective, but mostly the grafting was seamless.
Worth reading if you like Hambly, vampires, or both. I read it in hardcover , but it was small enough for a purse book. (I wouldn't have wanted it for bedtime reading)
I seem to remember wondering, when I read the original Dracula, how the unfortunate Renfield escaped vampirification. In this version, he doesn't, and continues to have pov and agency in his undead state, existing on the fringes of the rest of the original story. One of Dracula's wives also gets a personality and a certain amount of agency, and we also see a bit more of the inside of Van Helsing's head.
It seemed to me that the vampires have a slightly more modern vibe than Stoker gave them, more self-aware and even introspective, but mostly the grafting was seamless.
Worth reading if you like Hambly, vampires, or both. I read it in hardcover , but it was small enough for a purse book. (I wouldn't have wanted it for bedtime reading)
