Synopsis
In 1792, Philip Radclife, the bastard son of Benjamin Franklin, comes to France to deliver a letter to Thomas Paine. But the guillotine of the Terror has the nation under its bloody blade - and he is caught up in a conflict more horrifying than the Revolution.
Unknowingly, he saves the life of Prince Vlad Dracula, the most eminent and honorable of the Nosferatu. In doing so, he makes a powerful ally, but by foiling Vlad's brother Radu's attempt at fratricide, he and his descendants are doomed eternally to suffer the vengeful assaults of a powerful vampire.
Now in 1996, the current Philip and June Radcliffe are kidnapped on their honeymoon. Their captor, a mysterious Mr. Graves, swears that he is trying to protect them. But as his thrilling story unfolds, involving Napoleon, Robespierre, Madame Tussaud, the Marquis de Sade, the Scarlet Pimpernel, and Charles Darnay as well as Jerry Cruncher and Detective Dupin, the young couple refuses to believe him - a mistake that is almost certain to cost them their lives.
Reviews
A year before Anne Rice published Interview with the Vampire, Saberhagen published The Dracula Tape (1975), in which he dreamed up a sympathetic vampire of his own, launching a horror subgenre. Now Saberhagen's Vlad Dracula returns for his ninth novel (after A Matter of Taste, etc.), still driven by a sense of honor and still explaining himself to humans; here, to two whose survival depends on their believing his supernatural origins and history. Thrills and chills are provided by Vlad's malevolent brother, Radu. The narrative flickers between two eras: Revolutionary France, where Vlad and his gypsy-vampire companion, Constantia, try to save Phillip Radcliffe, an illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin, from Radu and the guillotine, and modern America, where they kidnap Radcliffe's identically named descendant and his wife in order to save them from the still-vengeful Radu. There's plenty of crisp historical detail, including appearances by Napoleon and the Marquis de Sade. The series' ironic contrast between Vlad's innocence and the bloodlust of humans continues, with Vlad's aristocratic narrative voice (which alternates with third-person passages) continuing to impress. To be sure, the pace is languorous at times, but when you're spending quality time with someone who has centuries on his undead hands, what's the hurry?
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Intelligent mix of historical and modern-day vampirism, with the ninth return of Saberhagen's revisionist, sharing-and-caring Prince Vlad Dracula (S‚ance for a Vampire, 1994, etc), the most honorable of the undead. The wry punning title focuses on both the wonderful new guillotine devised for safer, more humane beheadings during the French Revolution and the vampire's traditional neckjob. In 1996, newlyweds Phillip and June Radcliffe are kidnapped by ``Mr. Graves'' (Vlad) and beautiful Constantia (a sexy fifteen?--no, closer to four hundred) and locked up in a desert hideout where they must review a five-hour tape that recounts the history of vampirism during the heyday of the French blade. The two are told they've been sequestered for their own good. But is this Graves a lunatic? Gradually, they begin to grasp the hidden message in the tape. In 1792, an American ancestor, also named Phillip Radcliffe, was sent by George Washington to deliver a message to Tom Paine in Paris. There, he happened to perform a good deed for Vlad, who swore on his honor that he would protect Phillip. At the same time, Vlad's archenemy, his younger brother, Radu, who had been buried decapitated over a hundred years earlier, managed to get his head back on and has once more set out to destroy Vlad. Vlad can't kill Radu because of an oath he gave his father that he would protect his brother. Phillip is arrested by revolutionaries and is sentenced to death. Radu sets a trap for Vlad that depends on Vlad trying to save Phillip. The modern Phillip manages to escape the desert hideout and in fleeing attracts Radu. In both ages, Phillip is bait for the brothers' lethal Machiavellian traps. Meanwhile, we are given much background on the development of the guillotine, as well as on wax-casting for a museum of celebrities in Paris. Neat, sober Saberhagen and immensely engaging. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Saberhagen adds another volume to his long-running, sadly underrated Dracula series that masterfully mixes historical and contemporary characters and settings. In 1790s France, Philip Radcliffe, an illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin, befriends Vlad Dracula, thereby incurring the enmity of Vlad's brother, Radu. Two hundred years later, a Radcliffe descendant and his bride are kidnapped and imprisoned by one Mr. Graves--for their own protection, he says. In fact, Radu is on the prowl again, and the Dracula version of a family feud has caught up with the young couple. By now, Saberhagen's well-imagined Dracula is almost an old friend to long-term followers of the series. Since this latest entry is well up to the highest standards, nobody is likely to be disappointed, unless libraries fail to shelve this one with its predecessors. Roland Green
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
