Dracula in London: All New Stories by Fred Saberhagen, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Tanya Huff, and Others

Most short story collections have a few gems, several average, and a lot of below average stories in them. This collection is mostly all gems. The stories really capture the theme of Dracula in London. My favorite is Box Number Fifty by Fred Saberhagen. There is also a rare second-person short story called Berserker by Nancy Kilpatrick. If you enjoy vampire fiction this is a great book for your collection.

Some stories are really good and i agree with one reviewer's comment about multiple personality problems due to multiple authors. Stories where Dracula rewards the poor lady for hiding his coffin from dracula hunters is very touching. Overall a good 1 hour read. Not much thrilling like original Dracula or even Dracula's Guest... but OK.

I am a vampire fan and when I found out about this book I have to get it. With such authors as Tanya Huff, Fred Saberhagen, P.N. Elrod and K.B. Bogen, this book is full of great works of the craft. Filled with humor and horror, it has something for anybody. And if you like somebody's work you can always use the information in the back of the book to find their other works. A must for any vampire library!

If you try to fit these stories into Bram Stoker's original novel, you will be very disappointed. The Count Draculas characterized in the various stories are all different. They clearly reflect each author's views on vampires. I sat down and read this book from front to end, and as I was reading it, I began to wonder if the Count had a serious multiple personality disorder. The Count Dracula in one story would morph into a completely different person when I turned the page to the next story.However, if you take each of these stories individually, most are very entertaining and well written. (Although I completely agree with what a previous reviewer said about K.B. Bogen's "Good Help" entry being thoroughly unfunny - having it included is the main reason I can't give this book 5 stars.)Each story takes the same starting point, namely 'Dracula in London', and runs with it. The fact that they each take a different route and end up in a completely different place makes it rather interesting. Reading each of these stories is really like speculating how Dracula might have looked, if he was originally conceived of in the 21st century instead of the 19th.

Just about everyone knows about the events that have taken place in Bram Stroker's Dracula. However, while he lived in Victorian England Dracula became involved with other people and events that the author chose to ignore. Mr. Stroker left it to some of the most famous writers of horror tales to complete the full picture by contributing fantastic stories to this anthology. Writers like Fred Saberhagen, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, and Nancy Kirkpatrick provide tales that show what the Transylvanian Count was doing in London. Tanya Huff focuses on Dracula's fascination on meeting the Prince of Wales. Nigel Bennett and PN Elrod have a Russian purposely travel to England to confront the prince of vampires. Elaine Bergstrom writes about a suffragette who needs Dracula's help. The entire collection is excellent as no one fails to hold up his or her weight. Mr. Stroker would have appreciated this anthology.Harriet Klausner