Renfield: Slave of Dracula

I am usually quite wary of novels based on classics being a firm believer that one should not tamper with historic greatness. However, every once in a while I stumble upon a truly unique interpretation, which redefines a time-tested tale, shedding new light on what might otherwise have been overlooked as it gathered cobwebs. Barbara Hambly's 2006 novel Renfield: Slave of Dracula is one such creation. With one of the strongest literary voices I have had the honor of reading to date, Hambly has managed to capture the eloquently gothic intonation of 19th century literature flawlessly weaving what feels like a seamless extension of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Through the eyes of Renfield, Dracula's imprisoned lunatic servant, and Jack Seward, the keeper of the asylum, the reader experiences the arrival of Dracula in a wholly more depraved and panic-inducing manner. Renfield, locked within his cell, pens letters to his wife Catherine and detailed journal entries which depict, not only the approach of his perceived master Dracula, but also his own rapid descent into madness. In a world of darkness and drug-sedated visions, Renfield becomes torn between his desire to please his new undead master and the three wives who now seek revenge for Dracula's pursuit of Lucy as a new addition to his harem. The fear is palpable, the madness seductively raw, amongst the characters as their beliefs all they know are tested in their fight against Dracula. It is a dismal world in which Hambly paints, thick with rain, blood and the scent of grave dirt and, yet, one cannot help but to continue turning the pages, faster and faster, for wonder of what shall happen next! Renfield: Slave of Dracula is a delicately sadistic novel of great literary merit. Hambly's words roll off one's tongue like absinthe, drawing the reader hopelessly down to the darkness where her characters dwell. I highly recommend this novel to any lover of gothic literature. It would be a wise addition to every collection of vampire literature! Indeed, Bram Stoker would have been proud!

I went into this book not expecting too much to be honest. I knew that it was a spin-off of Dracula focusing on Renfield, of course, and imagined it to be some sort of horrific, crazed lunatic badly done insult to Bram Stoker that I would read anyway just for fun. I couldn't have been more wrong! It was a wonderful book! Renfield: Slave of Dracula is written with the utmost respect for Bram Stoker's original work. Barbara Hambly did a remarkable job with this book. The book's main focus is, of course, the character of Renfield, resident of Dr. Seward's asylum who consumes life in the form of spiders and flies in the hopes of strengthening his own. Renfield comes to have visions and meetings with Dracula and quite literally becomes a slave of the mind to him calling him "Master." Hambly retells Bram Stoker's tale through the eye's of Renfield with this book and takes absolutely no liberties with Stoker's original story, which made me so happy! She certainly adds things that "weren't seen" in Stoker's original so that she does have her own novel, but when dealing with his own story, she changes nothing. The story is told through journal's written by Renfield from his cell that often start with an insect count, i.e.: "20 May 7 flies, 3 spiders", letters from Renfield to his wife and child, original passages from Stoker's Dracula, and through a third person narrative. Hambly has also worked in an incredible story involving the three vampire women that live in Dracula's castle that I loved. I'm not going to talk about it too much because I don't want to give much away, but one of the women by the name of Nomie was actually quite a beautiful character and one that I sympathized with quite a bit. There is one huge twist in the middle of the book that really makes this one her own. She picks up Renfield's story where Stoker ended it and I'm sure you can guess the basics of how she may have been able to do that. But I'll say no more, which really kills me because this is where we find out all kinds of cool stuff about Renfield. But of course it's all stuff that Hambly made up, not Stoker...but she really did a great job with it. Overall, I really, really enjoyed this book. It was handled perfectly. I was very leary about this one and in the wrong hands it could've been a travesty. But you can tell that Hambly has the utmost respect for Bram Stoker. What she has added to the character of Renfield fits well with what we knew of him from Dracula and the story that she creates is a fascinating one! Highly recommended for fans of this character!

For the most part Hambly's novel parallels Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) but she adds some interesting twists of her own. She tells the story through the eyes of Renfield. Stoker portrayed him as a pathetic character who spent his days in an asylum feeding on insects, spiders, and rats when not raving about the coming of his Master. But in this telling he is an intelligent but delusional man who believes that Dracula, his master, will give him the power he needs to return to his wife Catherine and their daughter Vixie. Renfield constantly writes to Catherine whom he believes lives in hiding from her malicious, controlling mother and sister. Through passionate letters he assures her that soon they will be together again. All of Stoker's characters make an appearance here - John Seward who runs the asylum where Renfield languishes; Jonathan Harker who recently escaped from the dread clutches of Dracula; Abraham Van Helsing, Dr Seward's mentor and the one person who recognizes the cause of Lucy Westenra's illness; Lucy Westenra, Dracula's first victim in England; and Mina Harker, the woman whose courage helps Van Helsing and Lucy's suitors track down the dread Count and destroy him. Hambly is a superb story teller and does an excellent job with this alternate view of the Dracula story.

Summary, no spoilers This is the story of Dracula, told mainly from the viewpoint of his fly/spider/rat eating slave, Renfield. (Some of the story is told from other characters viewpoints, because Renfield is not physically in a position to tell us all we need to know.) At the beginning of the book, Renfield is locked in an asylum run by the honorable Dr. Seward. We hear about Renfield's past, mainly through his letters to his wife Catherine, and their little girl. Hambly invents a plausible past for Renflield, and seeing the story through his eyes adds an interesting perspective to the legend. We see all the characters from Dracula, including the 3 vampire wives, and his seduction of Lucy and Mina. It is not necessary to read Dracula first, but I would recommend it because I realized that I had forgotten a lot of detail. This is a quick, fun read, and I guarantee you will not look at the Dracula legend in the same way again. Recommended.

Although his mother-in-law and sister-in-law committed Ryland Renfield to Dr. Seward's Rushbrook Asylum, his link to Dracula has not been severed. He sees Dracula seduce Lucy into the life of the Undead and observes Van Helsing and his minion end her "life". Dracula has Renfield invite him inside the asylum where he gains access to Mina Harker. In an action that will change his life forever, he makes a pact with the three wives of Dracula; they transform him into one of the Undead in return they do not want any more spousal rivals. Knowing he has lost his wife and daughter and in the thrall of the female undead, Renfield accompanies them to Transylvania to prepare for Dracula's return. The vampire hunters follow. Renfield hopes in the upcoming confrontation he will be one of the casualties as he loathes his existence, but cannot eliminate himself by his own hand. The Dracula legend unfolds from the perspective of Renfield, a servant of the Count and his three wives before turning into a vampire too. Barbara Hambly does a brilliant job of recreating the saga with her unique voice. Locked away in an asylum as many of the events unfold, he sees what is happening through the mind link and that drives him deeper into madness and violence until he makes a devil's deal with the three wives. Vampire aficionados will want to add this to their collection. Harriet Klausner