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Newman's considerable talents are on full display in this clever novel
Blood Gelato? You Gotta Love It!
It'll grow on you.....
Federico Fellini buffs take note!
Great story - lousy ending

Judgement of Tears: Anno Dracula 1959
Kim Newman
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0786705582

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July 1959: The occasion is the marriage of Vlad Tepes, Count Dracula. The world's vampire elite have gathered in Rome for the union. Vlad's past wives have included Hungarian princesses, baronesses from California, and even Queen Victoria; all marriages were arranged for strategic gain rather than love or passion. Reporter Katherine Reed is in Rome to write about the wedding. At just under a century old, she is considered young among the immortal vampires. Now, someone is killing the elders, some of whom have bloodlines stretching back to the Middle Ages.

In this alternative history, to "be turned" means persecution. From the beginning of the century--when the vampires first emerged from legend into the public eye--through World War II (when Hitler began targeting the immortals) the vampires continued to be a source of fear and fascination. But vampirism still has its joys. To accept immortality means an extraordinary heightening of all the senses, and blood is both sustenance and narcotic, sexually pleasing and simultaneously nourishing.

Judgement of Tears blends horror and humor remarkably well. Semigraphic scenes of bloodsucking and neck biting are interspersed with humorous name-dropping. Among the guests at Vlad's wedding are a black-clad, gloomy couple named Addams, a British spy named Bond, and Orson Wells. Edgar Allan Poe is living as a scriptwriter; since being turned, he hasn't had an original idea. In the end, Judgement of Tears is as much a tale of intrigue as it is a horror novel. The backdrop is an old story of petty politics, set in a world that vampires, zombies, and even Frankenstein-like monsters share with the living. The flashes of wit serve to anchor the story to the real world and provide a connection to 20th-century popular culture. The ending reminds readers that politics prevail--whether for mortals or immortals. --Andy Bookwalter

Book Description

The jet setters, the intelligentsia, the artists and luminaries, the powerful and the merely curious from all over the world are descending upon "the Eternal City." The paparazzi have gathered en masse to chronicle the raucous wake of a remarkable decade-and to shoot the beautiful ones who have arrived to be seen. Rome is in her glory, for the dark prince himself has selected this ancient metropolis of fountains and lovers and history as the site of his latest nuptials-and everyone who anyone, vampire and mortal alike, is planning to attend. The mad celebration has begun in earnest; the "Dracula Cha Cha Cha" is all the rage. But come the blood-red dawn, there will be a terrible price to pay. For no party truly last foreverand even the undead must die.

Customer Reviews:

Newman's considerable talents are on full display in this clever novel.......2006-02-14

In ANNO DRACULA, Kim Newman posited a world where Count Dracula triumphs over Abraham Van Helsing, marries Queen Victoria, and becomes England's Prince Consort. Newman followed this triumph with THE BLOODY RED BARON, chronicling the events of the First World War as it took place in this alternative history. JUDGMENT OF TEARS, the third novel in this consistently inventive series, takes place in post World War Two Europe, circa 1959. In Rome to cover Dracula's royal wedding to undead Moldavian Princess Asa Vajda, journalist Kate Reed, a vampire herself, witnesses the brutal public slayings of two elder (long-"lived") vampires by the flamboyant Crimson Executioner. These killings, it seems, are only the latest in a series of murders--all the authorities can be sure of is that someone has declared open season on vampire elders. Her journalist's instincts aroused, Kate investigates, and is drawn into a web of intrigue involving, among others, Dracula, undead British secret service agent Hamish Bond, and Italy's own Mater Lachrymarum (The Mother of Tears), a mythic figure who may be the force behind The Executioner's bloody exploits.

As in previous works, Newman rewrites history, providing readers with an addictive mix of the familiar and the new, skillfully manipulating a huge cast of fictional (such as Iowan Clark Kent, and Drs. Pretorious and Herbert West) and historical (like Orson Welles and Anita Ekberg) characters. A la Tom Wolfe, Newman renders the political, social and cultural scene with great panache, providing generous helpings of action and humor along the way. The book can be read as an entertainment, or taken as a challenge, to see how many references readers note--Newman helpfully appends a key of sorts to the novel, so readers can gauge how well they do. Either way, the novel is consistently entertaining. You finish this book almost out of breath with the nonstop quality of the action, and with a new appreciation for Newman's considerable talents.

Blood Gelato? You Gotta Love It!.......2000-09-29

Newman's third book in the ANNO DRACULA series is arefreshingly light look at post-WWII Italy in his alternate universewhere Dracula (after having ruled England as Queen Victoria's PrinceConsort from 1885-88, then acted as Kaiser Wilhelm's chief militarystrategist during WWI) has retired in semi-exile to a large castlejust outside of Rome. Having recently announced his engagement to thevampiress Princess Asa Vajda of Moldavia, vampire elders aredescending upon Rome. This has upset the natural order of things, andvampire elders are being slaughtered by a mortal known as the CrimsonExecutioner. Also in Rome are the dying Charles Beauregard and hislover, 500+ year-old vampire Genevieve Dieudonne. Charles is beingquestioned by England's top spy, a vampire with a license to kill,about Dracula's possible motives for this wedding. Things soon take anasty turn, and vampire journalist Kate is soon in the thick of thehunt for the Crimson Executioner, too. The story takes great delightin lifting elements from Felini, Italian giallo horror movies, andeven THE EXORCIST! A great, fun read, not terribly scary but stillquite exciting as a vampire story where the bloodsuckers are bothheroes and villains. Can't wait for Newman's next, JOHNNY ALUCARD.

It'll grow on you............2000-03-20

I'll admit it. I was drawn to this book by its cover, which, after dragging thru the first few pages, I sorely regretted. Being somewhat of a vampire purist, I couldn't reconcile Newman's irreverent handling of one of my favorite subject matters. So, slightly disgusted, I put the book aside. Several weeks later however, I caught the thing winking laconically at me, as it waited, patiently, comfortably nestled between Rice and Yarbro. So I gave it another go and, to my pleasant surprise, found myself acquiring a taste for Mr. Newman's rather unorthodox style. The complex dynamics between the three main female characters, old grudges which forced them apart, and even older obligations which drew them together, were, for me, the cornerstone of the book's appeal. And, being a James Bond fan from way back, his appearance was an interesting and cleverly wrought addition to the story line. The major flaw of this otherwise enjoyable read was its hastily concocted ending. I felt as if I were watching a cleverly directed big budget film, which falls a little flat at the ending, its financing cut short by a disgruntled investor. Don't let this little glitch deter you however. Mr. Newman spins a pretty good yarn.

Federico Fellini buffs take note!.......1999-12-03

Ciao Bella!

Ye Gods! Newman is a fiendishly clever polymathic (sic?) confabulatory yarn spinner. Do ya like Alternate History? Do Ya like Vampires? Do Ya like Fellini, Il Maestro? If the answer is yes or even 'well maybe' to any of the above questions, then check out Newman's Anno Dracula stuff. Prior installments not neccassary, but recommended. Never have Vespa Scooters, sunglasses and blood drinking been so amusing, sexy, fun and witty. If you love playing 'spot the reference', you'll have a ball (Clark from Kansas and Gomez Addams, anyone?) Also features an exteneded cameo, nay a supporting role even, by a character stand in for the late great MARCELLO MASTROIANI, for my money to coolest thespian even to commit his immortal soul to celluliod, although I'm not sure I've spelled his name correctly (!). Also, Velvet Undergrounf fans are in for a small treat too...

Great story - lousy ending.......1999-05-10

Kim Newman should be shot for doing the same thing in this novel that he did in its 2 predecessors - give it a lame ending. The fact that I still gave it a 4 star rating, and read the book after seeing what the author did to the 2 prior books in the series gives you an idea how much I like his stories.

The problem is that Kim Newman can't write a decent ending to save his life. The 3 books I've read in this series are all the same - great story, interesting characters, fascinating alternate history. Then, for the last 50 or so pages, the story sputters and peters out in a bit of introspective hogwash. Newman is like a pilot who can take off and do incredible aerobatics, but just can't land the damn plane.

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What if Dracula Won?
Alternate "History" -- Dracula Meets Jack the Ripper!
Please reprint this book!!
Excellent alternative-history and dark fantasy
Revisionist history + Vampire mythos = success

Anno Dracula
Kim Newman
Manufacturer: Avon Books (Mm)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Judgment of Tears:: Anno Dracula 1959
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ASIN: 038072345X

Amazon.com

As Nina Auerbach writes in the New York Times, " Stephen King assumes we hate vampires; Anne Rice makes it safe to love them, because they hate themselves. Kim Newman suspects that most of us live with them . . . . Anno Dracula is the definitive account of that post-modern species, the self-obsessed undead." In this first of what looks to be an excellent series, Victorian England has vampires at every level of society, especially the higher ones, and they engage in incessant intrigue, power games, and casual oppression of the weak--activities, as we know, that are all too human. Numerous characters from literature and from history appear in both major and cameo roles. Spectacular fight scenes, stormy politics, and a serial vampire killer keep the action lively. A scholarly bibliography is included.

Customer Reviews:

What if Dracula Won?.......2006-07-31

The power of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula will probably never be matched as far as vampire stories go, but Kim Newman makes a valiant attempt to write an equally interesting tale. Certainly, the premise of Anno Dracula, and its two sequels, is both postmodern and daringly original. What if, Newman asks, Dracula had taken over England, rather than being destroyed by Van Helsing and his companions? The novel depicts a surreal London where Dracula has conquered England, not solely by terror but political alliance--he has made himself Prince Consort by marrying Queen Victoria and making her a vampiress. This premise for a novel could end up to be ridiculous, but Newman pulls it off by distancing the narrative from Dracula's character.

While Stoker's Dracula and Anne Rice's vampire novels are written in first person, Kim Newman avoids giving readers deep emotional connections based on fear of Dracula, which providers a feeling of security for the reader, although it is also a fault of the novel. Dr. Seward has managed to escape Dracula's revenge, while Van Helsing and Jonathan Harker have been destroyed by Dracula, and Mina Harker is a minion at Buckingham Palace and Lord Godalming has himself become a vampire. Dr. Seward's diary entries are the only first person narratives in the novel, and they are sparsely interspersed among the chapters (Stoker's Dracula was completely written in first person in the diaries and letters of the characters). Seward's narratives bring the reader closest to the tone and feel of Dracula. The rest of the novel in third person makes it difficult to connect to the characters who are so abundant and so undeveloped it is impossible to keep track of any of them except the vampiress Genevieve.

Fans of Dracula, especially those wanting scary thrills like the film versions provide, will be disappointed, that Dracula does not appear until the very end of the novel--oddly something Elizabeth Kostova in The Historian also chose to do, and which makes both novels somewhat anti-climactic and a let down. By comparison, Stoker allowed Dracula to take main-stage through many scenes in his novel.

Because of Dracula's basic absence from the book, I doubt any reader will experience nightmares. Yet the novel does have an effective atmosphere of doom, where vampires and "warm" people walk about London together, like two political parties, the "warm" holding out against converting to vampirism (one wonders what would happen if all the warm became vampires--who would the vampires then feast on?). The characters meet vampires in the streets and at drawing-room parties, and while there is some political unrest over the vampires' presence in the land, it is merely a social problem, and not a major threat to the nation.

The student of late Victorian times will enjoy meeting old literary favorites and historical people ranging from Florence Stoker to Oscar Wilde, Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Moreau, Lord John Roxton, and Beatrix Potter. The plot centers around trying to track down Jack the Ripper, who is out murdering vampiresses, to the alarm of the vampire establishment. Newman effectively creates the atmosphere of this mixed warm and vampire, fictional and historical world. And while the reader has to wait until the last chapter to see Dracula, the climax at Buckingham Palace is powerful and worth waiting for, and intriguing enough to make one want to read Newman's next vampire novel, The Bloody Red Baron, set during the First World War.

- Tyler R. Tichelaar, author of Iron Pioneers, The Marquette Trilogy: Book One

Alternate "History" -- Dracula Meets Jack the Ripper!.......2004-08-03

Kim Newman's "Anno Dracula" has one of the most audacious plots imaginable -- let's assume that Bram Stoker's "Dracula" was non-fiction, and that Dracula defeated his nemesis, Van Helsing. Then, let's assume that Dracula "seduced" Queen Victoria and is now the Prince Consort, effectively ruling Great Britain. Throw in Mycroft and Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Jekyll, John Merrick (the Elephant Man), Jack the Ripper, and even a brief reference to the Lone Ranger(!), and you've got one heck of an amazing world to spin a yarn.

Newman's Victorian England is populated by vampires and "warm" humans, and there is little shame in being a vampire. But not every vampire becomes a "lord of darkness" -- Newman shows many vampires scraping by, selling themselves just like the "warm" cheap harlots of London's lower neighborhoods.

In that murky world, Jack the Ripper is butchering vampire prostitutes, using vicious silver blades. Two kindred spirits, the "warm" adventurer Charles Beauregard and the ancient vampiress Genevieve, pursue Jack and seek to put a stop to his diabolical ends. Beauregard works at the behest of the mysterious cabal known as the Diogenes Club, a group dedicated to the removal of Dracula's power, while Genevieve chases Jack out of mercy, trying to save the vampire-girls Jack seems hell-bent on savaging.

Newman packs "Anno Dracula" with action, unlike other "alternate vampire histories" (granted, a limited genre) like Brian Stableford's "Empire of Fear." Beauregard's prowess with a sword is easy to grasp, but Genevieve, an "elder" vampire even more ancient and powerful than Dracula, has powers far beyond the grasp of even other vampires. And even Genevieve meets a vampire that she cannot fend off for long, a Chinese horror sure to give more than a few readers nightmares.

A detective story that takes place in a London ready to explode in civil war where the "warm" take on the vampires and the vampires fight among themselves, "Anno Dracula" is a lark. Packed with enough gore and gothic eroticism to satisfy the vampire afficionado, "Anno Dracula" rarely goes over the top and manages to stay fairly grounded. A terrifying climactic stand-off between Beauregard, Genevieve, and Dracula ends ominously - Dracula is still out there, and he's not going to take his lumps lying down. Here's looking forward to the next in the series!

Please reprint this book!!.......2004-07-14

I bought Kim Newman's book 'Dracula Cha Cha Cha' a couple of years ago, and enjoyed it so much I resolved to buy the other books in the series. However, they appear to be out of print, and 'Anno Dracula' was only available through Amazon's (excellent) second hand book sales facility.
I was delighted when the book arrived, and the book itself lived up to my anticipation. There are so many literary and historical allusions to the era (1880s / 1890s )and part of the fun is seeing how many you know or can understand. They add to rather than detract from the excellent story telling.
This book should really be reissued.

Excellent alternative-history and dark fantasy.......2004-02-21

At the moment I write this, Kim Newman's "Anno Dracula" is out of print. (Hopefully, by the time you read this, it will be available again.) It baffles me that such a wonderful recent novel (1992) could easily slip out of publication, especially when it is still very popular: apparently used bookstores can't keep this one their shelves for more then a day. With the huge success of Alan Moore's graphic novel "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" you would think this similar blending of Victorian personages, both historical and fictional, would widely available. This is really the dark fantasy version of Moore's heroic graphic novel, and anyone who enjoys either 1) alternative history, 2) vampire novels, or 3) dark fantasy will adore this book and never let their copy out of their greedy reading hands.

Mr. Newman imagines Victorian England if the bloodsucking count had been the victor in Dracula. The Count marries Queen Victoria and becomes ruler of an England rapidly becoming the territory of `new-born' vampires, who seek to be `turned' so they can rise in rank. Dracula opens up a reign of terror reminiscent of a medieval monarchy, yet still filled with traditional British Vicotrian attitudes. It's a delightful mixed brew of history and gothic darkness.

Into this thrilling setting slinks Jack the Ripper (also known as `Silver Knife'), slashing vampire girls in Whitechapel. Charles Beauregard, a human (or a 'warm' in vampire terms) who works for a secret society, and Genevieve, a vampire of an ancient boodline who has great distate for Dracula's reign both search for the murderer. Coming from two different angles, they join forces to try to fathom the mystery of the killings. Their invesitgation will lead to repercussions for all of this topsy-turvy, nightmare version of England.

"Anno Dracula" is an extraordinary feat of imagination: bloody, violent, erotic, and chock-full of historical and fictional guest stars: Oscar Wilde, Arthur Holmwood, Henry Jekyll, Jack the Ripper, Dr. Moreau, Danny Dravot (from Kipling's "The Man Who Would be King"), Professor Moriarty, George Bernard Shaw, etc. Even a quick mention of Lewis Carroll and Allan Quartermain! It's a Victorian literature lover`s dream come true -- and one for any fan of dark, exciting, BLOODY good fantasy and horror. Look for a copy, and let's hope it will be back in print soon!

Revisionist history + Vampire mythos = success.......2003-12-22

The big boxoffice flop in '03 was 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen', which was VERY loosely adapted from a comic book by Alan Moore. If you liked the movie or the comic, well, this is ten times better than both of 'em put together! The whole thing takes a 'What if?' look at the original Dracula novel, freely injecting any and everyone Newman can come up with into a great alternate timeline tale. Look for cameos from history and literature, from Sherlock Holmes to the Lone Ranger. Some of these references are oblique, some are blatant (probably for copyright reasons), but really, all that's fun and games, and it wouldn't mean diddly if the plot didn't deliver. And it does! This take on Jack the Ripper in a world of vampires is genuinely creepy at times, and the romance between the leads (A mysterious government operative and a beautiful vampire) works pretty well. I have the short story version of this story, and I think the novel is an even better story, with more plot twists and turns. It's kind of BUSY at times (I mean the book is crammed with plots and subplots) but Mr. Newman somehow keeps it all running smoothly. There are numerous sequels to this, but they aren't nearly as good. If you like tales of Saucy Jack, or if you just got tired of Anne Rice's pretty boy vamps a long time ago, you would probably enjoy this.

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Judgment of Tears : Anno Dracula 1959
Kim Newman
Manufacturer: NY Carroll & Graf 1999.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J5FQ46

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Anno-Dracula
Kim Newman
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OPBO1K

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Anno Dracula
Kim Newman
Manufacturer: Pocket Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000N4ABSE

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Anno Dracula
Kim Newman
Manufacturer: Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GRPEBM

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Anno Dracula 36 Dump (P)
Newman Kim
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster (Trade Division)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0671860038

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Anno Dracula : le jugement des larmes
Kim Newman
Manufacturer: J'ai lu
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2290300438

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