Look Out For … Anno Dracula – One Thousand Monsters by Kim Newman
“Newman’s Anno Dracula universe first appeared a quarter of a century ago and has yet to be topped in terms of originality and inventiveness.”
“There are no vampires in Japan. That is the position of the Emperor. The Emperor is wrong…”
Japan, 1899. A party of vampires – exiled from Britain by Prince Dracula – seeks refuge in Tokyo and are confined to Yokai Town, a ghetto where the Meiji Emperor keeps the country’s vampires – bizarre creatures as different from European nosferatu as they are from living humans.
Dr Genevieve Dieudonne, Kostaki, a soldier, Daniel Dravot, a spy, and Christina Light, a revolutionary princess, try to survive in Yokai Town as forces within and outside its walls threaten to destroy the newcomers and the long-time residents. What secret lies under the Temple of One Thousand Monsters?
Why We’re Excited About This Book:
Kim Newman’s alternate history Anno Dracula universe first appeared a quarter of a century ago and has yet to be topped in terms of originality and inventiveness in the way it blends its instantly recognisable characters from both history and fiction with Newman’s own twisted, dark and bloody version of the past.
Venturing now to Meiji Japan, we can’t wait to see what Newman does with his vampires in the Far East, but judging by the high bar set by his previous work, it’s sure to be bloody spectacular in every sense of the phrase.
Anno Dracula – One Thousand Monsters is out on 24 October 2017 and is available from Amazon.
RICHARD COSGROVE