Anno Dracula and The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Got a couple of book reviews today.

First is Anno Dracula by Kim Newman. For those not in the know Newman is something of an expert on the horror genre and a rather eccentric looking chap. Anno Dracula is an "alternative history", in a similar vein to Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlmen, in that it concerns mainly fictional characters. The basis of the setting is this- Dracula was not killed in Stoker's tale, but instead survived (at the point in the story where he makes Mina drink his blood). He has gone on to "turn" Queen Victoria and has installed himself as Prince Consort of Britain. Vampirism is out of the closet and on the streets of the world. Newman's tale is well conceived and brilliantly executed, with a cast of famous fictional vampires from Lord Ruthven to Graf Orlock and, one of my favourites, a Chinese hopping vampire from the Mr Vampire movie. There are also well-known fictional characters like Sherlock Holmes (imprisoned in a concentration camp in England for undesirables), Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Moreau and those from the real world.

The plot of the story concerns Jack the Ripper, only in Newman's universe the Ripper is killing vampire prostitutes. An agent of the government and a vampire woman (descended from a different blood-line than Dracula) begin to investigate. And that's about all I'm going to say- other than that it's a great read. Newman's Victorian vampire world is fantastically constructed and while the Ripper plot is not always to the fore, it's still a gripping read. There are a series of novels set in this universe by Newman, the second being The Bloody Red Baron- Dracula fighting for the Germans in World War 1 with aerial dogfights taking place between Sopwith Camels and- wait for it- giant shape-shifted vampire bats. Even if I hadn't enjoyed the first book, I'd still buy Red Baron just for that. In fact, it should be in the mail from Amazon right now (get it cheap from one of the used sellers). Review when I've finished it.

The second book is The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith which is an entirely different kettle of fish, concerning a PI in Botswana. I found it to be an oddly written affair at first. It feels a little more like a series of short stories strung together rather than a novel- but that's not a bad thing. The lead character, Precious Ramotswe, is certainly one of the more interesting detectives I've come across and while she's certainly not infallable, she is one I want to read more of. The short story feel to the book doesn't give a great insight into her methods but it is a good introduction and Smith writes so lovingly of Botswana itself that it makes the setting hard to resist. Again, there are several more books about this character and I intend to read on. This was a most pleasant book to read, not dark or gritty at all. Definitely recommended.