Vlad: the Undead

By Hanna Lützen

Book Overview

Lucia, a young Danish medical student, receives an unusual inheritance from her grandfather -- a sheaf of old crumbling papers. During her summer vacation, in the isolation of a dark apartment in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0888993420
• ISBN13: 9780888993427
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: Groundwood Books
• Length: 190 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 4.3" x 7.0"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 and higher

Customer Reviews

Very Original Take on a Classic Tale!

Numerous writers have attempted variations on Bram Stoker's classic Dracula but few have done well (among the best are Fred Saberhagen's The Dracula Tapes and Kim Newman's Anno Dracula). Hanna Lutzen has definitely joined the best. Set in a world where Stoker's novel doesn't exist but the vampire Dracula most certainly does, The author's use of diary excerpts and readings from an old family document mixed with segues into readings that flow more like oral narration all combine to produce a gripping tale while paying homage to Stoker's inspiration. The horror in this tale is not öf the sort seen in slasher flicks, but subtle and deft - it creeps slowly up your spine and into your brain. I highly recommend this book!

Neo-gothic craftsmanship

Ahh yes. A vampire novel. But don't cringe yet. For those readers who enjoy good old-fashioned nineteenth century gothic novels, this slim book may be an undiscovered treat. Written for the young adult reader (but not exclusive) Lutzen's first book is a welcome contribution to vampire lore. If you are tired of Anne Rice's cult of the vampire society, bored with poorly written and unbelievable plot tactics (such as "The Book of Common Dread", Christopher Golden's "Vampire Epic" series and others) then I highly recommend "Vlad the Undead".Lutzen uses letter and diary formats to convey the mysterious disappearance of her central character Lucia. Recently orphaned in 1994, Lucia lives with her often absent uncle. During one of his absences, she receives from her late grandfather the manuscript of an old mariner's tale recorded by her great-grandfather and passed down through the generations. With summer arriving and her next-to-last year of medical school completed, Lucia delves into the tale. The Demeter was found off the shore of Whitby in 1894. Except for the captain Maresciu, who was tied to the helm and a mangy wolf-like dog who ran away, there were no survivors. Lucia's great-grandfather was the doctor who attended Maresciu during his final hours, enough time to have the doctor write down his account of the last voyage of the Demeter. "As a faithful Christian he had to dismiss the tale as pure insanity, but some small part of him must have clung to the captain's words. He decided to keep it a secret but he never reached any understanding of the nature of Maresciu's confession...Perhaps you will be able to make sense of it, Lucia." What then is Maresciu's confession? Through Lucia's reading, the tale of the Demeter's voyage from Varna to England is retold. Maresciu accepts the offer to carry an older gentleman and his boxes of soil to England for a large fee, with the condition that no questions are asked and he is treated as a guest. Slowly, the guest reveals himself. He is a Roumanian, just like Maresciu, and can trace his ancestors back to the thirteenth century. His name is Vlad and he is a direct heir of "the Draculestis, holy knights of the Order of the Dragon, founded by the Roman Church."Is your appetite wetted? Curious about Lucia's disappearance, which is directly related to her reading of an old manuscript? And what does this author have to offer about the identity of Vlad Dracul? Though there are familiar themes recognizable in Lutzen's retelling of the vampire - often associated with Herzog's film "Nosferatu" and Stoker's novel "Dracula" - "Vlad the Undead" is a fine web of myth, superstition and history that recreates the story of the Dracul family and its infamous heir, Vlad the Implarer. Lutzen's writing is reminiscent of noteworthy gothic writers such as William Beckford, Ann Radcliff and Anne of Swansea. In some parts of the world, the vampire myth preys on the fears of believers and n