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Title: A Sharpness On The Neck by Fred Saberhagen ISBN: 0-8125-5005-6 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 15 March, 1998 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 2.8 (10 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Saberhagen Writes Excellantly!
Comment: I have read and re-read all of Saberhagen's books in the Dracula series, and this book, along with exceptional The Dracula Tapes, are easily my favorites. Saberhagen brilliantly paints a truly loathsome character in Radu, Vlad Dracula's sadistic little brother. But one HAS TO READ *ALL* THE BOOKS IN THE SERIES TO GET THE FULL ENJOYMENT FROM THIS NOVEL! It stands alone, as a great novel, but, trust me, you'll understand more if you've read the other books in the series. It may not be the most well-edited book, but it is full of well-researched history, as are the other novels in this series, and a delightful humor.
Saberhagen weaves all sorts of figures in history into this novel, such as the Marquis de Sade, a "friend" of Radu, and The Scarlet Pimpernel. This is a enchanting and innovative tale, particularly how they manage to save the Philip Radcliffe in the time of the French Revolution. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone that loves history, or even vampires. And read the other books in The Dracula Series, too, including the soon-to-come A Coldness in the Blood!
Rating: 2
Summary: And I thought Anne Rice's new stuff was bad...
Comment: I, too, was intrigued by the idea of a vampire story set amongst one of my favorite historical periods, the French Revolution. What I got was a very poorly plotted story full of inconsequential characters that doesn't really start to get anywhere until exactly halfway through when we are finally introduced to the character whose actions are the very reason this story is happening in the first place. Historical personages are thrown in so half assed I almost feel embarrased for them. I haven't read any of Saberhagen's other Dracula books, and I'm sorry to say I'm in no great hurry to do so.
Rating: 1
Summary: A confusing disappointment
Comment: The first book of Saberhagen's Dracula series, _The Dracula Tapes_, was a great read; the tale of Dracula, lifted from Bram Stoker's famous book, as told by the Count himself, and oh, had he been misunderstood. Further books on the series never quite lived up to the first one, but were reasonably good reads...
Until this one. "A Sharpness on the Neck" is very disappointing. The premise itself is on par with other books on the series: bound by his honor, Vlad Dracula must protect a descendant of a friend from a murderous vampire, Vlad's brother Radu. In the process, the descendant is introduced to the world of vampires, and we are to get to know some other part of Vlad's story; this time, the period in the final decades of the eighteenth century, during the French Revolution, and more specifically, the Terror.
Unfortunately, the book never quite lives up to the reasonable premise. The narration bounces back and forth between first person and third person, often without the benefit of a break to indicate a change has occurred. Although some characters are meant to be in disguise, their right name pops back and forth at inopportune moments. The narration is overly confusing, the plotting badly done. Having spent some time in the previous books on the series "explaining" that the invitation requirement for a vampire to enter a dwelling has more to do with a psychological hangup on Vlad's part than the nature of vampirism, this is entirely discarded in this book in favor of the traditional meaning.
The book is unpolished, rushed, and poorly written.
It seems that the book is merely an excuse for Saberhagen to make inside jokes and references to other classic literature and history about the period. Percy Blakeney (better known as The Scarlet Pimpernel) makes a useless background appearance. So do the main characters from Dickens' _A Tale of Two Cities_. Superfluous references to a young Auguste Dupin, Madame Toussaud, and others, pepper the book. But rather than being clever, they are tiresome, cumbersome, and silly. Not recommended.
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Title: A Coldness in the Blood by Fred Saberhagen ISBN: 0765340119 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 19 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Seance for a Vampire by Fred Saberhagen ISBN: 0812533488 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: November, 1997 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: The Vlad Tapes by Fred Saberhagen ISBN: 0671578782 Publisher: Baen Books Pub. Date: July, 2000 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: The Dracula Tape by Fred Saberhagen ISBN: 0671578391 Publisher: Baen Books Pub. Date: 01 November, 1999 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: A Matter of Taste by Fred Saberhagen ISBN: 0812525752 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: December, 1993 List Price(USD): $3.99 |
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