Quincey Morris, Vampire

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Summary: Social Revolution and the Victorian Vampire
Review: P.N. Elrod is one of our more prolific vampire novelists. Always, her vampires have been unique and non-traditional in the behavior and powers. I have always wondered how these entertaining creatures were related to the grand tradition of Dracula and his equally horrific cousins. In "Quincey Morris, Vampire," Elrod gives us a fascinating answer as she begins what will hopefully be a new series.

Morris, you may remember, died in the process of destroying Dracula, who had fled back to Transylvania when his plans for establishing a British homestead failed. To Morris' great dismay he awakens in the night to discover that, as the result of an old affair, he has become a vampire. Worse, Dracula was there to welcome him into the club. After considerable discussion and argument, Quincey returns to the castle with Dracula, for introductory and advanced vampire classes.

It turns out that Quincey is a different breed of vampire than Dracula was. Dracula was the soulless, evil, turn into animals, bite people on the neck and damn their souls to hell breed. Quincey was the mild mannered, sleeps by day, drinks blood from animals sort of vampire. Quincey's soul was still intact, and he had no problem with crosses, garlic and other anti-vampire paraphernalia. Both can disappear at will and hypnotize people. In short, Quincey is the classic Elrod vampire.

Having graduated from vampire school, Quincey heads off, first to Paris and then on to London. In Paris Quincey discovers that sex and neck nibbling go well together. With a little hypnosis, the young lady is none the wiser, but suitably impressed. It's quite clear that, if Quincey is going to hell, it won't be because he had to sleep during the day. Once back in London Quincey meets Bertice Godalming, the sister of Quincey's best friend Arthur, Lord Godalming, and by far the most interesting character in the book.

Bertrice is the scandal of the Godalming clan, an actress, a painter, bohemian and wearer of bloomers. To which may be added intelligent, capable and very good looking. Quincey, vampire powers and all, is totally overwhemed. The rest of the book is occupied with this explosive relationship and Quincey's efforts to let Arthur and his other friends in on the secret of his return from the grave. Quincey find's himself in a struggle with Dr. Van Helsing for his very survival as Elrod develops all these threads into a tremendous climax.

Quincey and Bertrice offset each other very well, so hopefully Elrod will be inspired to continue the series. Victorian England is a more diverse setting than Gangland Chicago, that should provide material for many plots to come. I do have to wonder why Elrod's lead roles are always held by male vampires. In any case, Bertrice is not the kind of woman who will take second place to any man, immortal or not. We shall have to see.

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Summary: Quincey Morris, Vampire
Review: P.N. Elrod writes some crackling fun vampire pulp fiction in her Jack Fleming series. In this book, she tells the story of Quincey Morris, whom you may remember as the Texan with the Bowie knife in Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Here we find out what "really" happened, after Van Helsing, Harker, and Morris chased Dracula back to Transylvania. Quincey is a vampire of another kind from Dracula, and determined to get his life back, even if he is dead. After a load of adventures and trying to convince his vampire hunter friends of his good intentions, all is resolved with a twist.

Rating:
Summary: A slow start, but fun once you're in it.
Review: P.N. Elrod writes some crackling fun vampire pulp fiction in her Jack Fleming series. In this book, she tells the story of Quincey Morris, whom you may remember as the Texan with the Bowie knife in Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Here we find out what "really" happened, after Van Helsing, Harker, and Morris chased Dracula back to Transylvania. Quincey is a vampire of another kind from Dracula, and determined to get his life back, even if he is dead. After a load of adventures and trying to convince his vampire hunter friends of his good intentions, all is resolved with a twist.

Rating:
Summary: This book ROCKS!
Review: Quincey P. Morris helped Professor Van Helsing, Mina and John Harker, and the rest kill Dracula. Or so he thought.

The quest also killed Quincey. Or so he, and everyone else, thought.

Quincey woke to the night, surrounded by hungary wolves. One of them, the leader, was Dracula ... quite alive, figuratively speaking.

Quincey had become vampire. However, he was a different breed than Dracula. Quincey still had his soul. To survive Quincey must quickly adapt to his new type of life. Once done, he planned to return to his group of friends who still grieved over Quincey's death. But he was not sure they would accept him in his new state. And Professor Van Helsing believed the only good vampire was a dead vampire!

***** This book ROCKS! P.N. Elrod has done an excellent job continuing the story. I fully expect this book to win awards. Highly recommended reading! *****

Rating:
Summary: The Return of the First Slayer!
Review: Texan Quincey P. Morris was the one who finally killed Dracula. He brought an end to the battle between the Prince of Darkness and Van Helsing's hunters. But in the end Quincey was also killed.
NOW Quincey is a vampire. He finds himself trying to adapt to his changes. Where will he get the blood? And how will his friends deal with his condition? Greet him with open arms or with wooden stakes?
P.N. Elrod links all her series together with the Great Prince. In the book we meet Count Dracula, Lord Richard d'Orleans from her 'Forever Knights' tie-in books, and find out that Quincy once met Nora Jones, who created the vampire Jonathan Barrett (who is the grand sire of Jack Fleming from the 'Blood Files' series).
Now all she needs is werewolves!

Rating:
Summary: The Return of the First Slayer!
Review: Texan Quincey P. Morris was the one who finally killed Dracula. He brought an end to the battle between the Prince of Darkness and Van Helsing's hunters. But in the end Quincey was also killed.
NOW Quincey is a vampire. He finds himself trying to adapt to his changes. Where will he get the blood? And how will his friends deal with his condition? Greet him with open arms or with wooden stakes?
P.N. Elrod links all her series together with the Great Prince. In the book we meet Count Dracula, Lord Richard d'Orleans from her 'Forever Knights' tie-in books, and find out that Quincy once met Nora Jones, who created the vampire Jonathan Barrett (who is the grand sire of Jack Fleming from the 'Blood Files' series).
Now all she needs is werewolves!

Rating:
Summary: Tailor-made for vampophiles
Review: This book begins where Bram Stoker's _Dracula_ ends, with the death of Count Dracula and Texan Quincey Morris in the Carpathians, in the very shadow of Castle Dracula. From there, however, the story takes some amazing twists, which I would hate to spoil by including too much detail. Quincey Morris, one of Dracula's original hunters (and if you can name the other four, you will *definitely* enjoy this book) does not die, but wakes up as a vampire, which is a great surprise to him and to Dracula, who survived Quincey's attack.

The thank-yous at the beginning of this book are led off by Fred Saberhagen's name, and it's soon clear why. Like Saberhagen, Elrod picks up on Stoker's story, and runs with it; and her interpretation of Dracula's character bears a striking resemblance to Saberhagen's, with a couple of minor twists, including one that seems to be inspired by the popular Forever Knight TV series. Elrod reveals that there are actually two "breeds" of vampire--Dracula's wilder, more dangerous type, and the less powerful, more domestic strain that Morris & Elrod's Jack Fleming belong to.

The rest of the story is an engrossing tale of what he does with that knowledge, and his effort to pick up the lost threads of his old life. There is lots to keep habitual vampiromanes and newcomers to the genre thrilled and enchanted from beginning to end. Elrod's Morris is remarkably true to Stoker's character, no mean feat, since Morris was fond of colourful Texan expressions and had some unorthodox behaviour. It would have been easy downplay this, or to go over the top, but Elrod treads a remarkably fine line, bringing Morris fully to life.

A great book for fans of Fred Saberhagen, Bram Stoker, Tanya Huff, Forever Knight, and (of course) Elrod. Might not be so appealing for fans of Ann Rice or Kindred: The Embraced.

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Summary: Elrod's revisionist look at Van Helsing's actions in Dracula
Review: Whenever I read at alternative history (e.g., "Guns of the South") or a parallel novel (e.g., "Mina," "Ender's Shadow"), I am always curious to uncover the author's motivation for writing their story. In P. N. Elrod's "Quincey Morris, Vampire," I was surprised to learn that the motivation had to do an intense dislike of Dr. Abraham Van Helsing. Elrod--okay, her characters--are royally ticked off that the vampire hunter forced Arthur, Lord Godalming, to "kill" his beloved Lucy when she had turned into a blood-sucking fiend. The more the characters think about it, the more they agree that this was going to far and that Van Helsing should have spared the grieving man by doing the dirty deed himself. This is an interesting new perspective to consider, to be sure.

This "sequel" to "Dracula" is not too much of a departure for Elrod from her Vampire Files, in that Quincey Morris has become a "vampire" in that mode, significantly different from the Dracula archetype. Elrod explains this as their being different "breeds" of vampires, which is a legitimate and interesting idea ("Buffy the Vampire" arrived at the same conclusion, albeit implicitly, when Dracula appeared in the premier episode of the show's fifth season). Those who have read Elrod's other vampire novels will better understand exactly what those differences happen to be. However, this fascinating idea is pretty much ignored for most of the novel, although Morris does discuss it with Dracula in the opening of the novel and tries to explain it to Van Helsing, Art and Jack Seward at the end, when he is trying to convince his friends not to kill him. Most of this novel deals with the title character getting used to his life and romancing Art's sister, Lady Beatrice, who has been living the bohemian high life as an actress in London.

I must admit I am not sure what I think of Van Helsing in light of Elrod's take on what happened in "Dracula." I do know that I enjoyed Quincey trying to reason with the learned doctor, who explains away the vampire's ability to hold the host and recite the Lord's Prayer with the blanket declaration that they are being hypnotized and that the insistence that the absence of evil actions on Quincey's part still proves he is evil because he is being subtle. Certainly Elrod's counter-perspective on the "Dracula" novel is provocative and while I would have liked to have had all of the original vampire hunters reunited at some point, the more important thing is that this is a thoughtful "sequel" that makes good use of Elrod's particular "breed" of vampire. Of course, if you have not read the original "Dracula," do not start this novel until you have, otherwise you will never appreciate Elrod's points of divergence, both great and small.

Rating:
Summary: Elrod's revisionist look at Van Helsing's actions in Dracula
Review: Whenever I read at alternative history (e.g., "Guns of the South") or a parallel novel (e.g., "Mina," "Ender's Shadow"), I am always curious to uncover the author's motivation for writing their story. In P. N. Elrod's "Quincey Morris, Vampire," I was surprised to learn that the motivation had to do an intense dislike of Dr. Abraham Van Helsing. Elrod--okay, her characters--are royally ticked off that the vampire hunter forced Arthur, Lord Godalming, to "kill" his beloved Lucy when she had turned into a blood-sucking fiend. The more the characters think about it, the more they agree that this was going to far and that Van Helsing should have spared the grieving man by doing the dirty deed himself. This is an interesting new perspective to consider, to be sure.

This "sequel" to "Dracula" is not too much of a departure for Elrod from her Vampire Files, in that Quincey Morris has become a "vampire" in that mode, significantly different from the Dracula archetype. Elrod explains this as their being different "breeds" of vampires, which is a legitimate and interesting idea ("Buffy the Vampire" arrived at the same conclusion, albeit implicitly, when Dracula appeared in the premier episode of the show's fifth season). Those who have read Elrod's other vampire novels will better understand exactly what those differences happen to be. However, this fascinating idea is pretty much ignored for most of the novel, although Morris does discuss it with Dracula in the opening of the novel and tries to explain it to Van Helsing, Art and Jack Seward at the end, when he is trying to convince his friends not to kill him. Most of this novel deals with the title character getting used to his life and romancing Art's sister, Lady Beatrice, who has been living the bohemian high life as an actress in London.

I must admit I am not sure what I think of Van Helsing in light of Elrod's take on what happened in "Dracula." I do know that I enjoyed Quincey trying to reason with the learned doctor, who explains away the vampire's ability to hold the host and recite the Lord's Prayer with the blanket declaration that they are being hypnotized and that the insistence that the absence of evil actions on Quincey's part still proves he is evil because he is being subtle. Certainly Elrod's counter-perspective on the "Dracula" novel is provocative and while I would have liked to have had all of the original vampire hunters reunited at some point, the more important thing is that this is a thoughtful "sequel" that makes good use of Elrod's particular "breed" of vampire. Of course, if you have not read the original "Dracula," do not start this novel until you have, otherwise you will never appreciate Elrod's points of divergence, both great and small.