Rating: 
Summary: Expected more from "novel of the century"
Review: I was curious to see Dracula's perspective, but this probably would be better suited for an audiobook (Fred, tell amazon.com it's ok to give you my email address so you can financially thank me for this suggestion).First of all, especially at the ending, keep in mind this book was printed in 1975. The rude comments about Van Helsing (such as: "Van Helsing's answer was yes. I paraphrase omitting some five hundred words." and "The vision of Van Helsing as a vampire is one before which my imagination balks; this is doubtless only a shortcoming on my part; he may have been well fitted for the role, since as we have seen he had already the power, by means of speech, to cast his victims into a stupor.") are sometimes dead-on funny and othertimes tiresome. For the price, a worthwhile read. However, the time could be much better spent re-reading the original Dracula.
Rating: 
Summary: Much better than Rice's wimpy vampires
Review: If you want to try some Saberhagen, start with this one. The author is best known for his Berserker series but this is his best work by far. It is kind of lost on the shelves these days due to the current literary vampire craze but it will be well worth your time
Rating: 
Summary: Good Idea, Mediocre Execution
Review: Lord help me, I have recently turned to vampire ficiton for entertainment. This is bad for several reasons, the first being that there is so darned much of it I'll never get through it all, the second being that, with so much to choose from, one is bound to come across a few stinkers. And a stinker is what we have with Saberhagen's "Dracula Tapes". Purportedly the transcript of a tape left in the vehicle of one of Mina Harker's descendants, the tapes represent the redoubtable Count's attempt at setting the record straight. Is he a decent fellow, maligned in Stoker's compilation of journal entries and letters? Or is he a liar, out to gain sympathy by weaving a tale of persecution? Certainly, it behooves the reader to have read "An Old Friend of the Family", the first in Saberhagen's Dracula appropriations, in which the old bat arrives in Chicago to assist another set of Mina's descendants with some unpleasantness. This novel gives the reader the background requirted to accept Vlad as a good guy. Saberhagen tries valiantly to clear Dracula's name in this book by sticking faithfully to the text of the original and refuting individual points. But the effect is unsettling and unbelievable; one has the impression that the vampire is making this all up on the spot and sounds ridiculous doing so. For example, who could possibly believe Dracula using a wolf's head as a battering ram to smash open Lucy's window? The writing is stilted and awkward (but also was Stoker's, so who's to say Saberhagen didn't write this way on purpose?) and at its best when Drac is going head to head with the weird Van Helsing, who, in this version, is an incompetent old fool. It's obvious that Saberhagen wrote the screenplay and novelization of the Coppola film version, because here Dracula speaks in a strange, Gary Oldmanesque cadence that looks as odd as the film sounded. Much of the book is merely transcripts of Stoker's original, serving to refresh the reader's memory while giving the narrator ammunition to rebut. This is a fun novel, written, it seems, as an exercise, to see whether it could be done. It's not the best ever written, nor is it the best of the author's vampire series, but it will pass a pleasant hour or two and not make you race to the original for purification.
Rating:
Summary: Good Idea, Mediocre Execution
Review: Lord help me, I have recently turned to vampire ficiton for entertainment. This is bad for several reasons, the first being that there is so darned much of it I'll never get through it all, the second being that, with so much to choose from, one is bound to come across a few stinkers. And a stinker is what we have with Saberhagen's "Dracula Tapes". Purportedly the transcript of a tape left in the vehicle of one of Mina Harker's descendants, the tapes represent the redoubtable Count's attempt at setting the record straight. Is he a decent fellow, maligned in Stoker's compilation of journal entries and letters? Or is he a liar, out to gain sympathy by weaving a tale of persecution? Certainly, it behooves the reader to have read "An Old Friend of the Family", the first in Saberhagen's Dracula appropriations, in which the old bat arrives in Chicago to assist another set of Mina's descendants with some unpleasantness. This novel gives the reader the background requirted to accept Vlad as a good guy. Saberhagen tries valiantly to clear Dracula's name in this book by sticking faithfully to the text of the original and refuting individual points. But the effect is unsettling and unbelievable; one has the impression that the vampire is making this all up on the spot and sounds ridiculous doing so. For example, who could possibly believe Dracula using a wolf's head as a battering ram to smash open Lucy's window? The writing is stilted and awkward (but also was Stoker's, so who's to say Saberhagen didn't write this way on purpose?) and at its best when Drac is going head to head with the weird Van Helsing, who, in this version, is an incompetent old fool. It's obvious that Saberhagen wrote the screenplay and novelization of the Coppola film version, because here Dracula speaks in a strange, Gary Oldmanesque cadence that looks as odd as the film sounded. Much of the book is merely transcripts of Stoker's original, serving to refresh the reader's memory while giving the narrator ammunition to rebut. This is a fun novel, written, it seems, as an exercise, to see whether it could be done. It's not the best ever written, nor is it the best of the author's vampire series, but it will pass a pleasant hour or two and not make you race to the original for purification.
Rating:
Summary: A retelling of Dracula from the Count’s point of view
Review: PROS: The way Saberhagen humorously rips apart the Stoker version. CONS: A little slow, failed to keep my attention. BOTTOM LINE: Better than the Original (at least I finished this one). ...Saberhagen apparently thought along the same lines because his Dracula Tape, told from the point of view of the Count, repeatedly points out the flaws of the original. Unfortunately, that was the most appealing part of this book. While it made for a quick read, it suffered the same curse as the original; it was sometimes quite boring. I would like to give it another chance though...
Rating:
Summary: Nice follow-up to a classic
Review: Quick synopsis - this book looks at the events in Stoker's Dracula from the point of view of Dracula. It turns the older story on it's ear as you hear how Dracula's intentions are purely noble misinterpreted by Harper and the others. While I doubt this book will ever garner the classic status of Stoker's Dracula, it sure is easier to read. This is a fun book, with lots of jabs at Stoker (calling Harper dull, trashing his ending, etc.) The thing I liked best about this book was the way it points out all the rubish in Stoker's book. It is definately easier to read and more fun to boot. That said, the book does have some failings. I felt that Saberhagen has to contrive a few situations and allowed Dracula to overlook his own failings a little too much.
Rating:
Summary: Dracula tells his side of the story.
Review: Saberhagen gives Dracula a dry wit and revisionist views of history, but he is not by any means apologetic! His Vlad Tepes, the immortal former prince of Wallachia, has lived a turbulent (after) life, falls in love with a married Victorian lady, and suffers endless indignities at the hands of Van Helsing. An amusing read
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Read
Review: The author writes a "response" to the Stoker Dracula from the point of view of Count Dracula. Saberhagen's treatment of the characters is believable and interesting. An excellent twist to the familiar tale, which presents Dracula as an intellegent, even sympathetic hero. Just whose actions are evil? The author challenges the reader to see the "facts" from another viewpoint.
Rating:
Summary: The Other Side
Review: This book, written by the author of the latest screen version's book adaption(Bram Stoker's Dracula), offers a great look at the other side of the classic story. The story is told from the point of view of Dracula himself, and begins at the same point as the Stoker novel. But, with the arrival of Harker at Castle Dracula, the story takes a very different turn. Saberhagen portays Dracula as a great warrior prince, caught in a life that he did'nt chose. Without apology, Dracula tells us of his true love for the women in the novel and how he only made one of them (Lucy) into a vampire to keep her alive in some form, as her death was caused by VanHelsen's instance on using an untested medical procedure, blood transfusion. This is a great indication of Saberhagen's love for the person of Dracula. I would suggest this book to anyone who thinks they know the legend inside-out. Also, try "The Holmes-Dracula File" from the same author.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Funny
Review: This is a very funny book. The "true" story of Dracula, told from Dracula's point of view (naturally), the book does not spoof so much as utilize the classic. It helps to have read at least part of the classic (in fact, after reading The Dracula Tape, it may be impossible to read Dracula by Stoker the same way again), but Saberhagen quotes all the relevant passages. I've always been fascinated by the idea of a story behind a story behind a story (What REALLY happened?) and The Dracula Tape is one of the best you-haven't-heard-the-WHOLE-story examples I've come across. Where Saberhagen succeeds is that he does not simply flip-flop the original, turning Dracula into a beleagured victim, beset by villains. The reader may be on Dracula's side, but you don't exactly trust the guy. Dracula's "voice" is wry, self-deprecating, often annoyed, humorous and cunning. Fact is, Dracula isn't telling the WHOLE story either.
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