Stars: 5

Author: P. N. Elrod

Title: Quincey Morris, Vampire

Publisher: Baen

Year: 2001

ISBN: 0-671-31988-4

Distribution: MMPB

Pages: 336

P. N. Elrod's version of Quincey Morris first appeared in the story "The Wind Breathes Cold" in Dracula, Prince of Darkness. Elrod has slightly rewritten her affectionate postscript to Dracula as the beginning of this novel, in which Quincey Morris wakes to life or Un-Death immortal as the result of an amorous encounter years before, much like Jack Fleming in Elrod's series The Vampire Files. Unlike Jack, Quincey has a mentor, and a most unusual one: Dracula himself. Sparing Quincey's party, faking his own destruction, and taking Quincey himself under his chilly but not unkind wing -- the old vampire has his motives, and he explains them to this "different breed" of vampire with a reasonableness and humanity bespeaking the cordial Dracula who welcomed Jonathan Harker to his castle.

From his first conversation with Quincey, Dracula displays a blend of reserve, vulnerability, and honor that makes him a very real and often sympathetic character, if at times a disquieting one. Elrod's deconstruction of Dracula rivals Saberhagen's for art and plausibility as Dracula tells what really occurred during Jonathan Harker's stay at the castle. During Quincey's own stay -- which occupies roughly the first third of the book -- the new vampire learns about his own powers and vulnerabilities, and how they differ from his eldritch host's. Quincey also must protect his friends who have remained behind to avenge themselves on the wolf pack that (as they believe) hauled off his corpse the night after he died. The depth of Dracula's relationship with the "children of the night" that is revealed in the process is one of Elrod's more novel twists to the Dracula canon.

Quincey's ultimate goal, however, is to resume a reasonable facsimile of his human life, including continued possession of his property and resumption of friendships with the people who saw him die. While in London laying his battle plans, he encounters Arthur Holmwood's black sheep sister Bertrice. Under the name Bertrice Wood, Lady Godalming leads a band of female actors whose performances of Shakespeare meet with mixed reviews, to say the least. Another third of the book passes in Quincey's continued self-discovery -- with a little help from "Miss Bertrice" and the Bohemian circles that she frequents -- before the true test of friendship: his visit to Ring to reintroduce himself to Arthur Holmwood.

A harrowing but ultimately happy reunion is the beginning of action that rises to the very end. When Arthur has not only seen the crucifix that Quincey still wears but spoken the Lord's Prayer with him, he is overjoyed, if shocked, that his old friend has been restored. As Quincey anticipates, however, Professor Van Helsing proves "a tougher nut to crack" -- particularly since Arthur's servants and the attendants at Jack Seward's asylum will obey the professor's orders as readily as they will their master's, and Van Helsing will stoop however low he must to fight the Un-Dead.

Quincey's voice as first-person narrator is a joy, always informal and with just enough slang and colorful metaphors to give the book a friendly and often quietly jocular tone. Quincey exhibits a wonderful candor and fair-mindedness, whether delivering an apology to a more than patient Dracula or wondering how attending a play can be respectable while participating in one -- particularly for a woman -- isn't. Elrod acknowledges the historical oppression of women but, rather than dwelling on it, portrays Bertrice as a spunky, witty, and eminently likeable survivor. Other period details include a sly jab at Bram Stoker, and passing mention of Arthur Conan Doyle, Madame Blavatsky, and a figure more in line with Bertrice's tastes: "Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective."

Readers who found the Jonathan Barrett books too slow will probably have a similar reaction to Quincey's adventures. Although there's a lack of the grittiness and violence of Elrod's Jack Fleming books, there is no shortage of intensity, whether in Dracula's mourning very personal losses, Arthur Holmwood's tears as Quincey unthinkingly recites the Twenty-Third Psalm, or a standoff between a knife-wielding Quincey and a cornered, furious Van Helsing.

If you still need a reason to read Dracula, you've now got one. Introducing his own book, Quincey says of Stoker's, "As it is so well known in the public mind, I shall not summarize it here." Don't settle for watching one of the numerous movie adaptations. Only familiarity with the real thing will yield maximum appreciation for the events of Quincey Morris, Vampire. Reading this book has been a great pleasure for me, and I wouldn't want any of my readers to risk less enjoyment of it.

Reviewed by Catherine B. Krusberg