4 Stars

Barbara Hambly

RENFIELD: SLAVE OF DRACULA

Berkley

ISBN 0-425-21168-1

2006

I've never read a disappointing book by Hambly, and this one is no exception. As the title implies, it retells the events of DRACULA mainly from Renfield's viewpoint, beginning with the night, shortly after his commitment to the asylum, when he escapes during a dinner party Dr. Seward gives for Lucy Westenra and her mother. The story is told partly through letters and journals, mainly Renfield's diary, and partly through third-person narrative passages mainly focused on Renfield and Seward. As in Stoker's novel, Seward comes across as an intelligent, introspective man. But the major emphasis, of course, is on Renfield's background, his deeply troubled mind, and Dracula's seduction of him. His mental bond with Dracula causes him to experience fragments of the other characters' lives in dreams, which allow the reader to glimpse events (such as Lucy's two deaths) outside Renfield's direct experience. Hambly makes him a former merchant living for many years in India, where exposure to exotic cultures and strange phenomena has left him open to the supernatural. While he lies helpless in the asylum, his mother-in-law and sister-in-law search for his wife and daughter, who have apparently gone into hiding. His fervent wish to reunite with his family drives his quest for power through the consumption of life-force. Soon enough, though, he realizes the danger of relying on the Count for help or protection. Further complications ensue, behind the scenes of Stoker's narrative, which I'll leave unexplained in order to avoid spoiling the surprises.

Hambly ingeniously weaves in these new plot elements in ways that never violate the "facts" as presented in the original. The later part of the novel bears favorable comparison with her earlier excellent vampire novel TRAVELING WITH THE DEAD (sequel to THOSE WHO HUNT THE NIGHT). RENFIELD is a thoughtful and highly polished variation on the familiar Dracula story, with a sympathetic, believable exploration of a character who, in the classic novel, remains enigmatic and, although pitiable, has been treated on film as mostly just the vampire's minion, either a minor villain or comic relief. In spite of the horrors eventually revealed, Hambly makes Renfield a compelling protagonist whose fate enthralls the reader.

Reviewed by Margaret L. Carter