Customer Reviews

Dracula's Heir (Interactive Mysteries)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Dracula's Heir" is an unusual book in that it is an interactive thriller. Readers are treated to a set of clues in various forms [photo, documents, notes, passages from books, letters, etc] that enable us to solve the mystery in the book.

The story begins with an American attorney named Jon Kelso who is asked to peruse some private papers belonging to the deceased Lady Chaise Godalming pending their donation to the British Library. He is later mystified to find some of those papers concern him though there is no previous association between him and Lady Godalming. To add to his confusion, Lucy Swantree, the heir to the Godalming estate insists that he take his job seriously as his life is in danger. And so begins a journey into the past that helps the reader unravel the mystery - this has to do with some mysterious and horrifying occurences taking place in London about 10 years after Dracula's rampage through parts of London and his eventual decimation by Van Helsing and company.

Most of this story is narrated through the journal entries of Dr John Seward[who was part of the team headed by Van Helsing to destroy Dracula], director of the insane asylum that used to house the mad Renfield [from the original Dracula]. Together with Dr Dolores Morrigan, they try to unmask the 'demon' that is stalking London once again and preying upon innocents. And of course, the mystery of Jon Kelso and the Godalming papers are also revealed in a well-plotted story with many twists and truns.

The book does not just consist of journal entries and letters - as the reader goes through the book, there are various clues put in, such as a letter from Lady Godalming to Jon Kelso, a photograph of one of Dracula's victims, gorgeous black and white illustrations that bring back the gothic feel of the original Dracula, a reproduction of an old newspaper with key clues, a 'missing' passage from the original Dracula, various notes, Renfield's rambling journal entries, his death certificate, and finally a long letter that is sealed at the end of the book [to be opened by the reader only after finishing the book] that finally unravels the mystery [if not already deduced by the reader earlier].

All in all, this was a thrilling read for me, and it is reminiscent of Gothic mysteries in the style and manner in which it is written and presented. There were certain parts that kept me on edge and gave me goosebumps, and though I was able to unmask the 'demon' halfway through, it still made for a wonderful read and the interactive experience certainly added to the fun. Final verdict: this is a worthy sequel to Dracula and a gorgeous addition to any bookshelf!

I had seen this in a Brick and Mortar Store before it disappeared from sight. I had always been a big fan of Vampires, especially Dracula and I was intrigued by the Premise.

The cover was not only lush and beautiful, but it was soft to the touch - I admit I took to squeezing the book. And the Feelies are well-presented and added much to the story, with the 'pages' appropriately looking aged and style of newspapers, documents, etc. of the era.

Now to the bad part...

It opens up to a Forward of a man in modern times receiving these items in an attempt for someone to save him, and then it flashes back into Dr. Seward's point of view. His narration voice is actually quite good, a likable character who stayed true to his characterization in the original novel. And it's nice to see a Dracula story from the POV of one of the lesser used characters.

The actual 'Mystery' of the story fails to be be much of a mystery unfortunately - making several common mistakes that would be spotted by even the most casual of mystery fans, if you seen a single episode of Law and Order, you could see the plot twists a mile away. The suspicion was cast so strongly onto one character (It might be obvious who this would be, but I refrained from naming names), especially by a brand new character introduced for this book that it's hard to think of it as anything but a red herring.

There are a few tense moments in the narrative, especially for the younger audience this book was aimed for, especially when accompanied by the lush, and detailed illustrations - but ultimately the whole affair felt unsatisfactory.

In my opinion the worst mistake this book decide besides relying on the 'all sign point to suspect A IMMEDIATELY' is the afterword written in the POV of the Villain. They lacked the visceral grab of Dracula or even the memorable quirks of Renfield, and the explanation for their motives was mostly mealy-mouthed excuses and failed to flesh them out. If this was left out, the readers could easily filled in the details themselves and make the heir much more intriguing.

I have become a fan of some of the interactive books and thought I'd give this one a try. Rich in style but a little weak in content for anyone over 10 yrs. Plot was transparent but fun as vampire stories go. Nice attempt to try and tie into the Bram stoker Theme.

A fun book and a great read! I loved working my way through the clues to solve the mystery. A beautiful book with great illustrations.

Anyone who has ever wanted to be at the center of a book will love Dracula's Heir! Being able to follow the clues to form your own answer was awesome. This book is a must read for all you die-hard sleuths out there :) You won't be disappointed.