Incarnadine: The True Memoirs of Count Dracula: Volume One [Hardcover]

R. H. Greene (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 14, 2009

Bram Stoker's most terrifying creation tells his own story in Incarnadine: The True Memoirs of Count Dracula. Author R. H. Greene vividly reimagines the harrowing and sensual Dracula mythos as a first person memoir written by Dracula himself. In this first of two volumes, the Medieval origins of Dracula and his three brides are chronicled using elements drawn from Slavic and pre-Christian religious traditions. Horror, wonder, violence and romance combine to reinvent one of literature's most fascinating characters for the modern era.

Equally a historical adventure and a rumination on mortality and religion, Incarnadine offers a vibrant, picaresque view of the broad social tapestry of Eastern Europe in the late Middle Ages. The novel concludes with the first meeting between Dracula and Stoker protagonist Jonathan Harker, setting the stage for a lively reinvention of Stoker's Victorian classic in Memoirs, Volume Two.

http://www.draculamemoirs.blogspot.com

Editorial Reviews

Review

Not only did it challenge my perception of the most iconic character in vampire literature, it reassured me that there is still room for true works of art within this genre. A journey you'll not soon forget, and one that is highly recommended. 

--Brad Middleton, VAMPYRES.COM

Greene has turned his main character into a figure so complicated and engaging that even the most bizarre events are taken in stride because we want to keep reading. All I know is that 324 pages later, I'm sucked in and waiting for the next volume. --FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND

A wholly new perspective on Dracula... A thoughtful, exciting and engrossing novel that sheds new light on vampire lore and lets us experience the grand legend of Count Dracula through his own eyes. I highly encourage you to check out INCARNADINE. --Sarah Javier, FATALLY-YOURS.COM

Product Details

• Hardcover: 324 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse.com; 1st edition (September 14, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1440159459
• ISBN-13: 978-1440159459
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,446,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

R. H. Greene is an author, college professor and documentary filmmaker living in Los Angeles. He is the writer, director and primary producer of the documentary feature and cult film favorite SCHLOCK! THE SECRET HISTORY OF AMERICAN MOVIES, which recently received its European theatrical premiere at the National Film Theatre in London under the sponsorship of the British Film Institute. Although Greene's first book was an L.A. Times Non-Fiction Bestseller, he's disenchanted with his former publisher and so won't be promoting that title here. INCARNADINE is Mr. Greene's first novel. Its companion volume, THE CHARNEL HOUSE, has already been written.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thrilling and romantic 'Autobiography' of Count Dracula., September 10, 2009

By 

Joe Cashman (Glendale, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Incarnadine: The True Memoirs of Count Dracula: Volume One (Hardcover)

An engrossing and richly descriptive page turner, "Incarnadine" tells the life story of the most famous vampire in literary history from Dracula's own point of view. Carrying the reader through Dracula's tragic mortal existence, his incremental transformation into a vampire and the resulting consequences of those events, writer RH Greene reveals the immortal as a passionate, emotionally complex and, yes, deeply sympathetic figure. Full of lush descriptions and detail, the novel transports you back in time to Ottoman-controlled Eastern Europe so completely that you might actually find your mind walking in Dracula's footsteps and viewing the world through his eyes. Written entirely in the first person narrative, as if it were Dracula's diary, the book explores, with great empathy and insight, the feelings of a man driven beyond insane by the circumstances of his life and proposes an original answer to the most interesting question about the infamous character; what circumstances could possibly drive someone to forsake their own humanity?

Not just another Dracula novel, "Incarnadine" is a delicately woven and thought provoking commentary on the characteristics of love, faith and despair deliciously wrapped in a great vampire origin story. You won't want to put it down.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Take on Dracula, September 10, 2009

By 

Jeffrey Schwager (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Incarnadine: The True Memoirs of Count Dracula: Volume One (Hardcover)

As a fan of Greene's work as an essayist, I was excited to see what he would do with the Dracula legend. "Incarnadine" surpassed all my expectations. Greene's Count is more man than monster, more burdened than emboldened by his curse. The heart of the novel is the Count's relationship with his three victims/disciples--a wholly unexpected and moving love story. But while the overall tone of the work is contemplative, the action scenes crackle with a cinematic energy. This is a Dracula memoir that will challenge fans of Stoker, Lugosi, and Coppola, while also satisfying readers of literary genre-benders like John Gardner's "Grendel."

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dracula as addict, October 30, 2009

By 

Kindred "In All But Spirit" (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Incarnadine: The True Memoirs of Count Dracula: Volume One (Hardcover)

Or more precisely, Dracula with an addictive personality. Throughout this book written in the guise of the early memoirs of Konstantin Kuzmanov,he becomes completely engrossed in each stage of his life. Buffeted from one extreme to the next he certainly can't be accused of not throwing his whole soul into each becoming. Which seems to be his undoing. As soon as a human does that which is most human, being imperfect, he becomes disenchanted with his whole being. And yet he continues to search for that unconditional love. And when he finds it, his reaction is of course imperfect and forces him to reject his life for a time, with a dreamlike sequence in the book that is mesmerizing.
The author relocated to Bulgaria while writing this book and manages to capture the essence of the area which to this reader seems frozen in time, giving the tale a sense of otherness and permeates the prose with a feeling of oppression. The explanations of the older myths of the most infamous of all vampires are woven into the tale and are very satisfying and intriguing.
This book may force the reader to reflect on how a person's life forces unwanted changes to their soul and the impact on their faith. I impatiently await the continuation of the story, The Charnel House. Cheers to R.H. Greene for returning to the true essence of the vampire.