claennis's review
3.0
A book sitting on our bookshelves that I thought would be fitting for the Halloween season. Not all short stories gelled with me as it’s not exactly my kind of genre. Nevertheless, it was refreshing to read something different. I was kind of intrigued by the Anno Dracula excerpt at the end....though not enough to go read it in its entirety.
verkisto's review
3.0
I have a habit of prioritizing books as part of a series I'm reading to the top of my list, so I started this book, since I've come so far with the Anno Dracula series so far. I was disappointed to learn that this isn't really an Anno Dracula book; instead, it's a collection of various stories by Newman, only one of which is set in the Anno Dracula universe. Even then, it's more a teaser to a larger work than anything else.
There are a lot of movie-related stories, where Newman takes his expansive knowledge of horror and cinema and does a kind of mash-up/conversion of the tales, much like he did with Anno Dracula. It's clever and interesting, but after a while, you realize that, like Alan Moore and his skill at deconstructing mythologies, this is all he does. There are a handful of tales that buck this trend, but they're not nearly as interesting as the others.
Like any collection, some of the stories are OK, some are "Huh?", and some are outstanding. My favorite is probably "Is There Anybody There?", not just because it's one of those stories that buck the trend, but also because it's a spooky, effective story of time, space, and spiritualism. Newman is a good writer, but my disappointment in this not being a sincere book in the Anno Dracula series took a bit of the shine off it.
There are a lot of movie-related stories, where Newman takes his expansive knowledge of horror and cinema and does a kind of mash-up/conversion of the tales, much like he did with Anno Dracula. It's clever and interesting, but after a while, you realize that, like Alan Moore and his skill at deconstructing mythologies, this is all he does. There are a handful of tales that buck this trend, but they're not nearly as interesting as the others.
Like any collection, some of the stories are OK, some are "Huh?", and some are outstanding. My favorite is probably "Is There Anybody There?", not just because it's one of those stories that buck the trend, but also because it's a spooky, effective story of time, space, and spiritualism. Newman is a good writer, but my disappointment in this not being a sincere book in the Anno Dracula series took a bit of the shine off it.
braynard's review
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Now, I'll admit that I don't read a lot of horror, but I do love a good monster story and Kim Newman's stories are full of those. I will also say that the stories are a bit derivative, but that isn't inherently bad, especially since he admits that his work is based on other work. Frankly, it's to be expected. His work is also full of outside references, some incredibly obscure. It was a lot of fun trying to tease them all out.
Overall, I liked the stories. A few were not great, but the book was good overall. I would recommend it for those who really like old horror stories and movies. If that's not your thing, you might not enjoy it as much.
linda_edwards's review
2.0
A collection of short stories from the author who wrote all the Anno Dracula books. However, only one of them is part of that series and the rest were stories featuring people such as Jack the Ripper, The Invisible Man and Frankenstein's Monster. I'm sorry to say that I found most of the stories rather boring and hard to get through so I only enjoyed a couple of them.
matteldritch92's review
dark
funny
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
taranana's review
3.0
”Anno Dracula 1899 and other Stories” by Kim Newman [3/5]
This year seems to be a bit of a Kim Newman year and I liked the Anno Dracula novels very much so I was excited for this short story collection. But it seems I either did not understand not all stories would be set in the Anno Dracula universe or I was mislead by the description/blurb. Well. Either way this collection was not what I wanted it to be.
Anno Dracula and more
I liked eight stories in this collection.
They are:
Famous Monsters
A story about a Martian's acting career.
A Drug on the Market
What happens if the Jekyll & Hyde drug is available to the mass-market?
Illimitable Dominion
What happens if Hollywood gets to interested in Poe's stories?
Just like Eddy
Evil doppelganger Poe
The Chill Clutch of the Unseen
An Oldman protects a town against monsters
Is there anybody there
What happens when a medium contacts a modern-day hacker?
Red Jacks Wild
Follow up for a story by Robert Bloch; about Jack The Ripper
Yokai Town: Anno Dracula 1899
A story set in the Anno Dracula universe that lays the groundwork for a later novel in the series
Pop-cultue and more
I like Newman's writing style and how he uses pop-culture to his benefit in all of his story (even in the ones I did not enjoy). He is very good at it and I enjoy the “spot the reference” game I began when reading the first Anno Dracula Novel.
I am sad though that not all stories were set in the Anno Dracula universe (as I like this universe very much), mostly for the Jekyll & Hyde short story because I had hoped to get a better look at their version in the Anno Dracula universe. And I would have loved to meet them in person. The cover is a bit misleading in this regard.
For Fans
I think this collection is for fans of Newan's writing. I liked some stories but I think I might not be the direct target audience for this. I bought it because I like Anno Dracula and wanted to see the other well-known monsters in this universe – not for one Anno Dracula Story and some short stories revolving around different aspects of these well-known monsters.
This year seems to be a bit of a Kim Newman year and I liked the Anno Dracula novels very much so I was excited for this short story collection. But it seems I either did not understand not all stories would be set in the Anno Dracula universe or I was mislead by the description/blurb. Well. Either way this collection was not what I wanted it to be.
Anno Dracula and more
I liked eight stories in this collection.
They are:
Famous Monsters
A story about a Martian's acting career.
A Drug on the Market
What happens if the Jekyll & Hyde drug is available to the mass-market?
Illimitable Dominion
What happens if Hollywood gets to interested in Poe's stories?
Just like Eddy
Evil doppelganger Poe
The Chill Clutch of the Unseen
An Oldman protects a town against monsters
Is there anybody there
What happens when a medium contacts a modern-day hacker?
Red Jacks Wild
Follow up for a story by Robert Bloch; about Jack The Ripper
Yokai Town: Anno Dracula 1899
A story set in the Anno Dracula universe that lays the groundwork for a later novel in the series
Pop-cultue and more
I like Newman's writing style and how he uses pop-culture to his benefit in all of his story (even in the ones I did not enjoy). He is very good at it and I enjoy the “spot the reference” game I began when reading the first Anno Dracula Novel.
I am sad though that not all stories were set in the Anno Dracula universe (as I like this universe very much), mostly for the Jekyll & Hyde short story because I had hoped to get a better look at their version in the Anno Dracula universe. And I would have loved to meet them in person. The cover is a bit misleading in this regard.
For Fans
I think this collection is for fans of Newan's writing. I liked some stories but I think I might not be the direct target audience for this. I bought it because I like Anno Dracula and wanted to see the other well-known monsters in this universe – not for one Anno Dracula Story and some short stories revolving around different aspects of these well-known monsters.
regardingreading's review
4.0
A mixed bag. Some stories I wished were longer, others I didn't really see the point of. Over all it's an entertaining read.
sai_deschain's review
4.0
More like three and a half. I bought this book because I thought that it was going to be all Anno Dracula stories, mostly because I saw that around the internet. Despite that, I enjoyed several of the stories, though it had some I didn't like much, but that's how books of short stories roll. The lack of introductions to the stories in most stories was also a bit of a letdown.
A breakdown by story would go like this
A Drug on the Market: ****
Illimitable Dominion: **** and a half
Americanski Dead At The Moscow Morgue: ***
The Chill Clutch Of The Unseen: ***
Is There Anybody There?: ****
The Intervention: *****
Red Jacks Wild: ***
The Snow Sculptures of Xanadu **
The Pale Spirit People **
Übermensch! *****
Coastal City ***
Completist Heaven ***
Une Étrange Aventure de Richard Blaine ****
Frankenstein on Ice **
Yokai Town: Anno Dracula 1899 *** (Mostly because it finishes with a Continued on 1999 Daikaiju. As if I weren't looking forward to that book already)
A bit of a mixed bag, but an enjoyable read anyway
A breakdown by story would go like this
A Drug on the Market: ****
Illimitable Dominion: **** and a half
Americanski Dead At The Moscow Morgue: ***
The Chill Clutch Of The Unseen: ***
Is There Anybody There?: ****
The Intervention: *****
Red Jacks Wild: ***
The Snow Sculptures of Xanadu **
The Pale Spirit People **
Übermensch! *****
Coastal City ***
Completist Heaven ***
Une Étrange Aventure de Richard Blaine ****
Frankenstein on Ice **
Yokai Town: Anno Dracula 1899 *** (Mostly because it finishes with a Continued on 1999 Daikaiju. As if I weren't looking forward to that book already)
A bit of a mixed bag, but an enjoyable read anyway
flying_monkey's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Anno Dracula 1899 and Other Stories contains lots of Newman's postmodern monster stories, alternate takes on famous movie monsters, and several of them are very good and quite funny. It also has the opening chapter of One Thousand Monsters, which is the only reason for the title, and is basically marketing.
zoer03's review
5.0
What a cracker... filled with monsters galore loved it... especially the short stories of famous heroes (with a twist) and comic characters turning up.