A ridiculously enjoyable book in a ridiculously enjoyable series. This is the sequel to Anno Dracula, which had Genevieve and Charles Beauregard chase Jack The Ripper through the fog-choked streets of Victorian London, as ruled by the Prince Regent, Dracula. Not to spoil it or anything, but at the end of the book revolution was kindled and Dracula ejected from Britain. Now he's in Germany, running the War for Kaiser Wilhelm. Warm and dead alike are chewed up in the muddy fields of France as the conflict stalls and drags for years, while in the skies above the nascent science of aerial warfare capture the public imagination. The deadly Baron Von Richtofen is Germany's greatest ace. Edwin Winthrop is assigned by the Diogenes Club to spy out the headquarters of Richtofen's Flying Circus, where dark deeds are afoot. Vampire reporter Kate Reed is driving an ambulance at the front and sniffing out stories. Exiled American writer Edgar Allan Poe is conscripted to write a very special biography. With Russia out of the war, millions of German troops are being brought to the western front for a Spring offensive that could end the war and see Dracula triumphant.

The pages are crowded with literary characters, some of them vampires, some of them not, which adds a delightful level to the book, but there is a cleverly constructed, compelling story and in Kate and Edwin a pair of strong, likeable leads in dreadful peril.

This is a new edition, and it includes a previously deleted chapter and a novella set in the 1920s, featuring Genevieve and Edwin in a messy effort to find a new king of the vampires. At 150 pages, it's a substantial chunk of story, and with the annotations and a film treatment for a Roger Corman film this is an attractive prospect even for fans who already have a copy. Still to come is Dracula Cha Cha Cha and then, finally, Johnny Alucard. That's a lot to look forward to.