Anno Dracula

[indiana_j]

Anno Dracula is enjoyable so far but seems far too pleased with itself.  After all, Newman did manage to fit in 90+ fictional characters from something like 70+ sources (ranging from Dracula to Salem's Lot), plus 30+ historical figures, on top of any original characters.  It just seems a little bit too much, too full of itself and far too pleased with its own cleverness.

Overall, it does detract from the novel - every time I see a name, I pause to see what book / story they're from or if they're a historical figure or original.  And it seems that there's a shit ton of names popping up every few pages!

When it gets away from that, it's fun and I'll probably get the others (in eBook format this time; I could knock someone unconscious with this physical copy) but, damn, is it really necessary to stuff that much 'cleverness' into one book?

Comments

[calliopes_pen]

You'll be getting even more of that in the sequels, too. I'm currently on the third novel, and in this particular section alone I've spotted people from James Bond, The Addams Family--where they sat down for a brief chat with Morticia and Gomez in a group of other vampires--Bride of Frankenstein (an ancient Dr. Pretorious), and The Re-Animator.

I keep checking Wikipedia, to make sure I've got all the nudging references.

[diamond-dust06.livejournal.com]

I just read that a couple of months ago, too. It was okay, but since they tell you who Jack the Ripper is in the first chapter, there's not much suspense. The journey for the other characters to discover his identity isn't all that exciting, IMO.