HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Loading...

Covenant with the Vampire

by Jeanne Kalogridis

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
7081031,837 (3.48)7
A sensual, terrifying, incredibly accomplished first novel, this fascinating prequel to the classic and most popular horror novel of all time, Dracula, focuses on Dracula's great-nephew, who inherits the job of managing his great-uncle's estate...and his appetite. Written in diary form as Dracula is, this compulsively readable book has revelations that will shock and delight readers of the original. More erotic than Anne Rice, Kalogridis is a major new voice in vampire fiction. The first chilling tale in an exciting new trilogy is a rich and terrifying historical novel set fifty years before the opening of Bram Stoker's Dracula. At the castle of Prince Vlad Tsepesh, also known as Dracula, Vald's great-nephew Arkady is honored to care for his beloved though strange great-uncle...until he beings to realize what is expected of him in his new role. It seems that either he provides his great-uncle with unsuspecting victims to satisfy his needs, or Vlad will kill those Arkady loves. He is trapped into becoming party to murder and sadistic torture. And it is in his blood. When Arkady learns that his newborn son is being groomed one day to follow in his footsteps, he knows that he must fight Dracula, even if it means death.… (more)
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 7 mentions

English (10)  Spanish (1)  All languages (11)
Showing 1-5 of 10 (next | show all)
I remember reading this book as a teen and it changed my view of vampires from would-be-frightening to downright enigmatic. This was also around the time when I moved away from the tween series and into more YA. I found this book in the library and just thought it fell into the YA genre. It did not, it was way beyond my years and now that I'm rereading this book, I have a deeper appreciation for how it changed my literary platter and veered me into mystery, sweeping beauty, prose and ultimately awakened my ability to actually visualize things beyond my comprehension.

I am excited to be going through the series once more. ( )
  RoadtripReader | Aug 24, 2023 |
Covenant with the Vampire is the beginning of a trilogy of books that serve as both prequel to Bram Stoker's Dracula as well as serve as a gap filler. Who are the Vampire Brides? Who is Van Helsing and what is his connection to Dracula? Why does Dracula seek to come to England? This series attempts to answer those questions and more, and is off to a fantastic start. It is chilling, with the same level of eroticism the original novel had (just updated for modern standards), and thoroughly entertaining.

The only criticism I can level against it is that it's an epistolary novel, written in journals and diaries just as the original Dracula is. That format served the more placid Dracula well, but this novel has a lot more action and a lot more suspense in it, and the effects of those actions are undermined by the journal format. Sometimes the journals feel too vivid, as if we're experiencing it in real time, and sometimes the journals feel like a bit of a stretch, such as when a character is convinced that he is mad spending time writing things out in proper English? One of the final actions in the climax of the book is rendered suspenseless by the journal format, as it takes place in the character's own journal so that the reader immediately knows that the event can't move towards the ending the writer is suggesting.

That's just a minor complaint about the book. Every fan of Dracula should do themselves a service and read this series. ( )
  cyafer | Mar 30, 2013 |
I really, really, REALLY wanted to like this book but I found it such a chore to read. If you take a look at the excerpt, the format is in diary form, alternating between Arkady, his wife, Mary and his sister, Zsuzsanna. So it's more of a narrative, detailing their observations, thoughts and experiences in detail than anything which I found that tiresome. I found myself skimming the pages furiously and gleaning through the dialogue just to speed up the story. ( )
  talksupe.blogspot | Mar 4, 2012 |
Arkady Tsepesh has returned to his childhood home to Transylvania with his pregnant wife Mary to take the place of his deceased father as the caretaker to his eccentric uncle, Prince Vlad. Arkady decides to begin writing a journal to record the painful days ahead and to also remember his father. The only other family member left is his older sister, Zsuzsanna, who was born crippled. Unfortunately the Tespesh family is plagued by madness, tragedy and children born deformed or dying young.

Once back at the family home, Mary notices strange things about Arkady’s uncle. He doesn’t eat or drink. He also pays too much attention to Zsuzsanna than Mary is comfortable with. Mary is warned by her servant, Masika, to get away before it is too late. She witnesses many things that have her scared to death and she can’t seem to get through to Arkady what a monster his uncle is.

Things are about to become worse because Prince Vlad has broken the covenant and the peasants know if he is already preying on his family that they will be next. Arkady feels the madness descending upon him. He starts seeing his older brother, Stefan, who was mauled by their family dog when Arkady was five. He thinks that Stefan is trying to tell him something but he can’t seem to figure it out.

The entire story is told through diary entries of Arkady, Mary and Zsuzsanna. A very dark, intense read. It isn’t for the faint of heart because there is graphic scenes involving incest and necrophilia that had me cringing. ( )
  Kelsey_O | Mar 28, 2011 |
Showing 1-5 of 10 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

A sensual, terrifying, incredibly accomplished first novel, this fascinating prequel to the classic and most popular horror novel of all time, Dracula, focuses on Dracula's great-nephew, who inherits the job of managing his great-uncle's estate...and his appetite. Written in diary form as Dracula is, this compulsively readable book has revelations that will shock and delight readers of the original. More erotic than Anne Rice, Kalogridis is a major new voice in vampire fiction. The first chilling tale in an exciting new trilogy is a rich and terrifying historical novel set fifty years before the opening of Bram Stoker's Dracula. At the castle of Prince Vlad Tsepesh, also known as Dracula, Vald's great-nephew Arkady is honored to care for his beloved though strange great-uncle...until he beings to realize what is expected of him in his new role. It seems that either he provides his great-uncle with unsuspecting victims to satisfy his needs, or Vlad will kill those Arkady loves. He is trapped into becoming party to murder and sadistic torture. And it is in his blood. When Arkady learns that his newborn son is being groomed one day to follow in his footsteps, he knows that he must fight Dracula, even if it means death.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.48)
0.5 2
1 2
1.5 1
2 13
2.5 4
3 32
3.5 8
4 32
4.5 3
5 21

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 202,657,165 books! | Top bar: Always visible