Thanks to Newman’s skill as a writer the gore and horror never threatens to overwhelm the narrative which manages to infuse some much needed humour into the poignancy and sacrifice. This is packed with shocking and striking images, plenty of exotic creatures, shape shifting vampires and of course lots of gore. The fast and frenetic aerial action is juxtaposed with the brutal battles in the quagmire of trenches, barbed wire and disease of the ground. I am happy to say that this is an intoxicating mix of history and fiction that sees vampires engaging in dog fights (and I never thought I would write a sentence like that!) Having read ‘Anno Dracula’ I was eager to see what Newman did to the First World War. The Diogenes Club is at the heart of British Intelligence and Charles Beauregard and his protégé Edwin Winthrop go head-to-head with the lethal vampire flying machine that is the Bloody Red Baron.’ ‘It is 1918 and Dracula is commander-in-chief of the armies of Germany and Austria-Hungary.
In this alternate universe the War of the Great Powers in Europe is also a war between the living and the undead.
This is the follow up to ‘Anno Dracula’ and like the first book it is filled with literary and historical characters, this time from the early twentieth century.
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