Renfield: Slave of Dracula (2006)

For those who read this blog, it's pretty obvious that I have a deep and abiding love for anything Frankenstein. But that doesn't mean that I ignore the other well-known horror characters that resound throughout our culture. Who am I talking about here? Well, Dracula, of course, probably the most popular and well known creature of them all. There have been countless spin-offs, reworkings, refurbishments and allusions to this classic work, but it's often difficult to find something that is wholly original and really takes the old story to a different level. Such was the case with Renfield: Slave of Dracula by Barbara Hambley. Focusing on a key but lesser regarded character is definitely something that caught my eye, especially when it came to this particular lunatic who's set the standard for many a vampire's lackey. 

Renfield is mainly known for being Jonathan Harker's predecessor and for being a lunatic after returning from a trip to visit with Dracula. In film adaptations, his role is sometimes expanded beyond that to doing more for the Count, but beyond that very little is known of him -- he's often not even given a first name. But in Renfield: Slave of Dracula we're introduced not only a name but to a backstory of a family, and a man tortured by the demons in his mind. His wife came from an upstanding family that was skeptical of her marriage to a merchant class man, but it's evident that the two hold a deep love for one another. From this union came a daughter, Victoria, affectionately called Vixie. Renfield writes countless letters to them both, showing that he is a man filled with emotion.

But he also has demons to contend with. Many times we are shown a hallucination that Renfield names Wotan, though it's Dracula. This thing taunts him by showing him images of past kills and tortures him with the impending doom of Lucy and Mina, in whom Renfield sees reflected his own daughter. The book shows journal entries, logs, bits of narrative to flesh the whole thing out, and it's really quite the spellbinding story when compared to Stoker's original novel (you know that thing reads like sandpaper). And the story doesn't end with Renfield's death, as is often shown at the hands of the Count while still entombed in the lunatic asylum. Instead, he's taken in by two other vampires who seek the Count's demise, and give Renfield a second chance in order to make right what he has done wrong.

Overall, I thought this was one of the better Dracula sequels I've read, especially considering the small amount of material that Hambly would have had to work off of. Her writing is superb, easily bringing the story to life for the reader's pleasure.