Here's something! I just saw the title to a new novel series Kikuchi-san is publishing called Dark Wars: The Tale of Meiji Dracula . Meiji Dracula? Who is that? Could the name of this Dracula be related in anyway to VHD's Dracula name? Look at the way Meiji's writes his D intial? ninja Your thoughts?
Here's the synopsis:
Fans of Bram Stoker’s Dracula will find a lot to like in this newly translated novel by the author of Vampire Hunter D. Daigo, a seventeen-year-old prodigy, has spent his life mastering the way of the sword, in honor of his father, a samurai who disappeared after the fall of the shogunate. Through a chance meeting, Daigo and his friends become known to the dark, mysterious aristocrat who has recently sailed into Tokyo harbor. Count Dracula has news of Daigo’s father, and has been searching for Daigo to tell him the secret of his father’s disappearance. But while one mystery is solved, another begins, as the people around Daigo fall victim to Dracula’s unholy thirst.
Paralleling the original story in clever ways, the author brings Count Dracula to 1880s Japan, twenty years after the opening of Japan to the West. This is a time when many Japanese are still questioning whether or not allowing foreigners into the country is such a good idea. As Daigo and his friends fight to save themselves and Japan from this invader from the West, the reader is frequently reminded of the war Vlad the Impaler fought to keep the Turks out of Transylvania.
In between various spoonfuls of history is a suspenseful, action-filled horror story that doesn’t get bogged down in unnecessary gore. Instead, the reader is treated to richly drawn scenes that are complemented by illustrator Katsuya Terada’s gothic pen and ink drawings, scattered throughout the novel. This is a historical/fantasy/horror hybrid, and occasionally logic takes a back seat to convenience, so suspension of disbelief is mandatory if you want to fully enjoy this story. But this is easy to do, as the package is near-perfect. The cover is full of dark, romantic drama, the writing is compelling, the ending is suitably enigmatic, and the translation is so smooth as to be almost invisible. The book includes an afterword written by the author, and a glossary of Japanese terms — a definite plus for readers new to the setting or the time period. Vampire fans will enjoy this new twist on a classic story.
