Title: A Fiend in the Family
Product review: I didn't particularly like The Dracula Tapes, but I thought that might have been because it seemed forced; Saberhagen was obliged to stick with the "facts" as written by Bram Stoker, which produced some very silly and unintentionally comical results.I was sufficiently entertained so as to be drawn to a second novel, hoping that the author might do better when not fettered by the chains of existing narrative. I selected "An Old Friend of the Family" because it is an early book and might still retain something fresh.I was dead wrong. Writing in 81, Saberhagen makes attempts to modernize his tale of Dracula coming to rescue Mina Harker's descendants but those efforts now seem dated and comical. The entire setup, about Morgan Le Fay and her minions, seems forced. And kidnaping Dracula by whacking him on the head with a wooden stake just seems ridiculous.This book is the one that pretty much convinced me not to bother with the rest of the series.
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