( CNN ) -- Move over , Edward Cullen . Tell those bayou bloodsuckers from `` True Blood '' to step aside , too . More than 112 years after he first climbed out of the coffin , the world 's most famous vampire is back -- and he 's bloodier than ever . `` Dracula the Un-Dead , '' released this month in the United States , is a sequel to Bram Stoker 's 1897 classic written by Dacre Stoker , the original author 's great-grandnephew . The book , co-written by Dracula historian Ian Holt , picks up 25 years after the Victorian-era monster is supposedly killed in the original and is based in part on 125 pages of handwritten notes that Bram Stoker left behind . But while many of the original characters are here -- troubled couple Jonathan and Mina Harker and vampire hunter Van Helsing among them -- the horror has gotten a 21st-century update . The sex and violence that Stoker deftly alluded to in the original are , at times , front and center in his descendant 's sequel . `` You 've got to keep in mind the perspective , '' said Dacre Stoker , a native of Montreal , Quebec , now living in Aiken , South Carolina . `` The degree of sex and violence he had , in this very stuffy and conservative Victorian society , was cutting edge at the time . Even the exposure of a woman 's flesh , the piercing of the flesh , was a metaphor for the sex act . '' And with authors from Anne Rice and Charlaine Harris to Stephen King and Poppy Z. Brite having crafted their own , sometimes lurid , reworkings of the vampire legend , Stoker said he knew that the new book could n't just be a straight continuation of the first . `` We 've got to keep up with what other people are doing , '' he said . `` Otherwise , our story would be toast . '' Of all the books , movies and other tales to use Dracula 's name throughout the decades , the novel is the first since the 1931 Bela Lugosi movie to have the Stoker family 's endorsement and input . After Bram 's death , his widow , Florence , sold the story 's rights , and eventually , the most iconic character in the history of horror slipped into the public domain . Dacre said that before now , the only thing he 'd ever received for his ancestor 's work was the occasional Halloween wisecrack . `` We knew of the legacy of Bram Stoker , but as kids growing up in Montreal , it was n't that big a deal , '' he said . `` Every now and then at Halloween you 'd get joked : 'Is it safe to come to the Stoker house ? Are we going to get candy or bitten in the neck ? ' `` It was a college writing project that revived his interest in his novelist ancestor , a native of Dublin , Ireland , who 'd moved to London , England , by the time the book was written . Then , he was contacted by Holt in 2003 . The historian said he wanted to work on a sequel and wanted to have a member of Stoker 's family involved . Along the way , they uncovered a rare find at the Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania : Bram 's own notes . It was n't a plot outline , Dacre said , `` but what I did was find information , characters , little ideas -- plot threads that he had in mind 112 years ago that did n't make it into his story . '' Among the seeds for new plotlines was Bram 's mention of a police investigator who plays prominently in `` Dracula the Un-Dead . '' Dacre said he 'd always wondered at how the first book was full of murder but no police were involved . The notes also prompted the inclusion of Jack the Ripper , whose gruesome exploits gripped London around the time the elder Stoker was writing his novel and who is believed by some historians to have helped shape its plot . True fans of the vampire genre will find another historical figure they 're likely familiar with gracing the book 's pages and an even more unlikely appearance : Bram Stoker himself . `` Part of our plan was to paint a realistic picture of Bram Stoker , '' Dacre said of the author , who spent time as a reporter , theater critic and manager of London 's Lyceum Theater . `` Everybody knows Dracula . Not many people know Bram Stoker . '' Response to and reviews of the book have been largely positive . `` This daring sequel captures the essence and gothic glory of the original , '' USA Today 's Carroll Memmott wrote . Dacre , who is touring the United States in support of the release , said he was prepared for the inevitable backlash from pure-blood purists who do n't think the original should be sullied with a follow-up . `` I have heard just a bit of it , '' he said . `` People say it 's better to leave some of these mysteries alone ; let 's not solve them all . Believe me , when you read our story , you 'll know we do n't solve them all . '' And he has some other advice for those diehards : Lighten up . `` This is entertainment . Go with it , '' he said . `` If you do n't want to read it , you do n't have to . ''
`` Dracula the Un-Dead '' written by Bram Stoker 's descendant Dacre . Vampire tale is more overtly violent , sexy than the 1897 original . Book has prompted good reviews , handful of bitter purists . Jack the Ripper , Bram himself incorporated into new story .