Blood of the Impaler

by Jeffrey Sackett

THE BLOOD REMEMBERS...

Malcolm Harker is heir to the family fortune - and he is about to discover the family curse. Sunlight burns his eyes, consecrated wine sears his throat, and dark memories fill his dreams. The answer rests in his name, his ancient blood, and a terrifying legend that is much, much more than legend. It is fact

THE BLOOD CALLS...

Malcolm Harker is an educated man.To unmask the lie that his family has accepted as truth, Harker must find the crypt of Vlad of Wallachia, the man once known as the Impaler. He must prove that the vampire prince has no power over the blood coursing through his veins. But when the century-old princess of the Undead arises, the blood calls - and Malcolm will answer.


BLOOD OF THE IMPALER

Genres: Horror, Vampires, Fiction

340 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[David Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was released in 1989 and is a sequel to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, it follows a twenty something bartender named Malcom Harker who is the great grandson of Jonathan and Mina Harker. Malcom hates going out in the day and only feels good at night, he soon finds out that he has Dracula’s blood running through his veins from when Mina was forced to suck Dracula’s blood. The Harkers are cursed and the only thing to stop the curse is to find Dracula’s ashes and spread them outside the vampire’s native land.

Its been several years since I’ve read Blood of The Impaler but I remember it was good enough where I found some of the other books that Jefferey Sackett wrote. Jefferey on all his books mixes history and horror. In Blood of the Impaler, he goes back and takes an in depth look at the real Vlad the impaler by having Dracula recount his own past from his childhood, to when he became ruler of Wallachia, to when he became a vampire, to his death in the book Dracula. The book also includes more diary enteries from the characters in Dracula and actually reads like Bram Stoker’s novel in places.

Blood of the Impaler gives a history lesson on the real Dracula but a lot of it also takes place in the present day. It offers up some interesting characters, some good death scenes, as well as a great battle between good and evil towards the end. This book may be hard to find now but if you enjoyed Bram Stoker’s Dracula and want to know about the vampire’s past as well as what happened to the other characters in Dracula after the end of the 1897 novel, you may want to find it.

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've recently read several "sequels" to the classic Dracula, including the authorized follow-up by Dacre Stoker and the highly regarded effort from Freda Warrington. I'm sure I'll read others in the days to come, and I hope they will prove to be great books. But in Blood of the Impaler, author Jeffrey Sackett has set a standard for Dracula stories that will be hard to equal.

The story takes the time to introduce the main characters and help us understand what makes them tick. Malcolm, the main protagonist, hardly comes across as a "Fearless Vampire Slayer" at first. Indeed, the Malcolm we meet in the beginning of the novel seems very much like a hopeless loser, so much so that we wonder what his girlfriend, Holly, sees in him and why his big sister, Rachel, doesn't kick him out of the nest. But as strange longings begin to infiltrate Malcolm's consciousness and the young man discovers a side of himself he never knew existed, he is forced to confront a horrible truth that will pit him against the very essence of evil incarnate.

Sackett's prose makes the story an irresistible one, and once you start reading Blood of the Impaler you won't want to put it down. Malcom, Holly, and the rest of the characters come to virtual life, and reader empathy is strong from beginning to end. And while Sackett has chosen to eschew the epistolary style of the original Dracula novel in favor of a more contemporary narrative, he clearly grasps the essential elements that make Stoker's tale the classic that it is. Sackett's vampires are evil, monstrous predators, and even talking to them is a life-threatening exercise. Moreover, Sackett preserves the Christian backbone of the original book, adding an extra spiritual dimension to the story which other writers might have ignored. And while Sackett's book isn't particularly short, it is well-paced and the words burn at a rate that most short stories fail to achieve. Sackett knows how to construct a scene for maximum suspense, and the gradually unfolding mystery inevitably builds to an an explosive, nerve-shattering climax.

The Dracula saga is one that has inspired many writers to put their own spin on the undying legend, with varying degrees of success. But Sackett's novel far surpasses most other entries in the field, and Blood of the Impaler is a chilling, engrossing odyssey into the eternal war between good and evil...and the living and the undead.

[Jay Rothermel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still the same exciting and challenging novel I first read 29 October s ago. Sackett is a fine writer, solid plotter, and a deft hand at character building: a truly fecund and confident aesthetic is at work here. Some may kvetch at multiple charactwr p.o.v.'s within chapters late in the book, but I chalk it up to authorial exuberance.

This is the best continuation of Stoker's novel I have read, and deserves more popularity than it has received.

Now available in an ebook edition with a godawful cover art.

[Dan Shaurette · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my opinion, this is one of the best unofficial sequels to Bram Stoker's DRACULA out there. It takes place in what was present day with the idea of "what if DRACULA really was the collected journals of Jonathan Harker and his compatriots and if Harker's descendant discovered this was no fictional tale."

It made me want to re-read the classic novel again and gave me a new appreciation for it.

[Zach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Late 80s Bram Stoker Fanfiction


I'd had this book on a wish list for some time. I saw it on a list of forgotten and underrated horror novels. While this book wasn't necessarily for me, I can't give it a negative rating. I've never really been into the romantic vampire(though I wouldn't say there's much of that in this book) or Christianity as a weapon against them. This book is well written and, if you like Dracula, you should enjoy this.

[Mandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have no idea why people keep saying this is "the best sequel to Dracula". I found the story slow, boring and not at all in ranks with Stoker. I had trouble staying interested and had to force myself to finish the story because it is just like so many other vampire novels that it truly is forgettable.

[Gevera Piedmont · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could have been clever but all the religion made it tedious.

[Robert Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one. Of course, I’m a sucker for anything Dracula and Sherlock Holmes and have always loved gothic horror, so there’s that. The stupidity of the protagonist did wear on me although I figured out it was a twist (revealed much later) when he kept repeating the same mistakes ad nauseum. The plot is simple, the protagonist, his sister, and his grandfather are all descendants of the Harkers from the original Dracula novel written based on Mina Harker’s diary, his great-grandmother. Therefore, the entire family line is contaminated by Dracula’s satanic blood which they carry in all their veins.

The plot involves the protagonist, Malcolm Harker, who when he is made aware of his family’s curse via Dracula’s blood owing to a couple of disturbing incidents with a random woman and between him and his girlfriend, he sets out with said girlfriend and best friend Jerry, the comic relief, to end the family curse once and for all and then screws up royally.

I enjoyed the references to Bram Stoker’s novel and the building and clarifying of the lore found in that book and the building upon it by the author of this one. I liked that the vampires were true monsters rather than have them misunderstood romantic creatures or cursed unfortunates but still people. These things, the Nosferatu, are monsters and I love that.

I also enjoyed Jeffrey Sackett’s werewolf novel, Mark of the Werewolf. But I think between the two, I would prefer this one. If you’re looking for easy-reading pulp gothic horror, I don't think you could go wrong with this one.

[Jim Nemeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Malcolm Harker is the grandson of Quincy Harker—he himself the son of Jonathan and Mina, who battled the vampire Dracula in the late 19th century. After a horrific episode in church when Malcolm receives communion, Quincy and Malcolm’s sister, Rachel, reveal the dark secret they’ve been hiding from Malcolm his entire life. For Dracula’s blood runs through the Harker family veins, and devotion to God is the only way in which to thwart becoming vampires themselves. Malcolm enlists friends Jerry and Holly in a quest to unearth the truth, but in so doing, Malcolm unearths many other things long since buried…

Few things are more disappointing than stumbling upon a novel that grips you from the start with a great story, great characters, and makes you impatient to get back to it—and then is spoiled by its ending. So it is, sadly, with Blood of the Impaler. At nearly 500 pages, the first 400 or so kept me gripped, excited, and happy to have found such a rarity. As the book then began to enter its denouement, the story fell apart for me. Through both overreach (more is not always better) and the end confrontation which just stretched my belief too thin, I can’t tell you how disappointed I became. It had been so good!

[Yegor Voronin · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you loved "Dracula" and are looking for fanfiction inspired by the book, you will most likely love this as well. I was not terribly impressed by the original, so this was just an OK read to me.
The main character is the grandchild of Mina Harker and her Dracula-infested blood still runs in him (although it's not quite clear to the author how "blood" is passed through a sperm, and he admits it). He hears "the call of the blood", which sends him on all kinds of adventures filled with vampires. Some well-known characters make appearance.
The writing is OK. The characters are OK. The story is slightly better than OK. Overall an OK read, but I'm sure hardcore Dracula fans would appreciate it more than I did.

[Tarot · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5 stars

0.5/1 ★ for plot
0.5/1 ★ for characters and character development
0.5/1 ★ for writing style and narration
0.5/1 ★ for pace
0.5/1 ★ for world-building

Half-decent unofficial 1980's sequel to Bram Stoker's Dracula. Audiobook performed by the unparalleled John (Rafter) Lee.

[Reed Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great writing, kept me engaged with wanting more and more of the story as it went along. Definitely a read to keep you entertained throughout.

[Dylan Horsch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty solid vampire book, I would’ve liked the ending better if the vampires won outright.

[Felix Shepherdson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amusing modern day Dracula tale interspersed with some great historical fiction. Enough antics amongst the contemporary cast to keep things entertaining

[Kristine Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book a few years ago, but I was so fascinated with this potential outcome as an ending to the classic Dracula tale that I had everyone at work read it to so I could discuss it with them. It is definitely an interesting twist and worth the time to pick up.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best sequel to Stoker's novel I've ever read. True to the spirit of the original. Vlad is a BAD bad guy, and his human descendent, Malcolm Harker, is trying desperately to get free of his curse. Stoker would be proud.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Without a doubt, one of the best modern day vampire novels ever written. I put it right up there with 'Salem's Lot. Yes, it's that good.