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Dracula #4
Thorn
Jonathan Thorn, a vampire, tries to recover an unknown painting by Leonardo da Vinci from Ellison Seabright, who is suspected of murdering his half brother to acquire the priceless work
347 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 1980
18 people are currently reading
437 people want to read
About the author
Fred Saberhagen
335 books496 followersFred Saberhagen was an American science fiction and fantasy author most famous for his ''Beserker'' and Dracula stories.
Saberhagen also wrote a series of a series of post-apocalyptic mytho-magical novels beginning with his popular ''Empire of the East'' and continuing through a long series of ''Swords'' and ''Lost Swords'' novels. Saberhagen died of cancer, in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Saberhagen was born in and grew up in the area of Chicago, Illinois. Saberhagen served in the [[U.S. Air Force]] during the Korean War while he was in his early twenties. Back in civilian life, Saberhagen worked as an It was while he was working for Motorola (after his military service) that Saberhagen started writing fiction seriously at the age of about 30. "Fortress Ship", his first "Berserker" short shory, was published in 1963. Then, in 1964, Saberhagen saw the publication of his first novel, ''The Golden People''.
From 1967 to 1973, he worked as an editor for the Chemistry articles in the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' as well as writing its article on science fiction. He then quit and took up writing full-time. In 1975, he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
He married fellow writer Joan Spicci in 1968. They had two sons and a daughter.
Saberhagen also wrote a series of a series of post-apocalyptic mytho-magical novels beginning with his popular ''Empire of the East'' and continuing through a long series of ''Swords'' and ''Lost Swords'' novels. Saberhagen died of cancer, in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Saberhagen was born in and grew up in the area of Chicago, Illinois. Saberhagen served in the [[U.S. Air Force]] during the Korean War while he was in his early twenties. Back in civilian life, Saberhagen worked as an It was while he was working for Motorola (after his military service) that Saberhagen started writing fiction seriously at the age of about 30. "Fortress Ship", his first "Berserker" short shory, was published in 1963. Then, in 1964, Saberhagen saw the publication of his first novel, ''The Golden People''.
From 1967 to 1973, he worked as an editor for the Chemistry articles in the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' as well as writing its article on science fiction. He then quit and took up writing full-time. In 1975, he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
He married fellow writer Joan Spicci in 1968. They had two sons and a daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
May 28, 2018
I rereading this, again. It's 4th in the series & you should read book 3, if no others in the series first. It's not at all like the vampire romances so popular today. More of a modern day take on Stoker's work. It was the first of the series that I read way back when & it hooked me, so I slowly gathered the rest & read them out of order years ago. Reading them in order is a treat.
Dracula himself is Thorn, the writer of the book. He's involved in a modern (1970 or so) murder story, chasing after a painting that he rightfully owns, but hasn't had in his possession for about 500 years. The story line flips back & forth between the present & the story revolving around the creation & his ownership of the painting 500 years ago. The history he provides is accurate, so far as I can tell from a little research. The dates, people & places are correct. As for the actual events, motivations & such, well it is fiction - well done fiction.
The dry tone of the modern thread is told in the third person & contains a lot of subtle humor, often while describing Dracula's attempts to deal with modern technology. There's a sentence to the effect that he's had more than a few bad wrecks while driving, but none were his fault. Demonic devices and stupid people who aren't nearly as well equipped as he is to survive such things.
The historical thread is told in the first person & is pretty gritty on occasion. The late 15th century was a pretty tough time for all concerned & his descriptions of some of the major players of that time in Italy is really interesting.
Highly recommended. Note: I need to get a new paperback as mine is falling apart. Even the tape can't keep it together any more.
Dracula himself is Thorn, the writer of the book. He's involved in a modern (1970 or so) murder story, chasing after a painting that he rightfully owns, but hasn't had in his possession for about 500 years. The story line flips back & forth between the present & the story revolving around the creation & his ownership of the painting 500 years ago. The history he provides is accurate, so far as I can tell from a little research. The dates, people & places are correct. As for the actual events, motivations & such, well it is fiction - well done fiction.
The dry tone of the modern thread is told in the third person & contains a lot of subtle humor, often while describing Dracula's attempts to deal with modern technology. There's a sentence to the effect that he's had more than a few bad wrecks while driving, but none were his fault. Demonic devices and stupid people who aren't nearly as well equipped as he is to survive such things.
The historical thread is told in the first person & is pretty gritty on occasion. The late 15th century was a pretty tough time for all concerned & his descriptions of some of the major players of that time in Italy is really interesting.
Highly recommended. Note: I need to get a new paperback as mine is falling apart. Even the tape can't keep it together any more.
September 13, 2022
The fourth book in Saberhagen's Dracula series and the longest and slowest so far. There was still a lot of good stuff here and the ending was strong, but there seemed to be a lot of excess verbiage to me that could have been cut out. Weaker than the first three but good enough to send me on to the next volume in the series.
August 30, 2024
This was a fun and fast read. There were two storylines alternating every chapter, one was a historical telling and the other was a multi POV adventure. The single POV stars Vlad and was my favorite while the other story's POVs were good as well I liked the Thorn POV there best. The book just kind of ends which is why I knocked off some points but overall this was a blast to read.
July 14, 2011
All of Fred Saberhagen's books are great but of all my favorites, Thorn and Empire of the East are by far my favorite. I was lucky enough to find a used copy on amazon....sadly he passed away in 2008. The world suffered a great literary loss at his death.
February 7, 2008
Thorn reveals the beginnings of Dracula and what happened that created him.
November 8, 2020
The vampire Drakulya recalls his days as Prince Wladislaus and his political marriage to Helen. Forever trapped in the form of a young woman, Helen reappears in Dracula's life when an important art work resurface centuries later.
Saberhagen's 'Thorn' works better in the past than in the present, but the story holds together well.
Saberhagen's 'Thorn' works better in the past than in the present, but the story holds together well.
November 6, 2025
This series continues to be super fun!
September 21, 2020
Fun, as usual for Saberhagen. I do enjoy his writing style.
Not as good as previous outings. You do get more about Drac's mortal life, before the change, which is neat, because the story is (kind of) split into two: Drac's mortal life, 500 years ago, and the problems of mortals, today (with Drac involved). But the modern story was... weak. And the story twist, at the end, was definitely not satisfying.
But I will read more. Definitely.
Not as good as previous outings. You do get more about Drac's mortal life, before the change, which is neat, because the story is (kind of) split into two: Drac's mortal life, 500 years ago, and the problems of mortals, today (with Drac involved). But the modern story was... weak. And the story twist, at the end, was definitely not satisfying.
But I will read more. Definitely.
March 23, 2021
Count Dracula, aka Jonathan Thorn, on the track of a lost Leonardo of his 2nd wife, Helen Hunyadi, discovers she became an insane vampire after he suffered "true death". Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel nominee (1980).
August 12, 2024
This is the first book in this series that I did not enjoy. It feels like this book was probably much longer and got edited down but in a way that left a lot of filler and took out a lot of important stuff while leaving a lot of loose threads. There are two plots going on, one set back in the days when Dracula was the mortal Prince of Wallachia and the other taking place in the "present" of 1980. The flashback storyline all seems to be building up to something until it just sort of ends without any resolution and in the epilogue you get a couple of lines that tell you vaguely how it ended. But it feels like the entire climax of that part of the story got cut. The story set in the "present" is convoluted and not very interesting, it does have a climax but not nearly as interesting as it seems to be building to. Dracula theorizes all through the book that he's going up against and getting outsmarted by some frightening intelligence but in reality the guy is just kind of a bumbling moron who Dracula VERY easily defeats. In both stories it feels like lots of stuff got cut and there are loose threads in the form of characters and plot threads that just kind of disappear or go nowhere.
December 20, 2021
all reviews in one place:
night mode reading ;
skaitom nakties rezimu
About the Book: A painting of a very important woman in Vlad Dracula’s life – resurfaces. A woman who showed him utter devotion time, and time again. Just to escape in the night, not to be seen for ages… And, it seems, this affair is not yet dead.
My Opinion: It’s easy to write Dracula as a monster. But how does one write him as a sexist pig, and not even make it historically… wobbly? A very dull tale of art, and women hunting, spiced up by some myths of vampirism.
night mode reading ;
skaitom nakties rezimu
About the Book: A painting of a very important woman in Vlad Dracula’s life – resurfaces. A woman who showed him utter devotion time, and time again. Just to escape in the night, not to be seen for ages… And, it seems, this affair is not yet dead.
My Opinion: It’s easy to write Dracula as a monster. But how does one write him as a sexist pig, and not even make it historically… wobbly? A very dull tale of art, and women hunting, spiced up by some myths of vampirism.
June 20, 2025
The fourth book in the Dracula series by Fred Saberhagen.
I enjoyed the chapters switching back and forth between Dracula's viewpoint in the past and the current times (which was told from outside POV). There were some bits that were confusing (like who was Annie/Helen) but in the end, I think I got it all figured out.
My biggest complaint was the introduction of more sexual themes than the previous three books.
I read another review that compared this book to the Forever Knight TV series and I completely agree.
Onto the next book in the series.
I enjoyed the chapters switching back and forth between Dracula's viewpoint in the past and the current times (which was told from outside POV). There were some bits that were confusing (like who was Annie/Helen) but in the end, I think I got it all figured out.
My biggest complaint was the introduction of more sexual themes than the previous three books.
I read another review that compared this book to the Forever Knight TV series and I completely agree.
Onto the next book in the series.
August 30, 2017
Dracula's story, as told by Dracula. He's searching for a portrait of his former wife (from a couple hundred years ago), and gets dragged into a different intrigue.
Narrated by Robin Bloodworth
Narrated by Robin Bloodworth
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 14, 2018
Not what I was expecting.
October 26, 2022
Enjoyable enough, but definitely not the best book in the series
April 2, 2025
Picked it up randomly, never read a single other book in the series. Worth it, fun read.
June 9, 2020
Is anyone in this series meant to be likable?
I’m supposed to interpret the tale of an unfortunate, pitiful runaway whose wellbeing NO ONE seems to care about whatsoever, in this vapid, apathetic tone, as his “great love”??
That’s a stretch.
If he’s writing anything, it certainly isn’t a love story.
There’s just no heart.
I’m supposed to interpret the tale of an unfortunate, pitiful runaway whose wellbeing NO ONE seems to care about whatsoever, in this vapid, apathetic tone, as his “great love”??
That’s a stretch.
If he’s writing anything, it certainly isn’t a love story.
There’s just no heart.
July 11, 2015
I'm currently rereading this series after originally reading it in high school. It's a fun re-imagining of the Dracula story, but it is best to read it in order.
Not as good as the first two in the series.
Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...
1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.
2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.
3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.
4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.
5 stars... I loved this book! It had earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.
Not as good as the first two in the series.
Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...
1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.
2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.
3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.
4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.
5 stars... I loved this book! It had earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.
August 2, 2009
Fred Saberhagen's "Dracula Files" series is a delightful retelling of the old myths. Everything you thought you knew about vampires...well, most of it's wrong, or at least exaggerated.
In "Thorn" we see two sides of Dracula...Vlad Tepes, prince, who goes in search of his king's wayward sister in the 15th centery...and a man called Thorn, searching for a stolen painting, caught up in a web of depravity & deceit, while searching for a woman he thought he'd lost....
Enough twists and turns to entice the mystery lovers, subtle humor...all from the perspective of a man over 500 years old.
I've already started the next book "Dominion" - and it's even better!!
In "Thorn" we see two sides of Dracula...Vlad Tepes, prince, who goes in search of his king's wayward sister in the 15th centery...and a man called Thorn, searching for a stolen painting, caught up in a web of depravity & deceit, while searching for a woman he thought he'd lost....
Enough twists and turns to entice the mystery lovers, subtle humor...all from the perspective of a man over 500 years old.
I've already started the next book "Dominion" - and it's even better!!
July 15, 2010
Another of Saberhagen's books featuring a noble Dracula.
This one jumps back and forth between 'now', where Dracula is searching for a painting of an old love, while getting mixed up with a cult and some less noble vampires, while in the past, the pre-vampire Vlad works as a spy in order to earn his freedom from captivity.
The past story was more interesting then the 'now' stuff. The stuff now is too busy with cults and other vampires is all dark, overdone and feels like set up for future books.
This one jumps back and forth between 'now', where Dracula is searching for a painting of an old love, while getting mixed up with a cult and some less noble vampires, while in the past, the pre-vampire Vlad works as a spy in order to earn his freedom from captivity.
The past story was more interesting then the 'now' stuff. The stuff now is too busy with cults and other vampires is all dark, overdone and feels like set up for future books.
Want to read
April 6, 2010Read several books in this series when my older son (who was born in 1993) was in NICU immediately after birth. I read the books out loud to him, and it was fun hearing the nurses tell each other at shift change what had happened in the story :)
Anyway, I've read all the books in the series and want to go back and re-read them.
Anyway, I've read all the books in the series and want to go back and re-read them.
September 2, 2015
3 1/2 stars Sometimes the narrator really does add to the whole.
August 13, 2009
This is set in the past and the present. The reader gets a lot of Dracula's past history and how he came to be.
November 1, 2013
Enjoyed this book.
July 22, 2018
Another good book written using past/present alternate chapters effectively.
April 29, 2015
1985 grade D+
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews