Barnabas Collins and Quentin's Demon

Dark Shadows #14

by Marilyn Ross, W.E.D. Ross (AKA)

When Quentin Collins invited Lara Balfour to Collinwood, they knew each other only from the correspondence that had grown out of Quentin's admiration for the haunting waltz her father had composed.

Soon Quentin professes to love Lara -- but is his love really a threat? His first wife's throat was torn out by a wolflike creature who escaped capture. Since then, other young women have died in the same grisly fashion...in the full of the moon, when Quentin's mysterious "attacks" occur.

Lara faces the terrifying possibility that her brooding, sensitive host is a werewolf. She won't leave Collinwood, for that would mean leaving Barnabas, whom she has come to love. But will Barnabas be able to save her, if she stays?

Genres: Horror, Gothic, Mystery, Audiobook, Fiction, Vampires, Werewolves

157 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1970

About the author

William Edward Daniel Ross, W. E. Daniel "Dan" Ross (born 1912) is a bestselling Canadian novelist from Saint John, New Brunswick who wrote over 300 books in a variety of genres and under a variety of mostly female pseudonyms such as Laura Frances Brooks, Lydia Colby, Rose Dana, Jan Daniels, Olin Ross, Diane Randall, Clarissa Ross, Leslie Ames, Ruth Dorset, Ann Gilmer, Jane Rossiter, Dan Ross, Dana Ross, Marilyn Ross, Dan Roberts, and W.E.D. Ross. As Marilyn Ross he wrote popular Gothic fiction including a series of novels about the vampire Barnabas Collins based on the American TV series Dark Shadows (1966-71).

Reviews

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the tropes in this series are predictable, the endings rarely are. I have to give the writer credit as this series does keep you guessing, and most of the time you don't see the ending coming. Old cold hand Barnabas is still getting the sexy ladies (that happens in every book) but this time we have a few more of the Collins family popping up, including what I think is Quentin's first appearance. (Trivia note: I still think I was named after Quentin Collins. My mother denies it, but she watched Dark Shadows and my name is spelled the same way. Quite a coincidence there, mom! But I digress...)

Another good volume. Even if they do get a little repetitious, at least they're good for the most part and aren't repetitious AND boring.

[Steve Wiggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A guilty pleasure read. I grew up watching Dark Shadows after school on television. I've tried to collect the series of books that I started reading in junior high school with some success. They don't contribute much to literature, and they are formulaic to a fault, but are they ever moody! I enjoy the books for the tone, for the memories, and for the atmosphere. I'm not a rabid fan of the series, but a nostalgic one. I can't pass one by if I see it in a used bookstore. I know what to expect. This was the first story with Quentin, so it was worth the effort.

[WhatShouldIRead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this book was better than the last. However, even though Quentin makes his first appearance in these Ross books, Barnabas is still the main character in that the female of the story falls in love with him! Oh, and there was mention of his cold hands and lips once again :)

The Quentin ending was unresolved so his story will continue but I'm wondering just how much more attention he will be given over Barnabas in other books.

Still, it was a good addition to the Dark Shadows universe.

[Laura Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

It actually kept me guessing till the very end. Engaging plot this time. I’m starting to like these books

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a favorite with Dark Shadows fans, deservedly so. It introduces the character of Quentin Collins, the roguish werewolf who made such a hit on the TV show. Here Quentin first appears as a bit pale and haggard though. He's suffering from guilt, due to the recent deaths of his wife and two lady friends whom he fears that he may have killed in one of his "blackouts." Poor Quentin! He's truly a victim of circumstance. Especially since he has a nasty, vindictive, club-footed brother, Conrad Collins, who's scheming to take Collinwood away from him...

The heroine is Lara Balfour, a rather empty-headed girl. She comes to Collinwood in hopes of kindling a romance with Quentin but later transfers her interest to Barnabas. Also living at the great house is Quentin's great-aunt, a purported witch. And then there's the old lady's nurse, Catherine Edmonds. Catherine loves Quentin and is insanely jealous of Lara. With the old lady's help Catherine sets out black magic charms---dead snakes, dead bats, circles drawn in blood, etc.---to scare away that pesky Miss Balfour. But just you wait for the last chapter of the book because it's a doozy! There's a final confrontation between Lara and Quentin with the full moon rising, when Quentin turns into a... Well, if you've ever seen Lon Chaney Jr. in "The Wolfman" you'll know exactly what I'm talking about!

BARNABAS COLLINS AND QUENTIN'S DEMON is set in the year 1895. That firmly establishes the timeline, with Quentin's likely birthday being sometime around 1870. But in subsequent books Ross will violate his own established history, allowing Quentin to "jump around" in time. Is Quentin an immortal? Maybe so, but no explanation for his longevity and eternal youth is ever given. Does Quentin time travel, as Maggie Evans did? Maybe. The reader can devise any number of rationalizations. However, the actual explanation is that Ross was a bit of a hack, rather sloppy about details, and never bothered to think out a consistent schemata. So if, in subsequent books, you see Quentin turn up in 1830, 1870 and 1970, always looking the same age, don't let it worry you. That's just how he rolls.

[E. D. Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this one along with the audiobook, read by the legendary Kathryn Leigh Scott, who does an awesome job and you can tell she had a ball doing so.
The book retells Quentin's story (werewolf, not ghost) in the Marilyn Ross fashion. You can see the inspiration from the show/show descriptions/show notes that Ross used and crafted for his Dark Shadows universe which helps to make it familiar, but different.
The ending is a little rushed, but then again that often happens with this pulp gothics. A fun read, nonetheless.

[Vincent Darlage · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a bad little book, if underwhelming as usual for this line. It is 1895 and Lara Balfour has accepted an invitation to stay at Collinwood as a guest of Quentin Collins, his great-aunt Erica and her companion Catherine Edmonds, and his brother Conrad. It's always a little disconcerting to dive into the alternate universe of these novels. Erica, Catherine, and Conrad do not appear in the show.

The author, Dan Ross (using a feminine pseudonym), doesn't always keep track of what he said about the past in his novels. While he is okay at continuity when the novels are in the present, when he starts going into the past, he mucks it all up. In his Barnabas Collins, which takes place in 1899, just four years after this one, he has Jonas and Margaret Collins well established in Collinwood. Also, Barnabas is just then arriving at the mansion without mentioning that he was already there four years before...

But if you take the books as self-contained alternate universes, it's not too bad. Well, as usual, despite the obvious supernatural presences (Barnabas is a vampire and Quentin is a werewolf), the murderer turns out to be a mere mortal. The book does not resolve the romance, however, and just ends after the reveal of the murderer and Lara leaving the area, hoping Barnabas will leave with her. Maybe it continues in the next book - but in reading the back of the next book, nope. It does not.

It was entertaining to read, but not great, as might be expected. No great strides in the formula are made, the girl refuses to believe any evidence until the end, and everyone is vague and unhelpful, dark and mysterious. Very Gothic in that sense.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid, if not great entry in the series.
This is the first novel in the series in which Quentin appears. (Though his photo is on the prior book in the series, his character did not appear in it.)
The year is 1895. Laura Balfour is visiting Collinwood for the first time.
She and her now deceased father had been corresponding with Quentin Collins for awhile. (Quentin is a huge fan of a waltz her father composed) After her father's death, Quentin invites for a visit, and she accepts.
When her boat drops her late one night at Collinsport, she meets Quentin's cousin, Barnabas. Soon she is falling in love with him(despite his cold touch, lips, his odd habits of never appearing until sundown, and her vivid dreams of Barnabas visiting her bedside at night to give her erotic neck kisses-those marks on her neck when she wakes up are just coincidence, right??)
She likes Quentin too, but he seems preoccupied with his illness which seems tied in with the full moon, and the appearance of a wolf like creature with the same full moon...
Quentin has a brother and a crazy Great Aunt living in Collinwood, while Barnabas stays at the Old House near by...
Sadly, in this story Quentin and Barnabas share no scenes....
The ending was unsatisfying for me.
This has the usual elements Ross uses in all his DS stories....
And as usual Barnabas hogs much of the spotlight.
And as always Ross has great atmosphere.
We feel the rain. We see the fog...
Good fun.

[Richard Tolleson · Rating 3 out of 5]

After gracing the cover of the last several books, Quentin Collins is finally introduced in this, the 14th Dark Shadows book by "Marilyn" Ross. The plot is fairly familiar by now--a young girl arrives at Collinwood and falls in love with Barnabas, not understanding why he doesn't want to be with her in the daytime. In this volume, Lara Balfour comes to 1895 Collinwood after her father's death to spend time with a correspondent of her late father's, Quentin Collins. Lara's father was a composer, and Quentin just so happens to especially love to play one of his songs on the gramophone. You'll be humming "Quentin's Theme" as you read, and I'm pretty sure you're supposed to. Anyway, after a series of attacks and killings in which both Quentin and Barnabas (and Quentin's brother Conrad, invented especially for this epic) are suspected, a Pinkerton detective conveniently arrives to solve the case. Unless you're "Marilyn" Ross, you just can't make this stuff up. In the end, Lara leaves, sans Barnabas, and voila, Collinwood resets itself like Brigadoon, awaiting book number 15, in which the events of the previous 14 books will matter not one whit.

[Barbara A. Welsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Journey down the hallowed halls of Collinwood.

I have loved these books, since the day they first came out. Marilyn Ross is a pen name used by one of the writers of the Original Dark Shadows series under the masterful eye of its creator Dan Curtis.
The tale is true to the original characters and their traits of behavior and personality, cleverly woven into a thrilling mystery that keeps you guessing as you move through the tale page by page. I heartily recommend this book and the series to any generation. The language is clear and concise and not littered with profanity as are some current novels and novellas.
Bravo for bringing back a beloved series to well-weathered fans such as myself!

[B.J. Burgess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bringing Quentin into the equation, in my perspective, breathed new life into the Dark Shadows books, which had become stagnant. Barnabas Collins' love stories can only be read so many times before I start rolling my eyes every time he meets a lovely young woman, falls in love, and breaks her heart. While Barnabas Collins and Quentin's Demon is far from flawless, it has enough Gothic themes and unexpected turns to keep me turning the pages to find out what occurred next.╌★★★★✩

[Sarospice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one has a sad melancholy ending as you wonder if Quentin really is a werewolf, and if there are vampires, and why these ladies keep thinking Barnabus is attractive! Old money be making the bitches act cray. Still, it's nice to see Quentin's Waltz used in a story without having to hear it over and over and over the way it was used on the show...

[Jackie Gonzales · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book that started my love for reading. My aunt had it among her romance novels, lol, and well I guess you could say I fell in love with it right then and there. Now I just need the rest of the series.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barnabas Collins and Quentin Demon

I really liked the book because Quentin had been brought into the book. He was one of my favorite people on the TV show. I recommend the book to anyone who likes a good mystery with a little scary touch .

[Alan Ellias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook read by Kathryn Leigh Scott!

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story takes place in 1895 with a woman named Lara Balfour coming to Collinwood. She and Quentin had been exchanging letters due to Quentin's interest in a waltz her father wrote. She arrives and finds out right away that a letter had (supposedly) been sent asking her to cancel her visit.

It's not long before she learns of Quentin being ill, a woman named Catherine who seems to hate her and a mad woman named Erica who is a witch, all three of them living in the Collinwood mansion.

There's also Quentin's brother who raises ultra-nasty, huge dogs.

Quentin's wife is dead, mauled by a savage animal some time previously.

Lara meets (and of course falls for) Barnabas. A werewolf-like creature threatens Lara and gradually it seems that Quentin may be responsible for at least two deaths. There's also one other player on the scene, a guy who seems to know a lot about the Collins family.

She works with Barnabas and the Pinkerton detective to try and catch Quentin in the act. Or, perhaps, it's someone else?

[Larry Yonce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vampires and werewolves and witches, oh my!

In 1895, Lara Balfour comes to Collinwood and proves to be a magnet for the moody Collins men. Vicious attacks soon follow and seem to be linked to others from the not-so-distant past. But who, or what, is responsible? Entertaining enough and includes a few scary bits.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the way I would have chosen to introduce Quentin in the book series

[Dale Rosso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed the book.