Dracula Cha Cha Cha

Anno Dracula Book 3

De: Kim Newman

Narrado por: William Gaminara

Rome 1959. Along the Via Veneto, the living and the dead enjoy la dolce vita, as the vampires, intellectuals, conspirators, jet-setters and swindlers of Europe gather in an endless round of indulgence and gaiety, dancing giddily to the music of the Dracula Cha Cha Cha. The Vampire King, in Italian exile, is to be married to a Moldavian princess, and rumours circulate that his wedding will be the first move in a campaign to return him to his position as Lord of the Undead and a power in the world. In the eternal city, three corpses in the Fontana di Trevi lead three vampire women towards the destinies of their hearts. A flamboyant murderer stalks the elder vampires of the city, perhaps intent on wrecking the Royal Marriage; an undead British secret agent with a license to kill is swept up in a titanic conflict with the supernatural agents of Smersh; a living American opportunist sees a way of surviving as a parasite upon the dead; and a creature older even than Count Dracula is awakened to decide the fates of lovers and monsters. From the author of Anno Dracula and The Bloody Red Baron comes this novel of horror and mystery, romance and intrigue.

©2012 Kim Newman (P)2012 Audible Ltd

Amazing literary crossover!

Continuation of the Anno Dracula series. Features a dense tapestry of figures from real world history, Italian cinema, vampire fiction, and more. Great vocal performance.

Bava, Argento, Fellini, Bond, Ripley and Dracula

What a brilliantly imaginative, addicting and elegant world this is! To pull off a piece like that - a mix of academic knowledge with storytelling - once is no easy task, but thrice is really something. A mix of history, literature and film, this preposterous endeavor wouldn't have worked, if it weren't also so wonderfully fascinating. And boy is it fascinating!

My favorite game in literature must be going through the world of Mr Newman. Picking on clues, cheering when I recognize their origins, going on mini-researches when I don't, building a watch list to fill in the blanks. Yet, somehow, his wealth of knowledge doesn't tire the plot, quite the contrary. It enriches it. Making it deep and multi-layered. Intoxicating, irresistible, addictive. A true fantasy world. It shouldn't work, and yet it does time and again. This time in 1950-s' Italy,with a certain not-so-secret agent named (not James) Bond and a certain young American psychopath named Tom, getting their fair share in the spotlight. Beloved and familiar characters, of course, make a very welcome comeback.

This third book in the series is on par with the original Anno Dracula. I can't wait to plunge my ears into the next books in the series. This is the time to bring my compliments to Mr. Gaminara. Whoever does the "casting" for audio books on Audible deserves a raise! The marriage of Mr. Gaminara's voice, style of delivery and skill with Mr. Newman's material make the journey through the Anno Dracula series all that much better.

Bravo, Mr. Gaminara! Bravissimo, Mr. Newman!

Wow, what a compelling story.

I can’t get enough of this series. The characters are so full, so rich, so complex and endearing. Each of them is revealed so elegantly in their nature. If you’re looking for a great reason to sacrifice sleep or doing anything else-this is the book for you.

pretty fun

a fun romp with the characters from anno Dracula... i know its not the last book in the series but if it did end here it would be a solid end. it was nice to revisit the people there and im curious to see where the next book may lead.

Don't let the title fool you

Loved the pop references and really strong female characters
thought it a good read.
Enjoy!

La Dolce Vita, Meet 007

A reviewer described this as La Dolce Vita with vampires. It's so true. Watch the movie if you haven't seen it, then dive in. Add in a high profile (undead) superspy and a two huge twists to the mystery at hand (which I won't give away), and what you've got is a worthy addition to the Anno Dracula line. As with the first two, the more you know about the Wold Newton Universe (go ahead, look it up) or all of the classic / bad / classically bad books or movies you can think of, the better and better it gets. The internet makes it easy to get lost in all of the popular and obscure pop culture references, and the story is fun on every level of knowledge about it.

The caveat I have with this, and the same goes with the previous books... the audio version doesn't have the backup story. Listen to the audio, but pick up the print copy. You'll be glad you did because the backup tale is about a third as long as the original tale in each case.

Very well done, a few errors

zhahn-vi-EHV
mar-CHE-lo
'That he could remain in the Vatican proved all the good had not flown from[...]. ' That' s 'good', not 'bad', on p. 247 of one edition or another....

And Hamish Bond's Scottish accent is way too broad...almost all the American accents are the same, but given what so many of us do to British accents, perhaps it's all we deserve....

Good for fans of the series...

If you enjoy the formula of Kim Newman’s Anno Dracula series, you’ll enjoy this one too. Lots of cameos from other film, fictional, and historical sources makes for an amusing side game to play in your head as you listen. The story itself isn’t as epic as the previous two, but still held my attention. William Gaminara deserves points for a difficult technical performance, having to narrate characters that speak in multiple different accents. It was a little strange having three female lead characters (with three different accents) read in a male voice. No disrespect to Mr. Gaminara, but I think a female voice may have been a more natural fit for this novel.

Good with hints of greatness

While I personally find the two previous entries more interesting and creative, Dracula Cha Cha Cha, the third book in the Anno Dracula series, features some of Newman’s most effective writing ever. Two passages in particular deserve mentioning: (spoilers) one involving the death of a deeply beloved and decent character. The other is a description of a very familiar priest and the goodness and hope that seemingly radiates off of him. It’s genuinely powerful and enough to cause a sniffle or two. Both passages seem to come from a very deep and emotional place in the author and it makes for incredible reading.
Another aspect of this chapter of the series that deserves praise is the voice performance of William Gaminara. He really seems to have grown into the roles and imbues the characters with distinctive personalities. It’s no wonder he’s as beloved in the AD fandom as Roy Dotrice was to the Game of Thrones readership.
In conclusion, it’s not as compelling as the first two but the original and fun setting, voice performance, and some of the finest work Kim Newman’s ever written definitely makes it worth checking out.

#3 is the best so far! You'll love it if

you're a film buff, a late 50s culture devotee, or a fan of Kim Newman's vampires.