And Where .... Is The Batman?

On This Day In History
1992: Mafia boss John Gotti, aka Teflon Don, sentenced to life.

Quote Of The Day
"I never lie because I don't fear anyone. You only lie when you're afraid."
(John Gotti)

Rain all day so here's my latest read. "Massively entertaining," says Booklist. Absolutely! Set in a parallel universe in which vampires exist openly among humans - Count Dracula even married the widowed Queen Victoria in 1888 and ruled as Prince Consort - this book, as with the the other books in Newman's Anno Dracula series, is chock full of witty, clever and/or hilarious pop-culture references. I mean, how can you not enjoy a story that begins with Francis Ford Coppola filming his out of control Dracula bio-pic with Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Frederick Forrest and Dennis Hopper in Romania, constantly hounded by Nicolae Ceausecu's Securitate? I mean, when Robert Duvall's Van Helsing says, "I love that smell ..... spontaneous combustion at daybreak. It smells like ... salvation," you know you've got your money's worth.

This is my favourite Anno Dracula book so far. Between the main plot, there are intermissions, vignettes from the Anno Dracula universe. At the moment, I have just started reading a short story about a female vampire teacher who uses her glamyre to seduce the hot shot warm blood military pilots who she will train to become an elite squad of Bat-Soldiers. Other cameos include Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen, Tony Manero, Officer Jon Baker of the California Highway Patrol, Andy Warhol, Orson Welles, Barbie the Vampire Slayer and, my favourite of all, Lieutenant Colombo who "uses likeability as a weapon." 

I recommend Kim Newman's Anno Dracula series to strange people who like to read books for fun.

People Are Strange (the theme tune to Francis Ford Copolla's Dracula.)