I'm not sure how many of you know Kim Newman's books/work as well as those under his alias Jack Yeovil, so I give a short overview of his work here. As he has written also a lot of short stories (published in Compilations or in different magazines), which I haven't read all, I stick to my fave books for now. For a complete list of his work check
www.johnnyalucard.com/Kim Newman has a really highly entertaining way of writing and has a lot to offer for the reader.
One great aspect of many his books is that he mixes his fictional characters with either real people (e.g. E.A. Poe, Manfred v. Richthofen, Kafka, Mata Hari, Lee Marvin etc.) and other fictional characters he uses just like they suit his story (e.g. Dr. Mabuse, Dr. Claigari, Count Orlok and a big bunch more).
In his books/stories he covers a lot of different generes ranging from Horror, Fantasy, to SciFi and even Film Noir like settings, often combining everything together.
Here's a short wikipedia quote regarding his background:
I guess he's most famous for his "
Anno Dracula" series, which is an alternate version of Bram Stoker's Dracula/vampire version where vampires appear on both sides of so called "good" and "evil" as humans normally do.
Before adding more info, let me stress that "The Bloody Red Baron" is (imho) an absolute must-read! I promise that anyone having fun of action-packed war-time horror pulp novels will be blown away by this! The novels don't have to be read in their published order but of course one will draw a lot more of the caharcters if doing so. Anyway, if you just want to have a lokk at Mr. Newman grab yourself "the baron" and give him a chance ;D Just have a look at the cover of the polish edition and you know what to expect!
As I am a bit lazy I once again use wikipedia here to give a brief summary of the content:
ANNO DRACULA:1888. Dracula has married the widowed Queen Victoria, and rules as Prince Consort. A virtual checklist of fictional vampires have come out of hiding and gained new social status. But all is not going smoothly for the new regime: Jack the Ripper stalks Whitechapel, murdering vampire prostitutes. Charles Beauregard, a (non-vampire) agent of the Diogenes Club, is sent to track the murderer down, and finds himself enmeshed in a plot to free England from Dracula's rule.
THE BLOODY RED BARON:Set during World War I. The Graf von Dracula, after being expelled from Great Britain in 1897, spread his brand of unstable vampirism (and with it raging lycanthropy) throughout the Russian Imperial Family. He now leads Germany and the Central Powers against the Entente, with vampires - now a part of everyday life - fighting (and dying) on both sides. The Red Baron of the title is the historical ace fighter pilot Manfred von Richthofen, who in this altered history leads a squadron of monstrous flying vampires
DRACUKLA CHA CHA CHA:1959. Every vampire who is anybody is flocking to Rome for Dracula's wedding, but there is a mysterious vampire killer on the loose. Events are complicated by the arrival of a British secret agent called Bond (but not James Bond), on the trail of a Russian spymaster who never goes anywhere without his cat. The films of Federico Fellini are an influence on the setting and atmosphere, and several of his characters appear in the novel.
Another brilliant series (again - brilliant in my opinion…) is the
DEMON DOWNLOAD series taking place in the DARK FUTURE setting of Games Workshop.
This is crazy post-apocalyptic stuff at it's best!
"The world of Dark Future, detailed by Yeovil/Newman, played with multiple sci-fi, horror, and dystopia clichés while mixing in alternate history and homages & cameos to other fiction (Instead of becoming US president actor Ronald Reagan starred in the TV series Get Smart, famous film murderers like Jason Voorhees are asylum inmates in Krokodil Tears, Leonard Nimoy is named as a 60s astronaut in Comeback Tour).
The world has undergone severe social, environmental, and moral decline, combined with a dramatic rise in technology; in 1995, violence is the main killer.
…Thanks to the increased pollution, drastic climate change and damage to mid-western water supplies would cause most of America to become desert ("the Des") from the 70s onwards. Violent dystopian gangcults - the Maniax, the Psychopomps, and the Confederate Air Force being central to the books - would rise to prominence. (wikipedia)"
The books have lately (ok, it was in 2006) been re-issued, so get them ;D
KROKODIL TEARS:Krokodil is an ex-juvenile delinquent turned-cyborg killer, who's also the host of an extra-dimensional entity. Many people want her dead, so they're sending three assassins: a Californian Op, a psychopathic killer, and Jibbenainosay, a creature from the Outer Darkness. What's a gal to do...
ROUTE 666 The meteoric rise of evangelist Elder Nguyen Seth may seem like a ray of hope in the darkness. To US Cavalry trooper Leona Tyree, shepherding Seth and his Josephite followers to the 'promised land', the truth is a lot darker. Part apocalyptic road movie, part dark satire, part occult horror, "Route 666" is book two for the "Demon Download" cycle, and delivers action, intrigue and shocks from cult author Jack Yeovil.
DEMON DOWNLOAD:There's a demonic computer virus attempting to overrun the information networks of the world. Trooper Nathan Stack is a little out of his league, but Chantal Juillerat, computer hacker, martial arts expert, and nun, is there to even up the odds.
COMEBACK TOUR:The King isn't dead! Elvis Presley might not be a Colonel in the US Army anymore, but he's got a reputation as being one of the toughest independent Sanctioned Ops in the South. Yet, can he prevent the world being destroyed (further) while fighting off the KKK, swamp mutants and voodoo priests?
ROUTE 666
The meteoric rise of evangelist Elder Nguyen Seth may seem like a ray of hope in the darkness. To US Cavalry trooper Leona Tyree, shepherding Seth and his Josephite followers to the 'promised land', the truth is a lot darker. Part apocalyptic road movie, part dark satire, part occult horror, "Route 666" is book two for the "Demon Download" cycle, and delivers action, intrigue and shocks from cult author Jack Yeovil.
(all quotes by amazon)
And finally let me add just one more book then I'm off for now
THE NIGHT MAYOR:Here we get a great clash of a Film Noir influenced setting combined with a futuristic view of Cyberpunk, just as if mixing The Matrix and Sin City together (which in my opinion definitely must have been influenced by this!)
In futuristic England, Dreamer Susan Bishopric is summoned for Conscription and brought to Princetown Jail, where she is asked to channel her Talent (which she uses to create entertainment for Dream subscribers) toward flushing out Truro Daine, master criminal. Daine has had access to 1940s and '50s "flatties" (films) to distract him from his foul deeds, but, with a dreamset smuggled into prison, he has leeched onto Yggdrasil, the world computer, and borrows elements from the movies to Dream his own universe--in the meantime absorbing critical file space in the computer. Susan is dispatched into Daine's Dream to reshape and ultimately destroy it.(amazon.com)
So - that's all for now. Hope I draw a bit of your attention to Mr. Newman. Check out his work!