Don Conroy. Vampire Journal. Dublin, Ireland: Poolbeg Press, 1997. ISBN 1-85371-871-8; 3.99 pounds.

A group of teenagers' decision to form a horror club seems harmless enough until Vinny's big sister Amanda learns about an old diary -- a diary that suggests a vampire may be resting at Tintern Abbey even today! Opportunist Brendan Doyler -- a man born to make his fortune one mooched cup of coffee and sticky bun at a time -- has unearthed (perhaps literally) an old diary that relates how a vampire came to Ireland from the West Indies. Dr. Drachler, one of Doyler's most reliable clients for things dark and dangerous, not only snaps up the journal at an outrageous price but hires Doyler and an assistant for some very hush-hush weekend work. When the horror club overhears Drachler and Doyler's plans in a coffee shop, they decide to tag along. But Dr. Drachler plans to do more than just take in the atmosphere or gather souvenirs at what he is sure is a vampire's tomb in Tintern Abbey.

VAMPIRE JOURNAL relates both the modern-day adventures of the horror club, Doyler, and Drachler and the occurrences of 1861, when the *Dark Star*, from the West Indies, is wrecked on the Irish shore. The crates that hold its cargo of soil, ostensibly for a wealthy botanist, remain miraculously intact, and local scavenger "Mad Tom" finds himself pressed into the service of most unusual foreign client. But when deaths in the area begin and it turns out Tom is the only person to have seen the stranger and lived, Father Funge, the local priest, realizes that a vampire hunt is in order.

VAMPIRE JOURNAL isn't original, doesn't try to be. Count Vedil suffers from the amount of stereotyping that names like "Vedil" and "Drachler" would lead one to expect; so do the other characters, in fact, although the grasping Doyler and Mad Tom also manage to be interesting. There are a few good bits, like Vedil's killing a dog that has destroyed Tom's livestock and Drachler's plans to bargain with the vampire.

The illustrations are atmospheric but appear only in a few small clumps depicting the vampire's activities. Although probably palatable for kids (its intended audience), VAMPIRE JOURNAL has little besides some bits of local color to offer the rest of us.

And now, the ordering information you've been waiting for:

DRACULA, CELEBRATING 100 YEARS, LENNON'S BEHOLD THE CARTOONS OF DRACULA, and VAMPIRE JOURNAL are available from Bram Stoker Enterprises in Ireland, as is another Stoker-related book: THE MEADOW OF THE BULL by Dennis McIntyre, a history of Bram Stoker's birthplace: Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland. Prices via this source are:

DRACULA, CELEBRATING 100 YEARS 15 pounds/US $25/CAN $30
LENNON'S BEHOLD THE CARTOONS 7 pounds/US $12/CAN $15
VAMPIRE JOURNAL 7 pounds/US $12/CAN $15
MEADOW OF THE BULL 7 pounds/US $12/CAN $15

These prices include all charges -- the books, shipping, handling, and currency exchange. I sent a personal check on a U.S. bank and got my books about four weeks later -- yes, straight from Ireland! The ordering address is Bram Stoker Enterprises, 101 Foxfield Grove, Raheny, Dublin 5, Ireland.

The Mad Bibliographer
Cathy Krusberg