Child of Darkness

The last page of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" informs us that the survivors of the final battle with the vampire have returned to society, in particular, Jonathan and Mina Harker have given birth to a son. "Child of Darkness" is a fast paced horror novel and is steeped in secrets, fear, envy, obsession, addiction and lust. The book depicts how a devastating trauma still courses through the veins of the living, mutating even the simplest relationships. More importantly, it adds a few macabre twists to Dracula's legacy. It takes the leap that Mina was pregnant when Dracula preformed his, "blood ceremony" on her changing the blood structure of the fetus inside her. This Mina, is a character scarred, physically, spiritually and mentally from crossing over into the darkness. Over the course of the novel, she is given the chance to reclaim the dark love she was willing to die for and demonstrates how far she is will go to protect her son, Dracula's son. Though they vanquished Dracula, he still is an unspoken presence between Mina and her husband, Jonathan. Mina is unwilling to feign affection for her naive spouse, while Jonathan is left to feel impotent after his wife's behavior with Dracula. Their ensuing marital battles produce a horrifying and unintended consequence that change them both forever.

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