European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman

This second book in the series sees, as its title indicates, our heroes travelling through 1890s Europe in another effort to foil the work of mad scientists. Although the explanations for what's going on are couched in scientific terms (that is, nobody claims they are magic) the result does, to me, feel more like fantasy than science fiction - although one could legitimately describe it as either. That's perhaps particularly the case this time around because the primary book that's being referenced here is Dracula.

While clearly referenced in the previous book, here the outcome of the events of that novel are closer to centre-stage, with the plot revolving around an attempt to rescue Van Helsing's daughter and then deal with the repercussions. In order to do this, the book makes some significant changes to the original novel, arguably more so than its predecessor did with Frankenstein. But none of these changes seem especially problematic, at least within the context of this series, where part of the conceit is that various gothic novels reflect a distorted view of real events.

Speaking of which, three new novels are thrown into the mix here. Carmilla is perhaps the most notable, especially given the theme of vampires, and gives another opportunity to see a tough female character fighting alongside the main protagonists (and having a romantic relationship that has to remain hidden but that the narrator is entirely accepting of). And that, of course, is a large part of the point - feminist women with unusual powers kicking ass in Victorian society, despite the fact that it often looks down on them.

The book retains the sense of fun from the original, glossing over any gore and certainly not being horror. There's a lot of scenic detail about travel through Victorian Europe, especially in the scenes in Budapest (the author was born in Hungary) and a veritably huge cast of characters. At times, it's a leisurely road trip, although the action can be fast-moving when we get around to it. The interruptions to the narrator often help to break the tension if things seem too bleak but if you didn't like them in the first book, you won't find this an improvement, especially given the running gag with the narrator trying to persuade the reader to obtain it when they have surely already done so.