What if 60 MINUTES interviewed Dracula? That’s the basic idea behind John Marks’ FANGLAND, which borrows the structure of Bram Stoker’s classic novel as it updates it to the cutthroat world of TV journalism, and part successfully at that.
Young, pretty Evangeline Harker – get it? – is a producer for an esteemed news program called THE HOUR – get it? – and she has the unenviable assignment of traveling to Romania to interview one Ion Torgu, a man of mythic proportions and reputed to have criminal ties. Turns out, his danger level goes much deeper than that, because he’s a vampire. Harker is held hostage in his castle, until she finds a most bizarre method of weaseling her way out.
Harker’s story is told in her own voice, and is interesting. But her escape is early in the book – like first-quarter early – and the remainder is never quite as exciting. Contributing to that is FANGLAND’s Stoker-esque shift among other characters’ POVs, sometimes through letters, journal entries and e-mails – though the delivery methods vary, the stories of Harker’s colleagues and lovers aren’t nearly as compelling, even if Torgu’s infection of evil finds them on their side of the globe.
There’s an oddness at play here, as I was never quite sure whether to approach FANGLAND as serious or satirical. For example, the aforementioned escape plan of Harker struck me as disturbing and hysterical, all at once. Am I supposed to cringe or laugh? With Marks eyeing for a near-epic length, I’m guessing the former, but ultimately the intriguing concept wore out its welcome. Marks’ writing is rich, but the plot is too familiar, even when placed in the rather novel BROADCAST NEWS milieu. –Rod Lott
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