Review: The Nosferatu Conspiracy: The Sleepwalker by Brian James Gage

Dripping in drama and a grim, sinister pall, The Nosferatu Conspiracy by Brian James Gage is a dark piece of fiction that defies categorization. While there are certain elements of historical fiction, gothic romance, horror, and suspense, the author plays with form and uses language as a paintbrush, poetically scribbling on the dungeon walls of this striking novel.

Much of the action centers on a fictional alternate reality at the end of the Romanov Dynasty in Russia, a mysterious piece of history that has compelled storytellers and historians for generations. A supernatural angle takes the forefront in this novel, in which Alexandra, Empress of Russia, is the unlikely mother to a half-vampire, half-human harbinger of apocalypse. Rasputin, the perennial villain of the Romanov story, is deeply entrenched in a vile scheme to bring a damning prophecy to pass, a legend that the Bloodchild may bring about.

Within this grand umbrella of a plot, the protagonists are a ragtag group, with enjoyable interplay between Denis and Felix, both of whom have their own investments in the potential end of humanity. As an epic quest of vaguely fumbling heroes against an impossibly powerful evil, this story functions very well as a piece of fantasy horror fiction, but it quickly becomes so much more.

When magic and true legend collide with the evils of mankind, powerful fiction is born. The intricate weaving of historical references, diary entries, news clippings, and the authoritative storytelling style make this novel hum on so many different levels – gratuitous and graphic at certain moments, brilliantly delicate at others. There is no need to know the official stories and unofficial legends of the Romanov saga to enjoy this book, but fans of this shadowy era will sink their teeth into a story rife with vampires, deadly cults, grounding historical contexts, and supernatural shocks.

The magical world-building is woven so cleanly into historical reality that the line between the two wavers at many parts of the book, to the author’s great credit. Particularly for an era that has been so deeply studied, heavy-handedness is common in pop culture derivations, but the integration in this case is exceptionally well done. There is also an incredible amount of tension that is stretched like tar across all the chapters, with rare moments of release, making this one book that is hard to put down.

On the technical side of the writing, the language is often inconsistent, and while some of that can be explained by different colloquial styles, there is also a lack of believability in certain interactions due to inorganic dialogue. Some scenes also feel too procedural and functional, rather than woven in seamlessly as in the majority of the prose. That said, the patchwork of perspectives, formats, and times is well conceived, which could have easily become cumbersome in the wrong hands.

Horrific and masterfully inventive, The Nosferatu Conspiracy is a powerful work of fiction, and The Sleepwalker is a bold foundation for Gage’s sweeping new series.