And those eyes that had flashed red were now totally so, except for the very centres which were tiny pin points of white searing heat…” The nostrils of what had been an aquilline nose were flattening, and the lips were drawing back from teeth which were no longer those of a human being but more like the the fangs of some savage meat-tearing animal. The bats are interesting and effective but the real star of the show still is Count Dracula: “The sleek black hair was moving down the high arched forehead. There’s an impressive battle with the bats on the rooftop of the UN building and the story moves along swiftly. Throw NYPD Detective Hank Nevarre into the mix, who has a real obsessive grudge against Cam, and the scene is set for it all to kick off. The slinky and mysterious Ktara is also on hand to give poor Cam some extra brain ache. It is Cameron Sanchez who points out that the controller of the bats is the one they are really after. Naturally Dracula is reluctant to kill the bats, who he refers to as his “little brothers” – this leads to the inevitable conflict with Harmon. The story seems to take place shortly after the events of ‘The Hand Of Dracula’ since the Count is still bound by the wager he made with Harmon – to comply with the Prof’s wishes for six months. Sanford Proctor, a retired yet influential advisor to the police, calls on Professor Harmon to help. After a couple of attacks Adrian is ready to put his demands to the Mayor of New York, one million dollars or members of the United Nations will be next.

Unknown to disgraced scientist August Abelard his twin brother Adrian (a down on his luck ex-vaudevillian) has been been training the new breed of bats to attack, with the addition of razor sharp metal sheaths for the wing claws. A crazy scientist has genetically modified vampire bats, while his equally crazy twin brother has trained them to kill. In this third installment of the series the setting is New York.

Robert Lory – Dracula’s Brothers (Pinnacle 1973 – NEL version 1974) Trevor Jones on Justin Marriott – A Visu…

Dracula's Brothers by Robert Lory