Night of the Dragon's Blood

Though it's billed as a ""comedy/horror,"" there's not much of either in fledgling author Pridgen's novel. In South America in 1952, Nazi vampires led by an undead Adolf Hitler hide out in the Amazon jungle and plot to take over the world. Meanwhile, millions flock to view Evita Peron's body lying in state in Buenos Aires. No one mourns her passing more than her long-ago lover, American archeologist and adventurer Hi Hickenlooper. When Hi follows a woman who looks just like his lost beloved, he stumbles into the middle of the Nazi plot-for now Evita has aligned herself with the German dictator, and she, too, is a vampire. Teaming up with an agent from IQ (the Intelligence Quorum, dedicated to rooting out political criminals), Hi parachutes into the Nazi compound, wins Hitler's regard and begins, literally, to sow the seeds of the vampires' destruction, by cultivating a plant that produces a sap fatal to the undead. In spite of its colorful setting and Pridgen's campy instincts, the novel is rendered bland by cardboard characters, predictable plotting and limp humor. (Mar.)