Crossword Genius

Perhaps King is rejected; likewise, the odd bits of Pullman novel (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dracula

'novel' is the definition.
(Bram Stoker novel)

'perhaps king is rejected likewise' is the wordplay.
'perhaps king' becomes 'card' (king is a type of playing card).
'is rejected' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'likewise' becomes 'ula' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'card' reversed gives 'drac'.
'drac'+'ula'='DRACULA'

'the odd bits of pullman' acts as a link.
This may not be right. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.

(Other definitions for dracula that I've seen before include "Vampire Count (Stoker)" , "Bram Stoker's gothic vampire" , "Literary vampire" , "Bram Stoker creation" , "Bram Stoker's batman" .)

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