Customer Reviews:
Most Elaborately Annotated Edition. Artwork by Sätty........2004-11-09
Leonard Wolf may be the world's most revered "Dracula" scholar. A native of Transylvania who left "the land beyond the forest" as a child, Wolf has taught and written about Bram Stoker's immortal novel for decades. In 1975, Wolf published "The Annotated Dracula", which remains to this day the most elaborately annotated edition of the novel.
"The Annotated Dracula" is a large book whose many illustrations and interesting notes are a pleasure to peruse. The text of the novel, itself, is taken from the second printing of the first edition, with typos in tact. The annotations include over 100 illustrations -drawings and photographs. 15 full-page drawings by artist Sätty (Wilfried Podreich) are featured. These are captivating expressionist interpretations of scenes from "Dracula", not to be missed. All illustrations are black-and-white.
In his introduction to "The Annotated Dracula", Leonard Wolf takes the reader on a tour of the traditions and circumstances from which "Dracula" eventually emerged at the hand of Bram Stoker. He discusses Gothic Romance literature, the vampire literature that preceded "Dracula", Eastern European vampire folklore, Vlad "Dracula" Tepes -the 15th century Wallachian Prince from whom the Count Dracula takes his name, and, finally, the life of the novel's enigmatic author, Bram Stoker.
Annotations in the form of margin notes are found on most pages of the novel. Wolf has included explanations for every imaginable allusion in the text, as well as interesting personal comments. The reader gets quite a history lesson just reading the notes. Some of the most intriguing notes include: recipes for the Romanian dishes on which Jonathan Harker dines, population demographics for Transylvania in the late 19th century, translations of old Mr. Swales' dialect, explanations of Victorian figures of speech, and the particulars of Victorian typewriters that Mina employs so frequently. I find that reading straight through the abundant notes is a bit much. Reading them with the novel is distracting. They are ideal for fans and students concentrating on one chapter or passage at a time and add to the enjoyment of the novel when absorbed in small doses.
The Appendixes contain some useful information and interesting trivia, as well. Maps of Transylvania, Europe, England & Wales, Whitby, London, and the Zoological Gardens in London are provided, with places from the novel marked. A Calendar of Events charts the events of the novel from May to November 1887 (the supposed year "Dracula" takes place) in coherent form. Students and aficionados may appreciate "Dracula Onstage", a chart of Count Dracula's appearances in the novel, with page numbers. There is a Selected Filmography that includes notable Dracula films, 1922-1974, including films featuring the Dracula character, not necessarily based on Stoker's novel. British, American, and Foreign-language editions of "Dracula" from 1897 to 1973 are listed. There is an Index for the novel that is helpful but not comprehensive.
"The Annotated Dracula" has been out of print for some time. Its latest incarnation is "The Essential Dracula", a handsome softcover edition released in 2004. "The Essential Dracula" retains and, in some cases, augments the footnotes found in "The Annotated Dracula", but dispenses with most of its illustrations, all of the Sätty drawings, and the Appendixes. If you simply want the information contained in the notes, "The Essential Dracula" is excellent -although the notes border on microscopic and can be trying to read. "The Annotated Dracula", with its maps, charts, and abundant illustrations, is a more elaborate edition.
Great edition with blood-thirsty details.......1999-06-21
First read this when I was in college. Great illustrztions and liner notes. Even on page one, as Jonathan HRKER STOPS FOR DINNER IN THE HOTEL BEFORE GOING ON TO DRACULA'S CASTLE, HE DINES ON CHICKEN PAPRIKOSH. In the margin, they have THE RECIPE!!!! for this dish! Awesome. Hope it returns.
Best Dracula resource available.......1998-07-24
Excellent information. Background information details nearly line by line the orginal novel. Get your hands on a copy of this book if you can.
The original novel with copious marginal notes.......1998-01-18
Vampire stories have been told and retold with fascination. However, there are few that match the power of the novel by Bram Stoker. This book contains the original version with thick margins filled with footnotes, anecdotes, vampire lore, and insight into every aspect of this fascinating story.
Amazon.com
Dracula is one of the few horror books to be honored by inclusion in the Norton Critical Edition series. (The others are Frankenstein, The Turn of the Screw, Heart of Darkness, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and The Metamorphosis.) This 100th-anniversary edition includes not only the complete authoritative text of the novel with illuminating footnotes, but also four contextual essays, five reviews from the time of publication, five articles on dramatic and film variations, and seven selections from literary and academic criticism. Nina Auerbach of the University of Pennsylvania (author of Our Vampires, Ourselves) and horror scholar David J. Skal (author of Hollywood Gothic, The Monster Show, and Screams of Reason) are the editors of the volume. Especially fascinating are excerpts from materials that Bram Stoker consulted in his research for the book, and his working papers over the several years he was composing it. The selection of criticism includes essays on how Dracula deals with female sexuality, gender inversion, homoerotic elements, and Victorian fears of "reverse colonization" by politically turbulent Transylvania.
Customer Reviews:
Dracula rocks .......2007-08-26
Bram Stocker is still a classic read. It was very scary from time to time.
Good Book, Atrocious Editor.......2007-06-20
I love Norton Critical Editions, but the footnotes in this volume are maddening. I'm puzzled that no one seems to have mentioned this. Example, a passage where Dracula appears in disguise and Bram Stoker obviously doesn't mean for the reader to have this bit of information yet. The footnote? "Here we see Dracula in disguise speaking wonderful German." I'm exaggerating, but you get the point. Another example: a passage describing Dracula's map of England (footnote: Here we see that Dracula has circled the city of X, where later in the story he will....and....and....until later....). Finally, there are even footnotes that engage the reader in conversation. Something like: "What do you think Dracula meant by that, curious comment, don't you think?" As with all Norton editions, there are some wonderful footnotes, commentary, etc. included, but still I would choose a different version.
Great critical edition.......2006-11-17
If you want lots of in-depth footnotes and many critical essays, than this is your book.
Simply the Best.......2006-07-10
I've listened to Dracula from Audible.com. I downloaded it last month. It's the best of all the Dracula books I've read. Definitely worth the investment of time. It's incredibly suspenseful, full of well-drawn, unbelievably real characters. I wish the movies could capture the characters as well as the book.
I was surprised at the narrative style, which has no actual "scenes", because it's a collection of journals, letters, newspaper articles, etc. But Bram Stoker does an amazing job of pulling all of it together into one very scary, very exciting read. Don't miss this one.
Still the best.......2005-12-30
This is still the best vamp book around, bar none. I was always upset with Coppola's movie because he used Stoker's name, and made the count into this loving anti-hero. THIS is Dracula. Pure evil.
Amazon.com
"Little did the coauthors realize at the time they embarked upon this project over a glass of plum brandy in Bucharest more than twenty-five years ago, that their work would result in the discovery of the authentic, bloodthirsty prototype for Bram Stoker's famous novel Dracula." This pioneering study, first published in 1972, became a collector's item, so this fully updated edition is welcome indeed. The authors' pursuit of the notion that Vlad the Impaler (1431-76) was the original Dracula--through treks both antiquarian (in old libraries and museums) and geographic (in areas of Romania that were once Transylvania and Walachia)--has the thrill of an adventure story. In Search of Dracula is also an entertaining introduction to vampire lore and to people's obsession with Dracula. It has a delightful cover by Edward Gorey and numerous illustrations, including antique woodcuts of Vlad's impaled victims and photos from the authors' trips to Romania.
Book Description
The true story behind the legend of Dracula - a biography of Prince Vlad of Transylvania, better known as Vlad the Impaler. This revised edition now includes entries from Bram Stoker's recently discovered diaries, the amazing tale of Nicolae Ceausescu's attempt to make Vlad a national hero, and an examination of recent adaptations in fiction, stage and screen.
Customer Reviews:
Bit of a let down...........2007-03-10
I was disappointed with this book. I have read the authors' biography of Dracula, and found little new or worthwhile presented here. Moreover, the title is deceptive. Very little of this book is devoted to the history of vampires, and too much of it deals with modern popular culture. Given that the authors are serious scholars, I was hoping for a detailed look at popular culture roughly at the time of Vlad Tepes. I highly recommend the authors' other book, "Dracula: Prince of Many Faces," but find little merit in this volume. I think this book might have more appeal to a general audience. So, if you are looking for some basic background on the "real" Dracula (Vlad Tepes), and the basics of how he fits into folklore and popular culture, then this book may very well be for you. It is well written, and draws on the authors' considerable knowledge. It just was not what I expected or hoped for.
The "real" dracula.......2005-12-15
If given the choice I would prefer to split this book down the middle, the first half being given fours stars and the second 1. I would have to say that the title of the books says this is a history of vampires as well as dracula. I think this is incorrect; there is one chapter on vampiric folklore which to be blunt is very vague and doesn't really tell you anything.
However, whilst I have doubts about there use of some evidence (the authors repeatedly seem very trusting of peasant folklore) the chapters on Dracula (Vlad Tepes), which constitute the bulk of the book, are very good and the book is worth buying for that alone.
I do have the feeling that once this was done the authors needed to padd the book out and hence add three chapters on vampire fiction to the present day. It is only because I have an obsessive need to finish any book I start that I finished this, otherwise I would have given up contented once they had finished with Dracula.
However, I am in agreement with the previous reviewer who stated that the score was recued by the appendixes. By bringing such resources in one place it is a very useful aid to the reader's further research and hence am happy to recommend.
AN ESSENCIAL GUIDE OF VAMPIRES.......2005-09-13
I THINK THIS BOOK IS VERY NECCESSARY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW EVERY THING ABOUT THE HISTORY OF DRACULA AND VAMPIRES, AS TO KNOW THE TRADICIONAL FOLK OF THE PEOPLE FROM ROMANIA.
THE BOOK IS VERY EASY TO READ, AND YOU CAN HAVE A GOOD TIME IF YOU LOVE VAMPIRE STORIES.
interesting read.......2005-06-06
i enjoyed this book very much. it was an insightful read into the actual history of vlad the impaler and the legend of dracula. if you like history and vampires, then this is the book for you.
GOOD HISTORY BUT A LITTLE DRY.......2005-05-18
Now I had seen Radu Florescu and Raymond McNally numerous times on TV as they were interviewed for various historical programs on Dracula and vampires which is what inspired me to search out this book. I would somewhat disagree with the spotlight reviewer who said it was not scholarly enough. I found it to be quite concise and complete, having read a great deal about Vlad Tepes previously. There was much more detail about this Machavellian-era ruler than I ever knew about before. My main problem with the first half of the book that deals with Vlad Dracul is that it is a little bland. One wouldn't that relating tales of impalings and hats being nailed to heads could be dry but it was. I was hoping for something a little more lively, no pun intended.
We next move into a look at Vampire folklore throughout the world but mainly eastern european lore where the legends of vampires are so ingrained into the culture of those peoples. Finally we move on to Bram Stoker using Vlad as his basis for Dracula although it's certain that this was not the only influence. To be sure the gruesome tales of Elizabeth Bathory and other legends played a part in Stoker's tales as well. It's a short read but fairly complete, a tad dull in spots, particularly those battles against the turks, but an interesting history still.
Average customer rating:
- great series-but when's the third one comming out?!
- not as good as the first one...but worth reading
- So-so...
- The Soul of an Angel
- NUMBER TWO / A Success
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The Soul of an Angel (Sisters of the Night)
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 United States | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
( B ) | Authors, A-Z | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books | Bachman, Richard | Baker, Nancy | Baldick, Chris | Banks, Iain | Barker, Clive | Barnes, Johnny Ray | Barron, Neil | Bates, A. | Bates, Michael | Beach, Lynn | Beckford, William | Been, Dwight | Bellairs, John | Benson, E. F. | Berenstain, Jan | Berenstain, Stan | Bergantino, David | Betancourt, John | Bierce, Ambrose | Bingley, Margaret | Birkin, Charles | Bischoff, David | Bishop, M. | Black, Campbell | Black, J. R. | Blackwood, Alegernon | Blair, Cynthia | Blatty, William P. | Blaylock, James P. | Bloch, Robert | Bloom, Clive | Bloom, Harold | Bonansinga, Jay | Borton, Douglas | Botting, Fred | Boulle, Philippe | Boyll, Randall | Bradbury, Ray | Bradley, Marion Zimmer | Brandner, Gary | Brennan, Stephen | Bridges, Bill | Briery, Traci | Brightfield, Richard | Brindle, Jane | Brite, Poppy Z. | Brooks, Felicity | Brown, Charles Brockden | Brown, Charles N. | Brown, Roberta Simpson | Bunting, Eve | Burleson, Donald | Burleson, Donald R. | Butler, Marilyn | Byars, Betsy | Byers, Richard | Byrne, John
Yarbro, Chelsea | ( Y ) | Authors, A-Z | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Dark Fantasy | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Occult | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Vampires | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
United States | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books | 18th Century | 19th Century | 20th Century | African American | Asian American | Classics | Collections & Readers | Drama | General | Hispanic | History & Criticism | Humor | Jewish American | Letters & Correspondence | Native American | Poetry | Short Stories | Women Writers
Yarbro, Chelsea-Quinn | ( Y ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0380974010 |
Book Description
Young and beautiful, Fenice Zucchar lives in opulent splendor on the world's richest island. The pampered daughter of a wealthy and powerful owner of ocean-going merchant vessels, Fenice's soul yearns for the freedom of the sea--for the adventures and breathtaking sights and sounds that await her far from Venice, her velvet prison. Determined to flee, she feigns an audacious kidnapping and stows away on one of her brother's ships on the very eve of her own arranged wedding.
But her plans are dashed to bits when, upon discovery, her brother refuses to offer her safe quarter--and abandons the young noblewoman in the teeming port of Varna, just as panic is descending upon the city. For death has come to this place, spawning stories told in hushed, frightened whispers in the night--a being of strange, alluring power and dark sensuality who has chosen Fenice, offering her more freedom than she could know in a hundred lifetimes.
Subjugation is the price this mesmirizing creature demands fro the exquisite renegade's eternal pleasure, as Fenice follows her Dark Lord to his mountain domain, where she is to live...and die. But another is waiting there already, lurking in the shadows of the imposing castle keep: a lovely and crazed consort already corrupted by Dracula's terrible passion...a once-mortal girl named Kelene, late of a distant realm called Greece who could prove to be Fenice's staunchest ally and sister, or her most fearsome adversary.
Customer Reviews:
great series-but when's the third one comming out?!.......2006-05-16
i loved the first novel in this series when i was seventeen...i loved this one almost as much when i was 19, now i'm 25 and dying to read the third and final novel in this series which she seems to have choosen not to write, which is a shame, beacause these novels are fluid and beautiful....
not as good as the first one...but worth reading.......2002-09-22
I have to agree with one of the other reviews. This was a good book, but not as interesting as the first and certainly not of the caliber you'd expect if you're a CQY fan.
So-so..........2002-07-15
I was really looking forward to this book, having enjoyed "The Angry Angel" quite a bit. However, this second volume in the series defintely lags behind Yarbo's initial offering.
She spends the first several chapters telling us in many different ways what we already know: that the heroine, Fenice, is bored and frustrated with her life of Venetian privilege and yearning for adventure on the high seas and elsewhere. Enough, already! Let's cut to the chase! But no - these points are belaboured for a while longer; her disapproving family, her boring fiance, her desire to postpone marriage for as long as possible, etc. etc. etc.
In contrast to "The Angry Angel," for most of this book Dracula is basically absent. There seems to be little real connection between him and Fenice, and little reason for one. Unlike Kelene who was trapped in a situation of dire poverty and physical danger, Fenice is in the lap of luxury. How many people in real life are desperate to flee lives of privilege for the squalor and "adventure" of street-life? This motivation is not realistic.
Finally over halfway through the book things begin to pick up, but by this time finishing the book is an act of will. My ennui was completed by the discovery that Kelene, the heroine of the first novel, has somehow morphed from a wise-beyond-her-years, interesting teenager to a spoiled, petulant brat. What?!
Let's hope the heroine of book 3, whoever she might be, realizes there's more than enough of Dracula to go around.
The Soul of an Angel.......2002-03-03
Am reading the first and second books in this trilogy for about the third time. They both get better with every read. When will the third one be out? I anxiously await it. Quinn Yarbro looks at vampirism from a different angle than Ann Rice. Excellent read no matter how many times you read them.
NUMBER TWO / A Success.......2000-06-02
Fenice is the second virgin that Dracula decides to seduce and bring back to his castle for companionship or maybe for the amusement that the rivalry between her and the first virgin Kelene produces. Fenice having been brought up as a wealthy young maid has had a different background than Kelene, but after the initial battles for Draculas favor, Kelene uses her superior mind to form a truce with Kelene. Very good book. Can't wait for number three. Despite the need for feeding, for blood, a true rivalry and believable relationships ring true.
Book Description
After the death of his half brother, Stefan, at the hands of Vlad Tsepesh--also known as Dracula--and after the destruction of his vampire father, Arkady, also at the hands of Vlad, Abraham van Helsing has traveled the world slaying many vampires. With every vampire he destroys, Bram becomes stronger and Vlad weaker, and soon Bram hopes he will be able to finally kill the fearsome vampire who has kept the Tsepesh family enslaved through a centuries-old blood ritual.
But a desperate Vlad and his vampire great-niece, Zsuzanna, summon help from the most powerful, brutal, and beautiful vampire of all--Countess Elizabeth of Bathory. Bram learns of their plot to destroy him, and makes his own move to strike out at Vlad before Vlad can put him to death. He teams up with a courageous band of humans as he hunts Vlad--including Mina Harker and John Seward--and they finally succeed in killing the head of the Tsepesh clan, just as Bram Stoker foretold in Dracula. But the terror does not end with the death of Vlad, for there is another force that drives Vlad, Zsuzanna, Elizabeth and all the vampires, an ancient entity more evil than anything Bram has ever encountered: the Lord of the Vampires. And for Bram to defeat this dark lord, he must once again risk losing his very soul, to save not only his family, but humanity as well.
In her final book in The Diaries of the Family Dracul trilogy, Jeanne Kalogridis brilliantly melds her own fascinating story of the Tsepesh family with that of Bram Stoker's classic, Dracula. Told in diary form like the first two books and Stoker's own chilling tale, LORD OF THE VAMPIRES reveals the dark, startling truths behind the original Dracula.
From the Paperback edition.
Customer Reviews:
Reformed Vampires?? C'mon!.......2007-08-20
This third and final volume retelling the familiar Bram Stoker original Dracula augments the story by introducing the legend of Countess Elizabeth Bathory, who lived some 150 years after Vlad Tepesh (Stoker's vampire model) - her real story is well described in the accessible The Blood Countess by Andrei Codrescu. Elizabeth is accused of living a life of debauchery and patronage of occult arts as well as the murder of some 650 virgins in order to bathe in their blood. Imprisoned by clerical authorities for 5 years of interrogation on the eve of the horrific Thirty Years War of religious doctrines, she was never convicted. The Bathory family included Duke Stepan of Transylvania who ascended the throne of Poland and Lithuania by marrying the daughter of the last Jagellonian king and then proceeded to roll back the conquests of Ivan the Terrible. The real facts of this time are more interesting than the vampiric literary inventions.
A Great Read - You'll Enjoy!.......2003-05-04
"Lord of the vampires" is the last of the trilogy of "The Diaries of the Family Dracul". The first book is "Covenant With the Vampire" and the second is "Children of the Vampire. The reason I mentioned the other novels is because they really should be read before reading this one. All are highly engrossing and interesting. How Ms Kalogridis thought up all this is beyond me - but she is obviously talented. Although all the books are wonderful reads - be prepared - there are strange situations in the books - among them are incest and homosexuality. The books don't go into to much "intimate" details on these subjects - and they're not something that carries on into the complete story. So the squeamish should tolerate them just fine. Therefore, I would advise anyone who likes vampire novels to purchase all three of them.
WHY do people like this book?.......2003-03-04
This is quite possibly the most dissapointing novel I have ever read, horror or otherwise. After two GREAT books in the series, the final book is rushed and features every two-bit hackneyed method the author could come up with. It starts off great for the first 200 pages, don't get me wrong. The parts with Elizabeth, Vlad, Harker, and Zsusanna are absoulutely perfect. But once we get to England...it's formula all the way, with some 'twists' thrown in to attempt to keep the reader guessing. This book is deservingly spoiled when I say that the ending to the entire series is cobbled together from the last ten pages of the book, and everything beforehand is utterly pointless.
But if you want a good read, you can always just read the first 200 pages and then make up your own ending. That's what I wish I had done before I had unfortunetly kept reading.
Jeanne Kalogridis, you're my hero!.......2002-03-27
This book was really a great prequel to Dracula considering that it runs right into that book/movie by Bram Stoker. Jeanne really knows how to use history and the myths of vampires to her advantage and weave them into a tale that anyone interested in this type of genre would want to read.
Said it before.......2002-03-17
Kalogridis has full round characters, and the evil in this Vlad Dracul leaves Bramstoker's character almost as a child, to read the first book was enough to realize i had a great trilogy on my hands. Few authors can infuse such live in each and everyone of the characters.
Book Description
Dracula is perhaps almost as interesting regarded historically as the product of a specific time as it is engaging to continuing generations of readers in a 'timeless' fashion. In her introduction Byron first discusses the famous novel as an expression not of universal fears and desires but of specifically late nineteenth-century concerns. At the same time she is entirely attuned to the ways in which, however much Dracula is a Victorian text, Dracula is a very twentieth-century character, a representative of modernity and of the future.
Download Description
A popular bestseller in Victorian England, Stoker's hypnotic tale of the bloodthirsty Count Dracula, whose nocturnal atrocities are symbolic of an evil ages old yet forever new, endures as the quintessential story of suspense and horror. The unbridled lusts and desires, the diabolical cravings that Stoker dramatized with such mythical force, render Dracula resonant and unsettling a century later.
Customer Reviews:
A Classic.......2007-09-21
This is an all time classic with vampire films still being made today, though light years away from the Bela Lugosi version. Someone travels to a castle to do business only to get more than he bargained for as the owner of the estate is Count Dracula, a bloodthirsty vampire hungry for Jonathan Harker's blood. The source novel is not the first vampire novel, that would be Lafenu's Carmilla who had a lesbian female vampire. Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula is the closest film adaption to the novel, though in the film his motivation was love and not blood lust. The piece of cheese just about says it all, stay away from this unless you're into gothic novels and are on Welfare. The price is a bargain for such a lush portrayal of 1890s Irish gothic culture. Though many have heard of vampires in society and E, few have actually read the novel. This will be my third time reading it straight through. I guess I dress kind of men's gothic, turn of last century style but I don't let it influence me; gothic has always been a part of white European and American culture from the pilgrims landing on the flower to peasants in Europe. God bless.
"For the dead travel fast".......2007-09-06
Surprisingly "Denn die Toten reiten schnell" or "For the dead travel fast" is more than an opening line to this tale of love in the dangerous moon light. After watching several Drac movies and a few Nosferatu's, I pretty much though I had a handle on the genera. Little did I know what a wonderful world of mystery and suspense that Bram Stoker opened up for me.
The story is told mostly third party though the papers, diaries, and phonograph recordings (on wax calendars) of those people involve in a tale so bizarre that it almost defies belief. The general story line is that of a Count that plans to move to a more urban setting (from Borgo Pass to London) where there is a richer diet. There he finds succulent women; something he can sing his teeth in. Unfortunately for him a gang of ruffians (including a real-estate agent, asylum director, Texas cowboy and an Old Dutch abnormal psychologist) is out to detour his nocturnal munching. They think they have Drac on the run but with a wing and a prayer he is always one step ahead.
Of more value to the reader is the rich prose chosen by Stoker as he describes the morals and technology of the time. We have to come to grips with or decide if we can perform the rituals that are required to eliminate vampires verses the impropriety of opening graves and staking loved ones. The powers in the book differ from the movie versions in that they are more of persuasion and capabilities to manipulate the local weather. At one point the Dutch Dr. Van Helsing, is so overwhelmed by a beautiful vampire laying in the grave that he almost for gets why he is there and may become vamp chow.
All in all the story is more in the cunning chase. And the question as to will they succeed or will Dracula triumph. Remember "For the dead travel fast."
4 1/2 Stars...A Muted Masterpiece.......2007-07-26
I've always been a fan of stories in which good and evil are pitted against each other, with humans caught in between. This theme is universal, though often repetitive, even preachy, in nature. In reading Stoker's "Dracula," I was surprised to find one of the modern forerunners for this type of gothic struggle. Sure, it has blo od-sucking and violence. Sure, it carries slightly ero tic undertones. But the story is first and foremost a spiritual battle, with humans as victims and/or heroes of war.
Jonathan Harker is a London solicitor sent on business to Transylvania. He is a guest of his client, Count Dracula. Soon, though, Harker realizes he is a prisoner. And the battle begins.
Back in England, a ship arrives in grim style on the waves of a storm. A sweet young woman becomes a victim of Dracula's schemes. And Harker's fiancee finds herself caught up in an epic struggle for the lives of those around her. Drawn into the struggle as the standard-bearer, Professor Van Helsing leads a band of intrepid humans against this otherworldy evil.
Stoker's book is tame by today's standards, even quaint, but his attention to dark and gloomy atmosphere, provides a perfect counterpoint for the shining, valiant hearts of his band of heroes. In his day, Stoker's story must've been fast-paced, nail-biting, and horrific. Today, it stands as a muted masterpiece of horror, showing that we don't need lots of blo od-and-guts to keep us intrigued. Using religious references and decisions of personal integrity, "Dracula" shows us a battle against evil that still wages. In that sense, it's as current and apropos as ever.
The Vampire Masterpiece.......2007-07-23
Now that vampire stories are popular again (and thank God for that), it's easy to forget what they were like before Anne Rice got her hands on them. That's not to say anything bad about Rice, incidentally--she's the reigning contemporary vampire queen, and many vampire writers follow her lead these days (or try to). But when Bram Stoker invented this genre with this iconic novel, the vampire was a thing of pure dread and pure evil. There's precious little reader seduction here (which is the characterizing difference of Anne Rice's creations); no, in Dracula, when the characters are seduced, the reader cringes, turns on another light, and drinks more heavily into the succeeding chapters ...
Some who have reviewed this book have called it slow, boring, Victorian in the extreme ... well, they say there's no arguing taste, but I think I'll have a try, anyway. The fact is, most of what passes for "scary" these days has to do with instant fright gratification (which, by the way, I'm all in favor of), splashing gore, vividly-described mutilations. Stoker works his flame of fear up from the embers, burning slowly, until by the time you hear the rising scream, you've scarcely realized it's your own. There's a lot that happens "off camera", you might say, hinted at in the journal writings. The reader must infer for full effect; the terror is not served up on an easily handled tray, like cafeteria food. Dracula is literature, enjoyed at several levels, but it is also an excellent pulp horror story, told in the traditions of its time. It's lack of universal appeal in this modern age simply shows that it has not ... aged well, I suppose. But I loved it.
For myself, when I write, I'm a creature of this age, an unapologetic purveyor of in-you-face, vividly described scary stories. But the classics have, for me, a distinct and pleasing flavor virtually unimitable by the modern writer. And keeping in touch with your roots is, I think, a good thing.
(This review has been posted by Marcus Damanda, author of the vampire book "Teeth: a Horror Fantasy".)
"This night our feet must tread in thorny paths or later and forever the feet you love must walk in flame.".......2007-03-18
Written in 1897, Stoker's Dracula is a classic of British fiction, fascinating for its subject matter and still the subject of films a hundred years later. Count Dracula, the epitome of evil, is exotic enough to keep even the most jaded reader of his exploits interested in their outcome, and grounded enough in the reality of evil to make even doubters wonder whether evil can be transmitted from one person to another against one's will.
The novel begins with the arrival of Jonathan Harker, a lawyer representing a London real estate agency, at the Transylvanian castle of Count Dracula to clinch the deal by which the count will move to a British estate. Details about Harker's arrival by coach, his greeting at the castle, which has no doors except the front door, his reception by the count (who has hair on the palms of his hands), and his instructions regarding where he may go or not go within the castle set the tone and establish the mysterious background of the count and a sense of dread regarding the outcome for Harker.
By the time that Harker recovers from a long and mysterious illness and returns home, the count, already in London, has turned Lucy, a lovely ingenue, into a vampire. Dr. Van Helsing, a German expert on vampires hired by her family, saves her several times from what appears to be severe anemia and recommends ringing her room with garlic and making sure that she has crucifixes around her. When Dracula then turns his blood-thirsty attention to Mina, fiancée of Jonathan Harker and friend of the unfortunate Lucy, the scene is set for a showdown regarding Dracula's power vs. the power of goodness and traditional religion.
Stoker takes his story beyond sheer melodrama, eliciting sympathy for the afflicted victims of Dracula while also recreating the religious atmosphere of the period and the beliefs and doubts of average citizens. The novel is far more compelling than I expected, creating suspense at the same time that it develops the character of the count with his supernatural powers. The climax in which the forces of good are ranged against the forces of evil in the shape of the count, whose long history is detailed in the novel, is truly a conflict between traditional religion and evil in the form of Satan personified. Fun to read and surprisingly affecting. Mary Whipple
Average customer rating:
- A wide variety of takes on one mysterious man
- Good read!
- A Clever Concept . . . well exceuted
- Excellent concept, and what an anthology ought to be!
- A disappointment
|
The Many Faces of Van Helsing
Manufacturer: Ace Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Van Helsing
ASIN: 0441011705
Release Date: 2004-04-06 |
Book Description
An all-new anthology of stories featuring THE ORIGINAL VAMPIRE HUNTER.
Bram Stoker's Dracula is one of the most famous novels in history. Both Dracula and Van Helsing have become icons: the vampire and the vampire hunter. Yet while the character of Dracula has been endlessly examined, Van Helsing is arguably one of the most well-known yet least explored characters in literature.
Now, Van Helsing gets his due as the stellar masters of horror and fantasy contribute their own unique take on the original vampire hunter.
The tentative list of original stories featured in this unique anthology include such authors as:
Katherine Dunn
Christopher Golden
Elizabeth Hand
Brian Hodge
Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Graham Joyce
Kathe Koja
Tanith Lee
Gregory Maguire
Kristine Katherine Rusch
Steve Rasnic Tem & Melanie Tem
Thomas Tessier
F. Paul Wilson
Customer Reviews:
A wide variety of takes on one mysterious man.......2005-11-05
When purchasing this book, I was interested to see so many different author's takes on one of the most elusive and interesting characters in vampire fiction. There is a wide range of takes on the character, with a great many centering around one of two women: either his insane wife (the vast majority) or Mina Harker (two or three). This son is also the focal point of quite a few, but by far my favorite story in the entire anthology is the first one, the Screaming by J.A. Knrath. It is a very delicious little tale and highly recommended.
A complete list of the stories follows-
*** The Screaming by J.A. Knrath *** Poison in the Darkness by Rita Oakes *** Infestation in the Walls by Thomas Tessier *** Anna Lee by Kathe Koja *** Venus and Mars by Christopher Golden *** The Power of Waking by Nina Kiriki Hoffman *** The Life Imprisoned by William D. Carl *** The Tomb of Fog and Flowers by C. Dean Anderson *** So Far From Us in All Ways by Chris Roberson *** Sideshow by Thomas F. Monteleone *** Hero Dust by Kristine Kathryn Rusch *** Remember Me by Tanith Lee *** A Letter From the Asylum by Kris Dikeman *** My Dear Madame Mina by Lois Tilton *** Ardelis by Sarah Kelderman *** Abraham's Boys by Joe Hill *** The Black Wallpaper by Kim Antieau *** Brushed in Blackest Silence by Brian Hodge *** Empty Morning by Steve Rasnic Tem and Melanie Tem *** Fantasy Room by Adam-Troy Castro *** Origin of Species by A.M. Dellamonica
Over all, the only thing I didn't like is that all the stories are about Van Helsing the man. No adventures, really, and so many of them focus on his wife and child, leaving other ground uncovered.
Still for fans of Dracula or anthology lovers, highly recommended.
Good read!.......2004-10-23
As with any collection of short stories, I liked some more than others. But it was a good collection with lots of variety & a great subject. I really enjoyed it.
A Clever Concept . . . well exceuted.......2004-07-01
ALmost all of the stories fell within the theme of the book. Very few were just standard vampire hunters, and some like Chris Golden's and Joe Hill's were very much outside the box. While more traditional than some of the others, the Monteleone story very much captured the turn of the century sense of wonder and other-worldly aspect of Van Helsing's mission--and had a GREAT twist at the end.
This is a fun book. Get it.
Excellent concept, and what an anthology ought to be!.......2004-04-25
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the stories in this intriguing book. What a pleasant surprise it should be to many readers to find an anthology like this these days, one that is NOT a shared world series based on a game or TV/Movie media tie-in. As such, this more "traditional" anthology might at first glance confuse some readers who are not used to having stories in an anthology sometimes contradict one another. But this is just the kind of anthology a great many readers should relish, presenting stories as it does with a variety of viewpoints from a variety of writers, each with a different take on the character created by Bram Stoker in DRACULA over one hundred years ago, Professor Abraham Van Helsing. For example, about all Stoker told us of Van Helsing's private life was that his wife was insane and his son dead. One of the stories in the anthology, "The Tomb of Fog and Flowers" by C. Dean Andersson, explores that theme and presents Van Helsing's first encounter with a supernatural force, but refreshingly, there are no Vampires and no Dracula present in Andersson's tale, which may surprise some who are aware of his "first person" Vampire novel, I AM DRACULA. Maybe someone will ask him to now do I AM VAN HELSING! However, other stories in this anthology do deal with events in Dracula, or with different kinds of Vampires. One even presents Van Helsing as a Vampire himself! All in all, I highly recommend this anthology. After all, the editor, Jeanne Cavelos, created and edited the excellent Abyss horror line at Dell Books a few years back, and anyone who read any of the Abyss novels should have a high regard for anything to which the Cavelos name is connected. In other words, I highly recommend this book!
A disappointment.......2004-04-21
While there are some standout stories (Thomas Tessier, Nina Hoffman, Joe Hill), there are also some clunkers. One author appears to think that "Van" is Van Helsing's first name, and many others appear to have little to do with Van Helsing other than having his name appended (a few don't even bother with that, and merely present generic vampire hunter stories).
Extremely uneven.
Average customer rating:
- Creep Fest
- "For the dead travel fast"
- Great Beginning - Thereafter a Chore
- "This night our feet must tread in thorny paths or later and forever the feet you love must walk in flame."
- It sucks
|
Dracula (Enriched Classics Series)
Bram Stoker
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 0743477367 |
Book Description
A true masterwork of storytelling, Dracula has transcended generation, language, and culture to become one of the most popular novels ever written. It is a quintessential tale of suspense and horror, boasting one of the most terrifying characters ever born in literature: Count Dracula, a tragic, night-dwelling specter who feeds upon the blood of the living, and whose diabolical passions prey upon the innocent, the helpless, and the beautiful. But Dracula also stands as a bleak allegorical saga of an eternally cursed being whose nocturnal atrocities reflect the dark underside of the supremely moralistic age in which it was originally written -- and the corrupt desires that continue to plague the modern human condition.
Pocket Books Enriched Classics present the great works of world literature enhanced for the contemporary reader. This edition of Dracula was prepared by Joseph Valente, Professor of English at the University of Illinois and the author of Dracula's Crypt: Bram Stoker, Irishness, and the Question of Blood, who provides insight into the racial connotations of this enduring masterpiece.
Customer Reviews:
Creep Fest.......2007-10-05
I read this book when I was a teenager. No movie version has even come close to the weirdness and creepyness of this great book. Because of the journal form the book takes you find yourself forgeting that it's a work of fiction at times. That's when you just get totally freaked out.
"For the dead travel fast".......2007-09-23
Surprisingly "Denn die Toten reiten schnell" or "For the dead travel fast" is more than an opening line to this tale of love in the dangerous moon light. After watching several Drac movies and a few Nosferatu's, I pretty much though I had a handle on the genera. Little did I know what a wonderful world of mystery and suspense that Bram Stoker opened up for me.
The story is told mostly third party though the papers, diaries, and phonograph recordings (on wax calendars) of those people involve in a tale so bizarre that it almost defies belief. The general story line is that of a Count that plans to move to a more urban setting (from Borgo Pass to London) where there is a richer diet. There he finds succulent women; something he can sing his teeth in. Unfortunately for him a gang of ruffians (including a real-estate agent, asylum director, Texas cowboy and an Old Dutch abnormal psychologist) is out to detour his nocturnal munching. They think they have Drac on the run but with a wing and a prayer he is always one step ahead.
Of more value to the reader is the rich prose chosen by Stoker as he describes the morals and technology of the time. We have to come to grips with or decide if we can perform the rituals that are required to eliminate vampires verses the impropriety of opening graves and staking loved ones. The powers in the book differ from the movie versions in that they are more of persuasion and capabilities to manipulate the local weather. At one point the Dutch Dr. Van Helsing, is so overwhelmed by a beautiful vampire laying in the grave that he almost for gets why he is there and may become vamp chow.
All in all the story is more in the cunning chase. And the question as to will they succeed or will Dracula triumph. Remember "For the dead travel fast."
Great Beginning - Thereafter a Chore.......2007-03-18
If you have any interest in horror fiction generally, or the vampire genre particularly, then naturally Stoker's classic is required reading. But you might as well be warned as to what you are in for. The early chapters, where Harker is trapped in Dracula's castle, are truly great! However, once the Count gets to London, things start to slow down, or even become downright annoying. I had a particular dislike for the obnoxious Van Helsing and his band of effete upper-class male heroes. I would have been much happier if Dracula had turned the bunch into vampires, and it had been left to Mina, Lucy and Renfield to stake the lot. Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN holds up much better as classic horror fiction.
I wish I could recommend a better vampire novel, but, sadly, vampire novels are mostly trash, and much of the genre is now devoted to sick pornography. Better, in some ways, are Steven King's 'SALEM'S LOT, Sheridan Le Fanu's CARMILLA, and and Anne Rice's INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (avoid the sequels), but none of them have anything that can substitute for the opening chapters of DRACULA.
"This night our feet must tread in thorny paths or later and forever the feet you love must walk in flame.".......2007-02-10
Written in 1897, Stoker's Dracula is a classic of British fiction, fascinating for its subject matter and still the subject of films a hundred years later. Count Dracula, the epitome of evil, is exotic enough to keep even the most jaded reader of his exploits interested in their outcome, and grounded enough in the reality of evil to make even doubters wonder whether evil can be transmitted from one person to another against one's will.
The novel begins with the arrival of Jonathan Harker, a lawyer representing a London real estate agency, at the Transylvanian castle of Count Dracula to clinch the deal by which the count will move to a British estate. Details about Harker's arrival by coach, his greeting at the castle, which has no doors except the front door, his reception by the count (who has hair on the palms of his hands), and his instructions regarding where he may go or not go within the castle set the tone and establish the mysterious background of the count and a sense of dread regarding the outcome for Harker.
By the time that Harker recovers from a long and mysterious illness and returns home, the count, already in London, has turned Lucy, a lovely ingenue, into a vampire. Dr. Van Helsing, a German expert on vampires hired by her family, saves her several times from what appears to be severe anemia and recommends ringing her room with garlic and making sure that she has crucifixes around her. When Dracula then turns his blood-thirsty attention to Mina, fiancée of Jonathan Harker and friend of the unfortunate Lucy, the scene is set for a showdown regarding Dracula's power vs. the power of goodness and traditional religion.
Stoker takes his story beyond sheer melodrama, eliciting sympathy for the afflicted victims of Dracula while also recreating the religious atmosphere of the period and the beliefs and doubts of average citizens. The novel is far more compelling than I expected, creating suspense at the same time that it develops the character of the count with his supernatural powers. The climax in which the forces of good are ranged against the forces of evil in the shape of the count, whose long history is detailed in the novel, is truly a conflict between traditional religion and evil in the form of Satan personified. Fun to read and surprisingly affecting. n Mary Whipple
It sucks.......2006-01-25
"Dracula" was not the first vampire novel, nor was it Bram Stoker's first book. But after years of research, Stoker managed to craft the ultimate vampire novel, which has spawned countless movies, spinoffs, and books that follow the blueprint of the Transylvanian count.
Real estate agent Jonathan Harker arrives in Transylvania, to arrange a London house sale to Count Dracula. But as the days go by, Harker witnesses increasingly horrific events, leading him to believe that Dracula is not actually human. His fiancee Mina arrives in Transylvania, and finds that he has been feverish. Meanwhile the count has vanished.
And soon afterwards, strange things happen: a ship piloted by a dead man crashes on the shore, after a mysterious thing killed the crew. A lunatic talks about "Him" coming. And Mina's pal Lucy dies of mysterious blood loss, only to come back as an undead seductress. Dracula has arrived in England -- and he's not going to be stopped easily.
"Dracula" is the grandaddy is Lestat and Jean-Claude, but that isn't the sole reason why it is a classic. It's also incredibly atmospheric, and very well-written. Not only is it very freaky, in an ornate Victorian style, but it is also full of restrained, quiet horror and creepy eroticism. What's more, it's shaped the portrayal of vampires in movies and books, even to this day.
Despite already knowing what's going on for the first half of the book, it's actually kind of creepy to see these people whose lives are being disrupted by Dracula, but don't know about vampires. It's a bit tempting to yell "It's a vampire, you idiots!" every now and then, but you can't really blame them. Then the second half kicks in, with accented professor Van Helsing taking our heroes on a quest to save Mina from Dracula.
And along the way, while our heroes try to figure stuff out, Stoker spins up all these creepy hints of Dracula's arrival. Though he wrote in the late 19th-century manner, very verbose and a bit stuffy, his skill shines through. The book is crammed with intense, evocative language, with moments like Dracula creeping down a wall, or the dead captain found tied to the wheel. Once read, they stick in your mind throughout the book.
It's also a credit to Stoker that he keeps his characters from seeming like idiots or freaks, which they could have easily seemed like. Instead, he puts little moments of humanity in them, like Van Helsing admitting that his wife is in an asylum. Even the letters and diaries are written in different styles; for example, Seward's is restrained and analytical, while Mina's is exuberant and bright.
Intelligent, frightening and very well-written, "Dracula" is the well-deserved godfather of all modern vampire books and movies -- and arguably among the best.
Customer Reviews:
A look into the best of the Universal Monster rallies........2004-11-09
Produced near the end of the Classic Horror era (and near the end of World War II), HOUSE OF DRACULA provides an entertaining storyline populated by the top three Universal Monsters: Count Dracula, the Wolf Man, and the Frankenstein Monster, in their last all-out horror venture before co-starring with Abbott and Costello for their final film appearances.
Within this thoroughly-researched filmbook lies an informative production background, a comprehensive look at the script's evolution (including a shot--but deleted--scene of the doctor healing a youthful patient), a wonderful narrative synopsis by film historian Gregory Mank, an introduction by star John Carradine, an exclusive interview with star Jane Adams, and much much more.
A nice addition to anyone's collection of Classic Horror memorabilia, the HOUSE OF DRACULA filmbook, like the movie itself, has something for just about everyone. Scary fun!
Book Description
The vampire novel that started it all, Bram Stoker's Dracula probes deeply into human identity, sanity, and the dark corners of Victorian sexuality and desire. When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula purchase a London house, he makes horrifying discoveries about his client. Soon afterward, disturbing incidents unfold in England-an unmanned ship is wrecked at Whitby, strange puncture marks appear on a young woman's neck, and a lunatic asylum inmate raves about the imminent arrival of his "Master"-culminating in a battle of wits between the sinister Count and a determined group of adversaries.
Customer Reviews:
"For the dead travel fast".......2007-10-05
Surprisingly "Denn die Toten reiten schnell" or "For the dead travel fast" is more than an opening line to this tale of love in the dangerous moon light. After watching several Drac movies and a few Nosferatu's, I pretty much though I had a handle on the genera. Little did I know what a wonderful world of mystery and suspense that Bram Stoker opened up for me.
The story is told mostly third party though the papers, diaries, and phonograph recordings (on wax calendars) of those people involve in a tale so bizarre that it almost defies belief. The general story line is that of a Count that plans to move to a more urban setting (from Borgo Pass to London) where there is a richer diet. There he finds succulent women; something he can sing his teeth in. Unfortunately for him a gang of ruffians (including a real-estate agent, asylum director, Texas cowboy and an Old Dutch abnormal psychologist) is out to detour his nocturnal munching. They think they have Drac on the run but with a wing and a prayer he is always one step ahead.
Of more value to the reader is the rich prose chosen by Stoker as he describes the morals and technology of the time. We have to come to grips with or decide if we can perform the rituals that are required to eliminate vampires verses the impropriety of opening graves and staking loved ones. The powers in the book differ from the movie versions in that they are more of persuasion and capabilities to manipulate the local weather. At one point the Dutch Dr. Van Helsing, is so overwhelmed by a beautiful vampire laying in the grave that he almost for gets why he is there and may become vamp chow.
All in all the story is more in the cunning chase. And the question as to will they succeed or will Dracula triumph. Remember "For the dead travel fast."
The Original Classic.......2007-07-15
After getting into some The Undead and Philosophy: Chicken Soup for the Soulless (Popular Culture and Philosophy), I decided that I had been greatly remiss in not reading Bram Stoker's classic "Dracula".
Surprisingly, this was only one of many novels written by Stoker, though by far the most popular. It has not once been out of print since it was published. Not a bad achievement, really.
The book is written through documents, and covers a large range of changing viewpoints. Those documents include journals of the main characters, (such as Jonathan Harker), letters, telegrams, newspaper reports, and so on. I thought it strange, but this style of writing works exceptionally well and is a mark of Stoker's ability. It gives a greater air of authenticity to the plot, which is creepy enough, in itself.
The basic plot is a creepy tale of Count Dracula who decides to move to England and start a new "life" there. Buying up properties, Jonathan Harker has to travel to the Count with the papers. What follows is a series of strange and mysterious events that leave people puzzled and wondering. Dracula is hatching his own vile plans for the land of England.
The narrative flows along very well, and keeps the right level of tension. In some places, things just get freaky, but it all adds up to a very eerie and tense tale. This is among the best books of the type I have read.
Set in later Victorian England, the heavy duty sexuality that exudes from the book was something of a surprise. Never crossing the line into crass obscenity, Stoker weaves a sexuality throughout the vampire encounters that is almost palpable and would have been shocking in his day. One can see where the inspiration for Lestat and more modern vampires comes from, (if one had missed the obvious, that is!).
There was one thing that made the book a little tough to get through in places: the dated and very 19th century English. Of course, to change it into a more modern dialect would be verging on sacrilege, but a potential reader would need to be aware of it. Some parts I found a little tough and I had to really think about the meaning. However, in some ways, this added to the charm of the book as the language is actually quite nice for the most part.
"Dracula" is truly a classic, and definitely comes with this reviewer's unreserved recommendation. It is simply a great read and it is a pivotal book for all the immitations that it spawned.
Dracula Doesn't Make A Good Bite in my Novel List.......2007-05-31
Dracula is a suspenseful novel of blood, revenge and true love. Unlike a horror movie, Dracula doesn't need expensive equipment, computer technology and million dollar make-up to bring you into the novel.
We enter Jonathan Harker's journal with little knowledge of the true Dracula, other than the popular image of a man wearing a long collared coat, with an immensely thick accent and two vampire fangs. His journal does not go into detail of Dracula's lust of blood until far into the novel, and the beginning pages are distressingly slow., whether on purpose or unknowingly, Stoker makes Harker seem slightly ignorant and slow. When Harker realizes that Dracula has him in prison and intends to harm him, Stoker takes us to an entirely new journal of his wife Mina Harker, and her dear friend Lucy, leaving the reader in suspense as to what actually happens to Jonathan. Stoker continues writing about Mina for some long chapters until Mina gets a letter saying Jonathan is alive, but severely ill. Not until then do we find out that Jonathan has survived Dracula and his castle. At this point Dracula starts its steady and quickening descent from passable novel to irritating and irksome pile of notes. Stoker seems to note himself that his book is crashing before his eyes so he attempts to capture the reader's waning attention by focusing on Lucy's sudden illness, loss of blood and finally death. Before Lucy's demise, new characters are introduced into the novel, including Van Helsing, an expert on vampires, who reveals his suspicions about the cause of Lucy's death and what is needed to be done once she passes. The others agree to follow him on the long journey to rid England of all vampires and the leader, Dracula. Once all vampires other than Dracula, are heroically killed, the expedition continues to seek out Dracula by hypnotizing Mina Harker, who in her tranc, provides the group clues to Dracula's hiding place. These trances to everyone's surprise (except the readers) get shorter and shorter as the book gets closer to the end, thus making it more difficult to search for Dracula and increasing the suspense to the reader. Ultimately, they locate Dracula and stab him. Dracula turns to dust and his victims turn back into humans.
Dracula's mythology explores the legend of vampires. Immortality fascinates Stoker as his novel is based on man's desire for everlasting life. Ancient sagas told of vampires that were living replicas of a human body that had since died, a completely different soul, mind and mission, but the same looks and voice of the deceased. The mission of the vampire is to live forever. Blood is the sign of life, the sign of youth and energy. The vampire drinks the blood of the living to stay alive longer and postpone the day when the body no longer exists. No one really knows the source of the vampire legend, or even if they're real. From the beginning, vampires were made up so humans could blame the unexplainable on them since no one could refute the theory. This idea seemed to work for a while until science developed explanations for what humans had thought inexplicable. Science explained what phenomenon vampires and other superstitions had been taking the blame for and science had proof, unlike superstitions which had no proof besides some infrequent and random accounts of sightings. In Dracula, Stoker doesn't develop the mythology of vampires in much depth. His research is mainly confined to his own imagination and some rumors of what weakens a vampire. In short, the mythology of vampires in Dracula deal principally with the fear of death and the desire to remain alive and youthful.
Bram Stoker had no main protagonist or loyal sidekick in his novel. All characters share the same number of appearances in the chapters and no character is achieving more than the others. Some may have more knowledge than others, but those who have less knowledge about vampires make up for that with greater common sense and knowledge of and love for geography, helping track the next vampire on the list or help get the fastest transportation to another area. All characters are very smart, and help the novel progress through difficult challenges. Everyone deals with the main challenge of ridding England and the world of Dracula. Every character is linked in some way to each other character, each character knows and cares for the other characters and wants to help get rid of the vampire that is trying to infest and infect the world without hurting those they love or other innocents on the way. All the characters confront the hardships of the pursuit of Dracula with bravery and sometimes foolishness, which does result in injury and death. Mr. Morris, a friend to the principle characters, dies in the last few pages of the novel. Unfortunately you don't know much about him so you don't feel that much sympathy for him.
I am very surprised that Dracula is a classic in literature. This book was not thrilling at all after the first few pages. After we leave Jonathan's journey Transylvania, and the book shifts to his wife, the excitement and the suspense bubbles a small amount but then stops entirely. Overall, this book was an enormous disappointment. Dracula didn't inspire me as so many other books do to want to write a novel of my own. Stoker isn't a bad writer but he can't seem to put words into fluent and exciting sentences, and to maintain suspense through the entire novel.
blood,teeth,love.......2007-03-29
I've had mixed feelings about this book. Some the parts in this book keep you at the edge of your seat and you can't wait to know what is going to happen to the characters. Other times you need to put the book down and digest what's happening. Some parts at the end are horrifying and your not sure weather to keep reading or to stop. Over all I think it's a terrific book to read but you probably might need a strong stomach, but I will suggest this book to almost anyone!
Great Beginning, Thereafter a Chore.......2007-03-18
If you have any interest in horror fiction generally, or the vampire genre particularly, then naturally Stoker's classic is required reading. But you might as well be warned as to what you are in for. The early chapters, where Harker is trapped in Dracula's castle, are truly great! However, once the Count gets to London, things start to slow down, or even become downright annoying. I had a particular dislike for the obnoxious Van Helsing and his band of effete upper-class male heroes. I would have been much happier if Dracula had turned the bunch into vampires, and it had been left to Mina, Lucy and Renfield to stake the lot. Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN holds up much better as classic horror fiction.
I wish I could recommend a better vampire novel, but, sadly, vampire novels are mostly trash, and much of the genre is now devoted to sick pornography. Better, in some ways, are Steven King's 'SALEM'S LOT, Sheridan Le Fanu's CARMILLA, and and Anne Rice's INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (avoid the sequels), but none of them have anything that can substitute for the opening chapters of DRACULA.
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- Saint Joan
- History: Fiction or Science
- Art Matters: How the Culture Wars Changed America
- Blood of Paradise: A Novel
- Digital SLR Cameras & Photography For Dummies
- Evolution
- Francis: The Poor Man of Assisi
- Building Design Portfolios: Innovative Concepts for Presenting Your Work
- Cellular Energy Metabolism and Its Regulation
- Autobiography Of Colonel Richard Malcolm Johnston
In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires
Hollywood's Legends of Horror Collection (Doctor X / The Return of Doctor X / Mad Love / The Devil Doll / Mark of the Vampire / The Mask of Fu Manchu)
