Rating: Summary: Milestone of the genre Review: A milestone of the genre, Dracula was more enjoyable than I feared. Many classics just don't translate well in the modern world. Dracula does have some of those weepy emotional moments, so common to 19th century literature. Also I am usually leery of stories told by the device of letters and diaries. However Dracula starts off very compellingly with Jonathan Harker's visit to Transylvania. The story drags a bit when the Count reaches London, but picks up after the death of Lucy. Unfortunately, the story never regains the creepy feeling of the beginning; mainly because the count remains a vague menace off page for almost the whole last two thirds of the book.
Rating: Summary: Seductive Review: This book is filled with sublime seduction, mingled with pure horror! Dracula is not just evil, but enticing which is what makes this book work so well, making it the classic that it is.The novel approach to telling the story draws the reader in, playing on the emotions and psyche of the reader on many different levels. There's a repulsive appeal to Dracula that gives the story its real punch, something that Anne Rice seems to have grasped and embodied in Lestat! Forget all those B Movies - go to the source! It will be an experience that only Stoker could evoke!
Rating: Summary: Never Watch a Movie Based on A Novel Review: Dracula is a book tucked into the library of our culture's soul. It brought light to darker worlds and different lifestyles. Abraham Stoker, an advocate of censorship in his time, would have been shocked at today's perception of sexuality in his novel. Dracula was Stoker's masterpiece, but the work itself is somewhat flawed. The flow is meandering and the characters are static. It is best to read this book as a means of better understanding the modern mind and the affect the myth of vampires has had on it. No film portrayal has capture the true feel of this book. At his best, Stoker presents everyday people thrust into bizarre and harrowing circumstances that touch on a tapestry of dark beauty that causes the spine to ache as much as throb.
Rating: Summary: A Creature of the Night Review: I read Dracula by Bram Stoker. I thought this was a very good book. I think I enjoyed it so much because of the mysteriousness and horror of the book. I also enjoy reading classics. The way that Bram Stoker wrote this book was just very original and kept me intrigued. Jonathon Harker travels to Transylvania to meet Count Dracula. There he finds that Dracula is no ordinary man, but a vampire. He discovers that he is a prisoner in Dracula's castle, " But I am not in heart to describe beauty, for when I had seen the view I had explored further doors, doors, doors, everywhere and all locked and bolted. The castle is a veritable prison, and I am its prisoner!" Harker then decides to try to escape. Meanwhile, in England, his fiancé Mina Harker and friend Lucy begin to have encounters with Dracula not knowing what or who he is. Lucy is attacked by Dracula and later dies. Jonathon Harker returns and him and friends begin to discover more about Dracula. Dracula then possesses Mina. The men find that Dracula has come to England with boxes of soil from his homeland, and sleeping in them is the only way he can survive. They destroy the boxes, making Dracula return to Transylvania and they track him there. They then kill him and save all the people that were possessed by him. I thought that this story was extremely compelling and it kept my attention very well.In this book, I got to know each character very well. Each character has there own unique personality and characteristics. One of the reasons I think this book is so good is because each character is so unique from the others and they are so believable. The character that I liked the most and that I found most memorable Professor Van Helsing. He is one of the only characters that understands what they are fighting against and knows Vampire folklore so that he can defeat Dracula, "to rid the earth of this terrible monster we must have all the knowledge and all of the help we can get." Because of this knowledge he becomes the leader of the group and is one of the main characters towards the end of the book. The author really makes you care about the characters because of the way he wrote this book. He presents the book in the form of diaries and letters. Therefore the reader really understands how the character is feeling and the experiences they are going through.
Rating: Summary: Imagine the oriiginal horror... Review: ...of those first Victorian readers who were unacquainted with all the modern monsters and special effects. The idea of the eternal vampire is an old one from Eastern Europe (originally from Egypt) and the joining of an actual person (Vlad the Impaler) with the legend set the stage for all that was to follow. This book is in the form of a diary, surely one of the best mechanisms available when handled adroitly. The slow seduction of Mina by the Count can be interpreted in a number of ways but the best way is left to the imagination. There is always that ageless quandry - does one become a Vampire, lose one's soul, yet gain immortality? Get the book - better than any of the current crop.
Rating: Summary: ForAwsome Review: This was one of the best books i have ever read. I found that even though it was an older book it was still forAwsome
Rating: Summary: Dracula by Bram Stoker Review: This is an adult book about a supernatural persona in the spirit and misty form of Dracula. The vocabulary is superior. Many of the words describe horrendous phenomena of a night fiend who preys on victims for their blood. There are many scenes depicting nature in the vicinity of Transylvania. Here is a sample of Stoker's writing: " As we wound on our endless way and the sun sank lower and lower behind us, the shadows of the evening began to creep round us. This was emphasized by the fact that the snowy mountaintop held the sunset and seemed to glow out with a delicate cook..." AND THERE IS MORE "By the roadside were many crosses and as we swept by, my companions all crossed themselves." My purpose here is to whet the literary appetite . You must read this book on a stormy - cool night in order to create the spooky mood required to enjoy the work thoroughly. Stoker is a master of the English language. His vocabulary and sentence structure are superb. This book is not for the faint-hearted or for people who shiver at the first sight of blood. The castle and long trip up the mountain add important drama to the chain of events to come. Dracula's smooth aristocratic style is enough to engendre a certain degree of trust and comfort until he strikes- usually with little notice and the speed of a lizard's tongue. Ultimately, the just result prevails. I won't tell you when or how. For those details, you must read this book. It would be interesting to compare and contrast Stoker's writing style to Mary Shelley. Without question, Stoker is a master of the macabre - perhaps he is the master for all time.
Rating: Summary: A classic... Review: With so many reviews ALREADY out there, I'll keep it short and sweet. This is not the oldest vampire novel, but it became the most well known and the standard for all stories, novels and movies to follow. With a very interesting foreward by Leonard Wolf, this copy is straight-foreward, without any extras, it is for the 'Dracula' fan who needs no help with understanding the age the story is set in. No matter how many times I read and reread the novel, I never get bored and, in fact, it seems to get better and better as I come to really savor it, like a wine that only gets better with time. Read during the night - best time to delight in it.
Rating: Summary: Just a Great Book Review: I'm not goin to say much, I hate when good books are given away. If you like Dracula, or like reading weird well put together books; then read this. Bram Stroker was a very talented writer.
Rating: Summary: Review of 1996, Big Radio Players Edition Review: STORY: A naive young Englishman travels to Transylvania to do business with a client, Count Dracula. After showing his true and terrifying colors, Dracula boards a ship for England in search of new, fresh blood. Unexplained disasters begin to occur in the streets of London before the mystery and the evil doer are finally put to rest. MY FEEDBACK: 1) SETTING: The eerie Transylvania with fogs and local superstitions that keep people indoors on many nights. England with its many alleyways and secluded estates allow for characters to find themselves in predicaments where they are far from help. The settings work very well for this story. 2) CHARACTERS: The cast of characters are all believable and interesting. Van Helsing involvement in the story is original and enjoyable. Everyone of the close-minded British of the time stay true to character and add a level of conflict and frustration on the reader because it is hard to imagine people being so stupid, yet you know in your heart they were (are) like that. 3) STORY: I knocked this down a star because a large majority of the story is in the form of reading journals. These endless reports almost feel like droning exposition and leave the reader yawning from sleepiness and boredom. I'm glad I listened to the Big Radio Players version of this as the audio format allowed for wonderful eerie music, great special effect sounds, and a cast of different characters and voices that matched well with the casting of the story. Even though this is my first time reading/listening to this story, it has been overdone in media so much that as each scene was revealed I knew what was going to happen. Thus, this over exposure to the story I believe detracted from the enjoyment I would have had if I was totally new to the content and unfamiliar with the legend of Dracula. Thus I had to knock it down a star because the story was predictable, but no fault of its own. I had to raise it up another star because Stoker does capture some wonderful scenes of suspense, especially in the beginning of the story. His choice of description demonstrates a wonderful ability to say exactly what he means. 4) CONTENT: There is some innuendo to sensual things when the succubus show up, other than that even the violence is not too graphic. I'd say this is PG by today's standards. OVERALL: I'm glad I finally got my hands on this "classic". I don't feel like I could read or listen to it again, but I did enjoy this one time journey through it.
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