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Dracula

Dracula

List Price: $4.95
Your Price: $4.95
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Sink your teeth into this book
Review: I put off reading Dracula for awhile after a friend told me, "It's not at all like the (1931) movie, it's just a bunch of boring journal entries."

How wrong they were. And I'm sorry I waited so long to find that out.

The interweaving of the narratives, sometimes skipping back a day or two to have one character's perspective "catch up" to another's was masterfully done. No sooner is one moment of suspense reached than we switch to someone else's current adventure, and the tension starts building all over again.

Some people think that the book wanders away from the action too much, but I didn't find that to be a problem. The characters and atmosphere are so well written that any "background" information blends well into the plot itself.

The only thing I found that slowed me down a bit was Van Helsing's broken English. However, once I got used to his style of speaking, it wasn't much of a hinderance to the pace.

One aspect of the book that I especially appreciated is the fact that Mina Murray Harker is such a strong character. In the (1931) movie, she mostly looks winsome and cries. In this novel, she's a much bigger part of the action, actively participating in the mission to destroy Count Dracula even as she falls under his spell herself.

I'm glad I finally read this book and had the opportunity to experience "Dracula" as its author intended the story to be told.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A very interesting look at the original Dracula
Review: Although I'm not much of a horror fan, I decided to read Dracula since it was considered a classic and was hopefully pretty good. I'm glad I read it. It was a very interesting story. It wasn't what I was expecting. The whole novel is written as if you're reading someone's diary, telegram or news article. It starts with Jonathan Harker(a lawyer if I remember correctly) who is summoned to Count Dracula's castle to help Dracula obtain a home in London. He soon realizes Dracula is no ordinary man, but some kind of beast. This section takes about 1/4 of the book and then, after some deaths surrounded with unusual and frightening circumstances, Jonathan, along with some other interesting characters commit to not only prevent Dracula's move to London, but to kill him. This book was interesting in the fact that it was almost as if Dracula is not the main character of the novel, and I suppose in some ways, he's not. The book focuses much more on this group of people's attempts to hinder Dracula's actions and to cause his demise. Also, I liked reading the book and discovering the original story behind Dracula, not just all of the spoofs and parodies one sees today. I liked finding out that besides not liking garlic, crosses and sunlight, vampires also can't pass running water and can turn into wolves as well as bats. Although I can't say I was ever particularly scared reading this novel(probably because I don't really believe in vampires), I did find this novel to be very good, especially considering horror isn't one of the genres I'm particularly fond of. I definitely think it's worth picking up this book and reading it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: classic, in a (mostly) good way
Review: Bram Stoker's tale of the vampire Count Dracula, and related stories of vampires and other demons, have so saturated our culture that reading the originals of the genre is essential to any dedicated student of either literature or popular mythology. Fortunately, "Dracula" is not the dusty, overwrought tale one might expect from its length and age. Instead, it is intense, exciting, and usually difficult to put down. Stoker had a talent for writing engaging prose that is at once meditative and action-filled.

But "Dracula" is neither flawless nor innocuous. It's a scary read, and sometimes a dense one - as the book progresses, the excitement is increasingly broken up by literally pages of speechmaking and other nineteenth-century affectations. While these may be interesting to a student of literature or history, they're static to the modern thrillseeker, and I found myself confused as to whether the author meant the characters' extreme statements of love, hate, allegience, etc. to be taken seriously.

This is the dilemma of "Dracula". It's a good scare and an interesting read, but the length and breadth of the book convinced me that there must be more to it. The characters seem too obviously stereotyped - the men in their valiant, unselfish approach to villainy and the women in their purity - to be serious, and the plot proceeds along a course so obvious that it seems the author must be mocking himself. But that's the problem with reading a classic after you've seen the rip-offs: the classic seems old and overdone, a cheap parody of itself.

Still, classics have a lot to offer. Beyond the fantasy element, "Dracula" offers a mixture of the traditional epic tale of man against the evil beast without, and the modern introspection of man against the evil beast within. Despite its flaws, it is a worthwhile read.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: you won't even blink!
Review: This started from reading a book about the demon lover as popularized by Jungian analysts. So, with the repeated reference to Bram Stoker's Dracula, I thought it a good idea to simply pick it up and perhaps give it a bit of a browse. I could not put the book down and you won't either. It is a gothic thriller that plays exquisitely with the reader's imagination so much more than any more recent work could ever do. The book did not give me any nightmares either - it isn't some cheap bit capitalizing on fleshy gore and disgusting goo. Instead, this book is an awesome exploration of how humanity both defines and fights evil. Bram Stoker's Dracula is as much a fabulously wonderful read by itself as it is a rich and detailed metaphor of the "demon lover" within us all. Wow!!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Starts with a bang, ends with a whimper
Review: I had very mixed feelings after reading Bram Stoker's classic horror novel about the seminal vampire of modern literature. The first part of the story, in which English real estate agent Johnathan Harker is trapped inside Castle Dracula with the dread count, is riveting and so much better than I expected. Stoker conjures up a truly oppresive and frightening atmosphere.

However, once the action shifts to England, the story bogs down and never really gets going again. Stoker uses the unwieldy device of telling the entire story through the journal entries of various characters--they must have truly extraordinary memories to reproduce the conversations and lengthy speeches contained therein. The characters themselves are paper thin; all of the men are brave and honorable and all of the women fair and pure. Stoker devotes page after page to conversations in which characters deliver testimonials to each other's sterling qualities, which grows rather tiresome very quickly. To make matters worse, Dracula fades into the background at this point and makes only a few appearances after that.

There are a few effective moments and things pick up a bit by the end of the novel, but it is never able to match the horror of its brilliant first section.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Mesmerizing Classic!
Review: I have read the novel Dracula, and have enjoyed it thoroughly. The plot is engrossing and easy to follow. It can become confusing at times though. It was a little confusing because the entire book was written in diary entries and newspapers. I like Dracula because there are many different aspects to the same event.
Dracula is a story about a vampire who moves to London, after one of the main characters travels to Dracula’s castle to sell it. Count Dracula goes to London and turns the main characters’ friend into a vampire. The protagonists then vow to slay the Count once and for all. This is a great book that I think everyone should read. It gives new insight into the way you should think about vampires.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Dracula the Unexpected
Review: Perhaps, like most people, I had preconceived ideas about Dracula. Hollywood has been hard at work creating an image which, while ghoulish, is much different than the novel.

Bram Stoker's book is subtle and chilling. Dracula is all pervasive and immensely powerful. He is cold and can find his victim almost anywhere.

I recommend this book to everyone. The reader will be unnerved by its pricipal character but pleased that the novel itself is so different from the standard dross dished out by Hollywood. Read it and relish in Dracula in his original carnation.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Two Teeth Up for this novel!
Review: Bram Stoker does an amazing job in this novel to scare the pants off of you. The novel is arranged in diary form from a few of the main characters including: Jonathan Harker, Dr. Seward, Dr. Van Helsing, Mina, and Lucy. The novel starts out with Jonathan going to Transylvania to see Count Dracula about a property acquisition for a house near London. It is from the moment that Jonathan arrives that Dracula puts him sort of in a trance and forces him to stay in the castle for months.

In the summer months a ship arrives with every crew member dead, and no one else on the ship. Or so they tought, because Dracula had already left the ship. In his new house, Dracula begins to start looking for victims. This is when he finds Lucy, whom he sucks her blood and then she turns into a vampire. Eventually, the group finds out about Dracula and searches for him to kill him and his evil doing.

Dracula is an amazing book that will keep you in suspense to the very end. The book is very easy to read and even easier to get trapped into reading long into the late night. If you are looking for a scare pick up this book and you won't regret it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: dracula gave me the chills!
Review: dont read r.l stine if you are looking for pure horor,read Bram stoker's Dracula.this book takes place in the late 1800s. there are many dark secerets in count draculas castle in transelvania. john harker has yet to discover these hororifing secerets. read this book and others like it such as frankenstien and you will know what scary really means.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Horrific Masterpiece (Something To Get Your Teeth Into)
Review: Amidst the broad, and varied, collections of literature I have come across, there is one novel that stands out head and shoulders above the rest...DRACULA. An intense, moving, riveting and downright awesome tale depicting everybody's favorite Bat Man. Most people already know roughly the story, but they are probably unaware of how good the novel actually is. Written from the viewpoints of various characters, the tale blends itself seductively through a gothic and often scary sequence of well written scenarios. From London to Transylvania, each chapter maintains the impetus of the story nicely, tying up all loose ends in a dramatic showdown in the batcave itself.
Nothing else really to say except that this is a definite must for anyone who is lucky enough to be able to read.
Good work Bram!


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