Rating: Summary: A wonderfully suspenseful and erotic sequel to Dracula Review: An excellent read and sequel! Bergstrom tells the story mainly from Mina's point of view, and she captures her voice so perfectly that on the first page the reader is immediately drawn into the world one remembers from Stoker's classic. The author also recreates the sound and feel of the original Dracula, while adding her own exciting elements to the mix. Some of the characters from the classic are here and new ones introduced. Also, a mystery is added that keeps the reader turning the pages until the very end to find the answer. This book is very hard to put down, so count on losing at least one night's sleep.
Rating: Summary: An interesting idea but an overdone erotic twist Review: Having followed the exploits of Mina Harker in Alan Moore's "The League of Extraordinary Gentlement" it was interesting to read a different extrapolation of what happened to her after "Dracula." Obviously, this book focuses more on the original cast without bringing a host of other supernatural beings into the story. My complaint, like so many others, is that the retroactive overlaying of so much eroticism onto the original novel. There was some, but it was subtle and implied. Stoker was not writing soft porn. However, Marie Kiraly is--and without the benefit of the Count himself. You know what? This book would have worked a lot better if the story had not involved the title character. How's that for ironic?
Rating: Summary: Garbage! Review: Having followed the exploits of Mina Harker in Alan Moore's "The League of Extraordinary Gentlement" it was interesting to read a different extrapolation of what happened to her after "Dracula." Obviously, this book focuses more on the original cast without bringing a host of other supernatural beings into the story. My complaint, like so many others, is that the retroactive overlaying of so much eroticism onto the original novel. There was some, but it was subtle and implied. Stoker was not writing soft porn. However, Marie Kiraly is--and without the benefit of the Count himself. You know what? This book would have worked a lot better if the story had not involved the title character. How's that for ironic?
Rating: Summary: Mina Review: I enjoyed Mina from the first word to the last. I have read and enjoyed Elaine's writing from the first Vampire novel to Mina and am looking forward to her new book, 'Blood to Blood' and intend to pick it up in the very new future. Elaine's writing is so realistic that I find myself actually walking the streets longing for the touch of the Vampire Lord himself. Please keep up the good work and continue to write as I look forward to each and every novel.
Rating: Summary: Wonderfully written and captivating! Review: I was so happy to find this sequel! I recently read the original Bram Stoker's Dracula, and I admit that, though it was a good book, I was dissapointed by the difference between it and the movie. In Mina's story, the whole overwhelming influence of the movie is revived. Captivating, seductive, and simply a tapestry of wonderfulness!
Rating: Summary: Well done! Review: I was suspicious when I first purchased this book, and thought to myself "it will be very difficult to write a convincing sequal to Dracula." But let's just say I was pleasantly surprised. Bergstrom takes the character of Mina and gives her a dark side. The architypal heroine in distress is pulled from the pages of Dracula and becomes a complex, enigmatic, scheming, and sensual woman. There are creepy moments, and the sex is pretty volcanic. The plot moves well, as is elegantly constructed. My only complaint is that the ending seemed a little overdone, almost too complicated.Nevertheless, if you like Gothic horror, you will love this book.
Rating: Summary: Argh. Review: Let me just get the nitpicky stuff out of the way first: Lucy Westenra, not Lucy Westerna. Silly things like this (aka lack of attention to detail)are irritating & the author should have caught it. More seriously, though, Marie Kiraly has taken an interesting story, with real questions about race, ethnicity and the changing world of industrial Europe (not to mention a great villain in Dracula), and changed it into a whiny, uninteresting story of adultery. She took chracters that had substance in Stoker's hands and destroyed them. Ultimately, I found that the story was not worth the time it took to slog through it.
Rating: Summary: Argh. Review: Let me just get the nitpicky stuff out of the way first: Lucy Westenra, not Lucy Westerna. Silly things like this (aka lack of attention to detail)are irritating & the author should have caught it. More seriously, though, Marie Kiraly has taken an interesting story, with real questions about race, ethnicity and the changing world of industrial Europe (not to mention a great villain in Dracula), and changed it into a whiny, uninteresting story of adultery. She took chracters that had substance in Stoker's hands and destroyed them. Ultimately, I found that the story was not worth the time it took to slog through it.
Rating: Summary: A desecration of a classic! Review: There have been some pretty lame attempts to write sequels to Bram Stoker's classic DRACULA, but this is one that borders on blasphemy! It reeks of Anne Ricean sub-par eroticism and Fred Saberhagen's ill-advised revisionism, as well as just being a bad story. It's a shame that Stoker's novel was never officially copyrighted in the U.S., and that the international copyrights have all lapsed. At least then the Count would be safe from well-meaning clods and talentless hacks like Bergstrom. You want good DRACULA pastiches? Check out Kim Newman's ANNO DRACULA books and stories, or Jeanne Kalogridis' DIARIES OF THE FAMILY DRACUL trilogy.
Rating: Summary: Long Live Mina Harker Review: This book follows Mina Harker both during the Dracula story and her life beyond where the original Dracula ends. Mina, if you remember is the newlywed bride of Jonathan Harker, the one who originally visited Count Dracula at his castle to arrange properties in and around London. This is one of the most creative continuations of Dracula that you will ever find. You will once again meet all of the original characters and their struggle with Dracula as well as what their lives have become after they leave the castle when Dracula had turned to dust. Mina, still with the blood of Dracula in her, finds it hard, if not impossible to get on with a normal life. She has changed and this affect not only her but all of the people she has been the closest to. This is a must read for all Dracula fans and a great thanks to Elaine Bergstrom for continuing the tradition.
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