Customer Reviews

Dracula

5 star:		(177)
4 star:		(61)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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."

This year is the 110th anniversary of the publication of Dracula. Dracula, or Count Dracula, is probably the most famous vampire of them all. After one hundred years, Dracula is so ingrained into vampire mythology that when we think vampires - we think Dracula.

You could argue that the reason for this began with F.W. Murnau's film Nosferatu. Although the main character, wonderfully portrayed by Max Schreck, is referred to as Count Orlok - the viewing public were not fooled! Thousands of fans knew Murnau was telling the Dracula story! And so began a phenomenon, Dracula is now the most portrayed character in the horror genre - beating the likes of Frankenstein - and notching up over 160 portrayals. Most notable of these, apart from the previously mentioned Max Schreck, include those by: Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee and, more recently, Gary Oldman.

So, does this explain the unbelievable success of the Dracula novel? Are the scores of portrayals serving as huge advertising campaigns? Is this the reason why one hundred years on thousands of copies of Dracula are still being sold? Of course not!

Bram Stoker's Dracula completely captured the imagination of the reading public. One of the reasons for this is that it is not written like a novel - one unknown voice telling you a story. Stoker's Dracula is told to us by many voices all of which are characters within Dracula. The protagonists tell us the story through diary entries, newspaper clippings and letters. This style of story telling adds to our fear while reading, as it immerses us in the character's plight and gives us the impression that these events could be based on truth. You may think this last statement ludicrous and it probably is, but the fact that we have never found the burial place of Vlad Dracula (Vlad the Impaler), only adds to an air of uncertainty. When you are alone at night, a copy of Dracula on the bedside table, the wind and rain pelting against the windowpane, what seems ridiculous in cold light of day seems only the more real with the unexplained noises that occur during the night.

One of the most interesting reasons why Dracula has survived the test of time is quite simply; it is the ancestor of all vampire novels. All other vampire stories are descendants of it, even Anne Rice, who refers to Dracula in one of her novels as the, "vulgar fictions of a demented Irishman," cannot dispute that her novels are descended from it.
How do we know that every vampire novel is descended from Bram Stoker's? The reason is simple, Stoker set down a list of vampire rules, and every book that followed after has used these rules. These rules may have been reinterpreted but still today, most stay remarkably true to Stoker's original vampire laws. Stakes through the heart, fear of religious symbols, sleeping in coffins- these are all Bram Stoker's ideas. All modern portrayals of vampires and vampire slayers use Stoker's story as a benchmark, or something to aspire too. You could even argue that Buffy the Vampire Slayer's watcher is a modern interpretation of Van Helsing.

Stoker was also the first person to coin the term "Un-Dead," used to this day by fiction writers to refer to vampires or zombies. Not many writers have ever achieved the accolade of inventing a word that becomes automatically absorbed into the English language.

In conclusion, if you are a avid reader looking to read one of the classics, you can't go wrong with Bram Stoker's Dracula, and like wise if you are aspiring horror writer- make it first on your list of books to read and inspire you.

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.

It's getting a bit long in the tooth now. Bram Stokers Dracula was a good book for it's time, but alas times have changed. There are a whole new breed of horror writers focusing on the vampire element in this day and age. You would be better of focusing on one of them. Dracula may be the most famous Vampire of them all, but if it's a good blood curdling horror story you are after there are many, more evil and fierce than he ever was.
It's more like a warped version of beauty and the beast. The characters have that kind of melodramatic foppishness that comes with the period it's set in. If you've ever read anything by Brian Lumley then this book may be somewhat disappointing.

Dracula by Bram Stoker is a classic novel of the 19th century. There is no question about that. Anyone investigating 19th century Western literature or who has a keen interest in disturbing fiction should read this novel. Indeed, Freudian, Darwinist, Niethzean, and Socialist forces were changing the West in the 1800's, and Stoker effectively uses them to frighten the reader. However, Amazon.Com wasn't convenient in the 19th century; it wasn't around. Similarly, what scared middle class Britons in the 19th century just isn't disturbing any longer. So if you want to read a disturbing fiction to be truly disturbed, avoid this. If you want to read a classic 19th century novel, read something by Dickens. Avoid this novel unless you have an acute interest in specifically reading it.

When the main character was in the Count's castle I had a great time! I thought, this book is great, it can only get better, boy was I wrong. It went to London, and stayed there too long, the dead woman thing dragged on way to long. I didn't even finish it. I'm willing to give it another chance latter but for now, forget it.

Written in 1897, Dracula by Bram Stoker is an amazing gothic and horror classic about the vampire: Count Dracula. I was hesitant to read it at first because of the odd way the story is conveyed, through journal entries, letters, newspaper articles, and memorandums, but I found that that was the most effective method to tell such a story and it was not as bad as it seemed. With this method, the characters describe things as they see them, and overlook small important points, that a proper story narrator would not have missed. This makes the readers more excited about the discoveries that the characters will make.

The opening of the novel is excellent, the most exciting part, with Jonathan Harker, an English solicitor, traveling to Castle Dracula in Transylvania. On the way, he meets numerous supposititious people and does not understand why they are like that. He meets with Count Dracula to discuss the transaction of the mansion that the Count has just purchased in London. There, Jonathan discovers Dracula's ghastly secret and is imprisoned.

What powers and abilities does Dracula possess? What are the intentions of Dracula? Is there any hope for Jonathan?

With so many journal entries that allowed the characters to discover numerous secrets that they had overlooked, it makes you want to keep a journal of your own. I highly recommend Dracula; this classic always keeps you wondering what will happen next.

This edition is a great unabridged version that is inexpensive too.

I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I, of course was expecting to read something similar to the movie 'Dracula' that I had seen. While there are some similarities, the book is immensely better. I guess that it would be hard to convey all the emotions of an individuals character 'on screen'.

This extremely well written tale is written in a series of diaries. Everything that we read is someones diary, relating all of the events that are unfolding. I found myself unable to read this novel at night, as I was 'fearful'. I do not think that a novel or movie has to be 'gory' to convey a message of 'horror', it can be done with suggestive words and the type of enviroment that a character is in.

Unlike the movie, we are not made to feel for Dracula. We see him for the bloodsucking fiend that he is. There is no love or romance between him and the dedicated Mina. The 'slayer' Van Helsing is as witty as ever as are all the rest of the important characters. This tale unfolds quite nicely and is very enjoyable.

If you are looking for an interesting and well written read, then I recommend this riveting tale.

"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. Eerie, horrifying and genuinely mysterious, this is a deserved classic... even though this edition "bites."

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 -- then the center of the Western world -- and intends to make it his own...

"Dracula" is the grandaddy of Lestat and other bloodsuckers, 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.

Even Dracula himself is an overpowering presence, and not just as a vampire -- Stoker presents him as passionate, intense, malignant, and probably the smartest person in the entire book. If Van Helsing hadn't thwarted him, he probably would have taken over the world -- not the Victorian audience's ideal ending.

Unfortunately, some idiot clearly decided that "Dracula" was too wordy and descriptive. As a result, Jan Needle eviscerated the text -- Stoker's rich, opulent text is dumbed-down, simplified and even modernized. Goodbye to the atmosphere and intensity that the original work had. It, to pardon the pun, really "bites."

Intelligent, frightening and very well-written, "Dracula" is the well-deserved godfather of all modern vampire books and movies -- and arguably among the best. Just avoid the edited version.

My blood froze, the hairs stood on end all along my arms, i jumped each time the phone rang and shuddered at the thought of night.. forget the movies, forget the other vampire storys.. this is the orignal and the best just don't forget your garlic!