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Title: Dracula: Complete, Authoritative Text With Biographical, Historical, and Cultural Contexts, Critical History, and Essays from Contemporary Critical (Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism) by Bram Stoker, John P. Riquelme, Robert J. Randisi ISBN: 0-312-24170-4 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: December, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.20 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.4 (269 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: The Best shuld always be the Original
Comment: After having seen numerous treatments of the Dracula story, I wrongly assumed I new it pretty well. After stumbling through the first few chapters, I got the swing of its style. Mr. Stoker used a rather novel approach in creating this novel. The perspective of the story changes with each chapter. You read narrative from many different characters. Awkward at first, later it gives the impression of a balanced account of the events. It seems to make the events more believable. A note now forgotten by many is this was a "current" story when written. It was not a piece of colorful historical fiction.
The reader is not biased by the narrator's point of view. Anne Rice's "Interview with a Vampire" is told from Louis' perspective. That very story is given a different spin from Lestat in "The Vampire Lestat". With Dracula, all players are backing up everyone elses story. The chilling effect, is that it seems true. I was very pleased that a hundred year old story could hold such a grip on me. Actually, it was I that had the grip, a tight fisted one, on the book until I finished.
Rating: 5
Summary: The King of Vampire Novels, a Horror Inspiration!
Comment: Dracula is a masterpiece of Horror fiction, undoubtedly a classic and a necessary read for anyone who would consider him/herself a Horror fan. The title character has been forever imprinted on the minds of the world as the true name of the Vampire, and almost anyone who you could possibly ask could give you a pretty good description of the framework of the story.
A rich, reclusive count from the dark land of Transylvania tires of his homeland and searches for a home abroad to quench his thirst. Not for riches, not for glory, but for blood. For this count is a member of the damned breed, the Nosferatu, the Vampire. A demon condemned to live off of the blood of the living, while being neither alive, nor dead. It is a sad and frightening tale, filled with action and suspense.
Dracula is not only famous for its introduction of the mythology of Vlad the Impaler (in somewhat diluted form) to Western culture, but also for its formula. The inescapable evil (Dracula) to be confronted by a small, yet wary band of people lead by one who knows all of the creature's secrets and weaknesses (Van Helsing) has become a Horror staple. And folks never seem to get tired of it. The subject of Van Helsing, a character who almost, but not quite, overshadows Dracula in popularity is long overdue for a novelization of his own. Van Helsing's encounters with the supernatural would most definitely draw a fanbase.
If you're a Horror fan, or just like good old storytelling, Dracula is a book not to be missed. In fact, this novel should be required reading. It just might help increase the literacy rate!
Note: this edition has an awesome cover drawn by Boris Vallejo and it claims to be unabridged (abridging this story ought to be illegal!)
Rating: 3
Summary: A classic story of good vs. evil
Comment: Umberto Eco, in the foreword to his The Name of the Rose, suggests that it is not the job of an author to explain his work. From this assertion he goes on to argue that the title of a book should give away as little as possible as to the content of the novel. Simple titles, such as ones that simply identify the main character (Oliver Twist, Jane Eyre, etc.) are acceptable. Even better are titles that give no hint at all of the subject matter, and the best titles are the ones that are in fact completely misleading.
Umberto Eco certainly would have applauded Bram Stoker. Dracula, the novel, is in fact not at all about Count Dracula. The character of Dracula appears for a grand total of less than 100 pages in this 400 page novel. The main characters in this book are the two women that he bites, and the handful of gentlemen that resolve to hunt him down and kill him. And though Dracula is eventually the focus of their attention, for the better part of the novel they don't even know of his existence. If you are expecting a suspenseful, gory thriller that follows a blood-thirsty killer on his nocturnal adventures, like in the movies, you may be disappointed.
Still, with the right expectations, this is a perfectly enjoyable book. It paints an interesting picture of an age very much caught up in righteousness and religion. It's a classic story of good versus evil, with few gray areas. And it introduces a character who was destined to become the most famous villain in the history of literature.
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Title: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley ISBN: 0553212478 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 May, 1984 List Price(USD): $4.95 |
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Title: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson ISBN: 0486266885 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 01 January, 1991 List Price(USD): $1.00 |
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Title: The Picture of Dorian Gray by JEFFREY EUGENIDES, OSCAR WILDE ISBN: 0375751513 Publisher: Modern Library Pub. Date: 01 June, 1998 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
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Title: The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells ISBN: 0486270718 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 05 February, 1992 List Price(USD): $2.00 |
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Title: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne ISBN: 0812550927 Publisher: Tor Classics Pub. Date: 15 October, 1995 List Price(USD): $3.99 |
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