Dracula by Bram Stoker (Epub)

Description

Dracula is an 1897 Gothic horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula’s attempt to move from Transylvania to England so he may find new blood and spread undead curse, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing.

Dracula has been assigned to many literary genres including vampire literature, horror fiction, the gothic novel and invasion literature. The novel touches on themes such as the role of women in Victorian culture, sexual conventions, immigration, colonialism, and post-colonialism.

Although Stoker did not invent the vampire, he defined its modern form, and the novel has spawned numerous theatrical, film and television interpretations.

User’s Reviews

Review “Those who cannot find their own reflection in Bram Stoker’s still-living creation are surely the undead .” New York Times Review of Books”An exercise in masculine anxiety and nationalist paranoia, Stoker’s novel is filled with scenes that are staggeringly lurid and perverse…. The one in Highgate cemetery, where Arthur and Van Helsing drive a stake through the writhing body of the vampirised Lucy Westenra, is my favourite.” Sarah Waters, author of The Little Stranger”It is splendid. No book since Mrs. Shelley’s Frankenstein or indeed any other at all has come near yours in originality, or terror.” Bram Stoker’s Mother –Bram Stoker’s Mother

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ FORAMTTING (Get the joke?)First, what is most annoying is the full justification of the text with no indents and that at times spreads out the words in the line.Next you will sometimes come across the lack of spacing, where words run into each other. No excuse for this.TEXT IS UNRELIABLEWhat is beyond forgivable is the inaccurate duplication of the text. I am not just talking about typos (which there are).Here is the quote from this edition on page 69 in the second full paragraph, when quoting Disraeli: “The expected always happens.” Since this quote made no sense in regards to the context and was referenced 6 lines later as “unexpected,” I researched the quote. Both Disraeli’s quote from his novel “Henrietta Temple” and other editions of “Dracula” show the PROPER TEXT to be: “The unexpected always happens.”In short, this edition of Dracula is highly unreliable. Don’t waste your money – period!

⭐ Since I watched the Dance of the Vampires (Roman Polanski’s movie) on TV by the 80’s, I became very interested in vampire stories. I also enjoyed The Lost Boys movie and most of the Twilight pictures, even trying to read Eclipse book (unfortunately, it is very boring). I also visited the Vlad Tepes castle in Transylvania, which is considered Dracula’s castle!So, I went to the basics and realized that I should read Bram Stoker’s original material and, to my astonishment, the narrative is a bit tedious… The story is great indeed! The mysterious Count in Transylvania buys a property in London and move there to feed its blood and love desires. His skills and peculiarities are revealed in a a bit-by-bit basis which keep the reader’s interest. As most of the plot was already known, the part that comes up as a new thing is Reinfeld,who is a lunatic that is kept in an institution and provides well elaborated dialogues.Despite not that entertainment, it was worth reading it to know the origin of a story that generated so many “spin-offs”.

⭐ Amazon wouldn’t give me an option to write a review without clicking on one of three choices to describe the plot. How annoying! The problem is that this book is a classic and I read it many times in my life, the first time when I was 11 years old. It’s hardly “full of surprises” to anyone who has watched vampire movies from an early age, but it’s still a classic worth reading. I pull it out every few years in October because it’s just so fun to read it again. I still get chill bumps and stay up late to finish it. If you’ve never actually read Stoker’s novel but enjoy a good horror tale, this one is worth your time.

⭐ Dracula is one of those stories you think you know (or knew) until you actually read the book and truly immerse yourself into the story and characters. Today, vampires and the vampire legend are such a part of our culture, that reading the book is actually less suspenseful that I guess it would have been in the days of its publication when the legend of Count Dracula was either unknown of at least much lesser known. In some ways I am sad that I knew too much going into the reading of this book and in other ways, it was fun to actually see the foreshadowing for what it was and the little hints and clues along the way that Stoker put into the story to tell his readers who and what this Count actually was. All in all, this is a classic piece of literary treasure and one that I believe all should read because the real vampire story is infinitely more intriguing than all the modern vampire drivel that exists and continues to be written today. As in many other things, all the copycat stories that have come about following Bram Stoker’s masterpiece are each in their own way inferior to the original.

⭐ I was eager to read this book because I was interested to find out where the fascination with vampires in fiction began. Bram Stoker’s Dracula is the godfather of vampire lore and deservedly so. Stoker’s portrayal of a vampire is markedly different from the vampires we know today.Today vampires are misunderstood heroes but Dracula is a cunning, intelligent and determined predator. Dracula is no friend of humans and uses his charm to manipulate and control humans. There are no ‘daylight rings’ and glittering exteriors’ as seen in Vampire Diaries and Twilight. There are only garlic necklaces, crucifixes and stakes and because of this Dracula is authentic and actually scary.Stoker’s novel is also about friendship and how a group of varied characters band together to destroy Dracula and save the world from further terror. It is ultimately about the battle between good and evil. The diarised format of the novel came as a surprise and at times I found myself wondering how a character could remember everything another character said so accurately. The book does tend to drag in parts because some of the entries are repetitive but if you are interested in learning more about the vampire myth I strongly recommend this book.

⭐ Certainly not the first book about vampires and most definitely not the last, but possibly the best known of all the books written about this mythological character. After reading this work I can understand the obsession the writer has with subject and through the decades since this was published, the imagination has even given them new life by having them evolve. Told not through one narrator but by several of the main participants who wrote in diaries, correspondence the story unfolds. The only narrative we don’t have is from the Count himself (I pondered where and when he first met and seduced Renfield). Highly entertaining I enjoyed this read immensely.

⭐ Dracula, a classic for sure, was a highly enjoyable, albeit difficult for a reader of my ability, read with a story that sheds light on how Hollywood, authors, and many others have taken the “vampire” and changed it.Dracula was written in a different manner than I am accustomed, both in language and in style. In style, it is written as though it is a compilation of diary entries. This serves to easily identify who we are hearing from at any point but for me made it difficult at times to keep clear what each character had done and who they really were. This style though served the book well in the second half / last quarter of the book where I grew to appreciate the style.The language of the book is fitting for the time it was written, but as I am not a strong reader was difficult for me and it was clear that the time required to read this book was much longer than other books of a similar length. For this reason I felt it was a very slow read but I am unsure if this is true for most others or if it was just me who faced difficulties with it.Overall I enjoyed this story very much. It she’d light on the origins of the present day vampire and gave me an appreciation for authors like Stephen King and movies such as Blade which respect some of the original “rules” and characteristics by which vampires abide.I would recommend this to all but not before your reading ability is such that you can read it at the pace it deserves. For when it is slow, it can be difficult to keep going though I promise it is worthwhile. If you choose to read it, enjoy it as I have.

⭐ I chose this classic book for my first hosted read along and I am glad I finally decided to. Once I got started reading it I had to wonder why I waited so long to start. I did have some reservations as too how the writing would be but I just jumped right in.I don’t get to creeped out or scared anymore when I read horror books. And I had really been wanting to find something that could provide that for me. I think I found that with this book. The very beginning of the book gave me that creepiness factor and also that sense of impending doom. And then as I continued to read I still had a sense of that creepiness as I delved into the characters thoughts, especially Jonathan’s trip to the castle.The characters were great in the story and I loved them all, however in my head I had expected a more significant role for Lucy and it was not as enhanced as I thought it would have been I guess. But still she was a great character. I have to say that my favorite character would have to be Dr, Van Helsing! Such a strong prominent character. He was developed very well. I could totally visualize him in my head.I thought that Jonathan’s end days at the castle was a bit vague and had me wondering what all had happened, I thought that part of the story kind of fizzled out a bit and left me hanging. I had hope more of that would have come into play on that so it was just a little disappointing.I had a little bit of an issue with some of the grammar in the story but I expected that and knew some of it would have been a little hard to understand. I really had a hard time with a couple of parts where Stoker gave the characters an ‘accent’. It was a little hard to decipher through it at times.I thought the ending was pretty well built up and I felt as though I was on a journey myself with everyone as they all made their way to the castle. I felt as though I was sitting on the edge of my seat too as I was totally immersed in the story at that point. Overall this was a great classic and a very enjoyable read for me

⭐ “Dracula” was not the first vampire novel, nor was it Bram Stoker’s first book.But he managed to craft the ultimate vampire novel, which has spawned countless movies, spinoffs, and books that follow the blueprint of the Transylvanian count — not to mention the vampire mythology and tropes that are still the standard to this day (despite Stephenie Meyer’s best efforts). Eerie, horrifying and genuinely mysterious, “Dracula” is undoubtedly the most striking and unique vampire novel yet penned.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 — along with countless boxes filled with dirt.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 elegantly alluring bloodsuckers, but that isn’t the sole reason why this novel 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 despite his small amount of actual screen time, 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.Intelligent, frightening and very well-written, “Dracula” is the well-deserved godfather of all modern vampire books and movies — and its unique villain still dwarfs the more recent undead.

⭐ I usually read sci-fi, fantasy and thrillers. However, I wanted to read Dracula based on recommendations from friends and general acclaim. I would overall give it between a 4 and 4.5 for being quite a thrilling and daring tale of mystery and the supernatural (for its time). Some spoilers to follow.Nowadays, stories about vampires and werewolves are a dime a dozen, right? But, here’s one book that helped start it all and probably sparked the imaginations of many. Dracula starts out following the narrative of Jonathan Harker and the world soon expands to include his wife (who is eventually afflicted), Dr. Van Helsing and Dr Seward (two relative experts and practitioners in psychology), Quincey Morris and Lord Godalming–in effect from the POV of one character to several. It can get confusing at times, but I feel the story is wonderfully interwoven by the mixed narrative.The story starts out following Harker (he’s an associate) as he travels to and interacts with Count Dracula (who is buying some land in England). He is warned by the locals, sees little to heed their warning… until he has some strange encounters involving some siren-esque female vampires and then Count Dracula himself. He is eventually set under house-arrest, whereupon the first part of the story ends and we travel back to England.Here, the story mellows quite a bit and the pacing and intrigue (in my opinion) of the first part is undone. For modern readers, used to fast paced storytelling, the middle portion seems to drag on as we follow what eventually turns out to be one of the first major victims of Count Dracula (a friend of Mrs Harker). The gang eventually determines that the victim has been afflicted and they must take drastic measures to contain her actions. Upon doing so and with the return of Mrs Harker with Jonathan Harker, they whole crew sets about trying to thwart and actually defeat Dracula.Now, we come to the final part of the story where the narrative picks up again towards a strong end. I won’t spoil it, but there is much adventuring and sleuthing on the parts of all the characters. The story is able to convey some strong emotional connections between the reader and the characters. Ultimately, the story delivers on a strong beginning and lands a great ending. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys mysteries, slow-burn narratives and fans of the classic.

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