Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6716 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 560 pages

Synopsis
When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula with the purchase of a London house, he makes a series of horrific discoveries about his client. Soon after wards, various bizarre incidents unfold in England: an apparently unmanned ship is wrecked off the coast of Whitby; a young woman discovers strange puncture marks on her neck; and the inmate of a lunatic asylum raves about the 'Master' and his imminent arrival. In "Dracula", Bram Stoker created one of the great masterpieces of the horror genre, brilliantly evoking a nightmare world of vampires and vampire hunters and also illuminating the dark corners of Victorian sexuality and desire.

Customer Reviews

Grippingly Classic Horror and Engagingly Well-Written Literature
Bram Stoker's gothic thriller, is a dark supernatural horror story that we all know and even if we didn't, draws on all the innate archetypes of fear. The story unfolds for all the human protagonists in apparent innocence, however any disbelief soon is swept away by the horror that they face. Written in diary form, Stoker is able to allow each to describe their own thoughts and fears.

Written over a century ago, Dracula remains as gripping as anything current and indeed more so. Difficult to put down such a tale and yet, well-written. Plumbing the depths of fears of an ever-proliferating foe of seemingly invincible strength, somehow Stoker also evokes in the Vampire hunters human emotions of sadness, hope, despair and courage and yet, seems to do this effortlessly and un-selfconsciously.

This is truly a classic novel which I'd recommend to any lover of such, whether interested in horror fiction or not.

Masterpiece
Bram Stoker's masterpiece is a timeless classic and is still highly recommended even though it's over 100 years old. This was the book which started modern horror fiction and gave birth to vampire mythology. Stoker spend six years assiduously researching this book, which is evident in the staggering detail of the world and characters. It's finely crafted story, writing narrative and eloquent prose (though aged, is unparalleled today), will delight many fans of fiction and especially, fans of vampires.

This book will remain with you for many years after reading. Highly recommended.

Complete and unabridged
My expectation before starting the book was plenty of rather dull, verbose rambling, interspersed with passages which were thrilling and unsettling. However, during the opening few chapters I was utterly drawn in to a ceaselessly intriguing and exciting story. I couldn't believe that the rest of the tale would be so well-paced and relentlessly chilling.

Sadly, it isn't. The opening chapters give the reader some momentum to trudge through the overly long middle section, where there exist a few highlights (A ghost-ship, a lunatic with some very strange habits, a couple of "bites") which aid the story to sputter to the final section, a chase across Europe with, frankly, a rushed ending, and more than enough emotional and religious claptrap for everybody along the way.

However, the style of writing from a variety of different perspectives is enthralling, and it is easy to see why this is a "classic", and though I would certainly recommend an abridged version for the less patient, or younger reader (the pacing would pale beside today's thrillers), its strong start, charming style and intrigue are enough to sate one's literary thirst. For now....