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beadzombie's review against another edition
5.0
BEST VAMPIRE BOOK EVER! (And one of my most favorite books ever too!) It is a different take on vampires that is awesome and SO SCARY. A must read for horror fans. I highly recommend it! (Where's the sequel guys? Ugh, I mean really!!)
mrsbear's review against another edition
5.0
I was so excited to be sent this book for review FROM THE AUTHORS! Four of my favorite authors actually allowed me to read an ARC of their book. What happens if I don't like the book? NOTHING because I LOVED the book!
I love vampires. Real, nasty, blood sucking, no conscience vampires. Not the pretty boys but the fiends. Draculas is filled to the brim with fiends. No one is off limits to these vampires, not your grandmother, your mother or even your unborn baby. Yeah, call me a sicko but that's the kind of vampires I want to read about.
These authors do not disappoint. Not one page lacks excitement and yes, I am almost ashamed to say a few laughs. It's in no way a comedy but there is dark, very dark humor in there and you can't help but smirk. Well I guess to be honest it would offend some people but then I don't recommend this to those people.
The setting being a hospital was very good. Just think about all the amazing "goodies" to be found in a hospital to try to ward off these evil guys. And, no crucifix or holy water for these vampires, they are stronger than that so our characters must come up with more creative ideas to stop them.
The characters, as always are very real, very people next door type. We all know these people and they could be us. I am going out of a limb but I am admitting that my favorite character was Benny the Clown. Yes, you heard me correctly, Benny the Clown. Poor Benny got hurt at a birthday party and was coming to the ER for help. (Not telling you anymore, read the book) Poor Benny got much more then he bargained for when he agreed to be a clown that day! You like balloon animals and scarf tricks? Read the book, Benny's got them!
Draculas has a bit of everything, even some romance. I have to warn you and the authors do too, if you want Twilight walk by this book. If you want blood, guts, evil, action that will make you cringe, cry and yes, giggle pick up Draculas. I hope that there is a second book coming.
Let's not forget the bonus material. I loved the email exchange between the authors. Make me feel like a fly on the wall listening to them brainstorm to create this book. And that's not all, there are short stories included, author interviews and more. All for the price of one ebook. Can't beat that.
I can not thank the authors enough for allowing me to read and review Draculas. And when I saw my name in the acknowledgments I almost fell over! Thank you, thank you, thank you. Now please get to work on Draculas the Sequel?
I love vampires. Real, nasty, blood sucking, no conscience vampires. Not the pretty boys but the fiends. Draculas is filled to the brim with fiends. No one is off limits to these vampires, not your grandmother, your mother or even your unborn baby. Yeah, call me a sicko but that's the kind of vampires I want to read about.
These authors do not disappoint. Not one page lacks excitement and yes, I am almost ashamed to say a few laughs. It's in no way a comedy but there is dark, very dark humor in there and you can't help but smirk. Well I guess to be honest it would offend some people but then I don't recommend this to those people.
The setting being a hospital was very good. Just think about all the amazing "goodies" to be found in a hospital to try to ward off these evil guys. And, no crucifix or holy water for these vampires, they are stronger than that so our characters must come up with more creative ideas to stop them.
The characters, as always are very real, very people next door type. We all know these people and they could be us. I am going out of a limb but I am admitting that my favorite character was Benny the Clown. Yes, you heard me correctly, Benny the Clown. Poor Benny got hurt at a birthday party and was coming to the ER for help. (Not telling you anymore, read the book) Poor Benny got much more then he bargained for when he agreed to be a clown that day! You like balloon animals and scarf tricks? Read the book, Benny's got them!
Draculas has a bit of everything, even some romance. I have to warn you and the authors do too, if you want Twilight walk by this book. If you want blood, guts, evil, action that will make you cringe, cry and yes, giggle pick up Draculas. I hope that there is a second book coming.
Let's not forget the bonus material. I loved the email exchange between the authors. Make me feel like a fly on the wall listening to them brainstorm to create this book. And that's not all, there are short stories included, author interviews and more. All for the price of one ebook. Can't beat that.
I can not thank the authors enough for allowing me to read and review Draculas. And when I saw my name in the acknowledgments I almost fell over! Thank you, thank you, thank you. Now please get to work on Draculas the Sequel?
sandygx260's review against another edition
3.0
Draculas is a hard book to review, because I like a plot to accompany a story. The “we don’t need a stinkin’ plot” Draculas is an unashamed gore fest of sharp fangs, split cheeks, talons, blood, guts, shootings, and explosions. One vampire throws up his stomach and proceeds to eat it. A clown turned vampire makes balloon animals out of intestines. Hunger-crazed vampires chew off their own limbs. Fleeing victims pratfall in blood puddles or trip over intestines.
At a certain point, this horror novel turned into a raging comedy. I couldn’t take Draculas seriously. I don’t think the authors did either, not judging by the excellent short stories augmenting the ebook. Humor is mixed into the horror, which can work, but in Draculas, the authors carried the concept too far. I could almost tell which parts were F.Paul Wilson’s contributions because in other books I have read by him, I’ve never seen him mix horror with humor.
Also please don’t become too attached to any of the characters. Heroic characters die. Lead vampires die. Bloody carnage triumphs.
I admire what these four authors created, because mostly it works in a seamless manner. I understand that back in 2010, this was written as a big “fuck you” to the Twilight series. Imagine, who cares about Twilight now? I stand in the authors camp because I hated how Twilight derailed the idea of my favorite supernatural character.
The thing is, Draculas doesn’t do all that much to redeem the vampire legend. Face it, vampires were always tragic romantic figures filled with murderous intent. They aren’t like rabid zombies sans a coherent thought in their undead brains.
Hard to review, which means I give it a five for the ambitious idea, a four for the extra short stories and add-ons, a two for the lacking plot and frequently inane dialog, and a one for the completely ridiculous start and lackluster ending.
Sounds like a three to me. Your math may vary.
At a certain point, this horror novel turned into a raging comedy. I couldn’t take Draculas seriously. I don’t think the authors did either, not judging by the excellent short stories augmenting the ebook. Humor is mixed into the horror, which can work, but in Draculas, the authors carried the concept too far. I could almost tell which parts were F.Paul Wilson’s contributions because in other books I have read by him, I’ve never seen him mix horror with humor.
Also please don’t become too attached to any of the characters. Heroic characters die. Lead vampires die. Bloody carnage triumphs.
I admire what these four authors created, because mostly it works in a seamless manner. I understand that back in 2010, this was written as a big “fuck you” to the Twilight series. Imagine, who cares about Twilight now? I stand in the authors camp because I hated how Twilight derailed the idea of my favorite supernatural character.
The thing is, Draculas doesn’t do all that much to redeem the vampire legend. Face it, vampires were always tragic romantic figures filled with murderous intent. They aren’t like rabid zombies sans a coherent thought in their undead brains.
Hard to review, which means I give it a five for the ambitious idea, a four for the extra short stories and add-ons, a two for the lacking plot and frequently inane dialog, and a one for the completely ridiculous start and lackluster ending.
Sounds like a three to me. Your math may vary.
beastreader's review against another edition
4.0
This story takes place in Durango, Colorado.
Mortimer Moorecook has been anxiously awaiting a package. When the Fedex man arrives, Mort gets really excited. Mort ordered a skull. Though the skull is not just any normal skull. It is a “Dracula skull”.
Shanna specializes in the evolution of primates. Mort hired Shanna. He wants her to research and figure out the history behind the “Dracula skull”. In her research, Shanna found some interesting information regarding the Wallachian Order of the Dragon and its founder, Oswald von Wolkenstein. Supposedly Oswald’s son had a birth defect that affected his teeth, which might account for the long incisors.
Mort suffers an attack and is rushed to Blessed Crucifixion Hospital. There Dr. Kurt Lanz examines Mort. Soon, there is a outbreak of vampires. Can anyone stop them before it is too late?
Draculas by Blake Crouch, Jack Kilborn, Jeff Strand, and F. Paul Wilson is a bevy of super star giants. I have not read a really great Dracula book in a long time. Draculas is the best one of 2010! The characters were so full of personality and I found them to be very interesting. This helped with the story. The characters were normal people just trying to survive.
Of course, I still would have been intrigued by this book as the story line was in your face… in a good way. An added bonus was that this story took place in Durango, Colorado, which is about 3 ½ hours away from where I live. It was fun to imagine that this was really happening in Durango.
Be warned as Draculas is not for the weak stomached. Draculas is no Twilight and this is an excellent thing. Draculas needs to be made into a movie. Draculas is a bloodthirsty, fang, sucking good time!
Mortimer Moorecook has been anxiously awaiting a package. When the Fedex man arrives, Mort gets really excited. Mort ordered a skull. Though the skull is not just any normal skull. It is a “Dracula skull”.
Shanna specializes in the evolution of primates. Mort hired Shanna. He wants her to research and figure out the history behind the “Dracula skull”. In her research, Shanna found some interesting information regarding the Wallachian Order of the Dragon and its founder, Oswald von Wolkenstein. Supposedly Oswald’s son had a birth defect that affected his teeth, which might account for the long incisors.
Mort suffers an attack and is rushed to Blessed Crucifixion Hospital. There Dr. Kurt Lanz examines Mort. Soon, there is a outbreak of vampires. Can anyone stop them before it is too late?
Draculas by Blake Crouch, Jack Kilborn, Jeff Strand, and F. Paul Wilson is a bevy of super star giants. I have not read a really great Dracula book in a long time. Draculas is the best one of 2010! The characters were so full of personality and I found them to be very interesting. This helped with the story. The characters were normal people just trying to survive.
Of course, I still would have been intrigued by this book as the story line was in your face… in a good way. An added bonus was that this story took place in Durango, Colorado, which is about 3 ½ hours away from where I live. It was fun to imagine that this was really happening in Durango.
Be warned as Draculas is not for the weak stomached. Draculas is no Twilight and this is an excellent thing. Draculas needs to be made into a movie. Draculas is a bloodthirsty, fang, sucking good time!
wannabekingpin's review
4.0
all reviews in one place:
night mode reading ;
skaitom nakties rezimu
About the Book: Elderly man who’d fit Stephen King‘s novels, has bought a strange, seemingly human skull. Greatest difference between actual human skull and this is, of course, the set of teeth. Sharp, pointy, and hollow. He even hired an assitant with appropriate knowledge to tell him whether it seems real enough. Really, his only mistake has been not sharing the information with her. For as he pushed those fangs into his neck, he knew what he was doing. While she, unknowing, in shock and fear, took him to a crowded hospital, full of wounded, bleeding patients who can’t escape… For, you see, the skull has likely once indeed belonged to Dracula, whose headless body has been discovered previously.
My Opinion: Action packed humorous horror thriller, an absolute pleasure to read. It’s almost sad to take a point away for where writing left plot or logic holes. You’ve likely seen a movie or a few just like this, and so know, this book is better. Trapped in a hospital, with stalking, mindless monsters hunting them down, protagonists each apply all their wit and skill to survive and inform the outside world of what’s going on, convince them of this unreal reality. Read on the edge of my seat, and occasionally laughed at… well, you’ll see. Lots of lovely nightmare fuel.
night mode reading ;
skaitom nakties rezimu
About the Book: Elderly man who’d fit Stephen King‘s novels, has bought a strange, seemingly human skull. Greatest difference between actual human skull and this is, of course, the set of teeth. Sharp, pointy, and hollow. He even hired an assitant with appropriate knowledge to tell him whether it seems real enough. Really, his only mistake has been not sharing the information with her. For as he pushed those fangs into his neck, he knew what he was doing. While she, unknowing, in shock and fear, took him to a crowded hospital, full of wounded, bleeding patients who can’t escape… For, you see, the skull has likely once indeed belonged to Dracula, whose headless body has been discovered previously.
My Opinion: Action packed humorous horror thriller, an absolute pleasure to read. It’s almost sad to take a point away for where writing left plot or logic holes. You’ve likely seen a movie or a few just like this, and so know, this book is better. Trapped in a hospital, with stalking, mindless monsters hunting them down, protagonists each apply all their wit and skill to survive and inform the outside world of what’s going on, convince them of this unreal reality. Read on the edge of my seat, and occasionally laughed at… well, you’ll see. Lots of lovely nightmare fuel.
jimmysavloy's review
3.0
More like a 3.5 out of 5. Fast paced with lots of action and gore. However, lacked a little depth and was a lot shorter than expected (on the Kindle version the story finishes at the 50% mark. There's then some chat with the authors and a bunch of short stories that I didn't bother with).
If you're after an easy read with gore and fast paced writing then this is for you.
If you're after an easy read with gore and fast paced writing then this is for you.
mxsallybend's review
5.0
A little light on those insignificant little things like plot or character development, Draculas is still one wild, bat-shit crazy, over-the-top romp through what feels like a B-grade 80s gore-fest. More importantly, as the authors state in their introduction, this novel represents their attempt to reverse the 20+ years of sparkly, bare-chested, sexually ambiguous, romantic nonsense that's been injected into vampires and "make them scary again."
The vampires here are not cunning, seductive, or even dangerously attractive. They are more like bloodthirsty, fast-moving zombies with jaws so full of fangs that their teeth explode through the cheeks and lips in all directions. These are ugly, animalistic, single-minded SOBs who exist to feed, and who want nothing more (or less) than to tear your throat open and guzzle down every ounce of blood in your body.
As for pacing, it's almost frantic, will one intense scene after another tacked together like some sort of sick carnival ride. The authors waste absolutely no time getting into things, opening with the delivery of a million-dollar vampire skull to a dying recluse, and then snapping its jaws around his throat so quickly you're already on your way to the hospital with him before you realize what's happened. There we encounter a very different sort of bite, with a young birthday girl whose braces are caught in the flesh of a sad, suicidal clown.
With that, the set-up is complete, and it's time to open the floodgates on the bites, the blood, the breeding, and the body count. This is not a story of hope and survival; it's not a story full of deep moral lessons; and it's not a story with any redeeming message to offer . . . unless that message is RUN AND HIDE! There's so much carnage here, wonderfully bloody and excessive, but also freakishly inventive. The sad vampire clown with the red nose and shoes that still squeak? Genius! The birthday girl who wants to tear into people and eat up all the red candy inside? Fantastic! The hungry, pregnant vampire with the equally hungry vampire infant exploding from her stomach à la Aliens? Brilliant!
Don't get too attached to any of the characters because, odds are, they aren't going to make it to the end. Those that do, however, are well worth following, especially with a few throwing themselves blindly into last-minute sacrifices. Even more interesting are the characters who fight to retain a semblance of humanity in their vampire transformation, giving the story the edge it needs to be more than just a kill-em-all monster saga. There's a point at which the story completely passes the point of containment or simple resolution, but the explosive Hollywood ending is completely apropos, as is the lingering thread that sets up the inevitable sequel.
As fun as it is frantic, this is well worth a read for anyone sick to death of what people like Anne Rice and Stephanie Meyer have done to the monstrous side of the vampire.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
The vampires here are not cunning, seductive, or even dangerously attractive. They are more like bloodthirsty, fast-moving zombies with jaws so full of fangs that their teeth explode through the cheeks and lips in all directions. These are ugly, animalistic, single-minded SOBs who exist to feed, and who want nothing more (or less) than to tear your throat open and guzzle down every ounce of blood in your body.
As for pacing, it's almost frantic, will one intense scene after another tacked together like some sort of sick carnival ride. The authors waste absolutely no time getting into things, opening with the delivery of a million-dollar vampire skull to a dying recluse, and then snapping its jaws around his throat so quickly you're already on your way to the hospital with him before you realize what's happened. There we encounter a very different sort of bite, with a young birthday girl whose braces are caught in the flesh of a sad, suicidal clown.
With that, the set-up is complete, and it's time to open the floodgates on the bites, the blood, the breeding, and the body count. This is not a story of hope and survival; it's not a story full of deep moral lessons; and it's not a story with any redeeming message to offer . . . unless that message is RUN AND HIDE! There's so much carnage here, wonderfully bloody and excessive, but also freakishly inventive. The sad vampire clown with the red nose and shoes that still squeak? Genius! The birthday girl who wants to tear into people and eat up all the red candy inside? Fantastic! The hungry, pregnant vampire with the equally hungry vampire infant exploding from her stomach à la Aliens? Brilliant!
Don't get too attached to any of the characters because, odds are, they aren't going to make it to the end. Those that do, however, are well worth following, especially with a few throwing themselves blindly into last-minute sacrifices. Even more interesting are the characters who fight to retain a semblance of humanity in their vampire transformation, giving the story the edge it needs to be more than just a kill-em-all monster saga. There's a point at which the story completely passes the point of containment or simple resolution, but the explosive Hollywood ending is completely apropos, as is the lingering thread that sets up the inevitable sequel.
As fun as it is frantic, this is well worth a read for anyone sick to death of what people like Anne Rice and Stephanie Meyer have done to the monstrous side of the vampire.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
vikingwolf's review
5.0
I always get nervous when I see authors getting together to co-write a book, especially four! I always wonder if the styles and ideas of the authors are going to clash and turn it into a pure mess. But my fears were unfounded as soon as I got into this book.
It starts with a bang and goes on at breakneck speed in an orgy of violence and gore, with some pretty funny bits as well. Each author-Jack Kilborn, Blake Crouch, Jeff Strand and F Paul Wilson, create characters who are inside the secluded hospital when a vampire outbreak begins. There are no fluffy bunny moments or a break in the action, no waffle or endless descriptions, no classic literature or critically acclaimed writing...this is just vampire action on speed. And I loved it!
Mortimor is a rich man who is dying of cancer and has an extreme idea to cure it. He purchases a vampire skull with horrific fangs and stabs himself in the neck with it, infecting himself. His collapse is immediate and his nurse Jenny and assistant Shanna have to get him to the hospital where he swiftly dies. But Mortimor is going to come back very quickly and is very hungry and eager to infect as many people as he can. Chaos and death are about to reign in the hospital as the uninfected try to escape or hide and the vampire hordes hunt them down.
We follow Jenny and her ex husband Randall who is in hospital after an unfortunate chainsaw accident, the obnoxious Dr Lanz who had Jenny fired from the hospital, Shanna and her redneck cop boyfriend Clay, Adam in the labour ward with wife Stacie, Benny the Clown at the ER after being bitten by a child at a birthday party who is stuck to him by the braces on her teeth and Carla the nurse on the labour ward. There are also a lot of people at the hospital for various reasons who are about to become a walking and screaming buffet!
It is Lanz who manages to get a call in to the police to alert them while all hell is breaking out around him. Victims are growing fangs as their own fall out, the sign of infection, and a full scale bitefest is under way. Hospital staff are trying to close wards and protect the vulnerable patients as monsters stalk the dark corridors. Shanna comes back from a coffee to find Mortimor had died, reanimated and is chewing on people. Benny the Clown discovers that being chomped by a child is going to be the start of a really bad day. Jenny begins to see the now sober Randall in a new light as the injured man uses his chainsaw to protect her and a ward full of kids. Oasis is discovering that being a child vampire makes it kinda tough to get a decent meal. Adam's wife needs blood after the delivery but does he really want to venture down to the basement to get it?
As well as the gore, then is some seriously inappropriate humour which I really enjoyed. Without a doubt, my favourite character was Benny the Clown with his squeaky shoes. As he arrives on the children's ward where others are hiding...
"Benny the Clown had torn open the man's abdominal cavity, his claws cradling several loops of glistening intestines. But rather than gorging on them, the clown was stretching and pulling the bloody loops, twisting the organ into knots. Familiar knots.
'Is that...a flamingo?' asked the old woman."
LOL! I was laughing when I read that! Comedy and horror are great when put together well, like in Evil Dead 2, and that was one of the highlights in this book. It was so refreshing to read a book where the death toll gives 24 a run for it's money, where the plot is just a crazy bloodbath and where you are totally entertained from start to finish.
If you like gory horror with a few chuckles in it which is not to be taken seriously, then Draculas is for you!
It starts with a bang and goes on at breakneck speed in an orgy of violence and gore, with some pretty funny bits as well. Each author-Jack Kilborn, Blake Crouch, Jeff Strand and F Paul Wilson, create characters who are inside the secluded hospital when a vampire outbreak begins. There are no fluffy bunny moments or a break in the action, no waffle or endless descriptions, no classic literature or critically acclaimed writing...this is just vampire action on speed. And I loved it!
Mortimor is a rich man who is dying of cancer and has an extreme idea to cure it. He purchases a vampire skull with horrific fangs and stabs himself in the neck with it, infecting himself. His collapse is immediate and his nurse Jenny and assistant Shanna have to get him to the hospital where he swiftly dies. But Mortimor is going to come back very quickly and is very hungry and eager to infect as many people as he can. Chaos and death are about to reign in the hospital as the uninfected try to escape or hide and the vampire hordes hunt them down.
We follow Jenny and her ex husband Randall who is in hospital after an unfortunate chainsaw accident, the obnoxious Dr Lanz who had Jenny fired from the hospital, Shanna and her redneck cop boyfriend Clay, Adam in the labour ward with wife Stacie, Benny the Clown at the ER after being bitten by a child at a birthday party who is stuck to him by the braces on her teeth and Carla the nurse on the labour ward. There are also a lot of people at the hospital for various reasons who are about to become a walking and screaming buffet!
It is Lanz who manages to get a call in to the police to alert them while all hell is breaking out around him. Victims are growing fangs as their own fall out, the sign of infection, and a full scale bitefest is under way. Hospital staff are trying to close wards and protect the vulnerable patients as monsters stalk the dark corridors. Shanna comes back from a coffee to find Mortimor had died, reanimated and is chewing on people. Benny the Clown discovers that being chomped by a child is going to be the start of a really bad day. Jenny begins to see the now sober Randall in a new light as the injured man uses his chainsaw to protect her and a ward full of kids. Oasis is discovering that being a child vampire makes it kinda tough to get a decent meal. Adam's wife needs blood after the delivery but does he really want to venture down to the basement to get it?
As well as the gore, then is some seriously inappropriate humour which I really enjoyed. Without a doubt, my favourite character was Benny the Clown with his squeaky shoes. As he arrives on the children's ward where others are hiding...
"Benny the Clown had torn open the man's abdominal cavity, his claws cradling several loops of glistening intestines. But rather than gorging on them, the clown was stretching and pulling the bloody loops, twisting the organ into knots. Familiar knots.
'Is that...a flamingo?' asked the old woman."
LOL! I was laughing when I read that! Comedy and horror are great when put together well, like in Evil Dead 2, and that was one of the highlights in this book. It was so refreshing to read a book where the death toll gives 24 a run for it's money, where the plot is just a crazy bloodbath and where you are totally entertained from start to finish.
If you like gory horror with a few chuckles in it which is not to be taken seriously, then Draculas is for you!
gsatori's review
4.0
What fun. This book is over the top and relentless. I would love to see Rodriguez or Tarantino do a film version.
The plot is unimportant..it's.merely a frame for the nonstop action
.
The plot is unimportant..it's.merely a frame for the nonstop action
.