Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Dracula by Bram Stoker

3 reviews

riverofhorton's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The world-building was incredible, and all but one of the main group were fully fleshed out characters. The only things that let it down were poo Quincey, the language of Van Helsing being a slog to get through, and the repetition of a lot of the bits of lore. Four times we're told that Dracula can't cross running water, three times that killing Dracula will stop the transformation of any vampires that are somewhere between human and vampire, three times we're told that communion wafers act as a talisman against the vampires, plus a few others that I could mention. I wonder how long this book would be without these instances of repetition. I particularly enjoyed reading the letters between Mina and Lucy, and their respective journal entries about the other: Mina is definitely gay for Lucy, and I can see no other explanation for the way she talks of and to Lucy. I would like to have seen some more expression of that love, but I get that wasn't really possible when this was published, sadly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Body shaming, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Genocide, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, War, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Body horror, Drug use, Gore, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, and Terminal illness

meganpbennett's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I read Dracula many many years ago, and thought it was interesting. Didn't give it much thought except for a few school assignments, or considering a reread along with some other classics. Then, in 2022, people started sharing a link to a substack, where someone was emailing the novel to readers, in real time. I signed up. 

All of the characters keep a journal of some form, and it's all dated. In the standard printing of the novel, all of Johnathon's several months at Castle Dracula would have been first, then followed up by Mina and Lucy's correspondence. In this case, it's in real time, so you only see what happens on any given day. There are long gaps between Harker's entries, as he starts to realize what is really going on and how he is trapped in the castle. Lucy's death scene, a chapter or so in the book, is stretched over the almost a month Dracula fed on her until she became a vampire, making it all the more emotional when they have kill her. Or when the group heads to Castle Dracula, and it takes the same number of days for us as it did for them. Very interesting way of reading a novel, and one that several other people are putting together. 

Edit: 2023-11-07: After forgetting to unsubscribe from Dracula Daily before the novel reset, I decided to reread it. Still a fascinating way to read a novel, in chronological order. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Gore, Medical trauma, Rape, Stalking, Body horror, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Grief, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

linnylionheart's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Animal death, Blood, and Medical content

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Vomit, Antisemitism, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Violence