Reviews

Classics of Horror: Frankenstein Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde Dracula by Bram Stoker, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mary Shelley

jamiedark10's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

joosty's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

koalakarakookie's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I horror and I have really been on my classics shit recently what better than to combine all three  all into one big collection to have on my self with an intro from the more recent King of Horror but Stephen himself. I am going to split up my review in parts for each novel getting there own review and then all together as one whole collection.

Review for Frankenstein- 5 stars a hundred percent.

“We are unfashioned creatures, 

better, dearer than ourselves—such a friend ought to be—do not lend his aid to perfectionate our weak and faulty natures.” Mary Shelly 

I love books that are told in letters so the fact that Frankenstein starts told in letters I should have read it way sooner than I did. What better time than when three of my favorite booktubers are going to do a live show for their book club. I like how as the chapters go on you can feel Victor starting to go mad slowly and that makes you feel a little uneasy like maybe he is  an unreliable narrator. I love how Frankenstein shows a slow descend into madness of our own very humanity. How the true monster is the one we create by hand but is yet the one created deep inside us if we are lead too deep into our own minds.  Everybody should have a Henry Clerval in their lives. If you have not read this you should even if it’s not just for the story but yet the lessons alone. What did I learn? The true monster is never we assume to be at first sight but yet sometimes it’s ourselves that can be the one and true monsters just as Victor was the true monster in this tale. This one of those stories that continues to capture people from generation to generation as it should because of how eye opening it is. 

Here are the quotes I liked from this book.

“To examine the causes of life, we must first have recourse to death.”

“If I see but one smile on your lips when we meet, occasioned by this or any other exertion of mine, I shall need no other happiness.”

Review for Dracula- 5 stars baby 

“No man knows, till he experiences it, what is like to feel his own lifeblood drawn away to the veins of the woman he loves.”- Bram Stoker 

 Why did it take me so long before I decided to read this classic?  oh my goodness this is so so good 

Though no one would want to die and dying by the hands of the infamous vampire might not be fun this book has a deeper meaning to life and death and how we are all at the hands of God if you are a religious person who believes in that in. All this book is very beautiful. I can’t believe that I haven’t read this before I love how it’s written and it is told by multiple perspectives. It tells a story of love as well and just how far some are welling to go for those they love. It yet also tells a story of a scary vampire. This the one true vampire book no other ones beat this one and you can fight me on that lol. Here the quotes I like from this book 

“There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights.”

“I am longing to be with you, and by the sea, where we can talk together freely and build our castles in the air.”

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde- 

4.25 stars 

“It is one thing to mortify curiosity, another to conquer it; and it may be doubted if, from that day forth, Utterson  desired the society of his surviving friend with the same eagerness. He thought of him kindly;but his thoughts were disquieted and fearful.”

I’m deeply saddened by this story and I’m sad that I do enjoy as much as Frankenstein and Dracula. It is another story however of how as humans we can be scarier than any most every thought of. I’m sad for Henry Jekyll and that poor man he became by falling prey to his own darkness.  What did I learn? We all have good evil in us and if we let our pride get the better of us we might just slowly fall prey to darker side of things. Dang man what an ending. 

Here is the other quotes I liked in this story 

“My life is shaken to its roots; sleep has left me; the deadliest terror sits by me at all hours of the day and night; and I feel that my days are numbered, and that I must die; and yet I shall die incredulous.”

“There comes an end to all things; the most capacious measure is filled at last; and this brief condescension to my evil finally destroyed the balance of my soul.”

Review of all three stories as in collected collection- I understand why all of these horror stories are so widely regarded as horror classics and why they are so highly rated on people’s lists of favorite classics. All together the whole collection gets a 4.75 stars. 

moriaine's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

3.5

herslowness's review against another edition

3.0

Finalmente terminei essa leitura!
Comecei o livro em outubro do ano passDo, lendo o último livro da coletânea para o clássicotube: Drácula, de Bram Stoker
Eu tinha altas expectativas com Drácula, por ter assistido ao filme de 1992 anteriormente. Mas, ao terminar, percebi que eu gostei mais da adaptação cinematográfica do que do livro em si (isso porque dizem que o filme de 1992 é o mais fiel à obra original e vou ter que concordar nesse aspecto)!
Mesmo Drácula não tendo romance nenhum e sendo mais uma aventura de caça ao monstro, eu me encantei pela narrativa epistolar adotada pelo autor!
Depois disso, só voltei a ler o livro no começo do mês, começando pelo começo, obviamente.
Tenho que confessar que eu não sabia muito o que esperar de Frankenstein, além do que já sabia de referências da cultura pop. Mas acho que dos 3 livros da coletânea, Frankenstein foi o meu favorito, e justamente por não saber o que esperar dele!
Infelizmente eu não posso dizer o mesmo de O Médico e o Monstro. Eu já sabia que ambos eram a mesma pessoa e acho que isso acabou estragando o mistério que move a história, além do fato de que achei ele supercurtinho e com um final até que meio decepcionante :(
No geral, eu acho que foi um bom livro para passar o tempo. E desvendar mais da literatura gótica e/ou de terror, que estou gostando tanto!

yana94's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

pocklepud's review against another edition

4.0

Although not an easy book to get into, I ended up thoroughly enjoying Frankenstein. There were times when Mary Shelley was clearly educating her readers about overseas places or customs of foreign lands, which felt too clunky to me, but once the true narrative was back in full flow I was hooked. It wasn't the story I thought I knew and rather than feeling disappointed by that, I loved it. An educated, literate 'monster' had my sympathy and understanding rather than my loathing and I found myself, at times, instead with feelings of animosity towards Frankenstein and those who shunned the 'monster'. I was surprised that the making /building of the creature was such a short section of the book and that travels across lands took so many pages, but all in all a great story and a great comment on not judging others without knowing them.

indigodear's review against another edition

4.0

I wrote a separate review for each of the stories featured in this book, and I will only write here what I think of it as a whole:
I really liked Stephen King's introduction, which summarises pretty accurately how I ended up viewing these stories after reading them.
Frankenstein is featured in its 1831 version. As I only ever read this one, I don't know how different it is from the 1818 version, but I liked the added introduction from an older Mary Shelley.
Overall, I think that it was a great idea to put these iconic stories in the same volume. Personally, I didn't enjoy Frankenstein all that much, but fell in love with Dracula and had a lovely time reading Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde.

ediesuperstar's review against another edition

5.0

I love gothic horror, so 5 stars!

fresas's review against another edition

3.0

Frankenstein: 1.5
Dracula: 3.5
Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde: 2.5