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Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'
Dracula's Guest: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Vampire Stories by Bram Stoker, Michael Sims
3 reviews
wextra's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
3.0
Dracula's Guest - I know it's disappointing to many to not be a vampire tale on par with Stoker’s larger tome but this is a fantastic little story that serves as an entertaining prequel to the larger novel, even being effective as a starting point for a new reader before ever tackling Stoker’s classic. 3.5/5
The Judge’s House - A great horrifying ghost story prominently featuring rats, this one was quite a gem packed away in this collection and shockingly not adapted in any form elsewhere. 3.75/5
The Squaw - Extremely gory little tale of natural revenge with a most detestable character that it is enjoyable to see meet his end. The first pulpy story in this collection, Stoker's prose elevates a very grotesque ironic tale that feels right out of an issue of classic EC comics and in fact was adapted into an issue of Warren Publishing’s Creepy in 1965. 3.5/5
The Secret of the Growing Gold - Pretty paint by numbers ghost story taking from numerous other tales for inspiration. 1.5/5
The Gipsy Prophecy - From literally the title, Stoker’s racism towards the Romani comes through just as much as it did in Otherwise, it's a very generic prophecy story with a twist ending, although refreshingly not the usual one for this kind of story. 1.5/5
The Coming of Abel Behenna - Nothing story about infidelity and betrayal. Extremely weak overall. 1/5
The Burial of the Rats - Intense chase tale that manages to keep the run going for a long time while being entertaining throughout. Easily one of the best stories in the collection. 3.5/5
A Dream of Red Hands - Beautiful, if short, story about a man haunted by his past and the friend who sees him through it in all intimacy. Definitely a standout in this collection despite its short length. 3.5/5
Crooken Sands - Entertaining psychological horror tale considering the idea of the doppelgänger with several entertaining twists throughout. A more comedic story at times but definitely an enjoyable one. 3.25/5
The Judge’s House - A great horrifying ghost story prominently featuring rats, this one was quite a gem packed away in this collection and shockingly not adapted in any form elsewhere. 3.75/5
The Squaw - Extremely gory little tale of natural revenge with a most detestable character that it is enjoyable to see meet his end. The first pulpy story in this collection, Stoker's prose elevates a very grotesque ironic tale that feels right out of an issue of classic EC comics and in fact was adapted into an issue of Warren Publishing’s Creepy in 1965. 3.5/5
The Secret of the Growing Gold - Pretty paint by numbers ghost story taking from numerous other tales for inspiration. 1.5/5
The Gipsy Prophecy - From literally the title, Stoker’s racism towards the Romani comes through just as much as it did in Otherwise, it's a very generic prophecy story with a twist ending, although refreshingly not the usual one for this kind of story. 1.5/5
The Coming of Abel Behenna - Nothing story about infidelity and betrayal. Extremely weak overall. 1/5
The Burial of the Rats - Intense chase tale that manages to keep the run going for a long time while being entertaining throughout. Easily one of the best stories in the collection. 3.5/5
A Dream of Red Hands - Beautiful, if short, story about a man haunted by his past and the friend who sees him through it in all intimacy. Definitely a standout in this collection despite its short length. 3.5/5
Crooken Sands - Entertaining psychological horror tale considering the idea of the doppelgänger with several entertaining twists throughout. A more comedic story at times but definitely an enjoyable one. 3.25/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Racial slurs, and Murder
chaydata's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Dracula's Guest
3/5 Cool to have more Dracula from the original author! But I found it hard to follow, hard to understand, so a bit frustrating! Maybe it's the old writing style, but some of the other stories were easier.
The Judge's House
4/5 It's a bit cartoonish and silly. It felt quite Poe to me, but I'm no expert. Still had some unique creepy imagery and it was pretty short. Rats and an old house. I enjoyed it =)
The Squaw
3/5 Isn't this a bad word? I checked Merriam Webster and yes, it's a "dated, derogatory, and offensive" word for Indigenous women of North America. In addition to the unfortunate title, I'm too sensitive for (mild spoilers) <the brutal death of a k**ten.> Still, this seems to be a popular and (I'll admit) satisfying! gory revenge tale. If that's your thing. I guess it's also pretty sexist since the wife is portrayed as weak and fainting.
The Secret of the Growing Gold
2/5 A long lead-up for a pretty silly ending, I thought. I guess it had a couple of fleeting creepy moments. Spoilers: the growing gold is not metal but hair - I feel like this was intended to be an interesting revelation but I felt it fell flat.
A Gipsy Prophecy
3/5 I enjoyed this one! It's a light, even funny, little story. The blunted knives. But I have some criticism. Another unfortunate title - "Gypsy" is an offensive term for the Romani people - I've learned this now after looking it up, with some initial uncertainty. As in other cases, Bram Stoker's apparent sexism shows, as unfortunately women are presented as either a sort of evil mystic or (again) a stupid wife who faints too much.
The Coming of Abel Behenna
1/5 A long lead-up for a pretty quick and uninteresting ending. Two guys fighting over a girl.
The Burial of the Rats
5/5 What makes this one so scary is, to me, how realistic it felt. It is not supernatural at all. It plays on the rich fearing the poor, something like "Us" by Jordan Peele or probably countless other tales with the same theme. It is a bit slow, but creeps up on you, and has probably the longest chase scene I have ever read.
A Dream of Red Hands
4/5 I really enjoyed this one, though it is maybe a little short and simple. A man suffers from a terrifying dream that won't stop repeating. Ultimately a story of atonement.
Crooken Sands
5/5 A little slow at the start, and then predictable, but then it actually has a few twists I wasn't expecting. It's got one side character who is hard to understand due to their written accent, which I find a bit annoying personally. The story is more intriguing than scary, though it has some jolting moments, and I thought the shifting mood across scenes was really enjoyable (from peace to horror - not really scary horror, but Gothic horror I guess). I haven't heard of many stories about cursed clothes (not exactly cursed clothes in this case, but kind of). Reminds me of "In Fabric" by Peter Strickland, but of course the actual stories and even the tones are very different between the two.
The Lair of the White Worm
This is a long story (apparently sometimes distributed as a novel itself) that actually takes up the second half of the page count of this collection... I decided not to read it. I was curious and looked it up, and apparently it is racist and sexist, which actually makes sense from the other Bram Stoker stories reviewed above. And it is apparently a slog to get through and not a rewarding read. Life is short - carpe diem! Skip the garbage.
3/5 Cool to have more Dracula from the original author! But I found it hard to follow, hard to understand, so a bit frustrating! Maybe it's the old writing style, but some of the other stories were easier.
The Judge's House
4/5 It's a bit cartoonish and silly. It felt quite Poe to me, but I'm no expert. Still had some unique creepy imagery and it was pretty short. Rats and an old house. I enjoyed it =)
The Squaw
3/5 Isn't this a bad word? I checked Merriam Webster and yes, it's a "dated, derogatory, and offensive" word for Indigenous women of North America. In addition to the unfortunate title, I'm too sensitive for (mild spoilers) <the brutal death of a k**ten.> Still, this seems to be a popular and (I'll admit) satisfying! gory revenge tale. If that's your thing. I guess it's also pretty sexist since the wife is portrayed as weak and fainting.
The Secret of the Growing Gold
2/5 A long lead-up for a pretty silly ending, I thought. I guess it had a couple of fleeting creepy moments. Spoilers: the growing gold is not metal but hair - I feel like this was intended to be an interesting revelation but I felt it fell flat.
A Gipsy Prophecy
3/5 I enjoyed this one! It's a light, even funny, little story. The blunted knives. But I have some criticism. Another unfortunate title - "Gypsy" is an offensive term for the Romani people - I've learned this now after looking it up, with some initial uncertainty. As in other cases, Bram Stoker's apparent sexism shows, as unfortunately women are presented as either a sort of evil mystic or (again) a stupid wife who faints too much.
The Coming of Abel Behenna
1/5 A long lead-up for a pretty quick and uninteresting ending. Two guys fighting over a girl.
The Burial of the Rats
5/5 What makes this one so scary is, to me, how realistic it felt. It is not supernatural at all. It plays on the rich fearing the poor, something like "Us" by Jordan Peele or probably countless other tales with the same theme. It is a bit slow, but creeps up on you, and has probably the longest chase scene I have ever read.
A Dream of Red Hands
4/5 I really enjoyed this one, though it is maybe a little short and simple. A man suffers from a terrifying dream that won't stop repeating. Ultimately a story of atonement.
Crooken Sands
5/5 A little slow at the start, and then predictable, but then it actually has a few twists I wasn't expecting. It's got one side character who is hard to understand due to their written accent, which I find a bit annoying personally. The story is more intriguing than scary, though it has some jolting moments, and I thought the shifting mood across scenes was really enjoyable (from peace to horror - not really scary horror, but Gothic horror I guess). I haven't heard of many stories about cursed clothes (not exactly cursed clothes in this case, but kind of). Reminds me of "In Fabric" by Peter Strickland, but of course the actual stories and even the tones are very different between the two.
The Lair of the White Worm
This is a long story (apparently sometimes distributed as a novel itself) that actually takes up the second half of the page count of this collection... I decided not to read it. I was curious and looked it up, and apparently it is racist and sexist, which actually makes sense from the other Bram Stoker stories reviewed above. And it is apparently a slog to get through and not a rewarding read. Life is short - carpe diem! Skip the garbage.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism
peachmoni's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Animal death
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