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Reviews tagging 'Racism'
Dracula's Guest: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Vampire Stories by Bram Stoker, Michael Sims
3 reviews
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
jessthanthree's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Racism
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