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146 reviews for:
Powers of Darkness: The Lost Version of Dracula
Bram Stoker, John Edgar Browning, Dacre Stoker, Valdimar Ásmundsson
3.61 AVERAGE
146 reviews for:
Powers of Darkness: The Lost Version of Dracula
Bram Stoker, John Edgar Browning, Dacre Stoker, Valdimar Ásmundsson
3.61 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was such a weird read, i just cant believe it exists, though my copy had so many thoughts and details about how this one most likely came to be and why, i have never had so many footnotes in one book! The story itself felt like an unfinished story, since the ending happened in less than a few sentences and it took almost no pages to reach it, on the other hand the starting chapter was incredibly long when compared together. The characters felt different and even the names have mostly changed, though i must say i enjoyed the humor and the new characters.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
This was such a fascinating read! I love how it has some similarities to the original text, but it mostly forms into its own creation. I enjoyed reading the history as to how this version came to be and it was fascinating seeing how much more involved the parts in Castle Dracula were. There was so much more detail than in the original during the Castle that it really helped to develop Harker and Dracula's relationship. The ending of the book was a bit rushed in comparison, but it didn't deter from my enjoyment of the book.
There were some parts that didn't age well. Like the racism and slurs used throughout the text. And I really didn't like how homophobic and misogynistic the afterword written by John Edgar Browning was. Left a bad taste in my mouth. Still, I did enjoy the text itself and having the footnotes throughout the book really made this into a fascinating read. If you are a fan of the original version of Dracula, than I highly recommend you read this. It's a lot of fun and sheds new light onto a well-known classic.
There were some parts that didn't age well. Like the racism and slurs used throughout the text. And I really didn't like how homophobic and misogynistic the afterword written by John Edgar Browning was. Left a bad taste in my mouth. Still, I did enjoy the text itself and having the footnotes throughout the book really made this into a fascinating read. If you are a fan of the original version of Dracula, than I highly recommend you read this. It's a lot of fun and sheds new light onto a well-known classic.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I echo the thoughts of others that Part I of this book is excellent and fleshes out the lore of a classic novel and character and Part II feels terribly rushed to the point of being a hindrance. Nevertheless I had a good time with it.
What's fantastic about this isn't the book itself (though the book is very engaging, despite it's flaws) what's fantastic is that the book exists and the wonderful mystery and implications it brings to Dracula as a text and Stoker as an author. It's delightful, I love it.
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I first became aware that there was an "Icelandic version" of Dracula a few years ago. Hearing that it contained a different plot, different characters, and various allusions to Norse-Icelandic folklore, I was excited to read it and compare it to Stoker's novel. And boy, did this story take me on a wild ride.
I won't spoil the plot for anyone who wishes to discover how different (or similar) it is to Dracula, so instead, I'll focus on the edition by de Roos.
Overall, I found this edition to be fairly accessible for a casual reader yet it involved enough supplementary materials to satisfy someone with a more academic interest in the work. de Roos's introduction clearly laid out the relationship between Dracula and Powers of Darkness, and I found the diagrams of the castle to be very helpful. As for the text itself, I don't read a lot of Icelandic, so I can't speak to the quality of the translation, but I appreciated the notes in which de Roos explains his choices.
I also really loved the page layouts in this volume. I love a book with big, beautiful margins that leave enough space for me to make my own annotations, and I appreciated that the "footnotes" weren't at the bottom of the page, but just to the right or left to the text so I didn't have to move my eyes very far. Granted, this layout did mean that there was a lot of wasted space, so this edition will probably best serve those who will be writing directly on the page.
Overall, I award this book 4 stars because it was a wacky reading experience, made all the more engaging by de Roos's introduction and informational annotations. The only thing preventing me from giving it a full 5 stars is my subjective enjoyment of the text itself; I found part 2 to be rather awkward, and the descriptions of the "ape-like" people reeked of 19th century racism (though de Roos points this out). Still, if you're interested in Dracula and its legacy, you'd do well to pick up this book, though if you're doing serious scholarship, you should probably find an Icelandic language version too.
I won't spoil the plot for anyone who wishes to discover how different (or similar) it is to Dracula, so instead, I'll focus on the edition by de Roos.
Overall, I found this edition to be fairly accessible for a casual reader yet it involved enough supplementary materials to satisfy someone with a more academic interest in the work. de Roos's introduction clearly laid out the relationship between Dracula and Powers of Darkness, and I found the diagrams of the castle to be very helpful. As for the text itself, I don't read a lot of Icelandic, so I can't speak to the quality of the translation, but I appreciated the notes in which de Roos explains his choices.
I also really loved the page layouts in this volume. I love a book with big, beautiful margins that leave enough space for me to make my own annotations, and I appreciated that the "footnotes" weren't at the bottom of the page, but just to the right or left to the text so I didn't have to move my eyes very far. Granted, this layout did mean that there was a lot of wasted space, so this edition will probably best serve those who will be writing directly on the page.
Overall, I award this book 4 stars because it was a wacky reading experience, made all the more engaging by de Roos's introduction and informational annotations. The only thing preventing me from giving it a full 5 stars is my subjective enjoyment of the text itself; I found part 2 to be rather awkward, and the descriptions of the "ape-like" people reeked of 19th century racism (though de Roos points this out). Still, if you're interested in Dracula and its legacy, you'd do well to pick up this book, though if you're doing serious scholarship, you should probably find an Icelandic language version too.
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-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
Interesante, aunque menos que la versión turca ([b:Dracula in Istanbul: The Unauthorized Version of the Gothic Classic|36182660|Dracula in Istanbul The Unauthorized Version of the Gothic Classic|Ali Rıza Seyfioğlu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1504564361l/36182660._SY75_.jpg|57802952]. Aunque el editor y los prologuistas hacen mil piruetas para demostrar que el texto se basa en una primera versión de la novela, en realidad cada cambio lo que parece en realidad es un intento del traductor por "mejorar" el original. Siguiente parada: la versión sueca.
4 stars for the background info provided in the forewords, the meticulous visual reconstructions of Dracula’s castle based on info from the text, and the first 3/4 of the book. Like everyone else I’m mystified about why the last 1/4 of the book, so interesting and action-packed in the original text, is so short and written as almost an afterthought here. If the translator hadn’t been self-publishing the translation in his own newspaper I’d guess he had a deadline, but I’m not sure that makes sense here. I guess we’ll never know, but this was still a fun read and next time I’ll start with this book and read up until Dracula leaves for England, then I’ll switch to the original to finish - best of both worlds!
dark
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No