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151 reviews for:
Powers of Darkness: The Lost Version of Dracula
Bram Stoker, John Edgar Browning, Dacre Stoker, Valdimar Ásmundsson
3.62 AVERAGE
151 reviews for:
Powers of Darkness: The Lost Version of Dracula
Bram Stoker, John Edgar Browning, Dacre Stoker, Valdimar Ásmundsson
3.62 AVERAGE
This one's tricky, cuz it's so uneven. I really liked the first half, in the castle. It really revived the menace and feeling of Harker being totally trapped and helpless. But the second half seemed like the translator got bored? And just started loosely summarizing what happened in the original.
dark
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Such a mysterious and inspiring text!
Normally I’d just skim over long scholarly introductions, but the history of this translation is so interesting even the footnotes commanded my attention.
I’d recommend this book to vampire lit lovers, linguistics nerds, history buffs, and brainy goths.
Normally I’d just skim over long scholarly introductions, but the history of this translation is so interesting even the footnotes commanded my attention.
I’d recommend this book to vampire lit lovers, linguistics nerds, history buffs, and brainy goths.
dark
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Fascinating and provocative, it is astounding how long this text remained hidden. Purely from a a historical standpoint the story is enrapturing to anyone who loves Stokers Vampire. While the latter half of the novel seems more like liner notes than a completed work, the conviction and prowess revealed in Harker's journal and experiences in the Castle are superb, indicative of a truly creative and masterful pen. Anyone who enjoys Dracula or Vampires in general should read this, or anyone that merely is interested in how translations and lost texts can be found, examined, and celebrated.
This is a tough one to rate because the first part of it (which is over 80% of the book) is SO GOOD! and then the style changes completely and becomes a rushed summary of dracula with a few things changed. the book began with multiple prefaces talking about the theories surrounding this translation and how much of it was written by stoker vs valdimar ásmundsson, and i think that the first part was a straight translation of an earlier draft by stoker, and the second part was ásmundsson summarizing the rest because he got bored of translating it in his newspaper. i obviously can’t say anything for certain and i’m not a stoker scholar or anything, but the drop in quality is REALLY noticeable and kind of comical. I wish this book ended with the end of part one, even though it would imply Thomas died, because it would just make a much better book.
Not only a translation of the Icelandic publication which is significantly different from the English story. Also a fascinating insight into how Bram Stoker wrote and published Dracula, and his notes/stories that he edited into the published novel.
I've been wanting to read this for a few years and was sincerely hoping that Asmundsson had just heard the story of Dracula and completely winged it in making up something new, but, by the end, I was fairly well convinced of the theory that he had somehow gotten ahold of an early draft. Reading this was really really neat.
I loved how the first part was reworked. The time with Jonathan in the Castle was a huge improvement from an already masterwork of gothic horror. It fleshed out Jonathan's mental state, and made an isolation mansion horror. The feeling of being trapped inside a massive castle was real.
Where this falters for me is the second half when Dracula comes to England. It feels rushed, messy, and very scattered. This is especially true when you factor in how well flushed out the first part of the book was. It felt like a mad dash to the finish line instead of flushing the rest of the party out.
I really think this whole project would have worked better if they started with Wilma's account of missing Jonathan, trying to search him out, and Lucia's experience with the Count. Retracing the steps of Jonathan, and finding him and his journal, after Lucia's experiences would have made for a great mystery horror. Upon reading Jonathan's journal, we would now have context for what's happening, and add more horror to everyone's experience. Then it's a race to get back to England and stopping Dracula's grand plan.
But that's just me. I still loved this re-imagining of the classic work.
Where this falters for me is the second half when Dracula comes to England. It feels rushed, messy, and very scattered. This is especially true when you factor in how well flushed out the first part of the book was. It felt like a mad dash to the finish line instead of flushing the rest of the party out.
I really think this whole project would have worked better if they started with Wilma's account of missing Jonathan, trying to search him out, and Lucia's experience with the Count. Retracing the steps of Jonathan, and finding him and his journal, after Lucia's experiences would have made for a great mystery horror. Upon reading Jonathan's journal, we would now have context for what's happening, and add more horror to everyone's experience. Then it's a race to get back to England and stopping Dracula's grand plan.
But that's just me. I still loved this re-imagining of the classic work.
Interesting start that definitely fades by the end.