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king_skelepimp's review against another edition
3.0
Somehow, this escaped my notice for the past few years, but I pounced right on it when I saw it on sale a few days ago. Assumed for about a century to be nothing more than the Icelandic translation of Dracula, it was recently found to be quite different, introducing new characters and plot elements, resulting in a significantly different novel. I enjoyed reading it, but much of that pleasure came from the sheer novelty of the thing. I didn't like the book as much as I wanted to. Part one, featuring Harker's stay in Dracula's castle, is much longer than in the Stoker novel. It begins to feel rather padded, and Harker himself seems *incredibly* stupid at times. Part two, set in London after Dracula's arrival, is so short that it really feels more like a brief synopsis than an actual story. It makes for an extremely lopsided novel, and it feels as if there is virtually no payoff for the extended Transylvania section. (These are the sort of things that lend more credence to the theory that this translation was based on one of Stoker's early outlines for the novel.) On the plus side, we do get to spend far more time with Dracula himself, and he comes off as a rather more interesting character than in the Stoker novel. Interestingly, many of the changes (Dracula ingratiating himself into London society, and the elimination of a certain sequence near the story's end, for example) seem to anticipate some of the many stage and film versions that would follow. The curiosity of this book's existence, and analysis of the differences between it and the far better known version, makes it far more interesting than the actual story itself is able to. It's not bad, and I do recommend it for anyone interested, but check your expectations before reading.
wtfrjk's review against another edition
3.0
Let me be frank; the book itself is bad. The first half is a really interesting take of Harker being trapped in the death maze house that is Dracula's castle although he is kind of dumb (the commentary calls him "imbicillic"), but the second half is trying to truncate 100,000 words of plot into 9,000 words and it is bad and makes no sense.
But the fact that this book exists and the commentary on it are astounding. I will never stop thinking about Stoker's grand-niece's story that Bram wrote this Dracula because he woke up with nightmares one night after eating too many crab legs.
But the fact that this book exists and the commentary on it are astounding. I will never stop thinking about Stoker's grand-niece's story that Bram wrote this Dracula because he woke up with nightmares one night after eating too many crab legs.
brittaly's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
A lovely retelling of the Dracula story. Good to read if you like Dracula but want a slight twist.
medochan's review against another edition
It’s got a lot of exposition for the first third of the book, and not having an audiobook feature made it harder for me to concentrate
sindri_inn_arsaeli's review against another edition
3.0
A fascinating expansion of Harker's (Thomas, not Jonathan in this version,) visit with Dracula takes up significantly more of the story and gave me incredibly high hopes for the rest of the story, but it seemed as though, perhaps as a serialized version, suddenly there was too much story to fit in before the publication run was ending?? The story after Harker's escape becomes almost entirely a third person detached telling, almost a summary of the remaining action. I appreciated being able to see notes on some of the differences and why they may have been changed, but the original certainly has a far more thrilling conclusion.
dragonarts's review against another edition
5.0
THE BETTER DRACULA
COMPLETE WITH ARMY INVASION AND SACRIFICIAL ORGY SCENE AND DRACULA HAS A TAIL (??) IT'S FABULOUS
Also the translators have such good notes on the translation choices made by Vlad and themselves :)
COMPLETE WITH ARMY INVASION AND SACRIFICIAL ORGY SCENE AND DRACULA HAS A TAIL (??) IT'S FABULOUS
Also the translators have such good notes on the translation choices made by Vlad and themselves :)
greebkit's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
wannabekingpin's review against another edition
4.0
all reviews in one place:
night mode reading ;
skaitom nakties rezimu
About: The book is not ground-breakingly different. The essence is exactly the same. Except that here, after a very, very long debate by translators and whoever else at the start, we get different proportions, and slightly differently toned characters. For instance, while we had a fairly short visit at Dracula’s castle, or at least a short description, for it wasn’t all that short for Harker, and then a longer story of the hunt for Dracula in England, here we got the opposite. Most of the book is purely Harker roaming about Dracula’s castle, realizing he’s a prisoner, and that he really, really likes Dracula’s niece. The rest of the book is told very quickly, in meager little chapters, and not in the already familiar diary form. As for differences in characters, Dracula is a bit more blunt, and fairly more sexual being, not at all timid with his words or compliments. Others got some alterations too, but due to lack of interaction with them, since there virtually was no continuation after Harker fled the castle, I’ve nothing to tell other than what translators at the beginning told.
Mine: At the start of the book the translators will tell you high and mighty what this book is supposed to be, how it’s different, how different are the characters, their interactions among themselves. After a long debate, they come to a conclusion that this is: a) a rewriting by Icelandic translator; b) a blessed by Stoker rewriting by Icelandic translator; c) the original that Bram Stoker wrote, but couldn’t publish. In my humble opinion, they spoke too much to serve us what they served. If this is not word-to-word translation, and is instead an abbreviation, for I honestly tell you, at the end we’re told “and then Dracula came, roamed around, and those guys killed him” rephrasing, then I’m more than a little bit upset. And then, if it is an uncut gem, fully translated book, then it is marvelously bad. Either way, it seems, I’m not very happy.
If you like Dracula the way I do, both the historical figure who might have inspired Stoker, and the myth, the legend, Count Dracula the Vampire, then you should read this book, no matter what. And Dacre Stoker’s works too, mostly for his own speeches in them. This is also the reason I give this book a 4 out of 5, no less. For otherwise, if you are not a fan, this is not worth that high of a score, no.
night mode reading ;
skaitom nakties rezimu
About: The book is not ground-breakingly different. The essence is exactly the same. Except that here, after a very, very long debate by translators and whoever else at the start, we get different proportions, and slightly differently toned characters. For instance, while we had a fairly short visit at Dracula’s castle, or at least a short description, for it wasn’t all that short for Harker, and then a longer story of the hunt for Dracula in England, here we got the opposite. Most of the book is purely Harker roaming about Dracula’s castle, realizing he’s a prisoner, and that he really, really likes Dracula’s niece. The rest of the book is told very quickly, in meager little chapters, and not in the already familiar diary form. As for differences in characters, Dracula is a bit more blunt, and fairly more sexual being, not at all timid with his words or compliments. Others got some alterations too, but due to lack of interaction with them, since there virtually was no continuation after Harker fled the castle, I’ve nothing to tell other than what translators at the beginning told.
Mine: At the start of the book the translators will tell you high and mighty what this book is supposed to be, how it’s different, how different are the characters, their interactions among themselves. After a long debate, they come to a conclusion that this is: a) a rewriting by Icelandic translator; b) a blessed by Stoker rewriting by Icelandic translator; c) the original that Bram Stoker wrote, but couldn’t publish. In my humble opinion, they spoke too much to serve us what they served. If this is not word-to-word translation, and is instead an abbreviation, for I honestly tell you, at the end we’re told “and then Dracula came, roamed around, and those guys killed him” rephrasing, then I’m more than a little bit upset. And then, if it is an uncut gem, fully translated book, then it is marvelously bad. Either way, it seems, I’m not very happy.
If you like Dracula the way I do, both the historical figure who might have inspired Stoker, and the myth, the legend, Count Dracula the Vampire, then you should read this book, no matter what. And Dacre Stoker’s works too, mostly for his own speeches in them. This is also the reason I give this book a 4 out of 5, no less. For otherwise, if you are not a fan, this is not worth that high of a score, no.
quixoticreader13's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting start that definitely fades by the end.
filmcritic23's review against another edition
4.0
I was looking forward to this book when I heard it came out, and it did not disappointed. If anything, this fixed Dracula for me, which I did like, but had some issues with. Its like the author (Vladimir) did as well and sought out to fix it. I'm glad this book was found and translated so it can be enjoyed by all audiences. I have read mixed reviews on it, but I have nothing but good things to say about it. I'm glad they made Harker less of a pansy in this version, and reduced the three charming maidens to one since for some reason she provided more intrigue and mystery than the three of them. I'm only really disappointed with one thing, but since it was very drawn out in Stoker's version, I'm letting it slide. I highly recommend.