Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

Dracula by Bram Stoker

48 reviews

naomi_k's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Blood, Animal death, Gore, and Body horror

Moderate: Xenophobia, Misogyny, Medical content, Death of parent, Classism, and Stalking

Minor: Sexual content and Terminal illness

gnuoymas's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

this was a slay, literally! 

dracula follows jonathan harker's diary entries to translyvania to meet the purchaser of a property in london, count dracula, at his secluded estate. cue a dissent into potential madness from Jonathan as he slowly realizes that something is afoot in this dark and mysterious (and lowkey empty like get some furniture miss dracula) castle. 

okay so i LOVED this book for multiple reasons. i loved reading the book that has been considered the beginning of our modern vampire. i can see many of the now stereotypes of a vampire that were so fresh in this book. i loved the writing!! each of the chapters were exerpts from character's diaries, news clippings, and business agreements that painted a fascinating picture of dracula: the man, the myth, the legend. at times, it even felt like a fantastical but realistic murder mystery that used deduction, wit, and intellection to catch dracula red-handed. i liked the characters too!! my favorite was probably van helsing, the eccentric dutch doctor that helps our motley crew to define truth and find answers. i also really liked mina up until she became one-dimensional, god-fearing, and subordinate to the men ://// it's a classic for a reason i guess :////

i think this book is one that can be discussed from multiple angles and perspectives for meaningful insights. as I've been reading Irish authors for my, ahem, IRISH YEAR, i have found an overarching theme of otherness being discussed in different forms. i think an interesting read of this book would be one of dracula as a foreigner rather than a threat. someone who is coming to a new country in hope of a new life, only to be ostracized, exiled, and ultimately murdered for being different. it's giving xenophobia! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Stalking, and Torture

Moderate: Blood and Confinement

Minor: Xenophobia

theslowreadernumber5's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexism, Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Stalking, and Addiction

vcords_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Ableism, Gore, and Blood

Minor: Stalking

rory_john14's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Blood, Body horror, Child death, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Animal death, Cannibalism, Classism, Kidnapping, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Gun violence, and Torture

Minor: Racism, Alcohol, Dementia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and War

mme_carton's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Xenophobia, Confinement, Grief, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Violence, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Ableism

Moderate: Cannibalism and Gaslighting

Minor: Gun violence

emorine13's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Great and interesting story! I love that the entire story is from the writings of the characters, and the diverse voice cast was excellent!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Death, and Mental illness

Minor: Gore, Grief, and Stalking

kelleykamanda's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I. Love. This. Book. 

I grew up loving gothic stories, especially those that included vampires. “Dracula” is truly just one of the best. For a story over a century old, it reads so easily. With lovable characters, an eerie setting, and an engaging plot, what’s there to go wrong??? 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Xenophobia, Sexism, and Stalking

Minor: War and Death of parent

nightfell's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Dracula is told from the diary entries of the different characters throughout the story, and it was so refreshing to get different point of views, especially because I liked all the characters. Normally in classics it's told from one point of view, which can become quite monotonous, so it really helped the pace of the story. However, the book had slow pacing, especially at the beginning, but once I passed the 150 page mark the story really developed, and it became exciting and thrilling. 

I loved all the different gothic/horror elements Dracula included, as I was only expecting the vampire element. There was asylums with mentally ill people, hypnosis, sleepwalking, missing children, cemeteries, breaking into graves, castles and of course Vampires. 

I liked all the characters, and the relationships that grew between them, especially Mina and Lucy, Van Helsing and John Seward, and Van Helsing and Mina. Mina is so smart and cute and Van Helsing and Seward were all my favourite characters. Jonathan Harker's journals at the beginning were so funny and fun to read, and I like how they were the foundation for the rest of the story. It's so cute how they all read each other's diaries, and I liked how they all became a sort of found family in the second half of the book.

Overall, it was a good book, and I would recommend to anyone who is up for a 400 page classic, and who likes Vampires and books with a gothic setting.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Stalking

Minor: Blood, Body horror, Death, Drug use, and Kidnapping

arcaadepunk's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexism, and Stalking