Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Dracula by Bram Stoker

142 reviews

omega's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Violence, and Death

damiscous's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

Amazing! Admittedly, it did take me years after buying the book to actually read more than halfway and then months to commit to fully reading, but that is no fault to this classic novel. I didn't expect to enjoy it so much as I often struggle with long reads, but the narratives, imagery, and plot really pulled through. The book would've been much better if I had no prior knowledge of vampire lore, and some of the characters can be a bit stagnant, but Stoker uses his devices to deliver a chilling villain, enjoyable characters, and curious talking points to supply readers with various lenses in which to analyze and interpret this particular work. This book has definitely earned it's spot on my bookshelf and has helped reignite my interest in reading, classic novels, and horror.

However, it is important to be mindful that the work was originally published in 1897. That being said , this work does contain "weak" women, some misogynistic ideals, and ideas of the time. The characters are, for the most part, enjoyable, and there's a splash of romance that does, of course, read in the devotedly sexist fashion of the 1800s, but, hey, they do give a woman a gun, so that's nice. The book is long and can be wordy, as most older books can be, but overall, a wonderful, chilling, classic work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Misogyny

Minor: Racial slurs and Suicidal thoughts

thedandybrambler's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Violence, Confinement, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gore, Mental illness, Vomit, Animal death, and Medical content

rebecca_romeo's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, and Murder

chammonds327's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child death, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Blood, Toxic friendship, and Physical abuse

asourceoffiction's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I am often daunted by the idea of reading 18th and 19th century fiction. I've loved so many classics but they are often slow and wordy. I went into Dracula feeling much the same, but I was pleasantly surprised; it's tense, clever and much scarier than I expected.

I know about vampires, I've read and watched countless vampire stuff and I thought I knew the story of Dracula. But it turns out my assumptions (the creepy castle, the unwitting guest of a tall, pale and terrifying host) are literally all over in the first 100 pages, and there's so much more to follow. I love how the whole book is told through diary entries, letters and news articles; so when a character was idly wondering to themselves why a friend was looking a little pale with puncture wounds in her neck, I took great joy in screaming at the page, "It's a bloody vampire! For the love of god shut your window!"

I actually think I got more from this story in part because I hadn't previously seen any of the film adaptations, and in part because I did know a lot of the lore surrounding vampire stories. So there was surprise and tension but I could simultaneously take pleasure in being less ignorant than most of the characters.

Another assumption I'd made was that Van Helsing would be a dark, brooding and troubled character. But it turns out he's a cheerful delight, with a slightly dodgy grasp of the English language. He does tend to make some fairly grand speeches that slowed down my reading a bit, but I also completely fell in love with him and the ragtag group of men desperately trying to save the women they loved (who of course were often more astute than them).

It does all end rather abruptly, but mostly I was so pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Violence

Moderate: Child death

triangular_pascal's review against another edition

dark tense medium-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Animal death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Child death, Animal cruelty, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, and Murder

paularize's review against another edition

4.0

going to miss the mails of my good friend jonathan harker and his besties

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Confinement, and Blood

Moderate: Xenophobia and Racial slurs

marigoldgem's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Surprisingly strong female characters and definitely one of my favorite classics now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Physical abuse, Grief, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Medical content, and Mental illness

Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, Confinement, and Kidnapping

forgetfulreader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

It's considered a classic for a reason. The pace is slow in the beginning but once it gets going the story is everything you'd want in a book. The story is told through a collection of journal entries from different characters pov. I usually find stories like this confusing to read but this time it had me feeling more involved. It's like I was helping the characters piece the puzzle together to figure out what the hell the count was. I really enjoyed it and Bram Stroker created the blueprint for every other vampire story we have now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Xenophobia, Grief, and Body horror

Minor: Sexism