Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Dracula by Bram Stoker

290 reviews

jennswan's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

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asipofcozy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

Finally after years of wanting to pick up and read Dracula I have finally accomplished it. And here are my takeaways from the book

  • Stoker has a severe fear of feminism and women straying from the ideal pure Victorian woman. Throughout Dracula we are given many examples, by the author, as to what happens to women that strays outside of purity and why men should fear it. Lucy being a prime example, when she makes the comment that if she could, she would marry all 3 of her suitors and thus because of such "evil thoughts" she was easily wooed by Dracula. 
  • Stoker also has a fear of modernism and science and what it was doing to religion (wonder what he would think of 2023). Stoker throws in many examples as to what happens if England continues on its path of putting science first and morals/religion second. We see throughout Dracula that many of the characters cannot conceptualize something like vampires. One character, although having all the evidence, didn't believe until he was face to face with one. This is a problem, per Stoker, that if we can't believe in the unbelievable then we are opening ourselves to evil.

This was a phenomenal read and I could reread it at some point in the future. However, if you are getting into it for a "fast-pace" read it is anything but. While only 400 pages, it took me a few days to get through it. This due to the slow-pacing at times and the over-explaining. We are "told" rather than "showed" most of the plot as the entire book is told through journals, telegrams, sonographs, and news clippings. 
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kibbles15's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I have to admit I have been putting off reading this book because horror is not my favorite genre.  I wasn't at all sure what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised in that I actually enjoyed the book.  It did take a little while to get used to the epistolary format of the story, but once done, the story moved along fairly well.  With the exception of a few "academic" rants, I was engaged in the story all the way to the end. I highly recommend this book.
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nailartklaudia's review against another edition

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

3.5

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bmoviealien's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Easy to follow for someone who's nervous about reading older literature because of the disconnect in language. Still conveys the mood and atmosphere well!
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veeloucagraph's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-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

3.75

It is with grave disappointment that I arrive at the conclusion that the second half of the book was tiring, repetitive and not thrilling. The first half was clouded in mystery and horror, which I much preferred and enjoyed. Nevertheless, an important read, that I feel pleasant about finishing, especially during October, at the spookiest season of all.
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emilia_booklover's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Alles in allem finde ich das Buch großartig. Aber es gibt einige Dinge, die ich loswerden möchte.

1) Hat Dracula ernsthaft einen Wolf aus dem Zoo freigelassen und ihn dann als Rammbock benutzt, um in Lucys Zimmer zu gelangen? Was zum Teufel? XD

2) Ich finde es schön, dass Van Helsing und Co. sich solche Sorgen um Minas psychische Gesundheit machen, aber es macht keinen Sinn, es ihr zu diesem Zeitpunkt nicht zu sagen. Sie wusste bereits alles, weil sie die Tagebücher und andere Notizen zusammengetragen hatte.

Wenn Dracula Minas Gedanken lesen könnte, hätte ich es verstanden, aber vorher? Absolut unverständlich. Vor allem, weil Mina keine Dame ist, die leicht hysterisch wird.

3) Als Renfield Dr. Seward und seine Freunde in der Nacht, in der sie beschließen, Draculas Haus zu betreten, so bitterlich anfleht, ihn gehen zu lassen, wusste er sicherlich bereits, dass sein „Meister und Herr“ in dieser Nacht kommen würde. Er wusste auch genau, dass er seiner Verführung erliegen und ihn hereinbitten würde. Deshalb war er so emotional, als die Männer ihn nicht gehen ließen.

Auch er weiß am nächsten Tag, dass er etwas Dummes getan hat, denn er wirkt eher apathisch und macht sich große Sorgen um seine Seele.

Als Dracula am dritten Tag kam, wusste er, dass er sowieso sterben würde, weil sein „Meister“ ihn niemals in einen Vampir verwandeln würde. Also beschloss er wahrscheinlich, als Held zu sterben und wollte Dracula davon abhalten, Mina in ihrem Schlafzimmer zu besuchen.

4)
Dr. Seward und Van Helsing haben das ganze Drama mit Lucy gesehen, sehen aber zunächst keine Veränderung bei Mina. Erst als es fast zu spät ist und Dracula ihr eine Bluttaufe gegeben hat.

5)
Quinceys Tod ist am Ende des Buches völlig unnötig. Was war der Zweck? Dass das nicht bedeutet, dass alle unbeschadet überlebt haben oder nur, dass Jonathans und Minas Sohn den Spitznamen Quincey trägt und zufällig am Todestag des Amerikaners Geburtstag hat?

6)
Bin ich der Einzige, der Johnathans Notizen gelesen hat, dass Seward und Godalming verheiratet sind? Zu zweit? XD


Aber ich finde das Buch trotzdem großartig. Wer meint, das Buch sei nicht schwul genug, hat die unterschwelligen Anspielungen nicht verstanden. Ich persönlich shippe die ganze Gruppe auf einer freundschaftlichen Ebene und die zwischenmenschlichen Momente zwischen den Zeilen gefallen mir sehr.


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emilywemily6's review against another edition

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challenging 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

3.75

I can definitely see why this is a classic and how it has shaped literature and pop culture from its time period and onward. While more approachable than other books of the era, it still sometimes lost me in its phrasings and meanings. Some parts were utterly horrific and eerie while large portions of the book were very slow and repetitive. I enjoyed this cast of characters and feel that if this book was written in 2023 I would adore them even more; their faults were mostly in the gender stereotypes of the era. I liked the various perspectives of the characters and enjoyed the audiobook narration a lot! Often the perspectives felt redundant though. The ending happened way too quick after so much build up (the last 15 minutes of listening to a 15 hour audiobook) and I wish this climax was drawn out. Overall, I’m glad I’ve read it and feel educated in both vampires and classic horror, and I look forward to seeing how this book has influenced later horror.
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kathrynok's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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

3.25

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seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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