Dracula by Bram Stoker

Today's review will be about:

THE SUMMARY

Beware The Deadly Count Dracula
Jonathan Harker is travelling to Castle Dracula to see the Transylanian noble Count Dracula. He is begged by locals not to go there, because of the eve of St George's Day, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will come full sway. But business must be done, so Jonathan makes his way to the castle - and then his nightmare begins. His beloved wife, Mina, and other lost souls have fallen under the Count's horrifying spell. Dracula must be destroyed...

MY REVIEW

For the longest time, I have been obsessed with reading books that feature vampires. Although it had always been a dream of mine to read the book that has since inspired many others, I had never given it much thought other than it was something that I would get to someday. Thankfully, I took a class that had this book as a required reading, so I was able to achieve one of my dreams earlier than I thought. I'm very glad that I did.

"I bid you welcome."

This book is separated by the journal entries of the main characters; Johnathan Harker, Mina Murray, Lucy Westenra, Dr. Seward, and Dr. Van Helsing, along with newspaper clippings and other logs that give us a full view of what is happening in the world surrounding Dracula.

Nosferatu

However, we don't get a log entry from any of the vampires in the book, including Dracula himself.  This doesn't diminish the book in any way, however, because instead of getting the personal account of Dracula or his wives, we get to see them, interact with them, see the carnage that they leave in their wake, but we never truly understand them at the deepest level. We get plenty of information on what he or his wives do, but we never get why any of those things are done. This covers these characters in a shroud of mystery so that you can never really know what drives them to do the things that they do and say the things that they say.
Despite the old language that the book was written  in, I found myself reading a lot of it durng my free time, wanting to know what Dracula was going to do next and what the rest of the main characters were going to do about it. Like a Shakespearean play, after a while you get so used to the language that they use in the journal entries that you hardly notice how different it is.

Van Helsing "fighting" Dracula with sunlight

One of the things that threw me off at first was the fact that Van Helsing wasn't the young Hugh Jackman-like monster hunter that I had been used to. Instead, he was more of the wise advisor. I did like him as the Gandalf of the group after a while though, being able to research the creature that they were dealing with and how to kill it was very useful.

Dracula dancing with Anna (Van Helsing)

Instead, the role of hero was passed along to what I think is the story's main protagonist; Johnathan Harker. He is pulled into this entire mess when he is hired by the Count to help him find a suitable house in England for the Count to settle into as a second home. Johnathan is faced with a danger that he wasn't expecting, and so he decides to write home to his fiancée, Mina, but the Count is blocking his every move to escape. During his time in castle Dracula, we get a pretty good description of the Count's home, his abilities, and most of all his strange habits. But once again, this only gives us a glimpse of who he actually is, the rest is shrouded in mystery. Many times Van Helsing and their other companions praise Johnathan for his bravery in coming back to fight the thing that he ran away from at castle Dracula, and I often found myself cheering him on.

Renfield and Dracula (Dracula: Dead and Loving It)

Something that was super interesting about the book was Dr. Seward's tortured patient: Renfield. Apparently, he used to be a servant to Dracula, a service that drove him absolutely insane. During one part of the book, he is obsessing about  cats and how much he wants one, and then he starts a never-ending collection of bugs that he traps and then feeds to their predators. I haven't read a lot of books that include the mentally insane (maybe that should change), so the fact that a book as old as this one when they probably didn't talk about such things in "civilized" culture, is pretty cool.

"If ever a look meant death - if looks could kill - we saw it at that moment." -Dracula, Chapter XVI

There is so much more that I could talk about concerning this book, but I afraid that if I do this will start to look and sound like an essay, which is not what I want this to be. This book met all of my expectations as a wonderful depiction of the vampire myth, and it is very deserving to have lasted so long, well-loved by many. So go ahead, go grab it from a nearby shelf and devour its pages and the story that lies in wait inside.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in Dublin, Ireland, on November 8, 1847, Bram Stoker published his first literary work, The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland, a handbook in legal administration, in 1879. Turning to fiction later in life, Stoker published his masterpiece, Dracula, in 1897. Deemed a classic horror novel not long after its release, Dracula has continued to garner acclaim for more than a century, inspiring the creation of hundreds of film, theatrical and literary adaptations. In addition to Dracula, Stoker published more than a dozen novels before his death in 1912.
(Read more about Bram Stoker)

A LITTLE EXCERPT

"I only slept a few hours when I went to bed, and feeling that I could not sleep any more, got up. I had hung my shaving-glass by the window, and was just beginning to shave. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder, and heard the Count's voice saying to me, 'Good morning.' I started, for it amazed me that I had not seen him, since the reflection of the glass covered the whole room behind me. In starting I had cut myself slightly, but did not notice it at the moment. Having answered the Count's salutation, I turned to the glass again to see how I had been mistaken. This time there could be no error, for the man was close to me, and I could see him over my shoulder. But there was no reflection of him in the mirror! The whole room behind me was displayed; but there was no sign of a man in it, except myself. This was startling, and, coming on the top of so many strange things, was beginning to increase that vague feeling of uneasiness which I always have when the Count is near; but in that instant I saw that the cut had bled a little, and the blood was trickling over my chin. I laid down the razor, turning as I did so half-round to look for some sticking-plaster. When the Count saw my face, his eyes blazed with a sort of demonaic fury, and he suddenly made a grab at my throat. I drew away, and his had touched the string of beads which held the crucifix. It made an instant change in him, for the fury passed so quickly that I could hardly believe that it was ever there."

pages 40-41

(In a bad Transylvanian accent)
Vell, that's all for now.

'Til we meet again.

~Sea-Solo

EXTRA! EXTRA!

Here are some clips of my favorite depictions of Dracula!:

Dracula Untold (2014)

Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995)

Van Helsing (2004)

Hotel Transylvania (2012)

Supernatural S4E5 (2008)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer S5E1 (2000)

Twilight Sucks by Barely Political

{A Blast from the Past} Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

Today's review will be about:

THE SUMMARY

Indiana, 1818. In a one-room cabin nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln kneels at his mother's bedside.
"My baby boy..." she whispers before dying. Only later will the grieving Abe learn that his mother's fatal affliction was actually the work of a vampire. Gifted with his legendary height, strength, and skill with an ax, young Lincoln sets out on a path of vengeance that will lead him all the way to the White House.
While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving the Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for almost two hundred years - until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln. Now, using the journal as a guide, Seth reconstructs the true life story of America's greatest president. For the first time ever, he reveals the hidden history behind the Civil War - and uncovers the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of the nation.

MY REVIEW

I read this book first a long while ago in High School, just before the movie graced the screen. I'm sure that I don't need to explain the allure of this book to me, but I will for those of you who haven't read my reviews before. It is a re-written view of the Civil War, one of the most important moments in America's history, has my personal favorite President as the main character, and as I'm sure you'll find when you read the excerpt, beautiful language.

Young Abe (from the movie)

Seth Grahame-Smith created a world like ours in almost every aspect except the fact that this world, and this President Lincoln, is plagued with vampires. And no, I'm not talking about sparkly vampires that would rather date you than eat you alive. There is no vegetarian menu available, so they basically run around drinking from whoever they wish. Abe's own mother was poisoned by vampire's blood, which drove his never-ending hunting and hating of the monsters themselves. I was amazed very often at what this Abraham Lincoln would do to get the job done, how bloody his life was from the day that he killed his first until he was assassinated himself (no, that isn't a spoiler at all, trust me).

Abe and his trusty axe (from the movie)

I really enjoyed the amount of thought that Seth put into the book. When the passages were taken directly from Abe's "secret journal", it felt like an older way of speaking, like someone from the 19th century had taken a time machine to the 21st and written all of it down. I found a hard time pulling myself away from the book, the scenes were filled with so much beautiful/horrible detail that when I pulled myself out to do something else, I was thinking about it instead, and wondering what would happen next. He makes this book so real, from adding in pictures of "vampires" from around that time, to adding his own little twist to supernatural legends of America's past. It feels as if you are living when he was, breathing in the 19th century air, watching America, and Abe, become what they became.

South lawn of the White House under heavy guard, circa 1862. The man on the portico is believed to be a member of Abe's trinity (bodyguards)

Not only did it do all that I mentioned above, it also introduced me to a side of my favorite president that I wasn't aware of; the side that enjoyed writing poetry and reading stacks upon stacks of books, beginning of course with the Christian Bible. I am ashamed to admit that despite him being my favorite president, I knew almost nothing about him other than his famous hat, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the fact that he was assassinated in a theater, so this book taught me a lot about his life. For example, it gave me a pretty accurate look at his life before becoming president; the places he lived, what he did when he wasn't hunting vampires or becoming involved in politics, where he came from, etc. And yes, I checked the facts after reading this book and it is very accurate about who he was. (Without the vamp killing, of course.)

This is a gif of Abe training in the woods with his trusty ax (from the movie).

All in all, if you like supernatural tales filled with action and history, gore and peace, horror and beauty, then what are you waiting for? Pick this up and start on page 1, you won't regret it a bit.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SETH GRAHAME-SMITH is the New York Times bestselling author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. In addition to adapting the screenplay for ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER, Seth also wrote Tim Burton's latest film, Dark Shadows. He lives in Los Angeles.

A LITTLE EXCERPT

"I have no memory of driving it in - I only remember that I did. His laughter ceased and he took an awkward step. His eyes turned black in the space of a single blink, as if inkwells in his pupils had suddenly shattered - the spill contained behind glass. His fangs descended, and I could presently make out a faint blue web beneath his skin. It was true. Until that moment there had been room for doubt. But now I saw it with my own eyes. Now I knew.
Vampires were real.
His arm rose, and his stout little hand instinctively grabbed
the stake. There was no fear in his face yet. Merely a puzzlement,
as if he was attempting to sort out just how such an
object could be attached to his body. He presently lost his
footing and collapsed into a seated position, where he remained
for a moment before falling the rest of the way onto his back. His
hand lost its grip on the stake, and the arm fell to his side.
I walked around him, wondering when he would strike. Wondering when he would laugh at the futility of what I had done and cut me down. As I did, his eyes followed me. They were the only things that moved now. There was fear in them. He was dying... and he was afraid. What little color he had left him now - and rich, dark blood began to run from his nostrils; out the sides of his mouth. A trickle at first... then a flood - running over his cheeks and pooling over his eyes. More blood than I ever thought possible. I could see his soul (if indeed he had such a thing) departing. Bidding an unexpected, frightening farewell to such a long, long life - one undoubtedly filled with happiness, and agony, and struggle, and success. Filled with moments too beautiful to share. Too painful to recall. It was all ending now, and he was so afraid. Afraid of what nothingness awaited him. Or worse, what punishment.
And then he was gone. I expected my eyes to fill with tears. To feel remorse at the sight of what I had done. I admit that I felt nothing. I only wish he had suffered more.
Thomas stood aghast. "Look what you've done," he said after a sickened silence. "You've killed us."
"On the contrary...I've killed him."
"More will come."
Abe had already begun to walk away.
"Then I shall need more stakes.""

pages 59-60

Well, that's all for now!

Have a Happy Halloween!

~Sea-Solo

EXTRA! EXTRA!

 

Watch the trailer for the movie that came out in 2012! (the one on the bottom is more gorey, keep that in mind)

Listen to some tracks from the movie!:

What Do You Hate? by Henry Jackman

Mary Todd by Henry Jackman

Powerless by Linkin Park