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lenorayoder's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
First the pros: Dracula has the makings of a fascinating villain, evidenced by the many adaptations he’s inspired. There are a few moments that are fairly chilling, but I think his real strength is that every interaction has a creepy and/or disturbing undertone that makes him compelling. And
I love Jonathan’s journals, and how much of a wife guy he is. Which makes sense because Mina is amazing, and I was so relieved when we first switched to her journals and she was an interesting character. Loved when Jonathan threw some serious shade at Van Helsing in his journal
Some of the writing hits really hard - what comes to mind immediately is the description of Lucy’s
The cons: Dracula is absent for a lot of the book, and when we see him again he’s
For an epistolary novel I don’t think different character’s writing varies enough in tone, and some of the dialogue feels unrealistic, especially characters writing dialogue with accents and poor grammar into their journals - it was irritating to read for no reason, like who does that. Steward’s diary and Jonathan’s early diary feel mostly realistic, but the rest of the time they don’t feel enough like actual entries for me. Also, the in-universe explanation for why this book exists makes all of the really slow parts (and there are SLOW PARTS) make no sense, and I resented those slogs more once I read the explanation. Either filler should be cut out, or the filler should form an actual subplot. There were chunks of the book that took me days and days to read because they just weren’t compelling.
Mina is an interesting character with a lot of potential but Stoker is clearly sexist and that sexism really mars her, and makes a mess of Lucy (and her mom!). Hated how Van Helsing talked about both of them but especially Mina, ugh. Renfield feels like a lost character - it was never really clear what was going on with him, and I think that needed to be clearer with a better resolution, or he needed to be in less of the book. Van Helsing really rubbed me the wrong way, especially with the constant monologuing. I’m surprised he’s become such a focus of adaptations.
The action sequences are all lackluster, and a lot of them are the result of pretty contrived plotting (like the
Moderate: Sexism and Blood
Minor: Racism, Xenophobia, and Antisemitism
cyluho's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.25
Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Racism, Sexism, and Xenophobia
kira_elfling's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Xenophobia
riverofhorton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
olia_k21's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, and Blood
Moderate: Eating disorder and Xenophobia
Minor: Sexism and Death of parent
stitchwilliam's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
Story was slow a lot of the time, but it was relatively suspenseful and mysterious for a classic (note: the novel is more mystery than it is horror). Implemented the idea of “not much happening” in order to create that suspense, which worked well when the novel first started, but not too well at the end (I don’t really enjoy reading multiple POV on people just traveling).
Overall messages were concerning—E.g. xenophobia and stereotyping (this, unfortunately, probably reflected the thinking of some communities at that time…).
The characters were kind of dry, except for Mina and Renfield. There isn’t a lot of character development overall.
I also feel like the author also left out necessary details at times. I still don’t understand why some of the characters did certain things? E.g.
In Short - Outdated messages and plot drags a lot, but interesting to consider the story that popularized the vampire myths.
Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Animal death
renorsomethin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Minor: Animal death
decepticons's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, and War
Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Stalking
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Classism
Vampirism used to excuse racismcaro_mac's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Xenophobia, and Blood
Minor: Racial slurs
modern_cryptid's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Misogyny and Medical content
Minor: Racial slurs and Xenophobia