ovidusnaso's review against another edition
4.0
Altså, dette er veldig tullete, men det er gøy at Newman tar jobben sin med å skape en pulp-roman som samler klassikerne fra gotisk litteratur så seriøst. Det gjør at jeg kan sette litt mer pris på den.
sasofl's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
dwarfellie's review
2.0
Honestly this was so disappointing - it was so boring and none of the characters really had anything to do the whole book. Beauregard and Geneviève are incredibly bland, their romance is bland, they didn't even solve the murders which was the main focus of the plot but managed to take credit for it because they happened across the murderer at the end. Both Seward and Holmwood (from the original Dracula) are treated incredibly harshly by this book, to the point where they might as well be different characters. The only good part of the book was where Seward gave post-Dracula backstory but this only lasts like 20 pages, and the rest of it is lamely inspired by the Jack the Ripper murders but it doesn't do a good job of it because it tells you the killer in the first 20 pages, thus ruining any tension this book may have. And honestly, for a book whose whole premise is what if Dracula married Queen Victoria and ruled over a English Vampire society, I really expected this to be a LOT more fun and campy than it was and I am Disappointed.
spicy_koala's review against another edition
3.0
My first foray into the alternative-history genre...very interesting premise for a quick/easy read. Vampires are out of the coffin & Dracula wiggles his way into the Queen of England's heart - sets the stage for some great adventures.
andrew61's review against another edition
3.0
Not bad fantasy horror about an alternative Victorian London where Dracula is Victoria's prince consort and vampires walk the foggy streets. Lots of Victorian characters in hunt for Jack the Ripper. Enjoyable but not tempted to read more.
dilupus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
moodyxmoon's review against another edition
2.0
Bit overly complicated for me, took a while to actually get into the grit of the story vs the lineage of vampires. Might just be my poor attention span!
shadocvao's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
simonmee's review against another edition
3.0
How far can one choose world building and characterisation over a plot?
Set in a London where Bram Stoker's Dracula succeeded in his schemes, which apparently were to marry Queen Victoria and install a cabal of semi related and unrelated vampires. While the new regime is relatively brutal, with impalings and concentration camps, the basic trappings of government remain. Letting a vampire feast on you involves some form of consent, though it's hazier than the red mist which tends to descent. It pays not to think too hard about it. It is kind of interesting, with a number of historical and fictional characters sprinkled through the story in ways less hackneyed than I expected.
The main characters are a 500 year old vampire stuck in a 16 year old's body, and the archetypal Englishman journeying the globe carrying out missions for a secret society. Here's the problem: both have backstories far more interesting than their contributions here. Ostensibly tracking down Jack the Ripper/the Silver Knife, they are shunted into a couple of side plots where events act more upon them than them actually doing anything. The ending feels like a hasty realisation that the protagonists should do something, which they do, implausibly, but I'll give the author the benefit of the doubt.
It's not a static world, with a number of plots and events in London, England and the wider globe. Yet, we are mostly stuck with the wanderings of a couple that we are told are interesting, but they keep missing the interesting parts here.
I like the writing style, I like the world building, and I like the characters. It's just I felt like I was stuck watching the interesting stuff from a mile away with old binoculars. Mostly I see 3 stars.
Set in a London where Bram Stoker's Dracula succeeded in his schemes, which apparently were to marry Queen Victoria and install a cabal of semi related and unrelated vampires. While the new regime is relatively brutal, with impalings and concentration camps, the basic trappings of government remain. Letting a vampire feast on you involves some form of consent, though it's hazier than the red mist which tends to descent. It pays not to think too hard about it. It is kind of interesting, with a number of historical and fictional characters sprinkled through the story in ways less hackneyed than I expected.
The main characters are a 500 year old vampire stuck in a 16 year old's body, and the archetypal Englishman journeying the globe carrying out missions for a secret society. Here's the problem: both have backstories far more interesting than their contributions here. Ostensibly tracking down Jack the Ripper/the Silver Knife, they are shunted into a couple of side plots where events act more upon them than them actually doing anything. The ending feels like a hasty realisation that the protagonists should do something, which they do, implausibly, but I'll give the author the benefit of the doubt.
It's not a static world, with a number of plots and events in London, England and the wider globe. Yet, we are mostly stuck with the wanderings of a couple that we are told are interesting, but they keep missing the interesting parts here.
I like the writing style, I like the world building, and I like the characters. It's just I felt like I was stuck watching the interesting stuff from a mile away with old binoculars. Mostly I see 3 stars.
tulip0803's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
4.75