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hkar0610's review against another edition
4.0
A lot of plot twists and turns! Spooky with the right mix of danger, darringdo, and character sympathy. I enjoyed the extended story of Dracul's sons and the background on Transylvania.
_virginia_woolf's review against another edition
4.0
For someone who enjoys vampires, the history of them, and history in general, this was a fun read. I'm a burnt out college kid who needed a retreat for the weekend and I found it in Stoker's Manuscript. There are certain places where this book gets heavy handed but those pieces were easy to skip over. The dialogue between characters flows easily and is definitely what kept me here. I'm not sure I'd recommend this for anyone who isn't heavily invested in vampire culture, history, or the novel Dracula.
ateague73's review against another edition
4.0
I did not expect to like this. I figured it was just Bram Stoker fan-fic, but I thought I'd give it 50 pages since my husband had ordered it for me.
I fell right in. It was so good! The pacing never drags and the vamps are haunt-your-dreams scary.
I fell right in. It was so good! The pacing never drags and the vamps are haunt-your-dreams scary.
easolinas's review against another edition
3.0
Bram Stoker's "Dracula" has been reimagined, reinvented and turned inside-out over the past century -- and with "Stoker's Manuscript," it has gone meta.
Royce Prouty's debut novel mixes fiction, fact and facts about fiction in one novel about a young man who discovers that "Dracula" may be a little too real. The novel has a lot of intriguing ideas and some heavy atmosphere, but Prouty needs a little more seasoning before he writes heavy emotional scenes. They seem a little stiff.
As a child, Joseph Barkeley and his brother were rescued from Ceaușescu's Romania, and raised in the US by nuns. He has an almost magical knack for "feeling" books' age and composition, which makes him sought-after to authenticate old, rare books.
He's hired to authenticate, purchase and deliver the original manuscript and notes for Bram Stoker's Dracula, which includes a long-lost epilogue and ending. The client is anonymous... but he lives in the legendary Bran Castle in Romania. The people around Joseph are worried about him, either because they believe the client is a vampire, or because they don't want him going back to Romania.
Well, it's pretty obvious to everyone except Joseph that the client IS none other than the legendary Dracula, and he is searching for something in the original manuscript. Soon Joseph is not only enmeshed in a nightmarish web of vampiric weirdness, but he's also being implicated for multiple murders... where the victims were impaled.
"Stoker's Manuscript" has a pretty fascinating concept -- it mixes together real-life horrors in Romania (both recent and ancient) with genuinely creepy vampire mythology. A lot of people have made the "Vlad Tepes = Dracula of the book" connections, but Prouty adds real depth and mystery to it. And he gives the Romanian countryside a sense of eerie, sinister presence, where you can believe in the bizarre being real.
However, Prouty isn't quite seasoned enough to make the story fully work. He has an intriguing, richly-detailed style that echoes Stoker's Victorian style, which works well with a modern-day twist on "Dracula." And he sketches out a vampire species that is scarily realistic, complete with biological functions, different sub-breeds and methods of reproduction. It's a little removed from the more mystical approach of "Dracula," but interesting.
The problem is that Prouty's writing never really quite handles the intense stuff -- moments and recollections of deeper emotions (such as Joseph having a mini-meltdown) feel stiff and awkward. As a result, Joseph is an interesting protagonist but not really a gripping one. Sadly, the most interesting people -- like the weird vampire-obsessed Romanian lady -- don't get enough time in the spotlight.
"Stoker's Manuscript" is a decent novel that could have been a brilliant one. Excellent ideas and a great mix of fact and fiction are dragged down by prose that isn't very comfortable with emotions.
Royce Prouty's debut novel mixes fiction, fact and facts about fiction in one novel about a young man who discovers that "Dracula" may be a little too real. The novel has a lot of intriguing ideas and some heavy atmosphere, but Prouty needs a little more seasoning before he writes heavy emotional scenes. They seem a little stiff.
As a child, Joseph Barkeley and his brother were rescued from Ceaușescu's Romania, and raised in the US by nuns. He has an almost magical knack for "feeling" books' age and composition, which makes him sought-after to authenticate old, rare books.
He's hired to authenticate, purchase and deliver the original manuscript and notes for Bram Stoker's Dracula, which includes a long-lost epilogue and ending. The client is anonymous... but he lives in the legendary Bran Castle in Romania. The people around Joseph are worried about him, either because they believe the client is a vampire, or because they don't want him going back to Romania.
Well, it's pretty obvious to everyone except Joseph that the client IS none other than the legendary Dracula, and he is searching for something in the original manuscript. Soon Joseph is not only enmeshed in a nightmarish web of vampiric weirdness, but he's also being implicated for multiple murders... where the victims were impaled.
"Stoker's Manuscript" has a pretty fascinating concept -- it mixes together real-life horrors in Romania (both recent and ancient) with genuinely creepy vampire mythology. A lot of people have made the "Vlad Tepes = Dracula of the book" connections, but Prouty adds real depth and mystery to it. And he gives the Romanian countryside a sense of eerie, sinister presence, where you can believe in the bizarre being real.
However, Prouty isn't quite seasoned enough to make the story fully work. He has an intriguing, richly-detailed style that echoes Stoker's Victorian style, which works well with a modern-day twist on "Dracula." And he sketches out a vampire species that is scarily realistic, complete with biological functions, different sub-breeds and methods of reproduction. It's a little removed from the more mystical approach of "Dracula," but interesting.
The problem is that Prouty's writing never really quite handles the intense stuff -- moments and recollections of deeper emotions (such as Joseph having a mini-meltdown) feel stiff and awkward. As a result, Joseph is an interesting protagonist but not really a gripping one. Sadly, the most interesting people -- like the weird vampire-obsessed Romanian lady -- don't get enough time in the spotlight.
"Stoker's Manuscript" is a decent novel that could have been a brilliant one. Excellent ideas and a great mix of fact and fiction are dragged down by prose that isn't very comfortable with emotions.
octavia_cade's review against another edition
3.0
A readable, enjoyable addition to the Dracula body of books, but it does wander quite a bit. I enjoyed the atmosphere of it, but didn't really care about any of the characters - the protagonist, especially, is very dry (and not in a humorous way).
I also absolutely do not understand why either master vampire allowed said protagonist to go constantly wandering off. It was an invitation to hide things and screw them over and of course he did. They'd both have got their wives if they'd had any of the sense a centuries-old creature should have. It's winning via villain-stupidity, in the end, and atmosphere can only do so much to counter that.
I also absolutely do not understand why either master vampire allowed said protagonist to go constantly wandering off. It was an invitation to hide things and screw them over and of course he did. They'd both have got their wives if they'd had any of the sense a centuries-old creature should have. It's winning via villain-stupidity, in the end, and atmosphere can only do so much to counter that.
shubhra19's review against another edition
4.0
More like 3.75 stars.
So this is one of the two books that I finished in 2020.
This was not like the other Dracula books. This has a different story line that consists of a rare manuscript the buyer needs(no matter what), and employs our narrator, a rare book dealer. We later on find that the narrator is born in the same brood(from his mother's side) and contains a few special skills. His life becomes full of danger as he visits various remote locations in search of this book.
A seemingly interesting read and thankfully not very long, I enjoyed it, save the narrator. I somehow liked his brother more than himself. He had this annoying personality of a loser.
Readers who love reading books about books, and that too about Dracula, must try this one.
So this is one of the two books that I finished in 2020.
This was not like the other Dracula books. This has a different story line that consists of a rare manuscript the buyer needs(no matter what), and employs our narrator, a rare book dealer. We later on find that the narrator is born in the same brood(from his mother's side) and contains a few special skills. His life becomes full of danger as he visits various remote locations in search of this book.
A seemingly interesting read and thankfully not very long, I enjoyed it, save the narrator. I somehow liked his brother more than himself. He had this annoying personality of a loser.
Readers who love reading books about books, and that too about Dracula, must try this one.
circus_of_damned's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
An interesting take and continuation on the classic Dracula by Bran Stoker, while still standing independent from the classic and being it own tale. Definitely had a slight horror genre leaning, without getting to creepy for me personally who not into horror. For me personally I didn't over connect with the characters or engage with the plot. However this did offer the creepy, spooky fall vibes I was looking for with the start of my Fall season reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
aditurbo's review against another edition
4.0
The writing isn't brilliant and at times - repetitive, but the story is old-school, East European-style vampire (not the YA nonsense), full of atmosphere, old traditions and the people who still live them, which I can't resist. The plot is very gripping, and even though the main character isn't very likable, he is still interesting, and so are other characters around him. There is some historical background which gives it all credibility and adds another level of interest. Enjoyable, quick read.
pumpkinghost24's review against another edition
2.0
Too much instructions and telling. Hated Joseph. Hated everyone except Sonia and Father Andrew, really. Mostly the people I liked died.
As much as I originally shipped Sonia and Joseph, she seemed more like friend/grandma material and so the ending was...odd.
Even the end, where the book could have redeemed itself, was just awful and left me with more questions than answers and not in a good way.
As much as I originally shipped Sonia and Joseph, she seemed more like friend/grandma material and so the ending was...odd.
Even the end, where the book could have redeemed itself, was just awful and left me with more questions than answers and not in a good way.