Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Dracula by Bram Stoker

57 reviews

celery's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark slow-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

Could've been shorter

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

akgeekgirl's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

keaganbailey's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The book's main fault is that it's a classic; as such you know the entire time what is going to happen, the majority of Dracula's powers, and are not surprised at any turn. The story also absolutely drags as the author discusses train schedules, characters' availability, and travel more than actual action that drives the plot forward. I could not finish this in text and needed to listen to it on audiobook to move forward. I enjoyed the story while actually reading it, but was not compelled to pick it up again the following day(s) to finish the book.

The acts of killing are also strangely sudden (being a few paragraphs at most) compared to the human deaths that take place over multiple chapters. Between that and the sections of nothing but planning travel - the pacing some of the worst I've ever read as the author focuses on mundane information of the world rather than plot. 

However, that all being said, I still enjoyed the main story beats. I would recommend an abridged version.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, and Stalking

Moderate: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, and Kidnapping

mari_library's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

3.5

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I would've liked and it's the lowest gothic classic I've read. 
Reading it alongside the audiobook definitely helped getting through it and added to my enjoyment. But I do think this was too long. There are about 100 pages that could've been cut, mostly after the situation with Lucy (which was my favorite). I also will never forgive Bram Stoker for having only two female characters and both of them spend 90% of the sections talking about how brave the men were and how fragile women were and how much women needed men. Mina Harker has an entire journal entry where all she talks about is how brave the men are and how frail she is. Like girl, huh??? I also want to erase "man-brain" out of my head or how the Doctor said that Mina was so smart that she had the same brain as a man - implying heavily that it is an uncommon thing for women to have thoughts and opinions. 
Obviously, I am aware of the time that this book was written. This type of narrative - and the Christian fiction that was present on the last 70 pages - is a given. What makes his book iconic is the re-introduction of vampires in pop culture and how it became a catalyst for the vampire stories we have today. Bram Stoker brought vampires back to the mainstream basically. And he delivered in creating a villain. Dracula is appalling and without morals. The heroes felt flat for me for the most part but I still enjoyed their arc. 
Overall, it delivered on what it promised but took time to do so.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Blood

Moderate: Animal cruelty

leann0330's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Gore, Mental illness, Blood, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts

Note: Since this is a gothic horror novel, I tried to add content warnings but may have missed some. I finally read this and went into it, not really knowing what the “original” vampire folklore is because our society has been so saturated with undead fantasy. It was great to read this (and I knew that Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla was one of Stoker’s inspirations for this) going in fairly blindly. The story was suspenseful and I loved that it was told strictly from journal entries, so quite a few different POVs. Poor old Van Helsing droned on and on. I think that’s probably the only complaint I have other than the way women were still thought to not be as smart as men (but that was a product of the time). Because, let’s be honest—Mina was the real MVP. I wasn’t sure if the good guys would win in the end, so it was suspenseful for me until the last page.

angelo_vossen's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.25

What month could be better to read this book in than October? Bram Stoker’s „Dracula“, published in 1897, is a classic piece of literature that has had a lasting impact on how vampires are portrayed, but it has both strengths and weaknesses.

The novel’s greatest strength is its ability to mix modern life with old superstitions. Dracula, a creature from ancient folklore, invades the logical and scientific world of Victorian England. Stoker cleverly builds suspense using different narrative forms — diaries, letters, and newspaper articles — making the reader slowly uncover the threat Dracula poses. This structure creates a sense of growing dread that keeps the reader engaged.

However, the book struggles with pacing. The first part, set in Dracula’s castle in Transylvania, is full of tension and mystery, but once the story moves to England, it slows down. The middle sections, where the main characters try to defeat Dracula, can feel repetitive and drawn out, losing some of the initial suspense.

The characters also feel uneven. Dracula himself is a fascinating villain — mysterious and terrifying — but his human opponents are less memorable. Jonathan Harker and Mina Murray, for example, are presented as good, moral people, but they lack depth. Mina, in particular, represents the ideal Victorian woman — pure and nurturing — while Lucy Westenra’s tragic fate as the victim of Dracula reflects the era’s fears around female sexuality.

Additionally, the novel reflects 19th-century fears of foreign invasion. Dracula’s move to England can be seen as a metaphor for anxieties about foreign influences corrupting Western society. This idea, along with the novel’s conservative views on gender roles, has led to debate over whether „Dracula“ supports or critiques Victorian values.

In the end, „Dracula“ is a groundbreaking work that created an iconic figure of horror, though it’s not without its flaws. Its slow pacing, underdeveloped characters, and outdated moral views hold it back, but the novel’s dark atmosphere and exploration of deep societal fears still make it an important piece of literature. I have not read to many classic books yet, but „Dracula“ is definitely one of the better ones so far.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Blood

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Alcohol

vans_1's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Dieses Werk hatte ich als Jugendliche (vllt. Mit 15) gelesen und fand es damals unendlich langweilig.
10 Jahre später habe ich es nochmal probiert und bin insgesamt positiv überrascht.
Der erste Teil, Jonathan Harkers Reise nach Transsylvanien war und ist lesenswert, mit interessanten Charakteren und dem Bewusstwerden, dass er sich in einer ziemlich ausweglosen Situation  befindet.

Der Teil mit Lucy,Mina und den Herren konnte ich jetzt besser lesen. Die beiden Frauen haben eine schöne Freundschaft und die Charaktere haben alle ihren eigenen Charme.

Sehr gut gefällt mir die Umsetzung des Konzepts, dass es auf mehreren Perspektiven geschrieben wurde. Das Buch ist eine Ansammlung, überwiegend aus Tagebucheinträgen. 

Der Spannungsbogen des Romans ist nicht so perfekt gelungen und die Sprache wirkt etwas altbacken, was aber einfach dem geschuldet ist, dass das Werk aus dem späten 19. Jh. Ist.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Minor: Child abuse and Racism

riverofhorton's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense 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? No

4.0

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The world-building was incredible, and all but one of the main group were fully fleshed out characters. The only things that let it down were poo Quincey, the language of Van Helsing being a slog to get through, and the repetition of a lot of the bits of lore. Four times we're told that Dracula can't cross running water, three times that killing Dracula will stop the transformation of any vampires that are somewhere between human and vampire, three times we're told that communion wafers act as a talisman against the vampires, plus a few others that I could mention. I wonder how long this book would be without these instances of repetition. I particularly enjoyed reading the letters between Mina and Lucy, and their respective journal entries about the other: Mina is definitely gay for Lucy, and I can see no other explanation for the way she talks of and to Lucy. I would like to have seen some more expression of that love, but I get that wasn't really possible when this was published, sadly.

---

Content Warnings

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

michad's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Enjoyable but so wordy. The trope of stupid characters in horror seems to spring from this. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Slavery, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Murder

Minor: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Self harm, Sexism, Trafficking, and Stalking

agw622's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I genuinely enjoyed reading this. It is a very exciting tale. My only critiques are that it can be a bit wordy and the charecters prone to hysteria sometimes. This does make reading so parts a little tedious, but it does chug along. For a classic book the treatment of the female charecters were very well done. I do wish the ending paid off more.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Confinement and Sexism