A review by grapie_deltaco
Countess Dracula by Tony Thorne, Tony Thorne
3.0
A very interesting exploration of historical events as they morph into misconceptions and how it all shifts over time due to art affecting public perception of the historical figure.
It has a tendency to feel all over the place and distracted. So many concepts bleeding into each other without a smooth transition and a million tangents surrounding a million media/pop culture references from across numerous centuries.
I think it was definitely a choice to briefly compare cosmetic surgeries and how we, as a society, consume content surrounding the industry to the Countess Báthory watching over her accomplices as they beat, tortured, mutilated, and violently murdered little girls. I think it was a very interesting (and not ideal) choice indeed.
I do, however, appreciate the wide range of historical context/background as well as all of the rumors and speculations surrounding the countess. I also enjoyed the exploration of magic and witchcraft of the time as well as Báthory’s relationship to it.
CW: death, murder, violence, torture, recurring (but brief) mentions of sexual assault and rape, mention of assault and child rape (brief), brief mention of suicide, dated language referencing Romani people, homophobia, racism, mentions of slavery
It has a tendency to feel all over the place and distracted. So many concepts bleeding into each other without a smooth transition and a million tangents surrounding a million media/pop culture references from across numerous centuries.
I think it was definitely a choice to briefly compare cosmetic surgeries and how we, as a society, consume content surrounding the industry to the Countess Báthory watching over her accomplices as they beat, tortured, mutilated, and violently murdered little girls. I think it was a very interesting (and not ideal) choice indeed.
I do, however, appreciate the wide range of historical context/background as well as all of the rumors and speculations surrounding the countess. I also enjoyed the exploration of magic and witchcraft of the time as well as Báthory’s relationship to it.
CW: death, murder, violence, torture, recurring (but brief) mentions of sexual assault and rape, mention of assault and child rape (brief), brief mention of suicide, dated language referencing Romani people, homophobia, racism, mentions of slavery