Bram Stoker's Dracula

[matty]

Finished reading this a few days ago, for the second time. Despite the totally ridiculous set-up and the most anticlimactic ending in history, I think it's a great book.

The first sixty pages are hilarious and wonderful. It drones on a bit after that, but there are really some interesting parts, and it's nice to see how the Dracula franchise got started. If you're curious, give it a try--it's not very long. I got really attached to the characters.

[007]

I enjoyed this book. I think that telling the story through journal entries from many different perspectives is a really inventive way to go about it. It gives the story an edge & a bit of mystery. You never really know what is going on and you get to see the weirdness from many different angles.

I like that Jonathan is "kidnapped" by Dracula & forced to write letters home. I also enjoyed the crazy guy in the asylum, &
the race to the castle.

I've never read Frankenstein but have wanted to pick it up. Is this classic horror any good?

[larryhead]

007, I read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein) last year and it is now one of my favorite books.... definately not the horror story most people think of it as, but instead it's a really gripping romantic tragedy. The characters and storyline are so well developed it's hard to believe she was only 19 when she wrote it. I'm also a big fan of 1800's prose... much more sophisticated and interesting sounding than the language we speak today. Pick it up. :thumbsup:

I'll have to give Bram Stoker's Dracula a read... I enjoyed (and own) the movie, but as usual, I'm sure much of the story got mangled or left out... plus it had Keanu Reeves, who is probably one of the worst actors in the history of the profession. Why he keeps getting roles is beyond me. :huh:

[matty]

I also enjoyed Frankenstein. I was VERY surprised by how different it is from the popular conception of the monster, and I think it's fascinating that it got that way.

Another one that isn't as good but is still fun to read is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It's very dramatic.

I really liked the part in Dracula where Jonathan Harker is kidnapped and forced to write letters home. That whole first part is really funny, where he's going to Dracula's castle and all the peasants he meets along the way keep freaking out.

"I'm going to Dracula's castle."
"OH GOD!!" (Making sign of cross, and then some Romanian finger gesture that protects you from the "evil eye.")

Jonathan never really got suspicious--he just kept heading toward the castle. People were begging him not to go, and he was like, "Stupid peasants! I'm a man of science, not superstition!" And then he was almost fed to the brides. And then, after all that and almost dying of "brain fever," he tries to pretend like it never happened. Jonathan's a neat character, but my favorite character was Quincey Morris, the noble Texan adventurer. Quincey's answer: "Just shoot the hell out of it with a six-iron! Bang bang, vampire bitch!"

And of course, Van Helsing is the shizzle.