Castlevania Dungeon Forums

Off Topic => Off Topic => Topic started by: SiFi270 on November 10, 2018, 10:06:49 AM

Title: "Dracul" by J.D. Bar-I MEAN DACRE STOKER
Post by: SiFi270 on November 10, 2018, 10:06:49 AM
So I think it was about a decade ago now that Dacre Stoker allowed his name to be slapped onto Dracula - The Un-dead, a disaster of a sequel where a real historical events and figures are always right around the corner for no reason, Mina proudly declares herself "Dracula's adulterous whore", and, oh yeah, the Count himself meets Bram Stoker in person and kills him for getting so many details "wrong" in the original book.

Dacre was similarly "involved" with an annotated version of the original novel that analyzes the story as if it really happened. I didn't get far enough into that one to really judge it fairly, but what I did read still managed to annoy me with its belief that Jonathan and his friends were assholes and Dracula wasn't such a bad guy.

It was only today that I saw he's done it again, this time with a prequel simply titled "Dracul". As far as I know, Dacre's name on the cover is all it has in common with either of the above, but that's still enough to make me hesitate. Can any Dracula enthusiasts here recommend it, or give me an idea of what to expect?
Title: Re: "Dracul" by J.D. Bar-I MEAN DACRE STOKER
Post by: TatteredSeraph on November 18, 2018, 12:39:55 PM
I wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole.  The last one was abysmally bad.  It was Phantom of Manhattan sequel to Phantom of the Opera level awful.  Similarly Davre’s book read like bad fan fiction.
Title: Re: "Dracul" by J.D. Bar-I MEAN DACRE STOKER
Post by: Belmontoya on November 20, 2018, 11:04:59 AM
Bram must be turning in his grave.
Title: Re: "Dracul" by J.D. Bar-I MEAN DACRE STOKER
Post by: Super Waffle on November 23, 2018, 08:45:17 PM
I think I could write a better fanfic.
Title: Re: "Dracul" by J.D. Bar-I MEAN DACRE STOKER
Post by: SiFi270 on November 25, 2018, 07:41:13 AM
I ended up getting it after accepting that there wouldn't be any replies to this thread, which was a couple of days before TatteredSeraph proved me wrong. I'm not actually sure if any of you are actually talking about the new book or The Un-Dead, but I'm probably going to start on Dracul tomorrow since I finished the whole Anno Dracula series earlier this week.
Title: Re: "Dracul" by J.D. Bar-I MEAN DACRE STOKER
Post by: Lumi Kløvstad on November 25, 2018, 10:14:57 AM
I think I could write a better fanfic.

You already have. Over a dozen times.  ;D
Title: Re: "Dracul" by J.D. Bar-I MEAN DACRE STOKER
Post by: X on November 25, 2018, 10:46:32 AM
SiFi270@

The best way to find out if you don't like a particular 'something', in this case Dracul, would be to get you feet wet. Especially if nobody here has read it either. Probably why there's been no reply to your particular question. I've read The Un-dead and while I personally thought it wasn't bad there were elements that should not have been in there. Like Dracula being cooked to death by sunlight, something that was never a problem for him in the original novel. Dacre talked about this part at the end of his book explaining it along the lines of Nosferatu's sunlight gimmick working its way into popular culture as a weakness for vampires. And of course reading through the book and learning the year in which it happens; 1912, I knew subconsciously that there was going to be something about the Titanic as well. And, low and behold, by the end of the book I was right. But with the way the book has been written it seems to take place outside of the actual Bram Stoker story. So in a sense it isn't a true sequel since Bram Stoker was in the novel as well. That should be of some comfort to those whom didn't care for the The Un-dead as a sequel.
Title: Re: "Dracul" by J.D. Bar-I MEAN DACRE STOKER
Post by: SiFi270 on January 11, 2019, 07:37:20 AM
So I finished it on Sunday and I did end up really enjoying it. There were plenty of moments that were not only genuinely frightening but also felt authentic to the time period and not like the kind of thing someone in the 1800s might read and think, "goodness, that is too hot for television!"

The ending, though, was kind of a disappointment, but I'm not sure what they could have done differently considering how it still had to lead into the original novel, plus the deleted scene that Florence Stoker would later publish after her husband's death.
Title: Re: "Dracul" by J.D. Bar-I MEAN DACRE STOKER
Post by: Super Waffle on January 17, 2019, 01:25:37 PM
So I got a copy of Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories today. What advice do you have for me CVD?
Title: Re: "Dracul" by J.D. Bar-I MEAN DACRE STOKER
Post by: Super Waffle on September 23, 2019, 03:15:56 PM
How do you guys like my idea for a new Dracula spin-off novel:

The Quintessential Quincy
Title: Re: "Dracul" by J.D. Bar-I MEAN DACRE STOKER
Post by: X on September 23, 2019, 06:15:24 PM
You already have a title Super Waffle. Just go from there  ;)