Topic: Have you read the original Dracula novel?

[Ratty]

Just curious as to how many here have read it or want to. Can also be a general discussion thread for the novel.

Though for most of the story we get only brief glimpses of the Count, It's got some interesting comments on Dracula as a character. Notably Van Helsing's assertion that Dracula has a "child mind/brain" and that is why he hasn't simply taken over the world or even strayed far past his castle prior to the events of the novel. Might go a short ways toward explaining why it seems to take him so long to come up with new/better plans to permanently defeat the Belmonts.

"I have studied, over and over again since they came into my hands, all the papers relating to this monster, and the more I have studied, the greater seems the necessity to utterly stamp him out. All through there are signs of his advance. Not only of his power, but of his knowledge of it. As I learned from the researches of my friend Arminius of Buda-Pesth, he was in life a most wonderful man. Soldier, statesman, and alchemist--which latter was the highest development of the science knowledge of his time. He had a mighty brain, a learning beyond compare, and a heart that knew no fear and no remorse. He dared even to attend the Scholomance, and there was no branch of knowledge of his time that he did not essay.

"Well, in him the brain powers survived the physical death. Though it would seem that memory was not all complete. In some faculties of mind he has been, and is, only a child. But he is growing, and some things that were childish at the first are now of man's stature. He is experimenting, and doing it well. And if it had not been that we have crossed his path he would be yet, he may be yet if we fail, the father or furtherer of a new order of beings, whose road must lead through Death, not Life." - Professor Van Helsing, Dracula Chapter 23.

For those who would like to read the novel and have ereaders or just don't mind reading off a computer screen it is available for free at Project Gutenberg http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/345 and the deleted chapter "Dracula's Guest" http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10150
Also freely available is this earlier vampire tale featuring a character who has, at least in name, appeared several times in the Castlevania series, Carmilla http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10007 audio versions are available as well.

As for me Dracula is one of the few books I've read more than once, though the first time was over a decade ago now. Thinking I'll give it another go sometime soon.

[Lumi Kløvstad]

Read it, and thought it was dreadful. Stoker's other work is really so much better.

[Vampire Killer]

Read it about a year ago. Thought it could have been written in a better format, but I still enjoyed it.

[K.G. Morder]

I read a version some time ago, but I was pretty sure it was one of those abridged school versions. Yknow, really thin with pictures. Ive been meaning to buy Dracula for a long time. There was a neat version at a bookstore near me, but the chain shut down.

I DID once read a book called Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula, which takes place during the time in which Dracula is in London.

Now that was an awesome as hell book.

[cecil-kain]

Bram Stoker's classic novel should be required reading for Castlevania fans.  Period.

Although the films take many liberties with the original story, these should be required viewing as well.

Dracula 1931 with Bela Lugosi
Horror of Dracula 1958 with Christopher Lee
Bram Stoker's Dracula 1992 with Gary Oldman

If you're really hardcore, you might even watch the silent film Nosferatu from 1922.

Here's a link to the novel to get the faithful started...
http://www.literature.org/authors/stoker-bram/dracula/

The !931 Bela Lugosi Film...
Dracula (1931) - Full Movie

And an audiobook of the novel...  The narration is a little weird though.  :-/
Dracula Audiobook Chapter 1 (Full Chapter)

[K.G. Morder]

There's a 1969 Christopher Lee Dracula movie by Jesus Franco too, which is pretty faithful to the book, although suffers from having I dunno... put too much effort into the beginning with Dracula and his castle and the town and shit, and once it goes back to England, the sets really fail at feeling like the 1800's. It's the really small details really... Also, the ending seems ridiculously anticlimactic for some reason. I mean, it just seems to end too abruptly with little bang.

But other than that, it's not too bad.

Bram Stoker's classic novel should be required reading for Castlevania fans.  Period.

I'm sorry! I'm working on it! :<

Lemme finish Dorian Gray first.

I also need to buy the book. I am quite ashamed and somewhat surprised I still dont have it.

[Kaori]

I actually ending up reading this my senior year of high school. It wasn't required for the class, but we had to choose a book that also had a movie or movies based on the book. I just remember choosing the book Dracula because I wanted to finally read it, and I knew I had a million movie choices to choose from. I ended up going with the Francis Ford Coppola movie, because I had been wanting to watch it (and it was easy for me to get a hold of).

I had tons of fun reading the book and watching the movie. In some parts of Dracula it did get boring, but I overall really enjoyed the book. It was worth having to buy the book and the movie. Funny thing was, later on that year my teacher made us read Frankenstein, which I had also wanted to read. He made us read Frankenstein though, unlike my choice of reading Dracula.

One of these days I need to sit down and watch some classic Dracula movies. I wonder how many of them are on Netflix? 

[DragonSlayr81]

My dyslexia wrecks havok on lots of older novels.

Other than that, I've only closely read a graphic novel based on Stoker's novel. That's about it.

Thought, it's interesting that bit regarding Van Helsing's knowledge of Dracula. In life, Dracula was an alchemist(among other things). Wonder if that was partially inspiration for Mathias Cronqvist being an alchemist? Also, Scholomance, the infamous school where the devil chooses a selected few to teach his wicked arts, made an appearance in PoR.

[Chernabogue]

I read it multiple times, as I had to study it in high school for some classes.

[Odile Kuronuma]

Started it but haven't finished it. It was an ebook and i hate reading on my laptop. I've been meaning to buy a physical copy, and each time i forget.

[Ratty]

Wow so far an overwhelming majority of users have either read the book or have/had an interest in reading it. Didn't expect that, at least not so drastically.

I had tons of fun reading the book and watching the movie. In some parts of Dracula it did get boring, but I overall really enjoyed the book. It was worth having to buy the book and the movie. Funny thing was, later on that year my teacher made us read Frankenstein, which I had also wanted to read. He made us read Frankenstein though, unlike my choice of reading Dracula.

One of these days I need to sit down and watch some classic Dracula movies. I wonder how many of them are on Netflix? 

Yeah Frankenstein is another of the few novels I've read more than once, I think it's actually better written than Dracula in a lot of ways. Except when the whole book stops dead in the middle to tell the story of the family the monster is watching, it just stops the momentum of the main story dead in it's tracks and drags on for way, way, waaaay too long.
If you're looking for classic Dracula films be warned that the 1931 Dracula is incredibly slow with not a lot happening by today's standards. Historically important as it is in cementing the image of Dracula in popular culture, even today when people imitate Dracula they're imitating Lugosi, you never even get to see fangs in the movie. I honestly think Lugosi got to be more menacing the only other time he played Dracula on film* in 1948's Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, which was a comedy.
If you still want to watch the 1939 original I recommend netflixing this version http://www.amazon.com/Dracula-Anniversary-Edition-Universal-Legacy/dp/B000GPIPSS and the other discs in this set http://www.amazon.com/Dracula-Collection-Spanish-Draculas-Daughter/dp/B0001CNRLG/ref=pd_cp_mov_1 to see most of the other classic Universal films featuring the character. Including the one with the origin of the name Alucard.
Son of Dracula Official Trailer #1 - Samuel S. Hinds Movie (1943) HD
In fact all of the universal classic monster "Legacy Collections" are great, featuring movies whose influence on Castlevania are obvious and enjoyable to see. The only problem with the version of the original Dracula in the Legacy Collection is that Dracula's death scream is censored from it. Though none of the other movies are censored, it was an odd omission.
I think Coppola's Dracula was more influenced by the Hammer Films 1960s and 70s remakes/re-imaginings of the Universal horror films including Dracula. But I've only seen a few of those so can't say much about it.

Odd that they went with the Marvel Comics "Tomb of Dracula" image for that audiobook reading cecil-kane.
Funny thing about that, the look of Dracula in the marvel comics was based on Jack Palance (a cowboy actor who you may remember as Curly or his brother from the "City Slickers" movies) who wound up playing Dracula in a TV movie shortly afterwards.

*He played the character on stage many times.

[Abnormal Freak]

I don't read often, but I read like the first two chapters several months ago. I bought a version that recreates the cover and print format of the original.

[K.G. Morder]

I don't read often, but I read like the first two chapters several months ago. I bought a version that recreates the cover and print format of the original.

Dat yellow cover. Yet it works pretty well somehow. Makes the red "DRACULA" pop out.

I've got my eye on this version I can get at Barnes and Noble for like 10 bucks.

[Fofa]

I have read the original book at least twice; I own a copy. I also have a comic book version that compressed the whole book into four issues (nothing to do with Tomb of Dracula though it was done by Marvel). In my collection is also the Coppola film (which I didn't like either time I saw it and since it's a DVD it doesn't have the commentary or other features, annoying me greatly, but I guess that's what happens when it's only six bucks) and the Mel Brooks parody.

I also read the "official" sequel by Bram Stoker's great nephew. It was awful in every sense of the word (I had the sense to borrow it from the library). I've been trying to find the sequel by Freda Warrington, but I haven't had luck.

[Thunderbrand]

I read it at least once a year...usually right after reading Jeanne Kalogridis' Trilogy, Diaries of the Family Dracul, which are a prequel to Stoker's novel. Thus, I read all 4 books in succession. It literally makes for non-stop Drac fun, and I always read these books with a CV score playing in the background