Dracula by Bram Stoker: Deluxe Edition with Illustrations by Edward Gorey

Dracula has been on my to-read list for such a long time. I intended to get to it soon after reading Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein years ago but then as is often the case, life got in the way, and I was distracted by other books. I’m happy to say that I finally read it. 

Dracula is a gothic horror masterpiece, but I think it’s a masterpiece with flaws. I have mixed feelings about the writing and the pacing. Told epistolary style in the form of letters, journal entries, articles, and telegrams, it’s engaging and atmospheric at times but then overwritten and dull at others. The first four chapters set in Transylvania really drew me in. But the story really slows down after those chapters and although things pick up again in the middle, some chapters are still filled with repetition and long-winded passages. 

Flaws aside, the book is incredibly atmospheric as well as an interesting look at Victorian society. I grew to like the characters as they worked together to investigate and fight Dracula, and the finale was a page turner. 

I’m glad that I read the Deluxe Edition (from Union Square & Co., formerly Sterling Publishing) with illustrations by Edward Gorey. It’s a gorgeous hardcover that includes printing in black and red ink, fore-edge painting of bats, a black ribbon bookmark, and red velvet cover. It was a pleasure to hold and read. 

This edition also includes “Dracula’s Guest,” the chapter that was cut from the original printing of the novel as well as an introduction and appendices by editor Marvin Kaye. Based on what I’ve read, I’ve always thought that “Dracula’s Guest” was intended to be the first chapter of Dracula, but Kaye makes a good argument that it was supposed to be chapter two. In any case I’m glad that it’s included as an extra at the beginning of the book. It can be enjoyed on its own, but it also makes for a good prologue. 

Now I’m curious about Dracula, the Rare Text of 1901, which I learned about from the appendices. It’s an author-abridged version which is about 20 percent shorter. I’d like to see if the passages that were cut help with the pacing at all.

After finishing the book, I rewatched Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The striking visuals, sets, costumes, and performances all combine to create an amazing dream-like quality. I love that Coppola kept the film set bound and used lots of practical effects like miniatures and matte paintings. Also, most of the costumes designed by Eiko Ishioka are amazing. 

Gary Oldman was great as Dracula, but his ginormous white hairdo pulled me out of the story faster than Keanu Reeves’ attempt at a British accent. I like how the film follows the book closely in many ways as well as trying new things, but then it just goes off the rails and becomes a fan fiction version of the novel. I have mixed feelings about the ending as it changes aspects of some of the characters and makes a certain loss kind of meaningless. Oh well, when it comes to Dracula, mixed feelings seem to be a theme with me. 

Unless it’s the author's abridged version I doubt I’ll ever re-read the novel, but I’ll definitely re-watch the film. It's fast paced, over the top, and a visual feast. 

Next on my gothic novel to-read list: The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo. 

Books I Read in November 2024

Two books this month.

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (Orb Books, 1997. Originally published in 1954)

An interesting mix of horror and science fiction. It does a good job of presenting the inner thoughts of a man consumed by loneliness after having survived a plague that’s turned people into vampires. The edition I have includes some short stories, but I haven't read those yet. I have fond memories of watching the first two film adaptations of the book when I was in school, and I decided to re-watch the first one right away. 

The Last Man on Earth (1964)

A low budget but well-done film adaptation of Matheson’s I Am Legend. Matheson also wrote the screenplay but was so dissatisfied with the film that he had his name taken off. Even with some awkward dubbing, I think Vincent Price and the script capture the story and tone of the book pretty well.

The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias (Mulholland Books, 2022) 

This one had been on my radar for a while. It won Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson Awards and I’ve been following the author on social media. He’s positive and very encouraging to new authors. After seeing this in Half Price Books a few times I finally decided to grab it. 

It took a few chapters, but I liked the prose and once it got going and I was drawn into this slow burn mix of bario noir and cosmic horror. Unfortunately, I kept getting pulled out of the book. While I love languages and I can appreciate the use of Spanish throughout, the number of untranslated conversations and passages eventually became frustrating and took away from my enjoyment of the story. Still. if you like dark, dark stories you'll like this, and I'm interested in reading more of this author's work.

December Plans

I've been reading ghost stories every December for the last for years and I'll be reading more this year. Currently I'm reading Blood Standard by Laird Barron and loving it.

 

NaNoWriMo Blues

 “Finish things.” - Neil Gaiman 

I’ve been participating in National Novel Writing Month since 2018. I have yet to complete a novel, but the challenge has helped me to finish first drafts of short stories. The only times that I’ve “won” is with July and April’s Camp NaNoWriMo which lets you set your own word count. 

With all the controversy surrounding NaNoWriMo recently and the fact that none of my writing buddies are participating this time, I debated whether to participate this year. 

One of the things I struggle with is finishing things. I have too many partially completed stories. When I looked at my previous NaNoWriMo projects, I saw that my total word count was around 78,000. So, after some reflection I decided to jump in with the following goals:

• Get into the habit of writing regularly again. 

• Increase my total word count to over 80,000 words.

• Title my project “Short Story Roundup” and work on completing some stories.

So naturally I started a new short story. Sigh. 

Even without writing buddies for motivation, I’ve been enjoying working on the story though. I’ve also gotten back into the habit of writing regularly, even when I’m not in the mood and even if the word count is low. Progress is progress. I’ve also broken 80,000 words, so there’s that. 

There are still a few days left in the month, so my goal now is to finish the story. After that my goals are to keep up the habit of writing regularly past November as well as working harder to follow Neil Gaiman's advice to beginner writers, which I quoted above.

 

Books I Read in October 2024

Besides some stories which I wrote about in my previous post, I read only one book and one comic book collection this month, as Dracula took up most of my reading time. 

Dracula Deluxe Edition by Bram Stoker with illustrations by Edward Gorey (Sterling Publishing, now Union Square & Co., 2021) 

Dracula is a gothic horror masterpiece but it’s not perfect. After a fascinating first four chapters, it really slows down and doesn’t pick up again until the mid-point. Even then long-winded passages still pop up throughout. I’m glad I read it though as it was a fascinating read and the bad outweighed the good. A more detailed review to come next month. 

Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024)

I was going to read a collection of the original Swamp Thing stories but then two things happened. First, I watched the new Hellboy movie, Hellboy: The Crooked Man. I read a few of the comics a long time ago and while I liked the series, I never kept up with it. I thought the first Hellboy movie was okay but didn’t grab me like the comic and I never watched the next two movies. 

I really enjoyed the new film. It's low budget, but the story drew me in. Atmospheric horror and witchcraft in the haunted hills of 1950s Appalachia. Nice use of songs and I really liked Jack Kesy’s portrayal of Hellboy. The movie reminded me a lot of Manly Wade Wellman’s John the Balladeer stories which are some of my all-time favorite weird fiction stories. Soon after watching the movie, I ran across a used copy of the first omnibus, so I grabbed it.

Hellboy Omnibus Volume 1: Seed of Destruction by Mike Mignola and John Byrne (Dark Horse Comics, 2018) 

This omnibus collects Seed of Destruction, Wake the Devil, and “The Wolves of St. August,” “The Chained Coffin,” and “Almost Colossus.” Each story is a winner, and I had forgotten how much I like Mignola’s atmospheric artwork. Now I need to get the rest of the collections. 

I'm going to try and stick with a vampire theme for next month, but we'll see what happens.

Three Werewolf Stories from the Pulps

I’m reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula this month and while I’m enjoying it, it’s slow moving and a bit long winded in places. I needed to take a break and these three pulp werewolf stories hit the spot. 

“Wolves of Darkness” by Jack Williamson from Echoes of Valor III (Tor, 1991) and The Werewolf Megapack (Wildside Press, 2013, e-book). First published in Strange Tales, January 1932. 

I’ve been a fan of Jack Williamson ever since reading The Legion of Space in my school days. This is my first time reading one of his horror stories. 

A man gets called back to his hometown and finds it to be overrun by wolves that may be more than wolves. A pulpy mix of horror and sci-fi. This started and ended strong but felt stretched out in the middle. I also lost interest when the sci-fi elements were introduced as they didn’t hold up as well as the horror elements. But I liked how everything played out and how the story gives an explanation for the origins of werewolf and other monster lore. 

“The Whisperers” by Hugh B. Cave from Murgunstrumm and Others (Crossroads Press, 2011, e-book version). First published in Spicy Mystery Stories, April 1942. 

Strange things start happening after newlyweds purchase an old house with a tragic past. They learn that terrible things happened after the previous owner began hearing whispering in the basement. The husband decides to investigate. As this first appeared in Spicy Mystery Stories there are lots of descriptions of the wife’s body and of the couple embracing, but it’s all pretty tame by today’s standards. On the other hand, this was a very dark and well-done horror story that still holds up. 

Neither this story nor the previous one uses any of the common werewolf tropes found in most fiction and film. I found that a little disappointing with Williamson’s story, but this story was strong enough without them. Update: My friend Patrick Ijima-Washburn pointed out that these stories came out before modern werewolf lore, a lot of which comes from the 1941 film The Wolf Man, was quite set in stone. Good point, Thanks Patrick!

I learned about pulp author Hugh B. Cave years and years ago, but this is my first time reading anything by him. I still have a collection of his pulp detective stories that I bought from my favorite but now long defunct bookstore, The Science Fiction and Mystery Bookshop in Atlanta. I think it’s time to start reading it.

“The Compleat Werewolf” by Anthony Boucher from The Compleat Werewolf and Other Stories of Fantasy and Science Fiction (Carroll & Graf, 1990). First published in Unknown Worlds, April 1942. 

After a German language professor learns that he is a werewolf he decides to use his new powers to win over the love of his life. Things don’t go as planned. This one is different from the previous two as it’s a story that mixes adventure and humor and it does so flawlessly. I was really drawn in by Boucher's writing. I lost count how many times I laughed out loud, and the story was a page turner from the humorous start to the exciting finale. 

This is my first time reading Boucher and I’m really looking forward to reading more. This is another book that I picked up from The Science Fiction and Mystery Bookshop years and years ago and now just getting around to. Hmm. I’m beginning to notice a pattern here.

This was a nice mix of stories. One very pulpy, one very dark, and one loaded with humor and adventure. 

Now back to Dracula. 

October Reading Plans

After breaking through my reading slump with some Conan pastiche short stories last month, I jumped into Dracula by Bram Stoker this month. It’s been on my to-read list for a long time, and I figured this October was the right time to finally get to it. I have the deluxe edition with illustrations by Edward Gorey which I picked up during a Barnes & Noble 50% off hardcover sale a few years ago. I’m enjoying it so far although it’s slowed down a little after a strong start. Here’s a stack of some other books and comics I may or may not get to this October.

I always enjoy the book pics that Graeme over at Lord Samper’s Library posts on his blog, so I thought I would do something similar. Give him a follow if you’re not already doing so as he also posts lots of great book, film, and television reviews:

Lord Samper's Library (lordsamperlibrary.blogspot.com)

The stack:

Damnable Tales: A Folk Horror Anthology selected and illustrated by Richard Wells

I picked this up recently when I saw that it had a couple of short stories that I’ve been looking for, “Pallinghurst Barrow” by Grant Allan and "Randall's Round” by Eleanor Scott. It includes lots of other great authors as well including Robert Aickman, Shirley Jackson, and M.R. James. 

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

Bradbury is one of my favorite authors. This has been on my to-read list after reading his collection The October Country and his book The Halloween Tree which goes over the history of Samhain and Halloween. 

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson 

Another one of my favorite authors. I’ve been wanting to read this ever since watching the filmed versions, The Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price and The Omega Man with Charlton Heston.

A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny

One of my favorite books from another one of my favorite authors. It’s a tradition for many people to re-read it every October. I first read this in 2020 and re-read it in 2021 and 2022. I’m not sure if I’ll get to it this year. 

The Books of Blood I-III by Clive Barker 

Barker is an author I’ve been meaning to read more over after reading and enjoying The Hellbound Heart, the basis for the first Hellraiser film. 

Roots of the Swamp Thing by Len Wein, Bernie Wrightson, and Nestor Redondo

I’ve been a Swamp Thing fan ever since reading Alan Moore’s run in my university days. I found this collection at Half Price Books last year and had to pick it up. 

Dracula: Vlad the Impaler by Roy Thomas and Estaban Marato

Another Half Price Books find. I’ll read it once I’m finished with Dracula. This collects issues originally published by TOPPS Comics in the 90s. I found this in the reduced section for a couple of bucks. 

Will I get to everything in the stack? Probably not. But as usual, we’ll see what happens! I hope that you’re reading something good this October. 

Short Stories and Comics I Read for Cimmerian September, 2024

My original plan for Cimmerian September was to read Conan: Blood of the Serpent by S.M. Stirling and then some of the Conan paperbacks that I’ve collected over the last few years. Unfortunately, I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump lately and it didn’t help that I couldn’t get into Blood of the Serpent. It took me three weeks just to get through the first few chapters. I haven’t given up on it yet but I’m finding the first part really, really slow paced. So, I came up with a new plan. 

At the beginning of the year, I read “Conan: The Shadow of Vengeance” by Scott Oden and I loved it. Here’s a link to my post that includes a review:

We Learn by Writing: Books I Read in February 2024

I figured now is a good time to read the other Conan stories by other authors featured in the Heroic Legends series. These stories were just what I needed. 

“Conan: Lord of the Mount” by Stephen Graham Jones (Titan Books, 2023)

I enjoyed the two horror novellas I read by Stephen Graham Jones, so I was looking forward to this. It grabbed me right from the start. Fast paced, action packed, and Conan pretty much felt like Conan.

 

“Conan: The Child” by Brian D. Anderson (Titan Books, 2023)

Action, twists, and interesting characters. Written in a contemporary style while still feeling true to the character of Conan. Even though I could see where things were heading, this was a really fun read. Brian D. Anderson is an author new to me and this story makes me want to check out his other work. Scott Oden's story and this one are my favorite of the Heroic Legends Conan stories published so far.

“Conan: Lethal Consignment” by Shaun Hamill (Titan Books, 2023)

A young Conan is hired as a guard on a ship. Even early in his career I would have expected Conan to be more confident than he’s depicted here and some of the modern vocabulary took me out of the story. Other than that, it was a quick fun read. 

“Conan: Terror from the Abyss” by Henry Herz (Titan Books, 2024)

Conan and Bêlit face a Lovecraftian horror from the deep. A fast-paced story with an abrupt ending. The strengths of this story lie in its great descriptions and use of vocabulary. Conan praying to Crom felt very out of character though. 

“Conan: The Halls of Immortal Darkness” by Laird Barron (Titan Books, 2024)

I’ve heard good things about Laird Barron and have a few of his books but until now I haven’t read anything by him. After being bitten by a snake and having a weird vision, Conan is hired by a mysterious woman and an old man. As much as I liked the writing, I wasn’t sure what to make of this story until I got to the end, which really won me over. I really need to get around to reading more of Laird Barron.

There’s one story that I didn’t get to, “Conan: Black Starlight” by John C. Hocking. It takes place between his two books Conan and the Emerald Lotus and Conan and the Living Plague, both which are included in Conan: City of the Dead, which was published this year. I ordered a copy this month but it’s one of the books that I didn’t get to.

I did get to the Conan the Barbarian comic though:

Conan the Barbarian Vol. 2: Thrice Marked for Death written by Jim Zub, art Doug Braithwaite, coloring by Diego Rodriguez, and cover art by Roberto De La Torre. (Titan Comics, 2024)

Volume 2 collects issues 5-8 of Titan’s Conan the Barbarian comic. While haunted by memories of Bêlit, Conan joins a group of thieves for a heist. Of course, things don’t go as planned. Jim Zub continues to write a great Conan and the art by Doug Braithwaite is impressive, especially his splash pages.

That finishes up my Cimmerian September. I may read some spooky stuff for October but I’m not making any definite plans as I hardly ever stick with them. We’ll see what happens.