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Thursday, January 15, 2015

Stoker's Manuscript

"So you wish to enter the world of the undead ... To immerse in this is to invite the undead into your life."  Mara lifted an eyebrow over her glasses in that way the fortune teller asks if you really wish to know of your days ahead.  "By the time you understand my warning," she said, "it will be too late, and they will be in your life."

I love Bram Stoker's Dracula; it's one of my favorite classics. So, when I saw the title of Royce Prouty's novel and read it's premise, I had to buy it. His main character, Joseph Barkeley, is a rare book dealer who has been hired to authenticate an original draft of Stoker's Dracula for a mysterious buyer. As part of his job, Joseph must also transport the manuscript to Castel Bran in the heart of Romania: Dracula's Castle. There, Joseph becomes tangled up in the dark secrets of his undead employer, the secrets hidden in Bram Stoker's original manuscript, and the secrets of his own past.

I think what I liked best about this novel was Joseph's own history as a Romanian orphan and his return to the country of his birth. Prouty transports you to Romania and really gives you a tour of that country and it's people -- it's bookish travel at its very best! I also liked that his vampires are in the same vein as Bram Stoker's, with a few added twists. His story is good--interesting and very readable--and his suspenseful ending would make Stoker proud.

I wish he'd included a bibliography at the end of his novel so I knew what books he read to research Bram Stoker's life. (I'm in the mood for a good biography.) Beyond that, I'm happy to have checked another book off my TBR stack.

Happy Reading!

6 comments:

  1. I have got to read Dracula one of these days. Especially after spending time in Whitby!

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    1. It's such a great book! I just love the way he sets up the mystery, and the way he narrates the novel through letters and journals, etc. One of my favorites for sure.

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  2. That one sounds cool. I loved Stoker's Dracula. It's the first and best of all the vampire books out there. Might have to read this one.

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    1. I agree with you about Stoker's Dracula. I love that book. This one is good, though. And I own it if you ever want to borrow it. :)

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  3. By way of introduction, I am the author of Stoker's Manuscript. Wanted to drop you a note of gratitude, first, for choosing my novel to read, and secondly, for your thoughtful review. Your kind words are appreciated.
    I had a great time writing it. Busy now on the second of the series.
    Best to you,
    Royce Prouty

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  4. Thanks for the review. Sounds like a good one to put on my list to read when that "Dracula" mood hits. I like this sort of novel!

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