TITLE:  Powers of Darkness: The Lost Version of Dracula

AUTHOR:  Bram Stoker

ADAPTED BY:  Valdimar Ásmundsson

TRANSLATED BY:  Hans De Roos
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DESCRIPTION:

"Powers of Darkness is an incredible literary discovery: In 1900, Icelandic publisher and writer Valdimar Ásmundsson set out to translate Bram Stoker’s world-famous 1897 novel Dracula. Called Makt Myrkranna (literally, “Powers of Darkness”), this Icelandic edition included an original preface written by Stoker himself. Makt Myrkranna was published in Iceland in 1901 but remained undiscovered outside of the country until 1986, when Dracula scholarship was astonished by the discovery of Stoker’s preface to the book. However, no one looked beyond the preface and deeper into Ásmundsson’s story.

In 2014, literary researcher Hans de Roos dove into the full text of Makt Myrkranna, only to discover that Ásmundsson hadn’t merely translated Dracula but had penned an entirely new version of the story, with all new characters and a totally re-worked plot. The resulting narrative is one that is shorter, punchier, more erotic, and perhaps even more suspenseful than Stoker’s Dracula. Incredibly, Makt Myrkranna has never been translated or even read outside of Iceland until now.

Powers of Darkness presents the first ever translation into English of Stoker and Ásmundsson’s Makt Myrkranna. With marginal annotations by de Roos providing readers with fascinating historical, cultural, and literary context; a foreword by Dacre Stoker, Bram Stoker’s great-grandnephew and bestselling author; and an afterword by Dracula scholar John Edgar Browning, Powers of Darkness will amaze and entertain legions of fans of Gothic literature, horror, and vampire fiction."

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REVIEW:

I loved the expanded and somewhat altered version of the events that transpire in Count Dracula's castle (more atmospheric, creepier, Dracula's female house guest gets more page time), but the London chapters came across as a hurried and truncated (compared to the original version) plot summary and were rather disappointing.  This lost version was, however, still entertaining.

Alberto Manguel’s book Fabulous Monsters details those fictional characters that he seems to feel the most for. At times it is a stranger list. There is Phoebe Caulfield for one. But it is an international list and that in of itself is a pleasure. Each character gets his/her own essay. The book, like most of Manguel’s work when he writes about reading is engrossing and great fun.

At times, though, it is very strange and, dare I say, very male.

Manguel’s reading of Little Red Riding Hood and Sleeping Beauty are bit disturbing, off putting. They are not necessarily wrong. But strange. He takes about the seductive power about Red Riding Hood, and while he is not wrong when he calls her both the seduced and seducer, there is something weird about that expression considering that the version Manguel mostly deals with is the Perrault version, which is really about women and sex. He also does not mention the coda in the Grimm version (I can see Angela Carter rapping his knuckles about that), and so there is a disjointed feeling.
The same is true about his reading of Sleeping Beauty where the rape versions are not mentioned, which is strange because there is a French version. It makes for slightly strange reading.

But his essays about Alice and Gertrude in particular are absolutely wonderful. His take on Alice is great and his opinion of Gertrude is quite amusing. He also gets you to look at Catcher int eh Rye in different way (besides Holden as an ass). He is one of those people who does feel something for Gertrude.

by Bram Stoker

I have to wonder why I waited so long to read this Classic. It is wonderfully atmospheric and though in the form of journal entries, the story flows smoothly and lyrically and completely drew me in so much that I was seeking out other Bram Stoker writings by the time I got 4% in.

The plot is a well known one. Jonathan Harker is summoned to Castle Dracula to assist Count Dracula's intention to move to England. Along the way he meets several superstitious East Europeans who fear for him and speak of evil at the castle. By the time he arrives, he is already on edge. However, he is met by a most gracious host, and treated to the best of everything for his stay. This soon begins to take a sinister turn and Harker flees the castle to return home to England, but Dracula has what he needs to follow him there.

I loved the writing for the most part. The one exception is in some of Mina's entries where she is quoting characters with Northern accents. I've lived in Yorkshire and can understand the accents easily in real life, but in writing it doesn't come over well and I actually had to skim some of the dialogue without ever working out what they were saying.

On the plus side, each character had their own unique voice. Mina's entries are very different from Jonathan's and when other characters added to the narrative, they also had individual voices that fit their roles.

I've seen several movie versions of this story, but reading the original has given me a kind of pleasure I find difficult to describe. It's like I finally have the whole story for the first time and again, the writing is what has made this a Classic. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys classic fiction or scary vampire stories. It sets the bar for everything in the genre that comes after, apart from the ending which I thought was a little weak and rushed. I had expected a little more drama in the conclusion, probably because of movies that have raised expectations.

Retelling of the Dracula story told through Mina's eyes.  I enjoyed the story.  I also enjoyed her feelings for Dracula and his for hers.  I wish the ending were different but then again maybe it is.

Of all the ways vampires are depicted in books and movies, this classic Dracula is how I prefer them. Awful, evil, coldly predatory, both compelling and repelling their victims. The story itself is wonderfully moody and atmospheric and the characters – even the minor characters – are truly a lot of fun. But the pacing had me a little impatient at times, where long intervals of inaction dragged interminably between events that actually moved the story along.

I especially enjoyed Mina’s character. She was no passive victim or cardboard damsel in distress. She was as well developed as any of the male characters, smart, determined, compassionate, and an active part of the hunt for Dracula.

Audiobook original from Audible, with a full cast of voice actors reading each character’s letters/diary entries. The performances and production were fantastic, although I was puzzled by how some of the non-Van Helsing characters voiced his dialogue. While I’m not entirely sure what a Dutch accent should sound like, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be a vaguely Eastern European accent as for the Transylvanian characters. Although maybe that’s what the English sound like when they’re imitating a Dutch person speaking English? I don’t know, it was just a minor thing that pulled me out of the story a little bit.

I read this book for the Booklikes Halloween Bingo 2019, for the square Darkest London: Any mystery, suspense, horror or supernatural book set in London. Although this has several settings, significant events do occur in London.

Other squares that would fit:

Relics & Curiosities (Garlic, crucifixes, holy wafers, etc)

Dead Lands (obviously)

Cryptozoologist (obviously)

Fear the Drowning Deep (maybe? Because part of the story takes place with an ocean journey?)

Classic horror (can’t get any more classic)

Gothic (every single gothic element is present)

Creepy Crawlies (floods of rats, plus Renfield and his flies & spiders)

Film at 11 (so many movies)

Paint it Black (at least my version’s cover)

Vampires (obviously)

Prior Updates:

Sep24 16%