Powers of Darkness (Swedish Mörkrets makter) is an anonymous 1899 Swedish version of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, serialised in the newspaper Dagen and credited only to Bram Stoker and the still-unidentified "A—e." It is a variant or adaptation rather than a direct translation, with added characters, new plot elements and significant differences from the original. It served as the basis of a shorter Icelandic version under the same title the following year (Icelandic: Makt Myrkranna), which appeared as both a newspaper serial and a book. Powers downplays the vampirism of Stoker's novel and portrays Dracula primarily as the head of an international cult inspired by Social Darwinism, whose goal is elimination of the weakest and world domination by an elite. It was long assumed to have been based on lost or unpublished elements of Stoker's novel, such as preparatory notes and early drafts, but more recent research questions whether …
Powers of Darkness (Swedish Mörkrets makter) is an anonymous 1899 Swedish version of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, serialised in the newspaper Dagen and credited only to Bram Stoker and the still-unidentified "A—e." It is a variant or adaptation rather than a direct translation, with added characters, new plot elements and significant differences from the original. It served as the basis of a shorter Icelandic version under the same title the following year (Icelandic: Makt Myrkranna), which appeared as both a newspaper serial and a book. Powers downplays the vampirism of Stoker's novel and portrays Dracula primarily as the head of an international cult inspired by Social Darwinism, whose goal is elimination of the weakest and world domination by an elite. It was long assumed to have been based on lost or unpublished elements of Stoker's novel, such as preparatory notes and early drafts, but more recent research questions whether the translation is essentially a contemporary forgery, undertaken without Stoker's knowledge or consent. In the twenty-first century, new academic research and a renewed interest in the variant has led to several new translations and editions.
На удивление, даже сейчас довольно годно. Хотя Ван Хелсинг местами явно переигрывает 😅
Самого Дракулы в сюжете, прямо скажем, довольно мало.
Content warning Spoiler minori
Sono tentato di dare il massimo dei voti perché onestamente mi è piaciuto davvero tanto: la struttura episcolare, la caratterizzazione dei personaggi, le location variegate (io pensavo si svolgesse nel castello e basta),… Però. Nel 2023, fa un po' strano credere che tutti i personaggi si innamorino della stessa donna, e soprattutto il rapporto di bromance che nasce tra i quattro-cinque protagonisti pare una versione gotica-horror di Friends.
Tuttavia il romanzo è ultra-piacevole, scorre via nonostante la sua mole, e i protagonisti sono entrati nella Storia letteraria. Massimo dei voti e posto assicurato sulla libreria: un classico. 🦇🖤
EDIT: ho scoperto che si possono dare le "mezze stelle" su Lore! Allora 4 e 1/2 sia.
I had never given classic horror a go before, but this one was a pleasant surprise. The original Dracula story was something I thought I knew, elements like Dracula’s castle and the power possessed by that monster make an appearance here, but despite what you might expect of the original vampire, the book is still filled with great characters and moments that were truly nerve-wracking.
I couldn’t help but read faster and faster at times where the tension raised up, hoping for it to end when it was only getting worse. But its not all bad, there is always hope, and the determination of the characters to defend their loved ones and the future of humanity from the reign of the un-dead, is just great, but a few moments of old English were a little hard to read.
I listened to different audiobooks while reading, which was quite …
I had never given classic horror a go before, but this one was a pleasant surprise. The original Dracula story was something I thought I knew, elements like Dracula’s castle and the power possessed by that monster make an appearance here, but despite what you might expect of the original vampire, the book is still filled with great characters and moments that were truly nerve-wracking.
I couldn’t help but read faster and faster at times where the tension raised up, hoping for it to end when it was only getting worse. But its not all bad, there is always hope, and the determination of the characters to defend their loved ones and the future of humanity from the reign of the un-dead, is just great, but a few moments of old English were a little hard to read.
I listened to different audiobooks while reading, which was quite atmospheric too.
(Review originally written April 1st, 2022)
Dracula was actually quite nice to read. At first, the story advanced quite slowly in my opinion, but towards the middle it became faster. Sometimes the story haunted me in the night, but fortunately this was not that bad and it never lasted long.
