Korean Job Discussion Forums

JMO · Joined: 18 Jul 2006 Location: Daegu

There be spoilers below

I bought this book because it had some pretty good reviews and I'm interested in Dracula as fiction and as a historical charachters. I was wary because thrillers normally leave me feeling underwhelmed.

I was right to be wary. I've read some terrible books in my time(Tom clancy anyone) but I've never before been angry about my time being stolen by a novel of sheer crapness.

This novel is so long and the plot just does not sustain the length. Its like a bloody travel book and I don't like travel books or being tricked into buying one.

Its just not scary. I read the original Dracula only a few years ago and I was genuinely scared. This novel obviosly can't reach those heights but I expected something. Nothing ever came.

My main gripe however is plot holes. I can forgive some holes but this novel has some moments where I stopped and threw it against the wall.
(Please don't say I should have stopped reading..i finish books always).

* The librarian(vampire) rips the library card for Bram Stoker's Dracula out...are you serious..that book is in every library in America.

* Dracula and his cronies are wildly successful killig their freind, cats etc but can't get to them? (ok maybe this was needed to keep the plot going)

* AMNESIA DRINK...wtf..I'm still not over this. She was half way through te novel when she realized that she didn't have a reason for Rossi abandoning his lover..so he drinks an amnesia drink. Insanely insulting to the reader.

* this isn't a plot hole but the ending where they all sit around eating scones, drinking tea/coffee and explaining what happened was like the ending of an enid blyton novel.

Also all the letters sounded the same and I guessed it was goingto end at that monastery the first time around.

Anyway, I got that out of system. anybody else read this book, and what did you think?

Lao Wai · Joined: 01 Aug 2005 Location: East Coast Canada

I feel your pain. This book was prominently displayed at Dymocks bookstore here in Hong Kong. In fact, it was dubbed 'reader's choice' or something like that. Anyway, long story short....I've read half of the book. It now sits with a bookmark in it, buried under a pile of junk in my spare room. I just can't seem to continue. It's been 3 months since I've read it last. I've read about 10 other books in the meantime.

Grimalkin · Joined: 22 May 2005

Me three!

Someone passing themselves off as a friend loaned it to me. It was an excruciatingly boring experience. Just this morning I warned somebody off reading it.

It gets worse as it continues ..... be warned!

spliff · Joined: 19 Jan 2004 Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand

For vampires, it's Anne Rice, all the way!

oneofthesarahs · Joined: 05 Nov 2006 Location: Sacheon City

I thought the book had an interesting premise, but it was way too long to actually sustain said premise. As such, I found it to be pretty interesting for the first third, but then I became more and more disappointed the longer I read.

And I probably would have put it on my "pretty decent" list of books I've read rather than "pretty crappy" if it weren't for the unbelievably contrived ending. I literally went, "Oh, come ON." during the very last lame scene.

Delirium's Brother · Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 6:06 am Post subject:

If you want an interesting novel with vampire as characters, read a book called Virgin Tooth. It's an extremely difficult book to find because of its small publication run, but it is worth reading if you can find it. It's probably the best vampire novel I've read. Sorry can't remember the author, because I read it about 15 years ago. Sadly, I sold it when I move here or I'd give it to you. Just keep the title in the back of your mind, and if you're lucky maybe it will cross your path sometime.

peace,

huck · Joined: 19 Jan 2003

I agree...I had high hopes for this book based on the reviews and I was looking forward to it being a great beach book....

It was crap...I kept saying to myself, "Wait...why does she think that? Why is she doing that? That makes no sense!"

oneiros · Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Location: Villa Straylight

I've mostly blocked out the painful memories, but as I recall, it got a little too Dan Brown-y in the middle for me. As in:

Oh no! The bad guy's found us! Let's run away!

Whew, we made it too this remote location where no one will ever find us.

Oh no! He found us again! Run away!

Repeat until end of book.

cangel · Joined: 19 Jun 2003 Location: Jeonju, S. Korea

As a work of fiction is sucks. I felt the story was dull. However, I found the historical angle quite intriguing. It would have served her better to have written a non-fiction history of Dracula lore. But there are many other books that have been quite popular and in my opinion complete failures as works of fiction e.g. The Rule of Four, Dante Club etal