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The Jewel of Seven Stars
The Jewel of Seven Stars | Bram Stoker
7 posts | 11 read | 6 to read
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Maxine1

I am continuing to go back to real ‘Victorian Gothic‘. Rereading the classics of Stevenson, Shelley, M R James, Hawthorne, O Henry, Melville, Flaubert, Gaskell etc etc.
#I really enjoyed Dracula and I can see his influence on others.

Am currently well into Stokers “Seven Stars”

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review
Bookwomble
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Pickpick

A worthwhile, if anti-climactic read. Stoker slowly built up the tension to the moment of crisis, then let it fall flat on the final page. I do think there should be some reward for the diligent reader when the author has been at considerable pains to lay the scene for an earth-shattering revelation. I wonder if his Christian sentiment made him falter? Anyway, the journey was interesting, even if the destination was a disappointing one.

Bookwomble Having just remembered that there were two published endings, I find my edition is the second, sanitised, finale. The summary I've just read of the original ending is darker, better, though possibly still unsatisfying. I'd give my edition 3/5🌟, and probably another half🌟 for the original ending. 6y
KristinaRay That‘s good to know about the ending. I‘ll have to try to find the one with the original ending. 6y
Bookwomble @KristinaRay I think there are modern editions which contain both, if you shop carefully 🔎📖😊 6y
16 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Bookwomble
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"We learn of great things by little experiences. The history of ages is but an indefinite repetition of the history of hours. The record of a soul is but a multiple of the story of a moment."

Bookwomble I like this quote, but the passage which follows is less convincing for me, in which Stoker says that all of our experiences will be distilled into "good" and "bad", with no intermediary shades, that we will be judged fit for heaven or hell in strict binary terms. Leaving aside the question of the existence of heaven and hell, such a strict dualism with respect to the broad range of human experience seems rather monstrous to me. 6y
Graywacke That makes me wondering what experiences he was thinking about 6y
Bookwomble @Graywacke That our thoughts and reactions to small experiences give the clue to our responses to graver and more momentous happenings; that through observing the minutiae of thought and behaviour, the deep roots of personality can be uncovered. Anyway, that's the impression I get of what Stoker was saying. 6y
20 likes3 comments
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Bookwomble
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It's gone 2:00am and my head wants to read, but my body wants to sleep. I should listen to my body as my head's attached to it (or is it the other way around? 🤔). 📖 😴

vivastory Other way around! 😂📚📚📚>💤 6y
Insightsintobooks Awww the cat is adorable... 6y
GingerAntics Definitely other way around. lol 6y
23 likes3 comments
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Bookwomble
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30% in and there are some few similarities to Dracula: First person narrative, though a single pov, and so far it's like an extended version of the Lucy Westenra episode where she's on her sick bed with concerned loved ones trying to protect her and figure out what's wrong. Otherwise, this is also a locked-room mystery with the lawyer protagonist playing the part of Amateur Detective. Some uncanny elements, but nothing supernatural... yet!

saresmoore Wait for it... 🧙🏻‍♂️🧞‍♂️🧛🏻‍♂️🧚🏻‍♂️ 6y
Bookwomble @saresmoore Oh, it's coming! 🧟‍♀️ 6y
KristinaRay I loved Dracula! I‘m curious to hear your final thoughts on this one. 6y
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Bookwomble @KristinaRay This is generally reckoned to be a lesser work. So far, it's almost entirely confined to a single room, so there's no sense of the vast darkness of wild, brooding evil surrounding the flickering flame of civilisation which infuses Dracula. It's a more homely thriller (not yet horror, as far as I've read). It's presently in the realm of Victorian/Edwardian melodrama, which I'm not averse to, so thats ok 😀 I'll check back in as I go. 6y
Bookwomble @KristinaRay I've finished it now. If you click over to the Book Profile you'll find my review 😊 6y
KristinaRay Thanks for letting me know 🙂 6y
19 likes6 comments
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Bookwomble
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A non-Dracula Stoker! 🚫🧛‍♂️🦇
Instead, this one brings the Mummy's Curse from Ancient Egypt to Edwardian London. The Universal Studios film The Mummy used some of the elements of Stoker's book, but was really it's own thing. A surprisingly good adaptation was filmed by Hammer in 1971, the luridly titled Blood from the Mummy's Tomb! I've had this book since forever and love the cover - high time I read the damned thing 🧟‍♂️

Leftcoastzen Oh ,that cover! 6y
Bookwomble @Leftcoastzen Arrow published a handful of Stoker's lesser known works in the '60s, of which I've tracked down three, all worth these beautiful schlocky covers. Check out The Lady of the Shroud (hoping I've tagged the right edition). 6y
21 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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BookDame
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So I went to one of my local used bookstore and I found something I didn‘t know existed! I‘m so excited, I can‘t wait to start reading this. If only I wasn‘t reading three other books at the moment 😂