Stoker's Manuscript

I thoroughly enjoyed this unusual book. There were gorgeous descriptions of Romania, fascinating information on the making and contents of paper, a cool flashback to the introduction of electricity and yeah, vampires! But that's the best bit of this book. The vampires take a back seat to the story of two orphan brothers trying to figure out exactly who they are and what they both discover on their trips back to their homeland of Romania. Sure there's plenty of vampire action for those die hard fans but you don't have to be crazy about vampires to like this book as there is so much more to the story. It's an extremely well written and entertaining book. I hope to read more by this author.

Incredibly great work. Can't believe it's the author's first book!! It must have taken a lot of research on the topic but well worth it. I felt like I went to Romania myself. Everything was described in the book in a way that left me with a clear picture or understanding, yet still left me wanting more. Just right!! I love to read scary horror and I love vampires. But these days it's hard to find a vampire novel that is truly frightening and with real honestly developed characters that are believable. These vampires are ruthless, not glamorous. Most books I've read have had spots that get a little wordy and I feel tempted to skip through a few pages. But definitely not this book. It was never wordy or indulgent. It was just right!! I soaked up every word because the entire book was exciting and you just can't stop reading. But then when you get toward the end you don't want the book to end because it's so good. I highly recommend this book. I think there is a sequel coming and I will be on pins and needles until then. Thanks to Mr. Prouty Sincerely your fan, Lisa L.

Started very slow and protagonist something of a cipher. Didn't get caught up in the story until about half way through. This was interesting in the way that it gave us more background on the real Dracul family than authors typically do in this genre, but it didn't have the scope & fascinating multi-dimensional characters of a much better book, The Historian. Still, I loved the historical connections of Bram Stoker, Nikolas Tesla, and the fictional George Antonescu , that threaded this story together.

The whole idea behind Stoker's Manuscript was really intriguing for me. I started reading this around a time when I was kind of sick of a lot of books told in first person. I went into it thinking it would probably be written in third person, so I was surprised when it turned out to be first person. This was in no way detrimental though. In fact, one of the reasons why I loved it so much was because I was reading first person without feeling like I was reading it. It had the flow of first person but the quality of third person writing, which I've always felt is usually of higher quality.There were many echoes of Dracula all throughout Stoker's Manuscript without it feeling like a knock off. It truly felt like Mr. Prouty was paying homage to Stoker's original novel by including small details like how the vampire's fingernails were filed and (my personal favorite) the quote, "The dead travel fast." Like Mr. Harker, Mr. Barkeley is kept at Bran Castle on the pretense of business, well... at first that is. Even the smell was almost the same. Mr. Prouty's vampires smelt worse, but even a detail like that was kept. There were even some things I noticed that I'm not sure were intentional or not but were very interesting. When Dracula drives Mr. Harker up to the castle, he placed plum brandy under the seat for him; and, at the end of Stoker's Manuscript, Mr. Barkeley is given plum brandy.Stoker's Manuscript definitely carried a feel to it that reminded me a lot of when I read Dracula. The writing felt very precise, much like the characters. The mix of historical fact and fiction was fantastically done! As for the dialogue, I actually found myself reading it aloud just so I could get the full of effect of what the characters were saying and how they said it. Or, rather, how I imagined them saying it. It was definitely awesome trying (and failing) to mimic the Romanian accents. One thing that really struck me was the explanation behind vampires. It was unexpected but the concept was very interesting and intellectually stimulating for me. And it was written in a way that made it easy to understand. Loved it.Mr. Barkeley's past was very interesting. I really enjoyed the preludes in the beginning of some of the chapters. They gave you more information about Mr. Barkeley and really painted a picture of him (and whatever else they were about). I was always secretly worried that they were going to be boring but they never were. I found them very interesting.Mr. Prouty did an excellent job creating the setting. I could perfectly see the mud-caked, dirty streets as the rain poured or after it had finished.As a fan of Bram Stoker's Dracula, I felt Royce Prouty paid homage to this amazing novel while still making Stoker's Manuscript his own story. I was a little worried it might in some way be a kind of rip off and disgrace to Dracula but I was pleasantly surprised and pleased. All in all, this is a novel I would recommend to anyone whose read Dracula or who is just looking for a good old-fashioned vampire novel. The vampires we were able to get to know, were both different but sinister in their own way.

Joseph Barkeley is a Romanian orphan, raised in America, and who is a dealer in rare books and manuscripts. He is paid an exorbitant commission to authenticate, purchase, and deliver the original Bram Stoke Dracula manuscript which supposedly has two chapters that never made it into the novel. The client is a mysterious figure who lives in Romania and is who is extremely wealthy but is reclusive and well, very vampire like if you believe in the old legends.While delivering the manuscript, Joseph avails himself of the opportunity to go back to the village where his mother is buried. this side trip down memory lane unleashes forces that Joseph has only read about in legend. There are just too many spoiler alerts I would have to show to tell you more about the story and its outcome. Suffice it to say this book will drag you in and won't let go until you finish it.For reading in a well lit room only!

I bought this book thinking it was the Da Vinci Code for book lovers, but I ended up with a watered down Twilight. Here's the plot: a loner book seller is contacted by an anonymous rich man from Transylvania to act as an agent in the purchase of Stoker's original text and notes. The narrator is then lectured on vampires by a gypsy-like hermit and eventually runs afoul of Dracula's fake brother, Dalca. Oh, and Radu the Beautiful makes an appearance, but contrary to history, he is even more bloodthirsty than the rest of his family. This novel is trite and insulting.

If you have read Brahm Stoker's novel this will be a fun read. Well researched and fun to read the way it was put together.If you have not read Stoker's original book you should either before or after reading this one.

I found the story truly captivating! The plot and the setting are in line with the book's general mood! It is mysterious and intriguing!