[books 2010] Lair of the White Worm

[inulro]

76. The Lair of the White Worm by Bram Stoker

This month's Bibliogoths selection. I thought I'd read it before, but I hadn't.

It's crap.

I can't believe it's written by the same person who wrote Dracula, which, whether you like it or not, is a tightly structured complex narrative.

This is all over the place. It doesn't make any sense. It's full of great ideas that go nowhere.

If you're northern, you know the geography is all wrong too. If you're going to get the geography that wrong, set your story somewhere made up and don't use real town names.

I checked Wikipedia thinking it must be an early work because it's such a mess, and it's one of, if not the last thing Stoker wrote, published in 1911.

I'm fascinated by early horror/ genre stuff and I love Dracula and the other short story collection I have ("Dracula's Guest and other short stories"), but even I can't find anything good to say about this book.

Judging by today's meeting, I am not alone. We have, however, decided to have a group screening of the film, which bears no resemblance whatsoever to the book.

Comments

[human-racer.livejournal.com]

To be honest, Stoker only wrote 2 decent books: Dracula and Jewel of the Seven Stars. The rest are awful.

When I was studying at Newcastle Uni, a mate was doing a PhD on Dracula, taking the premise that the plot had been written by Oscar Wilde. There were some interesting arguments, particularly in terms of characterisation.

The film is quite fun, but pure hokum.

[augeas.livejournal.com]

Observe Ken Russel going bull-goose looney...