Dracula: Curse of the Vampire: 6 (Snowbooks Adventure Gamebooks)

At the risk of sounding like some crazed, love-sick fanboy pining over the object of his deepest, darkest desires, here are my thoughts on Jonathan Green's Dracula: Curse of the Vampire from ACE Gamebooks...With his latest release, Mr. Green unequivocally demonstrates why he has been crowned the undisputed "modern master of the gamebook format" ― as if there were any doubt to begin with! An exceptionally high standard for gamebooks has definitely been set here. In fact, so immersive and beautifully woven together are each of the individual character storylines, that, if not for the combat, skill checks, numbered references, and the obvious "you" second-person perspective, one might easily believe they were reading a novel rather than a gamebook! But that is the beauty and brilliance of Jonathan Green's storytelling ability, and what he has crafted is a truly engaging and refreshing rarity for the interactive fiction genre.

Muy bien escrito, buenas ilustraciones, diferentes personajes y unas 650 páginas... por 10 euros? Si eres aficionado a las libro-aventuras, este merece mucho la pena.

This creation by Jonathan Green is in my opinion a Masterpiece in World of Gamebooks.I agree in the comparison of a Rolls Royce and I could also add "BATMOBILE".Playing as Dracula has always been on my wishlist in gamebook reading and also bringing me back to the graveyard of Whitby, that I visited some years ago, makes it for me a exceptional journey through time and "immortal" life.Having read Bram Stokers book (who would have been proud of Mr. Green's piece of art) and remembering the movie from 1992 makes the atmosphere in this masterpiece even more enoyable.If you are into RPG, gamebooks or only like the Fantasy genre a bit, this book is a must buy. 1000 paragraphs for that price is a scoop.The writing is very good and since Spellbreaker from 1993 Jonathan Green has made giant steps in gamebookcreation. I am looking forward to the next milestone - RONIN 47.

Bram Stoker’s masterpiece ‘Dracula’ is the latest famous work of literature to be converted into an adventure gamebook as part of the ACE Gamebook series. Of course, ‘Dracula’ is one of the most remade and adapted stories ever and, even though it hasn’t been made into a gamebook before, it’s pretty difficult to come up with anything new or original (however this version does involve the nice idea of linking Dracula’s origins to another famous novel of Stoker’s).This Ace Gamebook is approached more seriously than its predecessors and sticks closer to its source material. It follows the events of the novel very loyally. It is superbly adapted and the adventure is permeated with a great atmosphere that really immerses the reader.However, enjoyable as it is to experience the novel as an active participant, there is a major drawback in sticking so closely to the original in that it limits the gaming experience somewhat. The more familiar you are with the original novel and subsequently the more you therefore appreciate how well done this adaption is, the more you know about how to go about completing this gamebook. For the majority of the time you are playing through events as they happen in the novel. There isn’t a great deal of different paths or even options, many of which are obviously going to be the wrong choice if you already know how things will proceed, particularly if you are playing as Jonathan Harker.This does sufficiently lower the challenge level and it won’t take most readers many attempts to complete this. Initial reads will probably have you struggling with an escalating ‘terror’ score but you will soon learn to avoid this. Other than that, nothing is particularly difficult and there aren’t many tricky foes.However, much of this is compensated by the fact that you can play as four different characters, each offering a different playing experience.Three of these are from the group of vampire hunters assembled by Van Helsing (interestingly the author doesn’t go for, perhaps, the obvious choice of having Van Helsing himself as a playable character). Jonathan Harker probably provides the closest experience to the novel. Meanwhile, playing as John Seward approaches the story more from the aspect of Renfield and the Carfax AsylumAnd Mina’s story involves more of Dracula’s seduction and corruption of Lucy. As a woman in Victorian society it can be somewhat frustrating at times playing as Mina as she is often restricted from participating in things by the men around her.It is also possible to swap between these three every so often. Although alternating character probably offers the most authentic experience it isn’t particularly worth doing. You will get more gameplay and enjoyment sticking to a particular character’s story. That virtually gives you three separate ways to play the book, although they do all converge for the final stages of the adventure.Probably the highlight of this gamebook, though, is the chance to play as Dracula himself. This provides a very different experience to playing as the other three and, indeed, to the usual approach of gamebooks where you rarely, if ever, are able to play the role of the ‘villain’. Dracula’s story is also extended beyond the confines of the source material and there is a convincing origin tale here.At one thousand references there is plenty of material to make this good value. And although a little easy and lacking in options, it is still a thoroughly enjoyable gamebook that should entertain both gamebook and Dracula fans.

This modern master of interactive fiction took inspiration from the classics to create a momentous accomplishment. Jonathan Green has been entrenched in the world of gamebooks for decades, and brings that expertise to bear in this impressive tome. Greatly expanding upon Bram Stoker's mythos while gamifying the story and creating several playable narratives in one. I'll be coming back to this for years!