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Mina (Dracula Continues #1)

3.44 of 5 stars 3.44 · rating details · 560 ratings · 58 reviews

In Bram Stoker's immortal novel, Mina Harker became a living, breathing object of obsession—only to fall prey to her stalker's seductive powers. There was only one way to save her soul—by destroying the life of Count Dracula, the creature who controlled and consumed her. But was the spell really broken? Could Mina return to the ordinary turns of a day, and to the restraint...more

Mass Market Paperback, 325 pages

Published September 1994 by Berkley Books (first published 1994)

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Aug 20, 2008 Chiggins1066 rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Alison, Michael

I was suspicious when I first purchased this book, and thought to myself "it will be very difficult to write a convincing sequel to Dracula." But let's just say I was pleasantly surprised. Bergstrom takes the character of Mina and gives her a dark side. The archetypal heroine in distress is pulled from the pages of Dracula and becomes a complex, enigmatic, scheming, and sensual woman. There are creepy moments, and the sex is pretty volcanic. The plot moves well, as is elegantly constructed. My o...more

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Aug 01, 2012 Shawn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4-star, vampire

I'm giving this one 3 1/2 stars. It wasn't what I expected it to be. It was more...clinical is the only word that comes to mind. Clinical is not a bad thing. The book was a throwback to an older style of writing and I liked that.The "sex" in the story could have go the way of erotica, but it didn't. Being an uber fan of all things vampire, it was fun to read something with a more sedate tone in dealing with carnal impulse.

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Jul 26, 2010 Courtney added it · review of another edition

Shelves: vampire-romance

Technically, this shouldn't be in my "read" list, because it didn't take long for me to shut this piece of crap and resolve never to touch it again. I never really considered myself much of a Dracula purist, because THAT is a truly terrible book, too. However, the person who wrote this book either never actually READ the original, or just prefers the Gary Oldman/Keanu Reeves movie version wherein there is an actual romance between Dracula and Mina Harker. This book tries to portray Mina, who is...more

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Apr 04, 2008 Marci rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

i really enjoyed this book. having just read Bram Stoker's Dracula, i found that this author had copied the story to a tee and built upon what happened after the
Harker's and the rest of the party returned home, with many hints that dracula might be still undead. it was a quick read (unlike stoker's dracula)a great sequel in my opinion!action and romance and vampires, what more could a girl ask for!lol
i highly recommend it to my vamp lover friends out there!

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Sep 19, 2012 Lisa rated it 2 of 5 stars

My copy of this book is 342 pages, and I took my time to read it. I think the author, Marie Kiraly, skillfully and artistically creates a world and main characters that are vivid. I found it easy to visualize the people and surroundings, and the story does have palpable atmosphere. However, due to the length of it, some segments of the story felt tedious to me, and they were laborious to get through. For anyone who has yet to read this, I'm making an effort to not reveal too many details and rui...more

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Oct 14, 2010 Jean Marie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: vampire

Really, it's 3.5 stars.

Dracula is one of those stories I grew up with, it's very much ingrained in me. So when I saw this novel at the book store, I couldn't pass it up. It seems that I'm not the only one who went into this book very cautiously (I like to think the paperback cover is a bit cheesy). How could any novel attempt to carry on from a classic like Dracula?
I genuinely like this book, I felt that the author gave Mina back her voice though that voice at times seemed a bit too forced than...more

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Mar 18, 2012 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Genre-benders

Shelves: novels, empty-calories, the-exiles

Mina by Marie Kiraly bends genre in fun & curious ways. Not quite historical fiction, not quite erotica, not quite a feminist reinterpretation of high literature, Kiraly instead takes the most interesting aspects of all three genres & gives readers a story about coming back to "normal life" after having brushed up against something strange. I've read many of the other comments on GoodReads about this book & many people seem disappointed that the novel isn't easily categorized. Honest...more Mina by Marie Kiraly bends genre in fun & curious ways. Not quite historical fiction, not quite erotica, not quite a feminist reinterpretation of high literature, Kiraly instead takes the most interesting aspects of all three genres & gives readers a story about coming back to "normal life" after having brushed up against something strange. I've read many of the other comments on GoodReads about this book & many people seem disappointed that the novel isn't easily categorized. Honestly, I think Mina falls into a certain type of storytelling that gives authors space to play & reinterpret their favorite types of literature.

The scale I used to compare Mina included books like Mistress of the Art of Death & The Poe Shadow on the poor side of the scale, The Diary of Elizabeth Frankenstein and Dragonwyck in the middle, and Passion & The Mists of Avalon at the top. Mina would come in above average on this scale. All of these books rely on a specific literary touchstone or author to give them life & try to create a fantasy that other fascinated readers can relate to. I totally picked up Mina because I had always dreamed up interesting futures for Mina Harker after the story of Dracula ended. (One included her running off with a Russian violinist & seeing the Revolution in action.)

Kiraly is a writer who not only knows the Dracula text inside & out, but has clearly done some serious research on Victorian society & the parts of Eastern Europe her characters travel through. Her prose is natural, approachable & competently structured. My only quibble is that the details of the England landscape were often overlooked in favor of the wilds of Carpathia, but who can blame the author wanting to hang out there? Kiraly also has fun integrating or hinting at other influences. One of the main characters is an exercise in Byronic excess. Russia romantically beckons from just off-stage. The social novels of the era are also alluded to as Mina volunteers at or is confined to various hospitals. In short, Mina was a great book for an English major like me because it mixed both critical thought & pure fantasy in equally pleasing measures.(less)

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Jun 13, 2013 David Bonesteel rated it 4 of 5 stars

This novel is an interesting take on the Dracula story. It presents the climax of Bram Stoker's overrated novel from Mina Harker's point of view and shows us what happened to her and the other characters afterward. It turns out that, with the blood of Dracula flowing in her veins, Mina has far more sympathy for the Count and his minions than was hinted at in Stoker's novel. Furthermore, all is not quiet at Castle Dracula despite the destruction of the famous vampire...

Stoker's original novel was...more

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Jul 30, 2010 Christy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

The story is a continuation of the original story of Dracula by Bram Stoker. It is from Mina Harker's point of view just after she has been seduced and bitten by Dracula. It chronicles the search and chase of Dracula by Mina, Van Helsing, Jonathan Harker, Dr. Seward, Arthur, and Quincey. Mina details in her diary the chase, the demise, and their return to ordinary life.

Although upon their return to England, Mina cannot shake her connection to Dracula, though he is believed dead, nor her vivid, f...more

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Jan 01, 2009 Lisa rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book chronicles the story of Mina Harker and what happened to her after the story in Bram Stoker's "Dracula" ended.

I was a bit confused as I read through it as I wasn't too sure what the overall message behind the story was supposed to be. Sometimes it appeared to be a commentary on marriage; at others it appeared to be about a woman's place in the Victorian world.

Johnathan Harker's character was a disappointment, and I felt the conflict between Mina and Johnathan's aunt wasn't particularly...more

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Apr 26, 2009 PurplyCookie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, vampire

In Bram Stoker's immortal novel "Dracula", Mina Harker became a living, breathing object of obsession -- only to fall prey to her stalker's seductive powers. There was only one way to save her soul-by destroying the life of Count Dracula, the creature who controlled and consumed her. But was the spell really broken? Could Mina return to the ordinary turns of a day, and to the restraints of a Victorian marriage, after the pleasures of such exquisite darkness?

Kiraly/Bergstrom has shown us that Vic...more

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Sep 11, 2011 Kylie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: vampires

In ways I read this like I read Dracula itself; happily enough at the beginning and the end but having to force myself on somewhere in the middle. As an indirect sequel this does fine. The majority of the book is not even really about vampires at all, but more about women, desire and Victorian society (as imagined by the author at least). At least half to two thirds of the book is all about Mina and Jonathan and their attempts to recover a 'normal' life. It is an interesting direction to take bu...more

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Dec 15, 2009 Yvensong rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: bookcrossing, horror, vampire

Like some of the other readers here, I was surprised by how much I liked this novel.

We follow Mina through the final days of the novel "Dracula" through a 2nd, personal journal. We move onto how her adventure had touched her life in the days, weeks and months after the destruction of Dracula. Mina still senses the vampire's blood effect on her, on the choices she makes, the passions she feels.

The novel, at times, is slow, subtle, which feels right for a gothic horror story about Mina, a woman...more

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May 02, 2010 Durinda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A friend of mine saw this in the paperback section of our library and it being paperback she didn't have to worry about it being overdue or some one missing it so she grabbed it. She knew that I was a big fan a Dracula and I would probaly would enjoy it. I did enjoy.
A very good piece of writing. I was a little disappointed tough when she decided to leave Johthan after she decided to go back to him. I mean come on a marriage is a very a speical thing. Anyways this book gave me a whole new perpes...more

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Nov 03, 2011 Renee rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, fantasy, vampires

I did not read Dracula until I was in college, and was mightily surprised. Not by the level of Bram Stoker's writing, the intricacies of the different viewpoints, or the overt sexuality he included in the text during a time period as repressed as his was. No...I was surprised by the fact that Dracula was...a monster.

Of course, this should have been obvious to me before that; in old Hollywood movies Dracula was always grouped in with the Wolfman, the Swamp Thing, etc. But having read the incredi...more I did not read Dracula until I was in college, and was mightily surprised. Not by the level of Bram Stoker's writing, the intricacies of the different viewpoints, or the overt sexuality he included in the text during a time period as repressed as his was. No...I was surprised by the fact that Dracula was...a monster.

Of course, this should have been obvious to me before that; in old Hollywood movies Dracula was always grouped in with the Wolfman, the Swamp Thing, etc. But having read the incredibly human vampires in the novels of Anne Rice, and seeing films that made vampires incredibly approachable as subjects with personalities (including, might I add, Francis Ford Coppola's version of Dracula itself), reading the novel that (sort of) kicked off the whole thing and finding the Dracula really was in fact a heartless, soulless, monster was almost astounding. But I digress. If you want to learn more about the weird history of the modern vampire, I suggest you read Sundays With Vlad by Paul Bibeau. I warn you, it was published before Twilight, so nary a glittery, angst-filled vampire is in sight.

My point with that diatribe is that I really loved the first half of Mina: The Dracula Story Continues, because I felt like the whole "heartless, soulless, monster" bit came out really well. The second half read a bit differently. I can't say much without giving away the plot, but the second half of Bergstrom's (or Kiraly's) novel has far too much human drama given what happened in the fist half. The beginning was also written in a style much more akin to Stoker's, which relieved me. I was worried it would read like a modern woman attempting to sound Victorian. While she never really digressed into sounding modern, the second half was still too outside of what Stoker sounded like (I realize that each author has their own unique voice, but if an author dares to tread the semi-dangerous territory of continuing another's work, particularly when that individual spawned a whole subculture, using a different voice is somewhat problematic). In fact, my like/dislike of the novel was pretty much split down the middle, hence the three stars.

Great writer, good concept, wicked hard to pull off.(less)

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Nov 15, 2012 Sarah rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: zz-2012, uber-disappointing, reviewed, zz-swapped-historical, punch-a-mime, zz-2012-leftovers-completed

Well, that sucked.

The original characters sound nothing like their predecessors & the plot is practically nonexistent. You'd expect a Dracula spinoff to contain actual vampires, right? But they're few & far between. Instead there's a lot of comings & goings & vaguely described social engagements, all of which are punctuated by Mina's constant angst. (It's her oppressive Victorian lifestyle, you see. After the liberation of Dracula's bloodletting, she just can't go back! Or someth...more Well, that sucked.

The original characters sound nothing like their predecessors & the plot is practically nonexistent. You'd expect a Dracula spinoff to contain actual vampires, right? But they're few & far between. Instead there's a lot of comings & goings & vaguely described social engagements, all of which are punctuated by Mina's constant angst. (It's her oppressive Victorian lifestyle, you see. After the liberation of Dracula's bloodletting, she just can't go back! Or something. Whatever.) The climax (when it finally arrived) was a mosh of vagueness, & I couldn't have cared less about Gance or his ultimate fate. The writing was bland, the voice flat, & Mina's 'liberated woman' agenda made my teeth grind -- not just because it was so blatantly anachronistic, but also because it repeatedly slams the chivalric attitude of the original. Why does Jonathan's gentle treatment of his wife make him a drab husband? Why is it wrong that Seward & Van Helsing worry for Mina's health? Why is bad that these men are determined to protect Mina? DRACULA WAS EVIL. He repeatedly rapes the women in his life -- perhaps not sexually, but he violates their bodies & mental health -- a terrible crime regardless. Dracula's menace forces those 'Victorian everymen' to become stereotypical heroes of lore, & they can't help seeing Mina as something precious. She becomes the focus of their primal urge to preserve innocence.

Now then -- do women need constant shielding from dangers in this world, paranormal or otherwise? Of course not. But that doesn't make those protective instincts evil or oppressive. I could understand a retelling of Stoker's novel that focused on Mina's frustration at being excluded from the men's inner circle. But this is not that book. This is a complete overhaul that mutilates the original characters & turns the slightest old-fashioned male/female interaction into a battle of the sexes (with the female struggling against male subversion, natch). There's a time & place for blatant feminist novels, but Dracula fanfic is NOT it. The first Mina would never have endorsed an affair to prove how liberated she is. She would never have repaid Jonathan's gentleness with unfaithfulness & looked upon Seward's good intentions with such disdain. She would have fought the desires that Dracula's blood awoke in her, not used them to justify her secret fantasies. The Mina of this book is, quite frankly, a selfish bitch that I wouldn't want to be around.

If Kiraly wanted to craft a feminist novel about sexual liberation & vampirism on the fringes of Victorian society, then she succeeded -- it's still a boring book, but you could read it with those themes in mind. Just don't confuse Mina with a good Dracula fanfic, because it's not.

This is my second attempt reading Marie Kiraly. I haven't enjoyed either one, so I won't be trying again. (Fool me twice... :P) Clearly her writing style doesn't agree with my reading taste.(less)

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Jul 15, 2009 Jonathan rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: partly-read

Didn't finish. I got 200 pages in, more than halfway through, and NOTHING of importance HAPPENED. I could see seeds planted for eventual development, but it was simply too slow, as though the author was prolonging any real character development as long as she could. The writing was jumpy, lacking signifiers for anytime time passed--no line breaks at times when they would have been needed, making each scene mush together in an awkward way. This had none of the atmosphere of Dracula, nor the creep...more

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May 13, 2010 Amanda Lyons rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I remember this being highly touted and having randomly bought both the Wit'ch series by James Clemens and Omnibus editions of Anita Blake without having read them prior to my purchase from Sci-fi Book Club I bought this as well.

I had it in my book boxes ( I didn't have shelves for a long time) for several years and only recently read it both out of a non-committal feeling toward the book and having a hard time remembering where I'd put it. While I think the writing was adequate I really don't...more

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Mar 07, 2010 Jessica Pauli rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was also pleasantly surprised to have a sequel to the famous story about Dracula. Mina Harker always intrigued me as a character and it is nice to potentially have an idea of Her side of the adventure and a taste of what happened during and after the famous adventure. This was my choice for Best Book of 2008

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Jun 22, 2009 Charles rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

It's horror with a pretty strong strain of romance. But it wasn't over the top. The story was not super compelling, perhaps because I knew most of it, but the writing was pretty good. This may have been a first novel, or an early one at least.

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Feb 23, 2009 Beth rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was surprised how much I liked this book. I just finished reading it about a week ago and I will probably read it again in about 6 months. I recommend it if you want a different perspective on the Dracula story.

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Mar 17, 2010 Brandy Stroyick rated it 3 of 5 stars

I found this book interesting but yet not great. Kinda like a soda almost flat but u drink it anyways. I continued to read it to find the outcome, which wasn't worth it.

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Aug 09, 2009 Judith rated it 3 of 5 stars

I think this one continued the Dracula story from Mona's point of view pretty decently. I enjoyed Mina mor ein this one than I did in the original book, I think.

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Sep 23, 2010 Paul Harvey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Mina was an innocent, until she met the ultimate Bad Boy, Dracula. Now that he has been done in, can she go back to her quiet life as Mrs. Harker? Nope...

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Feb 19, 2009 Unicorn-san rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed-or-lent-to-me

Sets in Mina's view. It was turning out not so good and speed read it just in case it got better... Nope, not a winner to me at all folks.

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Feb 19, 2008 Angelique rated it 2 of 5 stars

Ok I admit it I'm a sucker for all things vampire, it may be a bad joke but it's true.
Anyhow, I picked this book up to read while traveling. I was actually excited because I loved the idea of the Dracula story told from Mina's perspective. It fell short of what I hoped for- entertaining enough for a flight but no competion for the original.

It relied heavily for some over sexed scenes, again entertaing but not quite what I was looking for. I think the story had room for Mina to be even more empow...more

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May 11, 2010 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have always been intrigued by stories that continue other, older stories. I especially love it when a classic tale is continued. That's what this is, but ultimately it's the story of a woman discovering who she really is with the vampires showing her the way. Of course lust and blood are a draw as well. I enjoyed the jumps in perspective. I love epistolary novels and this had that element with Mina's journal entries. Overall, I liked this book and would recommend it to those who are fans of th...more

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Feb 28, 2010 Amber rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

i really did enjoy this book. it was interesting to read from Mina perspective the events we all know and love so much about Dracula. If you enjoyed Dracula I recommend you read this book as well.

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Jan 14, 2010 Lisa Ellis rated it 3 of 5 stars

Great continuation on the Dracula story in Mina's percpective..I read this book years ago and just read it again.

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Feb 21, 2010 Kristy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal

got really good then really boring, and repeated that throughout the entire story. I probably would have given this a 2.5/5 instead of just a 2.

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