Stoker’s Wilde by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi #BookReview

Years before either becomes a literary legend, Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde must overcome their disdain for one another to battle the Black Bishop, a mysterious madman wielding supernatural forces to bend the British Empire to his will. With the help of a European vampire expert, a spirited actress and an American businessman, our heroes fight werewolves, vampires and the chains of Victorian morality. The action will take them to dark forests in Ireland, through the upper-class London theater world and culminates in an exciting showdown at Stonehenge, where Bram and Oscar must stop a vampire cult from opening the gates of Hell. 

Title: Stoker’s Wilde | Author: Steven Hopstaken, Melissa Prusi | Publisher: Flame Tree Press| Pub. Date: 9th May 2019 | Pages: 256| ISBN13: 9781787581739 | Genre: Horror | Language: English | Triggers: None | Rating: 4 out of 5 | Source: I received a copy of this from NetGalley for review consideration

Stoker’s Wilde Review

An entertaining, fun read with drama and adventure, werewolves and vampires!

As soon as I read the synopsis for this one, I was excited, and this book did not let me down, because this book is FUN. It is a fictional tale, intermingling real-life characters, who in their real future, write about events that they have found themselves experiencing within this fictional tale, famous works such as Dracula, The Lair of The White Worm and The Picture of Dorian Grey. I had to sleep on it a few nights to come up with my official star rating, and I stand by my choice.

It is very cleverly written, in its gothic/ Victorian style, and is told from multiple perspectives through diary entries, letters and The White Worm Society’s archives, paying homage to Stoker’s work, and as a fan of both Stoker and Wilde, I loved it.

Not only do we have the entertaining relationships and connections to Stoker and Wilde’s novels, but the adventure that the characters go on is an enjoyable ride. I think some of the ‘plot twists’ might have been fairly obvious, but I didn’t really mind because I felt such a connection to the story and the journey anyway.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t know all of the history and the politics much behind the characters’ real lives, so this review is purely based on my minimal knowledge alone, so apart from the obvious fiction (or is it), plot holes were not obvious to me, if there are any. This opinion is coming from me having read Dracula and The Picture of Dorian Grey, plus having seen various movie adaptations, and that is it.

Since reading this book I find that I keep telling everybody to read it. I feel a huge desire to find Lair of The White Worm by Bram Stoker to see where the connections lie between the two, outside of the naming of the society in Stoker’s Wilde.

I give this 4 stars!

You can find this book at many retailers via clicking on the appropriate link on GoodReads(Buying direct from retailers is a good way to support indie authors); however, in the spirit of supporting literacy programs, we would like to point out that you may be able to purchase this book through BetterWorldBooks.