Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a classic and one I’d been planning to read since I was about 12. Finally got to it at 30. Oooffff.

Basic premise: Count Dracula is trying to move from Transylvania to England in order to spread his undead curse, and the story follows the small group of men and one woman battling against him, led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing (the other most famous character to come out of this book).

Interestingly, I feel the need to add the premise here. Count Dracula one of the most famous characters in all of fiction – definitely the most famous vampire and possibly the most famous in all of horror fiction. He has influenced vampire lore and hundreds, if not thousands, of stories over the last 122 years. But I’m willing to bet that, at this point, most people are not familiar with the original tale. I only had a vague idea of it.

Unlike another original horror story I’ve read – Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein – I actually liked this one. The story was pretty well paced, I enjoyed the villain as a villain, and it was a lot of fun hearing all the old stuff I knew about vampires in its original context.

The only thing I didn’t like about this book, and I admit it was a minor flaw, was the constant meetings of what my grandmother would call the “mutual admiration society.” Nobody was ever just called by their name – Arthur, John, Lucy, Mina, etc – there was always at least two adjectives describing the person before their name followed by a description of their personality. “Dear, sweet Lucy who was always so kind and gentle,” or “Brave, stoic Arthur who put on a good face for his wife…”

…throughout the entire book. And all the descriptions were favorable. ALL OF THEM, except for the ones of Dracula and his ilk, nobody had a bad word to say about anybody. This was so over the top that it was comical. I mean, I know the Victorians were a courteous lot, but come on.

Anyway, aside from the over the top, over flattering descriptions, I truly enjoyed Dracula. So many hours of fun with other books, movies, stories came from Bram Stoker’s book. It’s one hell of a legacy for a guy who was best known as an actor’s personal assistant when he was alive.

Tagged: authors: bram stoker, books: dracula, genre: gothic fiction, genre: horror/terror, genre: supernatural