The original and the best? (Dracula - Bram Stoker)

Member Name: Azurel

Product:	Dracula - Bram Stoker
Date:	11/04/02 (107 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well written, The original vampire story

Disadvantages: Quite a long read

Dracula is perhaps one of the best well know vampire tales ever. It is set around Jonathan Harker, who first discovers the Count and his bloodthirsty nature.
Jonathan Harker is a clerk and sent to Transylvania to sell a London house to Count Dracula. Jonathan knows nothing about the Count or Transylvania except that the last clerk who went there was not well on his return. In the beginning nothing seem wrong with the Count and the castle seems to be a perfectly safe place to be. He dismissed all the warning he was given on the way to the castle as nothing more than gossip and hearsay. However after a short while there, strange things begin to happen and both the castle and the Count assume more sinister aspects as Jonathan begins to fear for his life. The next part of the book focuses on Jonathans diary entries about trying to get back home to London and Mina.

Lucy dies as a result if being drained by the count, only to come back as a vampire who preys on children. Lucy is later captured and killed by her former suitors (Quincey P Morris, Arthur Holmwood and Dr Seward) and Dr Van Helsing.
Dracula later begins attacking Mina Harker (Jonathans fiance/wife) and as a result of her subsequent illness Dr Seward, and later, Dr Van Helsing are involved in trying to save her. The two doctors realise that Mina is the victim of Count Dracula and so they realise that Dracula is in London and must be stopped. The search for Dracula takes place both in London and in the Counts home in Transylvania. The band of friends chases Dracula, getting a little closer at each step.

Throughout the book the story is presented to us through various notes, diary entries and letters, this means that you see the story at each point only from the view of the character whose note/diary entry/letter it is. This is good because you get a feeling for what each individual character is thinking and so this adds to character development. It also means that you can see the s
ame point in the story from the standpoint of different characters, so the reader gets the overall picture and knows all the details whereas the characters only know the parts of the story that have affected them. The only problem with this sort of presentation is that the book is long because there is no narration as such, only accounts of events from different perspectives.

There is a strange and mysterious atmosphere throughout the book and despite the fact that almost everyone who reads the book knows what the ending will be it still manages to be a gripping read. Perhaps this is because its not so much about what the ending is, but how the story gets there.

I enjoyed reading this book and especially liked the way the story is presented because you can see how each character reacts to each situation as well as how they work together. The book doesn't dive straight into chasing the Count and has a nice build up that let's you discover the story at the same rate as the characters do. Its an enjoyable read and a must for any fan of gothic horror.

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