Book Review of Dracula by Bram Stoker

This is the account of Dracula's arrival in England from Transylvania as told by a businessman, his wife, a psychiatrist, and a paranormal expert through letters and diary entries. They hunt Dracula through his actions in England and back to Transylvania to try to defeat him.

Dracula was very different than I expected. It was more mystery than horror to my modern discernment. Much of the book was investigating claims and clues as to what was going on. Only Dr. Van Helsing seemed to have a definite idea of what was ailing Lucy, and then so many characters after that. There was very little action described—mostly it was investigating aftermath or trying to figure the situation out before it got worse. The final battle with Dracula was exciting for the time.

Many modern vampire fans would be disappointed when reading Dracula, but I found it interesting to see where all the legends come from and experience horror in such a different time in literature. The writing was excellent, and I loved the style of it being all letters and journal entries, which is why there's very little description of action. That absence of seeing things as they happen adds to the suspense instead of detracting from it. I found myself wondering what would happen to the characters before the next entry. Even though I knew it was Dracula and what his nature compelled him to do, I was completely absorbed with each clue and eager to read the next journal entry to find out what they'd discovered next.

The tension built artfully, almost without me realizing it was happening. The prose was smooth and easy to read for mid-19th century work, though my handy footnotes and endnotes explaining the more confusing phrasing, slang, and culture references helped. I thought the story itself beautifully written and absorbing.

Dracula is an incredible book, even 150 years later.