This was a surprise. Culturally it is somewhat known the story, but I enjoyed listening to this as a book on audiobook. It was a bit different than I expected and worth the time.

I just finished a re-read of Dracula. Still a 5 star book. I really enjoyed this throughout.

The main takeaway for me this time is that I picked up on how Bram Stoker made the female character, Mina Harker, the ultimate hero and protagonist of the story.

Spoiler

At first the men in the group hunting down Count Dracula want her to stay behind in order to “protect her”. But, after she is accosted by Dracula right under their noses and she is needed to track Dracula telepathically she becomes the central figure and figures out how Dracula was moving around using logic and process of elimination.

Dracula is really great. Highly recommended!



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Original review below:

Dracula by Bram Stoker is the first horror book I've read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

At its core, this novel is character driven with some wonderful personalities. Two lovebirds, Jonathan and Mina Harker are accompanied by Vampire expert Professor Van Helsing, Dr. John Seward, Arthur Holmwood (who has the title, Lord Godalming) and the fearless American hunter Quincey Morris. This group (who are all from different walks of life) tasks themselves with hunting down the omnipotent, supernatural, and extremely ghastly villain, Count Dracula. Another unforgettable character is Dr. Seward's insane asylum patient, Renfield, who falls under Count Dracula's influence. From Renfield, we learn that there is an invisible line that separates a "sane" person from one that is considered "insane". The characterizations and personalities of the characters are what make the book a 5 star for me.

The way the story is written was very entertaining with the different character's diary/journal entries, telegrams, newspaper articles, etc. that all flowed together very well.

Calendar dates and the time of day were made into a plot point with the race against time and almost daily the race against nightfall to avoid Dracula when he was at his most powerful. The time factor in the plot really helped to keep the suspense level high. One part of the plot that I thought was interesting was the idea that Dracula had a child's mind/mentality and that he was becoming more and more powerful throughout the book. The plot and pacing were stellar and I found that my mind was in this book even when I put it down, which was hard to do. Dracula as a story had a solid beginning, middle, and ending and it is very well written.

Overall, I recommend this classic horror novel. Get ready for a little gore, but trust me, it's all worth it.

Turns out I can still read!

Kodaks and Winchesters, typewriters and a slow, scientific process of hunting a vampire. Much different than pop culture would have you believe, the book spends most of its time on the fine details of investigation. Though that is not to say it is slow! The narrative carries you along from one happening to the other, as our main characters recount the events of the day in their journals and letters. That style of narration has gone out of style but it is a nice change from today’s popular devices!