So I have heard of people raving about Dracula, so I finally picked it up to read.

Quite honestly I was rather disappointed. I am not a huge fan of the format, and also not a fan of most of these characters' journals that we are reading.

I did enjoy the first section, where Jonathan is first introduced to Count Dracula and his dealings with the Count first hand during his 'captivity'. Now that was suspenseful and creepy. For the rest of the book, we barely see or interact with Dracula at all. For the most part the group of intellectuals spend so much time going over records and journals and running every where like headless chickens that it was so boring and felt like it was dragging on and on.

Speaking of the group of intellectuals, they all seem to be very open minded and accepting about the whole vampires, blood transfusions and other vampire related stuff. But they are all so boring. I feel like the same information is being repeated over and over again. Van Helsing is very annoying, as is everyone with their long winded speeches about honour and blah blah blah. Ok, I admit, I started skimming and blanking out during some long winded sections of the book, but clearly I didn't miss all that much.

That climax was so....anti-climatic! Like after all that work, that is how it ends?! The big confrontation moment came boiling down to a a few minutes of fighting. Oh. What a let down.

Think you know Dracula? If you haven't read the book then you only know the Hollywood story and not the real Dracula. He is more of an overarching evil that a constant presence that the heroes are fighting. The story is told from journal entries, telegrams and letters more than actual dialogue which I found to be very interesting and engaging. I can only imagine the horror people felt as they read this story for the first time. Before all the movies and slasher films Dracula was the horror that made you hide under the sheets and not look out the window at night, lest you get caught in his gaze and become his prey. This book must have made it seem that no one was safe at night.

An epistemological novel, the classic story of Dracula is subtle in the way the horror develops. The narrative is a bit slow and forced due to the nature of it's construction of the narrative but it is fun to read "old fashioned" writing styles. Since most everyone has some level of familiarity to the story this also affects how the pace and suspense build. A bit slow in some parts but worth reading if you are interested.

Is this legit? The full original?

Dracula, while an overly long and drawn out novel, is quite a bit of fun at times. The book fits loosely in sections, some of which are better than others and deliver more scares. The opening act, detail Johnathan Harker's time at Dracula's castle, is the best portion and delivers best on the creepiness. Throughout the remainder of the book there are intermittent scares and dread, but the novel loses much of its steam once the story switches its setting to London.

Over all, I greatly enjoyed this book, but it will in no way become a regular read for me. I might return to it on occasion, but could easily see myself skipping around to read only the portions of the book which I most enjoyed. I'm glad to have read this book, if only because it is Bram Stoker's Dracula, but it was a bit of a chore to get through even though it only took me a bit over a week. It was a good read to end my Christmas vacation, however.

Hello, darlings - Written in 1897 by Bram Stoker - Dracula introduced the world to a vile, despicable, and ruthless blood-sucking fiend like no other before.

A solid read. One of the classics that needs to be read at least once. While Dracula himself does not appear to often to terrorize the various protagonists, the idea of Dracula does just enough to keep you on the edge of your seat and pushing to the end. The beginning of the story should be considered the highlight of the novel as Dracula inspires a true sense of terror in the reader.

I wish Stoker had not spread the story so thin across six individuals but, I can definitely recommend the book based on the quality of the writing and the fact that this book spawned Dracula, who has come to become one of the most iconic monsters of the current era.

This book was especially interesting to read, considering that I had just finished the "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and "Heart of Darkness". While reading, one could clearly see how conflicted Stoker was about sexuality and the values of the "stiff upper lip" of the Victorian Era. Considering the time, one can understand how certain parts of this book would have been absolutely horrifying. There were times when even I was on the edge of my seat. The best way to read this book is to have an open mind and just absorb everything. The introduction is also adds an interesting commentary on the work, and was a fantastic way to make me think about what I had just read. Overall, simply fantastic work.

Sometimes I was very into this story and other times it dragged pretty badly. Compared to other classics that are often difficult to get through or boring, this was on the more interesting end. Definitely want to watch the classic film of it now though, but maybe I'll wait for next Halloween?!

The famous horror book introducing the infamous character of Dracula definitely does not let the reader down. This Gothic horror novel involves a group of six people, who were previously hunted by Count Dracula himself, becoming the hunter of this horrid vampire. The reader is given a view of each character's life through the use of various diaries and letters. Allowing the readers to become attached to the characters, each dangerous encounter with Dracula puts the readers on edge. Modern pop culture has, however, made the plot of the book somewhat predictable. Nonetheless, this book allows the reader to discover the changes that have occurred to the image of Count Dracula and vampires, creating a fun and interesting experience. Rating: 4/5.
- @ACowVan of the Teen Review Board at the Hamilton Public Library

Dracula is the story following six people, who were wronged by the evil Count Dracula, band together and hunt down the monster in this piece of classic literature. The book has a variety of protagonists and the narrative switches between them to give the reader and deeper understanding of the story. The book is very well written although it is fairly slow in some sections and isn’t all that scary for a horror novel (probably due to a change in the times- people don’t scare as easily as they used to). The story will be fairly predictable due to the fact this book is essentially the origin of all vampire clichés, and although the story is still very well written, it just wasn’t up my alley. If you are a fan of classic English literature, this book is worth checking out. 3/5 Stars.
- @Fulton of the Teen Review Board at the Hamilton Public Library