Young lawyer Jonathan Harker journeys to Transylvania to meet with the mysterious Count Dracula only to discover that his nobleman client is a vampire who is thirsty for new blood. After imprisoning Harker in his castle, Dracula travels to England to seduce Jonathan’s fianc e, Mina, and the battle against an ineffable evil begins.

Led by philosopher and metaphysician Professor Van Helsing–Dracula’s most indomitable adversary–Harker, Mina, and a band of allies unite, determined to confront and destroy the Count before he can escape.

Bram Stoker ingeniously modernized gothic folklore by moving his vampire from traditional castle ruins to modern England. With Dracula, which has been interpreted and dissected by scholars for generations, Stoker changed the vampire novel forever.

I purchased a copy of this book for my own reading.

This has been on my Kindle for some time, just waiting to be read. Having set myself a challenge this year to read more books outside of my comfort reads, this seemed a perfect fit to read as Halloween approached, and neatly ticked off “a book set in the past”.

Having read a few books that date back to the 1800s, I knew to expect a difference in the language used. The odd occasion I had to go back and reread something, but very infrequently, and it did nothing to lessen the experience of this amazing story. Dark, moody and filled with gothic beauty, I would have to say this is one of the best books I’ve ever read.

The sense of ancient horror and threat is present throughout, and the fact that the story is told through a series of journal entries, newspaper articles and other notes and documents made it a very interesting and enjoyable read. The titular count is suitably villainous while unsettlingly charming, and the eccentricity of Professor van Helsing was a nice touch. I now see why this is a classic in the pantheon of horror literature.

My rating: