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A review by tits_mcgee
Dracula by Bram Stoker
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Dracula is perfect. The slow pacing allowed for a build up of atmosphere that, in tandem with a classic gothic writing style, created a horror that was genuinely creepy.
It's not an easy task to create a legacy of fear from a creature that has since saturated the entertainment market to the point of absurdity, but with the genteel voice that comes with a classical style of writing, this is estranged from that bastardisation and done very tastefully, the result of which is a reading experience that cannot be spoiled by Twilight or Buffy and has become without a doubt one of my favourite books with no comparable competition in sight, at least when it comes to horror.
The creepy tone was complemented entirely by the epistolary format, whereby each characters journal entries held a voice of its own, each unique and charismatic, much of which keeps us the readers in the dark. Van Helsing was the perfect driving force behind the slow reveal of vampire lore.
The character writing was excellent, my favourite being the mad asylum dwelling, insect scoffing, Dracula fanatic: Renfield. The Count himself is of course a masterpiece, from his polite manners and gentle nature to his viciously dark motives, he kept me teetering on the edge of paranoia throughout the meandering plotlines of each character. He was always somewhere around a corner, hiding in the shadows or pulling the strings.
Is it weird that I was routing for Dracula and Renfield?
10/10
It's not an easy task to create a legacy of fear from a creature that has since saturated the entertainment market to the point of absurdity, but with the genteel voice that comes with a classical style of writing, this is estranged from that bastardisation and done very tastefully, the result of which is a reading experience that cannot be spoiled by Twilight or Buffy and has become without a doubt one of my favourite books with no comparable competition in sight, at least when it comes to horror.
The creepy tone was complemented entirely by the epistolary format, whereby each characters journal entries held a voice of its own, each unique and charismatic, much of which keeps us the readers in the dark. Van Helsing was the perfect driving force behind the slow reveal of vampire lore.
The character writing was excellent, my favourite being the mad asylum dwelling, insect scoffing, Dracula fanatic: Renfield. The Count himself is of course a masterpiece, from his polite manners and gentle nature to his viciously dark motives, he kept me teetering on the edge of paranoia throughout the meandering plotlines of each character. He was always somewhere around a corner, hiding in the shadows or pulling the strings.
Is it weird that I was routing for Dracula and Renfield?
10/10