Dracula by Bram Stoker

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
Jonathan Harker, a solicitor's clerk from London, travels to Transylvania to settle some business with the mysterious Count Dracula. In England, Harker's fiancee, Mina, receives a visit from the Count as does her friend Lucy. Harker returns from his traumatic journey and joins Dr. Van Helsing on a "vampire hunt" in an attempt to rescue his beloved Mina.

Dracula. By day he sleeps in a tomb beneath his desolate castle. By night he stalks the countryside, driven by a supernatural and deadly hunger. His quiet smile hides canine teeth. His seemingly delicate, white hands are in fact coarse and broad with hairy palms and nails cut to a razor-fine point. His touch yields an uncontrollable shudder. His sustenance is the life-blood of others. His victims become helpless under his hypnotic spell. There is no escape from this evil being who inhabits the shadows of the dark and dismal night. Beware of the "ever-present blackness" and "shadows of the evening": Dracula is a vision of your "ghostly fears" coming to life.

My thoughts:
Dracula is classic horror story at it's best. It's creepy, thrilling and sensual. I enjoyed how it was written entirely in diary form with each of the main characters writing their own perspectives. Dr. Van Helsing, in particular, was a bit long-winded but all of the characters were compelling. I recommend this book to those looking for an atmospheric and eerie tale of vampires and those that hunt them.