My second favourite book of all time and one of only two books that I've ever read twice (the other book on both counts being 'The Hobbit'), I cannot express properly just how much better off you'll be if you read this book.  It is a sad fact that, thanks to Hollywood mostly, Dracula is a name that no one really takes seriously anymore.  This means that a great number of people turn their noses up at Bram Stoker's masterpiece.  Truly their loss.  Stoker uses the brilliant idea of constructing his novel from the various characters' diaries, journals, correspondence and (in the case of one of my favourite parts) newspaper articles.  This means that we as the readers get to read the events of the story through the very eyes of those in it and, more importantly perhaps, the story builds like a jigsaw puzzle as each character experiences a different piece.  This allows Stoker to build the tension in the story in a way that I've never experienced in any other book.  The characters are wonderfully touching creations too, be it the emotional, but surprisingly strong-willed Mina, Jonathan Harker, who goes through Hell and returns galvanised, or my favourite (and clearly the author's, since he gives the character his own name) Abraham Van Helsing.  The core of the story involves a disparate group of men finding the courage and the motivation to confront a power they know may be beyond them and in that sense, 'Dracula' touches upon the mythological cultural subconscious that would later be exploited by such great storytellers as J. R. R. Tolkien and George Lucas.  As you'll have guessed by the length of this review, I absolutely love this book and can't recommend it enough.  Oh, and as well as not watching 'Van Helsing', I should probably avoid the movie 'Bram Stoker's Dracula' too, because it trades off all of the book's tension in exchange for a scene with a werewolf raping an attractive woman.  Plus they changed the ending for some reason.  Francis Ford Coppola, you bastard.

5 out of 5

'Left Munich at 8.35 p.m. on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning; should have arrived at 6.46, but train was an hour late.'

Then there is another much-abused work of 19th century literature that may interest you; the equally immortal 'Frankenstein' by Mary Shelley.

FSFH Book Review - Fantasy - Science Fiction - Horror - Book Review - Hardback - Paperback - Comics TPB - Anthologies - Star Wars - Book Review - FSFH Book Review - Fantasy - Science Fiction - Horror - Book Review - Hardback - Paperback - Comics TPB - Anthologies - Star Wars - Book Review - FSFH Book Review - Fantasy - Science Fiction - Horror - Book Review - Hardback - Paperback - Comics TPB - Anthologies - Star Wars - Book Review