I just finished Dracula. Spoilers for the 120+ year old book incoming.
I read a lot of classics, so I was prepared to enjoy it but maybe find it a bit slow, not super thrilling, and dry (while still being well done and an interesting read in terms of the history of horror in general.)
Totally wrong. Dracula is so much fun. It was genuinely scary at times (I even scared myself reading it too late at night) and I really loved the way the story was woven together through the diaries of the main characters.
The opening chapters at the castle set a great scene, and I could feel the hair stand up on the back of my neck in some of the descriptions of Harkers suspicions of Count Dracula not being everything he seemed.
And just when I thought the story would just be a series of almost short stories about Dracula’s victims, it took a turn into all the main characters joining together to form a Dracula Hunting Squad to take him out. Turning the hunter into the hunted.
It got a little slow in the middle, and there were certainly some plot holes (I still don’t understand why he let Harker live at all) but overall I just really enjoyed this book in not at all the way I was expecting.
Turns out it’s one of the most influential classics for a reason /s
by Demosthenes96
1 Comment
Agreed. The spirit of friendship and teamwork between the main characters was so heartwarming. Some people complain that the ending wasn’t exciting enough but when you think about it, there really was no other way since Dracula was essentially invincible when active at night. The tension and race against time till sunset was exciting enough for me. The epilogue (7 years later) was really sweet and it was nice to see how strong the group’s friendship remained.
As for the plot hole you mentioned, it’s really not so much a plot hole as Dracula underestimating Harker. Dracula left Harker alive so that the three vampire women could feast on him. He didn’t expect Harker to be clever enough to find an escape.