Spoilers: In my opinion, Dracula, as a horror book, fails to be consistently scary, or even entertaining. There are fun moments, such as Jonathan Harker exploring Dracula's castle, and the Demeter scene. But that's really it. Lucy's sickness goes on far too long for me to care, Mina is forced to drink Dracula's blood, but never gets sick, and the vampires are barely a threat. Lucy and Dracula are literally powerless in the face of a crucifix, which every character has, making them completely unthreatening as villains, something not helped by the fact that they're barely in the book at all. Vampire Mina is killed off the day our protagonist's meet her, and Dracula only does one important thing after Chapter 3. Drinking Mina's blood, which as I said, amounts to nothing. The narration, while being cool in concept, fails to convey suspense. Even when Quincy Morris is fatally wounded, and kills Dracula, the narration comes off completely bored and matter-of-fact, an issue further amplified by the fact that the characters themselves are supposed to have written this book. And yet, the narration of this book has no character. Finally, the characters are not unique. Dracula and his brides have no depth, and our protagonist's are all basically the same as their friends of the same gender, with the exception of Van Helsing and Renfield. Van Helsing is especially kind towards Arthur, as he looks like what his dead son would've, but that's dropped after they kill Lucy. Quincy is the only American, and is said to have done bad things, but his character doesn't exhibit any traits to show he's different to the upstanding British. Seward treats the mentally ill, but that job is more so a way to introduce Renfield to the plot than anything else. And all three are in love with Lucy, but only Arthur seems to heavily grieve her. Overall, the book is bland, and the only enjoyment I got out of it came from picking up on vampire cliches that, in my opinion, were done better in other media.

Worth the commitment

This is a good book and I liked it a lot.

This is not the story I thought it was and surprised me in many ways. Knowing where some of Dracula’s original lore came from and comparing that to all the various version of vampires that have come because of it, adds so many layers to the other stories. Brilliant how we get to be a part of the story by reading the first hand accounts from the characters. I recommend for anyone looking for a casual and fascinating intellectual and ominous tale.

As a primer to Dracula, I want all who might read to not expect a true horror story, in the sense that it is wholly dedicated to that aspect. Instead, the story touches on a general basis of good and evil, and you all are, likely, able to surmise who embodies evil. I think the epistolary, clipping narrative of the story did wonders, especially towards the ending and the pursuit. The middle of the novel was, to be frank, a bit of a slog, but the beginning with Harker was mesmerizing, and the ending just as much. All in all, the book was a wonderful addition to literature, and I have enjoyed it and the countless medias that have sprung to life due to it.

(This review contains spoilers) Great read! The story was very entertaining, I just wish the ending had a bit more drama or smt, like there was so much build up of their search for Dracula just for them to stab him while he was still in the box, idk I was just really hoping for big battle with the count at the end, other than that it was a great book.

The movies although fascinating did no justice to this written masterpiece. Although long it is well worth the reading. I recommend to one and all.

The pacing was glacial, the characters were two dimensional, and the prose painfully repetitive.

This book is pure beauty. The writing style is calculated and precise In its wonder. The plot pulls you in and connects you to the story as it is your own. At the end, you are crying, tears of joy and sadness and finality.

Jonathan and Mina are the only couple ever!!