(4 / 5) Dracul – Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker
This time of year, I am all-in with spooky, ghostly, Gothic reading…I love getting into the fall mood with creepy Gothic lit. and this book absolutely fit-the-bill!! Dark secrets, creepy places, vampires (good and bad), and of course, Dracula himself!
The basic premise of this book is the story of Bram Stoker, the author of the original Gothic work, ‘Dracula.’ When Stoker wrote the story, he claimed it was ‘true’ and this book basically sets up how and why Bram came into contact with the infamous vampire, Dracula. The narrative switches between the present (Bram Stoker as a young man) and the story of Stoker’s childhood and the events which brought him to the situation he presently finds himself.
The one thing in particular that I truly appreciated was the ‘sibling story.’ The author(s) does a brilliant job of writing believable and realistic relationships between siblings in the story and ultimately, the story becomes about Bram, his siblings, and their relationships with one another. The author(s) gives these relationships depth and nuance which can be difficult to find in sibling relationships in literature. Overall, I found the writing easy to read and it moved quickly, so no long boring sections (that I recall). Honestly, I had a difficult time putting this book down at times!
If you like Gothic literature and want to get a ‘new’ story about Dracula and vampires, I highly recommend this book. It fit perfectly into my Gothic reading this fall and this one will stay on my shelf to be re-read next time I’m feeling in the Gothic mood.
Read on my friends!
-Haddi
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