gypsiesanddolls:

Okay so can someone tell me how to smuggle Kinder Surprises into the U.S. because they are illegal here because choking hazard yada yada but I really want some. :( Is there a place that ships them here online or anything like that that anyone knows of?

Dracula

The Lord of all Vampire books. The one that put vampires on the map.

Dracula starts of with Jonathan Harker, a solicitor, who acts as an estate agent sent to Transylvania to meet with Count Dracula for the Count wanted to purchase a house in London. Once he was in the Count’s castle, over time he finds things to be suspicious and eventually finds the Count sleeping in a coffin. Eager to escape, he could not for he was pretty much trapped in the castle by  the Count though he eventually manages to escape.

Then we are taken to Jonathan’s partner, Mina and her friend Lucy and the story starts to account Lucy’s slow death, from having been bitten by the Count, and the efforts of a couple of male characters to keep her alive. She dies and turns into a vampire and eventually the male characters are able to kill her and bring her peace.

Later on the Count has targeted Mina and the male characters as well as Jonathan work together to find a way to kill Dracula before Mina turns into a vampire herself.

The first thing you’ll notice is that the book is written in records by the characters (journals, phonographs, etc), and amazingly enough they’re quite in detail with the events down to the very dialogue of what the characters have said, as if they were recording the events as they happened. They sure must have had a pretty good memory. And so you’ll see the story in different viewpoints. It was interesting that way and it wasn’t too confusing switching between characters.

The book is horror though I didn’t really feel that it was. At the beginning part where Jonathan was in the castle, there was a growing suspense within the story but it dies down once the story switches to Mina and Lucy. Then the whole Lucy turning into a vampire part comes in and we don’t see the Count in a long time, and nothing seems to be horrific pretty much for the rest of the story.

Some characters felt a bit random. Renfield was a lunatic kept in Dr Seward’s asylum and at first introduction his purpose in the book is not stated and only until later on we find his significance. Quincy Morris also felt random. It felt like he was brought into the story just because of Lucy, and only till later did he become significant.

I liked Mina for she was a composed and smart character, who even though having being bitten, stayed resilient and made herself as of most use as she can be to the plans to eradicate the Count. 

Some lengthy paragraphs felt tedious and a there was this accent given to certain seamen characters which felt a bit annoying. But overall it was a good read, and it gives an insight on the traditional vampire (where modern vampires are now remodelled as such that they can walk in open sunlight and even sparkle). Recommended read.

7/10