I loved the first section in Castle Dracula because of the gothic atmosphere; the slow drip of information about the Count, and Johnathan’s realisation that he’s a prisoner. All of that was absolutely riveting! Then the novel took a turn for the worse in my opinion. I found the middle section meandering and repetitive - it could have been 50 pages shorter. I also found the ending anticlimactic considering the build up.

I loved certain characters: Van Helsingborg was great. His character bridged the gap between religion & superstition, and modernity & tradition very nicely and was interesting to read about. At several points I thought “without Van Helsing they would be totally screwed!”

It’s a bit sticky coming at this book for the first time in 2021: I simply wasn’t affected by the horrific elements of this novel the way they were in 1897 because I’ve seen & read so much vampire based entertainment. The irony that Dracula is the primary source on which all subsequent vampiric texts draw, is not lost on me, so I can appreciate the novel for that reason!

I also felt that the epistolary structure took away any sense of danger or tension because we know the characters survive their encounters with Dracula at least long enough to pen their latest diary entry.

Overall it’s worth reading and I’m glad I read it, however I’ll be giving my copy away as I don’t think I’ll ever want to revisit this book.