Dracul

Dracul is essential reading if you value vampire lore. Well, at least It should be.

Lore means crucifixes, holy water and a host of other variables associated with vampirism, but this is the first time I’ve read about mixing communal wafers with garlic to make a door-sealing paste - a good idea, actually - and where Dracul differs from Dracula by becoming even more fantastical and lore-eccentric.

Dracul oversteps its status as a prequel by assuming that everything in Dracula is free to exploit and interpret in whatever way it pleases.

But I still rate it four stars for successfully answering two questions:

# Are the characters likeable and realistic?

--- Yes, greatly so. Bram, Matilda and the whole gang are terrific, even the rather pathetic Van Helsing impersonator, the Hungarian Vam-bu-bu-bery, Vambéry, is great.

# Is it an entertaining read?

--- Yes, from start to finish. It starts off slow, gets tense and has increasingly ropey mechanics, but it’s an involving and fluid read pretty much all the way through.

Slow at first, Dracul becomes increasingly exciting as it bounds at breakneck speed across 19th century Ireland, with its heartwarming Sherlock Holmes mystery element, the atmospherics of Interview With The Vampire, Carmilla, and even a bit of Jekyll and Hyde.

There are some interesting parallels too, with Bram as a fictional version of Bram Stoker himself and his ingenious ability to tap into the vampire world and anticipate what’s going on.

Let’s not forget about the strength and determination of Matilda either, enough to make the original Dracula seem old-fashioned and crusty, forgivably so as published back in 1897, for portraying women as weak and unimportant victims, instead of equally competent protagonists as they are in Dracul.

But whereas Dracul should be a more reclusive, darker and analytical predecessor of Dracula, it increasingly reads like a mass-market thriller as it becomes less menacing.

It’s a mishmash of every conceivable vampire trope known to man, with a giant and inexplicable dollop of Frankenstein thrown on top for good measure including all the body parts and injection of life.

There’s so much free reign to do whatever it wants, which is rather unfaithful to Dracula, especially after so much careful planning at first.

Especially as this is supposed to be the prequel.

But Dracul also reestablishes the importance of vampirism and how clever the entire concept is. Instead of getting old and eventually dying with decaying teeth and saggy tits and all the rest of it, vampires feed on blood to endlessly rejuvenate themselves. I’d be out there myself, irrespective of who it hurts if I could be 21 again in vigor and appearance.

More importantly, the book succeeds by strengthening vampirism into a pretty good thriller.

As macabre, gruesome and indelibly gothic, but with queries that never get fully answered, such as:

# Why do vampires react negatively against Christian articles such as crosses and communal wafers? Why so much emphasis on Christianity vs evil? Why not simply good vs evil? Are Muslims not also good when fighting against tyranny?

# Why aren't steel blades effective when piercing vampire hearts, while silver blades or wooden stakes are? Isn’t this over-mixing Dracula lore with the rules of engagement against werewolves? And why is wood effective when steel is not?

A prequel should explain this.

# How do vampires transform into various animals, even insects or particles of air?

Again, not enough scientific explanation for a prequel.

Perhaps if you go down that route you'll throw away this book before even starting it, so an open mind and suspension of belief is really important with this one as too many technicalities could ruin it for you.

The original Dracula has been lynchpinned, if you like, to make Dracul even more far-fetched than the original by over-stretching vampire lore and making up yet more theories.

But four stars is still a pretty favorable review, but never five stars for failing to buckle down and explain itself as a predecessor to a truly innovative and great book.