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Title: A Historic Contribution to the Genre
Review: Read this book not with your wise new 2010 eyes, but with the 1897 eyes of Bram Stoker's first readers. First, note the unique literary style, sequences from journals and letters of the protagonists. This would have enhanced the realism to the book's early readers. Also, note the power of the crucifix and the communion wafer. The world of a hundred years ago adhered to a religious fundamentalism that is now found principally among those whom civilization has left behind. The supernatural elements are portrayed as perfectly realistic and the reader is genuinely terrified of the Count and his converts. If you cannot discipline yourself to put on those one hundred year old eyes, however, you may find this book to be little more than an interesting entrant in the history of science fiction, without the tension. Now, if you really want to feel terror, try warding off a hoard of modern fiction's monsters with a crucifix.
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