Dracula by Bram Stoker, 454 pages

First published in 1897, Dracula is gothic horror at its best.  The story is told through the letters and diary entries of several of the characters.

The novel begins when a young English lawyer, Jonathan Harker, visits Count Dracula at his castle in Transylvania in order to complete a real estate transaction.  While there he discovers the diabolical intent of the Count.

Back in England, it falls to Professor Van Helsing, along with a handful of other heroes, including Jonathon and his fiancée, Mina, to stop the vampire.

I listened to the book and enjoyed this very proper Victorian horror story.  I am not typically of fan of horror but the story is told in such flowery and proper English that I couldn't help but get a kick out of it.

The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan 401 pages

Yikes.  If you don't like horror, don't read this book!  I got almost halfway through it several years ago and had to stop because it was giving me nightmares.  No joke.  It was really good, though, so I wanted to finish it and finally made the effort.  I only read it at lunch, at work.  It was still very unsettling.  This is not your average vampire novel.  It is desperate and terrifying and the vampires are not even remotely sexy, so forget that nonsense.  I'm pretty proud of myself for making it all the way through, but I don't know how soon I'll be able to tackle the sequels!  I highly recommend this to people who love to not be able to sleep at night.

The Last American Vampire by Seth Grahame-Smith, 399 pages

I read this book because way back when we first added downloadable audibooks, I enjoyed listening to the first book in this series "Abraham Lincoln - Vampire Hunter."

I enjoyed this one too.  Abe is in this book, but the most prominent character is Henry Sturges, who was unwillingly made a vampire when the Roanoke colonists were wiped out in the late 1580s so he's been around a few years.

I got a kick out of the vampiric twist on american and world history.  Great fun.  Maybe not for everyone but Mr. Grahame-Smith totally set it up for a book #3 so I'll be on the look out for that one too.