A book that requires no introduction; a story that has appeared across all forms of media, has been referenced countless times, and whose legacy and influence has impacted pop culture for the rest of history. Published in 1897, Dracula is considered to be the premiere Gothic horror novel; but does it stand the test of time?

In short, no.

One must keep in mind the age of Dracula when reviewing it; the influence this book has on vampire lore and mythos cannot be understated. However, when read in the present day, many of the tropes seem tired and overused.

To its credit, Dracula starts with a fantastic opening act, with a surprisingly contemporary feel and genuinely unsettling horror elements. Unfortunately, the narrative cannot keep up, and quickly becomes disjointed with the introduction of additional characters.

Dracula is written from various perspectives, through journal entries and newspaper clippings. However, the use of journals becomes distracting when the characters are boring and are so similar that they are interchangeable; many times throughout reading the book, I had to stop and flip back to see who was supposed to be narrating the current passage.

Here is a brief breakdown of the characters and their motivations:

Jonathan Harker loves his wife Mina
Mina loves her husband Jonathan
Jonathan Seward loves Lucy
Arthur loves Lucy
Quincy loves Lucy
Lucy loves sleepwalking
and
Van Helsing loves talking

Van Helsing may be my new least favorite character in all of literature. Any new revelations or sequences of action are interrupted by passage after passage of rambling monologues and soliloquies. 

In the end, Dracula falls victim to what most pieces of classic fiction succumb: time.