Well, my brain melted. I don't think I have an appropriate language or skill to even begin this review. But I'll try. Oh, I'll try.

First let me start with a revelation I had last night while finishing it. The atmosphere, mood and themes reminded me of The Lighthouse movie. It has that sort of a dream-like quality to the plot, and themes of loneliness and isolation are definitely central. Except, loneliness and self imposed isolation in this book are tied to characters sexuality. We follow the gay captain from 19th century Russia, who is so repressed that he's on the verge of bursting. It is painful to read, but it's understandable and real. He knows how people perceive people like him, that there is always a threat of death lingering above his head, simply because of who he loves and wants. The book explicitly draws connection between queerness and vampirism, which always existed in vampire stories, but here it's not a subtext, it's full on text that hits you in face with it's very obvious metaphors and conclusions.

The Route of Ice and Salt is, simply put, unapologetically gay. The whole first part of the novella is about gay captain's desire, his repressed emotions, needs and insatiable hunger. And it never shies away from the fact that he desires man, instead it gets really erotic, in a way I didn't expect from a book originally published in 1998.
Dracula is there mostly as a foil to him. The monster that people perceive gay people to be, the hunger turned to flesh. And it's really great how the author plays with this, and what sort of conclusions he draws from it.

And to come back to my first reaction. The book is so masterfully written and translated by David Bowles I was left speechless. The prose is on the next level, I'm just jealous. Descriptions were so vivid, visceral and weird, the sentences so strong they hit me right in my chest. But also, if you don't like slow paced books, where plot doesn't really matter, where the story is reflective and thoughtful, this book will not be for you.