Chapter 1: Meh

Ok, as much as reading this novel presents no form of entertainment for me compared to FIFA or CoD, I have to do it, so I do with some 'enthusiasm'.

I read Chapter 1, apparently a journal entry from Jonathan Harker (woo namesake), who IS fictional, so yeah. First page is complete dribble about god knows what. We get a little mention of Count Dracula on the next page; he's just presented as some bloke who invited Jonny to stay for a bit in the mountains. The dribble continues for a while, talking about what my teacher ambitiously calls the 'sublime'. Honestly, it is just setting the scene (Don't bite my head off, this is just my opinion!).

Anyway, moving swiftly but drearily on, we finally a get a bit of interest. He arrives at Bistritz, a settlement in the heart of Transylvania, greeted by the people intriguingly with little optimism. At the mere mention of Dracula, they cross themselves. One woman in fact begs Mr. Harker not to go, handing him her crucifix in the process. All very intriguing and one of the few points of interests in this opening chapter. What I find completely moronic from the character is that he ignores the warnings completely. Imagine if you were driving along and you saw a sign saying "DANGER - ACTIVE VOLCANO AHEAD", but carried on thinking "ah, probably just one of those vinegar things": this is basically what Harker does.

Then, our mood drops straight back down to coma-level when he starts describing the landscape again. Sadly, Gothic literature is associated with going on and on about the countryside like an obsessed geography teacher, calling it 'The Sublime'. "Eurgh," I remarked at the thought of such exciting and dramatic features I'll soon be reading about.

So he describes his journey with impeccable detail till he has to change carriages to reach Count Dracula's crib. The driver was another thing that intrigued me kinda: 'Great black hat that seemed to hide his face from us'; 'Eyes that seemed red in the lamplight'. Is he not human? Is he a mutant? Why is he so secretive? I'm looking forward to finding out I guess.

The journey there is supposed to be this really tense and scary build-up to entering Dracula's place. I can understand why people think this. It's all very dark and negative, the descriptions of the setting goes from this really shining place to this threatening atmosphere. He shows quite clearly the guy is distressed by what's happenign outside. To me, I just wanted to skip the page. Not because it was scary, but because it was just - so - dull. It doesn't make great reading truth be told.

Sadly, we don't get a welcome from the Count in this chapter, but we do get a bit of an insight about what's to come. Lots of description. Lots of geography. Lots of hints about the nature of the host/Count. All in all: meh.

Signing out,
The Dragon.