gs_jason

I want to start by saying, I loved this book, truly loved this book. I’m at odds as to my decision to love this book because I’m not sure how to interpret or how to feel about the characters: Disdain, pity, surprise, all of the above? The novel is not just another vampire novel. The story is deep and takes wide hypocritical turns. Vlad Dracula calls himself an historian. The characters in the book, who fight his evil, are also historians. They call their tools of battle, the crucifix, garlic in other words the religious icons that traditionally fight the vampire, as “superstition,” yet the tried and true icon comes in real handy. These are the very tools that the characters reverted to in their direst need. Our own Christian tradition was not set apart, the Muslin religious icons too were referred to as “our own superstitions here,” but were used to combat what all in the book considered a curse. When the beloved Professor Rossi was found, almost to the point of being a vampire, the traditional silver stake through the heart and both scholar and priest, saw to his remains. Yet the scholars left to fight on continued to tout that religion was a superstition. But was it whistling in the dark? The book confuses me in that the scholars fought more their own minds than they did Dracula himself. Dracula admits to being an historian, so as to secure his own history, existence. I would like to think that the book in an undercurrent sort of way tries to reveal the hypocrisy of the historian or scholars who try to destroy his evil thru a means they give air to refute. Understand it is quite evident that the Christian church and monks did much to help Dracula achieve his goal – but again there is question, did the monks help Vlad Dracula in an all out pursuit of evil or was it their intent to save a soul? The historian on the side of good the scholars who fight the good fight seem also to close their eyes tight, while fighting a centuries old being and repeat to themselves, yes, there is good and evil but there is no heaven or hell. So hence, I love the book. I’m left with so many question, as to what the undercurrents of these characters hoped to achieve in their fight against evil. Because whether we like it or not, such a fight or the journey to achieve a goal changes us, changes who we are, whether we are fighting vampires or government corruption. We are changed at the end and we are changed again when we realize that the battle is not over and we are changed even yet again when we realize that the next battle is for the next generation. I’ll read this book again, I need to, I need to make the journey again and probably again.

2022-11-14 14:08