When you see a title like this, you are likely to expect the worst. I did. So I was pleasantly surprised by what an enjoyable read the book was. The author is clearly an expert in the Holmes canon, and does an excellent job of writing in the style of the original. (One complaint I have about many Holmes tales written by modern authors is the tendency to want to "show the Victorian period," as in, "look, I did my research!" at the expense of story. A genuine Holmes tale assumes that you already know the period, because you're living in it -- and this one gives the same feel. It avoids excess sensationalism and presents a mystery as Holmes might have actually handled it, should he have been presented with something as out-of-the-ordinary as a vampire. Definitely recommended.

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I enjoyed this enough to finish it, but it was a bit slow and lacking in sequence. I particularly enjoyed the keen attention to the relationship between Watson and Holmes; that was worth the read, definitely. Dracula rather comes off as more cardboard antagonist than developed character. But he still does his evil and the heroes still do their good; this is the ritual we all engage in on a daily basis, just with fewer blood lettings and ship crashings and fist fights. Or so I hope.

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