" So many books have been written about Dracula. They fall into two categories: either they attempt to vindicate, by explaining his origins and mentality; or the infamous story of Dracula as an un-dead force of evil. This was a stellar attempt to show the more human side of Dracula. Humphreys carefully illustrated Vlad's forced sojourn in the Tokat, the Turkish school of torture, to explain his thirst for blood during his later years. Vlad's brother Radu's imprisonment and then love affair with the Sultan explained Dracula's desire for personal vengeance. Humphreys also added embellishment with the love affair of Ilona and Vlad. But I have to be honest, and this might just be a product of my personality and my upbringing in a world full of Dracula stories; I prefer the vampire. I prefer Elizabeth Kostova's mysterious harbinger of doom and Stoker's unforgettable lord of death. I prefer the myth to the man, and that is no fault of Humphrey's. "
— Mary, 12/25/2013