Dracula [Audible Edition]

By: Bram Stoker

Narrated by: Alan Cumming, Tim Curry, Simon Vance, Katherine Kellgren, Susan Duerden, John Lee, Graeme Malcolm, Steven Crossley

Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award, Distinguished Achievement in Production, 2013

Audie Award, Multi-voiced Performance, 2013

Audie Award Nominee, Classic, 2013

Because of the widespread awareness of the story of the evil Transylvanian count and the success of numerous film adaptations that have been created over the years, the modern audience hasn't had a chance to truly appreciate the unknowing dread that readers would have felt when reading Bram Stoker's original 1897 manuscript. Most modern productions employ campiness or sound effects to try to bring back that gothic tension, but we've tried something different. By returning to Stoker's original storytelling structure - a series of letters and journal entries voiced by Jonathan Harker, Dr. Van Helsing, and other characters - with an all-star cast of narrators, we've sought to recapture its originally intended horror and power.

This production of Dracula is presented by what is possibly the best assemblage of narrating talent ever for one audiobook: Emmy Award nominees Alan Cumming and Tim Curry plus an all-star cast of Audie award-winners Simon Vance (The Millenium Trilogy), Katherine Kellgren (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), Susan Duerden (The Tiger’s Wife), John Lee (Supergods) and customer favorites Graeme Malcolm (Skippy Dies), Steven Crossley (The Oxford Time Travel series), Simon Prebble (The Baroque Cycle), James Adams (Letters to a Young Contrarian), Nicola Barber (The Rose Garden), Victor Villar-Hauser (Fun Inc.), and Marc Vietor (1Q84). These stellar narrators have been cast as follows:

Alan Cumming as Dr. Seward
Simon Vance as Jonathan Harker
Katy Kellgren as Mina Murray/Harker
Susan Duerden as Lucy Westenra
Tim Curry as Van Helsing
Graeme Malcolm as Dailygraph correspondent
Steven Crossley as Zookeeper’s account and reporter
Simon Prebble as Varna
James Adams as Patrick Hennessey
Nicola Barber as Sister Agatha
Victor Villar-Hauser as Arthur Holmwood
Marc Vietor as Quincey Morris
John Lee as Introductory paragraph, various letters

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Listening to this full-cast performance turns out to be remarkably suspenseful and chilling…The superlative cast lends this powerful production the diversity that is required by the structure of the novel…Each actor employs various accents, infusing into the characters vibrant emphasis, urgency, and dread." ( AudioFile)

A Classic Well Done

A thoroughly enjoyable audiobook experience.
It was expertly performed and produced.
May there be many more audiobooks of this caliber available soon.

Great cast; Great retelling

Although I've been a fan of vampire stories and films all my life, I've never actually read "Dracula". If tried but I couldn't get into the Victorian style of writing. But when I saw the audio version included narration by Alan Cummings and Tim Curry, I got it. The use of multiple narrators, one who each journal in the novel, works well all of the narrator do a great job in telling the story, defining their characters, voicing other characters in their journals, and building tension. I can't recommend this enough.

Wonderful

This was a wonderfully done performance. I wish more audio books had different actors for the distinct characters.

Actually Scary

What made the experience of listening to Dracula [Audible Edition] the most enjoyable?

The story was really suspensful. Yes I knew the plot but hearing it from the charactors perspective really made it quite heart pounding.

What other book might you compare Dracula [Audible Edition] to and why?

I recently listened to Heart of Darkness and again the narration took an old story , that I felt I knew, to a different place.

Classic For a Reason

I wish I had gone into this with no knowledge of traditional vampire lore or Dracula himself. The storytelling is great. The performances of the multi-voice cast are also pretty excellent. I found this one hard to listen to, though, for some reason I can't explain. After about 15 minutes, my mind would wander. It felt kinda like the audial equivalent of a really dry book.

where was Tim curry?

I totally got this to hear Tim curry. sadly..he doesn't read very much. alan cumming was great. but most of van velsings parts were read out by other actors

Very enjoyable

Would you consider the audio edition of Dracula [Audible Edition] to be better than the print version?

I've never read it

Did the narrators do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes and no. I think they all did well except for Katy Kellgren. She was abysmal. She almost made the book entirely unlistenable. Not that that's a word, but I think she misunderstood the fact that Van Helsing is from Holland. Not Russia. Also her Scottish was abrasive and awful. Everyone else was fantastic.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Oh. My reaction was to Katy Kellgren. Not the book. She made me furious. I wanted to throw my headphones away.

Any additional comments?

Amazing if you can put up with Katy's awfulness.

Tremendous.

No wonder this is a classic. I found the style to be refreshing and the narrators were superb in telling the story. I did not expect to be enthralled as I was by this book. It was a great Halloween book for me. I would recommend this version of the book to all.

Forget The Movie

What did you love best about Dracula [Audible Edition]?

The full cast. I've never been bothered by books narrated by only a single talent, but hearing each individual part read by different people was an entirely different experience, and I'd like to listen to many more productions of this nature.

What did you like best about this story?

That it was dark. So very dark. No filler, no trashy romance angle, the evil in this story is just that; Evil! Dracula at moments comes across as an abusive spouse, manhandling his victims, viciously threatening them, and openly boasting of how they will serve him as undead in nights to come. Far removed from the highly touted performance of Gary Oldman, who came across as a tragic villain, in this the tragedy is focused almost entirely on the protagonists.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

I particularly enjoyed that, while there was a full cast, each specific piece is narrated by a single person, even doing the voices of the other characters as from their own perspective. The voice of Mina Harker most especially convinces you that you're listening to a young woman writing in her diary.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The final bits with the psychotic Renfield, and of course it would be near impossible for the ending not to conjure some tears from me.

Any additional comments?

I hate to keep bringing up the film adaptation, but it's a fair thing to do considering. If you enjoyed Coppola's film, listen to this audio book and prepare to scoff at the movie. The film is a great alternate telling of this, but in my opinion did not even come close to the source material. The book is frightening in a much more cerebral way, it's at times suspenseful, thrilling, sad, joyful, and for those who love more traditional vampire lore it may even feel oddly nostalgic.

A must listen 10/10 personal review

I got this on Audible though I own the print version and the cast that read it made it well worth it. The chapters and story flew by I didn't want to pause it for a moment they left me wanting more, to hear what happened next. The time raced by and before long the story came to a end. The print version itself is a must own and I highly recommend even if you've seen the movie but never read the book that you grab this and listen to it. Well worth the purchase 10/10 can't wait to listen to it again.