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)

Part Audiobook, Part Radio Drama

While there are some aspects to the narrative related to the time period in which the story takes place which stick out to a modern listener and feel a bit outdated, the story is nonetheless quite gripping and very well written.
The stars in this particular audiobook are those reading its narration though, Katherine Kellgren (voicing Mina) especially, whose performance offers a great amount of character, and almost a playfulness which sells the character.
The hours flew by, and I'd very much recommend this to those who enjoy nicely detailed gothic horror tales with enjoyable characters.

Very Delicious

I was surprised that this classic does live up to the hype! The only reason I am give the performance a 4 is because it can be a little confusing when Dracula and van helsing have the same voice! Overall worth your time!

The classics are sometimes just what you need.

I have watched so many vampire movies and read some many books but never the original.

I enjoyed and now know the origins of all the other stories..

amazing performance but boring book

so I finally got around to reading this classic novel after years of reading every other vampire book. The narration was superb, everyone did a fantastic job and I really felt the performance. the actual story however was a very hard read. it was difficult to get through because it was so dry and boring. Lots of talking, almost no action. lots of speculation. It felt like reading a newspaper. since most of the book dracula is not even in the scenes, it's just people talking about him. but I am glad I finally read it and I can see how this blank canvas left a lot of interpretation, for writers to come up with their own stories.

loved it

I love the story so much. while reading it I couldn't help but think that the movie did not do it justice. I am glad to have read it and known the full transgressions of what has come throughout the story.

Dracula

I’m biased writing this review. Dracula is my all time favorite book. This performance is very well done and the storyline is, of course, fantastic.

If you’ve never read or listened to Dracula, give it a shot. It’s scandalous for Victorian-era writing, and the hero is not who you’d expect.

I’ll listen to this version for years to come.

Held me from the start!

The cast was superb - each voice expressive and able to convey urgency, disquiet, pondering, fear, or relief so convincingly! I thought it might be slow and long, but it grabbed me from the beginning and I finished it in a week. So good!

better-than-expected

Like everyone else, I've watched a lot of Dracula movies in my time. I found the book to be much better than any of the movies that I saw. I was rather concerned as I got to the end of the book that they would be able to fit in a good ending, but they did.

Excellent!

Stoker's Dracula is always exciting. A true classic. This cast of narrators are magnificent! Brilliant!

Misleading

"Dracula" is easily among my favorite classic stories. While I thought the "one performer per chapter" fit the structure of the book, the casting of Tim Curry as Dr. Van Helsing relegated him to a minor role unworthy of second billing.

Additionally, one of the actresses handled the voicing of multiple characters without any subtlety, and over-emphasized accents to the point of distraction.

Ultimately, while I do not condemn this recording, I cannot wholeheartedly endorse it either.