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 that's just as thrilling today

The Dracula character is so ubiquitous in our culture that you might think it's unnecessary to read the original book. For myself, it turns out that while I thought I knew the Dracula story,I really only knew a small piece of it. This is a classic that really holds up in most ways.

The only part of the story that perhaps didn't hold up as well, is that there are some antiquated views on men and women expressed by the characters. If this had been written in today's setting the reader might think it's a long running elaborate set up for them all to have an epiphany about how they're wrong. That doesn't quite happen.

The only other negative is that editing seems to have been done somewhat sloppily. the chapters in the app don't line up exactly right. On a couple of occasions entire sentences are repeated. And at least one time a sentence was just cut off in the middle. Not a good look for a title produced by Audible, but it's minor enough to not detract from the story.

Loved the first 3rd

The first 3rd of this book is awesome. The book as a whole is good.... but not great. But what an impact it had on culture

Hooked me!

Loved it and wouldn't stop listening! It was just believable enough to be truly spooky

More Tim curry would be nice.

Liked the story. Liked the addition of multiple narration. Did not like everyone decided Germans all sound like a Tolkien Dracula.

Phenomenal

absolutely phenomenal, great story, great author, great narrators. Tim Curry is amazing and the rest of the cast really tell the story well.

A+ 100

I enjoyed every second of this story & the narrators. I give it all the stars!

Outstanding.

The narrating was so great, I could hear it ring in my ears all day and took every moment I could to listen to the voices more. The story took over my thoughts and could hardly pull myself away for day to day tasks. It was my first time listening (or reading) this story. I’m not into horror books, but this was such literature I would feel it a disservice to categorize it as horror for the fear it would get tangled into an impression of modern day horror. This story is beautiful, yet terrifying... just like the faces of the vampire sisters that rest in their coffins.

Cowboy

nobody knows that this book has a cowboy as one of the main characters and thats just a damn crime

Wish I had Read or Heard this Story Sooner!

My favorite movie version of "Dracula" is Bram Stoker's. However, I have never read the book itself. It was so wonderfully written (and narrated), with such feeling and passion, that I am now certain the movie will pale in comparison (only due to the limits of film-making). I was captivated by the thoughts and nuances of the individual diaries, which could not all be contained within the constraints of a movie. I was content to surrender to the suspension of disbelief -- although I too believe in Evil -- and to envision such a time when love, strength, protection, faithfulness, courage, and piety were characteristics to hold in reverence and not in contempt as they are so often today. This is not simply a scary story, but one of Good vs. Evil. Read it during daylight if you must, but I encourage you to read or listen to it. It will be well worth your time.

Fantastic!

I enjoy radio theatre so much, but they are so hard to find. This is a classic and having multiple people reading this from the perspective of each persons diary was close to that. I highly recommend.