Children of the Night

By: Dan Simmons

Narrated by: George Ralph

In a desolate orphanage in what remains of post-Communist Romania, a desperately ill infant is given the wrong blood transfusion - and flourishes when he's supposed to die. The discovery of his unique immune system may hold the key to the long-awaited cure for cancer and AIDS.

For a dedicated American doctor, he promises the medical breakthrough of a lifetime, as well as a very special love she's never been able to find. But he also conceals a shockingly intimate link to a clan of vampires and their legendary leader - the fiend the world calls Vlad Dracula, who, for centuries, has triumphed over countless rival tyrants, including death itself.

©2008 Dan Simmons (P)2008 Brilliance Audio

Critic reviews

"Count Dracula kicks off the coffin lid again in this updated vampire tale....the book offers a mesmerizing tour through the ghostly, gray tatters of Romania." (Publishers Weekly)
"Neatly ties the vampire legend into political history to create a new and clever twist to the idea of the vampire's craving for blood." (Library Journal)
"Toothsomely well written." (Kirkus Reviews)

Eh

Couldn't get into the narration. I tried, I really did but if it doesn't click then I'm done

A great blend of history and horror.

Dan Simmons spins another yarn that is riveting in its accuracy and historical references, while leaving one in awe of his ability to make the incredible scientific while the horror of Dracula remains even more palpable than Bram Stoker's vision.

Worth a read!

This was a very good book- clearly the author did a ton of research about Romania and Dracula or rather, Vlad Tepes. The story and plot were compelling and withstand the test of time. The only struggle I had was with the narration of an intimate scene between the two main characters… it was like watching a sex scene with your grandparents and grandpa was giving you the play by play. *shudders convulsively* Other than that, top notch.

Wouldn’t recommend

The audio itself wasn’t very good quality, had to turn my volume way up to hear. Lots of medical jargon that was difficult to follow unless you’re in a medical profession. And the ending was as somewhat disappointing

Good Enough

Good story - worth a listen. The narrator could be better, but doesn't qualify as 'bad'. The story can be a little drawn out in areas, but a good, fairly 'traditional' vampire story.

Historical Fiction at its best

The amount of historical context presented in this book is staggering and wonderful. What a fantastic work. I loved it from start to finish. The end is predictable but still a good time.

the story was good interesting characters

was good but spoiler. I wish luchan survived there was a lot of Romanian words I learned a good deal of it. some parts were hard to picture the details very descriptive. I didn't like her x husband not surviving. I wish it gave more detail about them at the end but overl was a really good book. I should give it 4 stars but I'm picky if it give 4 that can mean 4.5. it's close to 4. the performance was very well done

Seamless narration

If you can get through the mind numbingly brutal and despairing first few chapters which detail a trip to post revolution Romania by a cadre of wealthy industrialists, medicos and religious leaders the listener will be rewarded with an intriguingly 'modern' and unique twist on the legend of Dracula. While some of the science seems a bit stale and dated (considering the publication date of this novel that's actually impressive as one would think it would have grown trite by now) and some of the later plot twists are somewhat obvious. Nonetheless Simmons does an excellent job of creating a what if world wherein Vampires are very real and so is the son of the dragon. Now if only Summer of Night were brought to audio :)

quiet volume levels hinder this excellent story

Dan Simmons cements himself as both a horror author of singular vision and 'the thinking man's Stephen King' in this lean, historical and culturallly-informed iteration of a vampire tale that has its origins in real world conflict. Very highly recommended as a book, as an audio book I found it mastered at too low a volume level, but the performance was otherwise stellar.

Solid concept, mediocre execution

I loved the descriptions of post-communist Romania. The scientific take on vampires was neat too. For me the main drawback were the cringy sex scenes. They didn’t add to the plot and were obviously written by a guy trying to write through the eyes of a woman. I say this as a a pretty basic dude so you know they must be pretty bad.