The Dracula Tape

The New Dracula, Book 1

By: Fred Saberhagen

Narrated by: Robin Bloodworth

Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

The never-before-told story behind the legend of Count Dracula!

The story of the Count’s greatest love, Mina Harker, and the bloodthirsty vampire hunters whose cruel pursuit drove the master of the night to actions ever more ruthless. The Count Dracula sets the record straight.…

©1975 Fred Saberhagen (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Great Story

It's hard to go wrong with a Saberhahen Dracula story. Still one of the best reimaginings of Dracula.

Amazing.

I am joy to the humor so much! I also like that they may Dracula into a good guy, I never heard that one.

Dracula's Side of the Story

Dracula tells his own version of the familiar tale with a healthy dose of snark and conviction as he tries "once more" to set the record straight and redeem himself in the eyes of humanity. The result is a lot of fun. It's a considerably less serious take on the original Stoker classic, told in a manner that would almost seem like a parody of both the original novel and Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, except it never really crosses into parody territory despite the humor. All in all, I'm now curious enough to see where the rest of the series goes.

Bravo!

I will confess that I first read this book when it was new in 1975, as a teenager. I was delighted to find it here, along with rest of the series, and also afraid that my long-ago impressions would be tainted by my childhood memories. I am delighted to say its as good now, better even, than I remembered.

This was my first Dracula story and remains my favorite to this day. Dracula asks us to consider the Stoker story from his point of view, complete with rambling reminisces, dark humor, his profound disdain of his nemesis, Abraham VanHelsing, and some unlikely and humorous situations he finds himself in while acclimating to the "modern" mid-19th century world (such as passing himself off as a "portable closet" salesman when one of his crates of earth is discovered).

Bloodworth's portrayal is nothing short of amazing, whether as Dracula in present time, in the past with his Transylvania accent, Renfield or VanHelsing, you cannot help but be drawn in to the story. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was the Prince of Darkness himself.

A Dracula I liked from the first.

Another Novel in which Dracula is the: hero and the villain is Dr. Van Helsing.

Great story! Predates Interview with a Vampire

Enjoyed this immensely, at first I thought someone had taken Rice's story and adapted to Dracula but now I wonder if this isn't where she got her idea.

Interesting but slow going

I love vampire books and this was an interesting take on the Dracula story, but the pacing was VERY slow. I ended up getting bored a few times throughout the story. Overall, I am glad I read it, but was also glad that it was finished.

Great series and very good narration.

Saberhagen is definitely a Dracula sympathizer, and I love him for it. I have loved this series for years and finding them on Audible is a dream come true. Presents an alternate take on the events of Stoker's novel told from the lips of Vlad himself as he sits with two unsuspecting humans recording his narrative during a blizzard of his making. Enthralling, entertaining, sometimes hilarious, Saberhagen's Vlad is definitely one of my favorite versions of the Count. Give this series a listen.

Count Dracula's Rebuttal to Bram Stoker

The Dracula Tape is the first of a series of books centered on Count Dracula (yes, that Count Dracula). This book necessarily follows Bram Stoker's book in detail and in it we see the events from Dracula's point of view. And we discover that he and his actions were greatly misunderstood in that story. He deceived his adversaries (he survived) and got the girl In the end. The second book, in which Dracula meets Sherlock Homes, the new revised, fully renovated Dracula is front and center. Saberhagen is a great story teller and in this series he's created the Dracula that deserves to be brought to the screen.

A fun retelling enhanced by a superb reading

I was dubious about the idea of a retelling of Dracula from the Count’s point of view, but this won me over. The story is cleverly told and there are subtle hints throughout of Dracula’s flexible relationship with the truth. The prose is merely functional, but that means it blends well with excerpts from Stoker.

Robin Bloodworth’s performance really brings it to life. He gives Dracula a seductive purr, entreating the listener to believe his unlikely version of events. His slightly insulting imitations of his enemies’ voices are a highlight. For me he enhances the story rather than just reading it.