Anno Dracula 1899

And Other Stories

By: Kim Newman

Narrated by: William Gaminara

A brand-new collection of chilling stories by master of horror Kim Newman, in which Jack the Ripper still stalks the streets, Frankenstein's monster rises from the Arctic ice, and the terrifying legacy of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde haunts fog-shrouded London.

This volume also includes a brand-new exclusive Anno Dracula story, 'Yokai Town: Anno Dracula 1899', which sets the scene for the forthcoming novel Anno Dracula 1999: Daikaiju.

©2017 Kim Newman (P)2017 Audible, Ltd

Critic reviews

"A marvellous marriage of political satire, melodramatic intrigue, gothic horror and alternative history. Not to be missed." (The Independent)

A glimpse into the depraved mind of Kim Newman!

It's like all the Anno Dracula headlines say: "the sick and depraved mind of Kim Newman" - this book is the best glimpse into it.

This one is a collection of short stories and only the last one is an Anno Dracula story. Being a huge Anno Dracula fan, I was not disappointed at all, but rather pleasantly surprised. Newman's style of alternate reality fiction is appealing across all monsters and movie universes, not only Dracula. His vast academic knowledge is apparent, and his mastery of weaving it into quality fiction is ever impressive. If anything, this book has sold me on his other non-Dracula works. Now I'm looking forward to his latest "More Than Night".

A special compliment is, as always, due to William Gaminara. His acting (not mere narration) elevates all Newman's works, non so than this. The perfect marriage between Newman's fiction and Gaminara's voice has never been more powerful than in the first story of this collection "Famous Monsters". Do yourself a favor, check it out.

Need chapter titles

As with many other Audible releases, this audiobook does not list the actual chapter names. I'm not sure why so many releases don't have this feature. It doesn't seem like it should take that much more effort to make sure there are chapter titles, at least when the printed versions have chapter titles. At the very least, short story collections should have each story's name in the chapter slot.

Some gems here

I actually requested this book for review by mistake, peeps. I've wanted to read Anno Dracula for a long time and thought this was the actual novel and not the collection of stories.


Oh, well. I did enjoy some of the stories, and I did get a feel for Kim Newman's writing which is very much a mix between Justin Cronin and Joe Hill.


So, the stories.


FAMOUS MONSTERS

A bit of a drab reminiscence of a Martian's acting career. Not an auspicious start.


A DRUG ON THE MARKET

I got a kick out of this one, peeps. Someone revises Jekyll & Hyde's formula for the mass market with all the fun in the marketing and after effects.


ILLIMITABLE DOMINION & JUST LIKE EDDY

While I listened to both of these twice, I could not concentrate on the narrative it was so boring. Verdict: skip.


AMERIKANSKI DEATH AT THE MOSCOW MORGUE

Super creepy, trippy & entertaining. A fascinating concept of a world after the zombie apocalypse in the end of the 80s - beginning of the 90s in Moscow. I got another kick out of this one.


THE CHILL CLUTCH OF THE UNSEEN

30 Days of Night but the old guy in the chair is conversing with the monster instead. Boring.


ONE HIT WANDA

As in "one hit wonder", it's a fun story about a band with a cursed hit song which they can't stop singing.


IS THERE ANYBODY THERE?.

Another fabulous concept of a medium from 1920s trolled by a modern hacker, whom she entraps like a common spirit. Really entertaining.


THE INTERVENTION

This one left me confused. Either I missed something or wasn't clever enough to understand it.


RED JACKS WILD

One of my favorites, it's about a real Jack the Ripper hunting down his copycats. It was so good, I'd have loved to read a full novel about it.


SARAH MINDS THE DOG

It starts light and cute and quickly twists into something so much darker. It made me quite uncomfortable.


THE SNOW SCULPTURES OF XANADU & THE PALE SPIRIT PEOPLE

Not memorable at all. My mind kept wandering, and I could not understand the stories, especially the first one.


UBERMENSCH!

Awesome read. This was about a German Superman who worked with Nazis and is being interviewed years after by a monster hunter after the Wall collapsed. So freaking good.



COASTAL CITY

Meh. Not worth the read.



COMPLETIST HEAVEN

Another meh. It was really tiring to listen to this one, and I'm sure the narrator didn't enjoy the mad recitation as well.



UNE ETRANGE AVENTURE DE RICHARD BLAINE

Another good story involving Nazis hunting monsters in Paris. Very atmospheric.



FRANKENSTEIN ON ICE

I loved the concept! It would have made a fab movie, and it reminded me of Justin Cronin the most.


YOKAI TOWN: ANNO DRACULA 1899

Now, this was a good introduction to the actual novel, which I now want to read. Vampires and samurai in the same script seem like a win-win scenario to me.


Overall, it's not a good collection. There are a few excellent stories hidden among average ones, which does not improve your reading/listening experience, - that's why my rating was pretty low. Choose for yourself if it's worth the read.