Dracul

By: Dacre Stoker, J.D. Barker

Narrated by: Pete Bradbury, Vikas Adam, Saskia Maarleveld, Raphael Corkhill, Alana Kerr Collins, Allan Corduner

Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's Summary

The prequel to Dracula, inspired by notes and texts left behind by the author of the classic novel, Dracul is a supernatural thriller that reveals not only Dracula's true origins but Bram Stoker's - and the tale of the enigmatic woman who connects them.

It is 1868, and a 21-year-old Bram Stoker waits in a desolate tower to face an indescribable evil. Armed only with crucifixes, holy water, and a rifle, he prays to survive a single night, the longest of his life. Desperate to record what he has witnessed, Bram scribbles down the events that led him here....

A sickly child, Bram spent his early days bedridden in his parents' Dublin home, tended to by his caretaker, a young woman named Ellen Crone. When a string of strange deaths occur in a nearby town, Bram and his sister Matilda detect a pattern of bizarre behavior by Ellen - a mystery that deepens chillingly until Ellen vanishes suddenly from their lives. Years later, Matilda returns from studying in Paris to tell Bram the news that she has seen Ellen - and that the nightmare they've thought long ended is only beginning. 

A riveting novel of Gothic suspense, Dracul reveals not only Dracula's true origin, but Bram Stoker's - and the tale of the enigmatic woman who connects them.

Read by a full cast:

• Pete Bradbury, Narrator
• Vikas Adam, as Bram Stoker
• Saskia Maarleveld, as Matilda Stoker
• Raphael Corkhill, as Thornley Stoker
• Alana Kerr Collins, as Ellen
• Allan Corduner, as Arminius Vambéry

©2018 Dacre Stoker and JD Barker (P)2018 Penguin Audio

So Well Done

Many books in one, and all spectacular reads... Classic gothic horror, historical fiction, psychological suspense, prequel, biography, and delightfully more... Keeps the mood and timbre of Dracula while forging its own identity. Beautifully crafted settings, intensifying pace, evocative creeps w/ characters and relationships that suck you into this weirdly touching family story... The performance only adds to what is a must read that had me pondering long after done...

Finally another great vampire book!

At first I was hesitant to read or listen to this book. I have read Bram Stoker's Dracula in the past and although I liked it, it was just okay for me. When I started to listen to Dracul by J.D. Barker and Dacre Stoker I was hooked from the beginning. The characters were well developed and you connected to them. Although this book follows the journal writing aspects as Bram Stoker's Dracula did, it is easy to follow along and keep track of what is happening through the story. The story flowed nicely and always held me in it's captivating thrall.

For the most part I gave the story 5 stars as I was pretty pleased with most of the book. The only critique I have on the book is near the end of the book the way the story is written changes and the chapters are named after the character's . This doesn't really bother me much, but it did seem like when the story got to this point it became a little sporadic and seemed to be rushed. This is the only part of the book that lost me for a moment and I wished they spent a tad more time and detail with the ending.

As for the narrators they did a fantastic job, but the reason why I gave the performance only 4 stars was because there were too many narrators in the mix. I enjoyed the narrator's who were the voices for Bram, Thornley, Matilda, Ellen, and Arminius very much. I struggled with Pete Bradbury narrating though. Pete has a great voice and is great at narrating, but with the other voices also narrating and setting the tone of the other character's, when Pete would read parts of the other character's it just seemed off and distracting. For instance with Ellen's character most of the time her voice and personality is captured as reserved and youthful, but when Pete would read her part Ellen seemed aged to and older woman and I just feel Pete's narrating at times seemed more comical or underperformed. Even the narration of Emily seemed underperformed and could have been creepier than it was. All in all though this book and the narration was great and this is one book I highly recommend!

Completely Stoker Worthy Read

The author's note at the beginning of this book makes the book all the more incredible. Dacre Stoker, Great-Grand Nephew of Bram Stoker used notes make by his Great Grand Uncle, Bram, to create a story that is not only an honor to Bram's Dracula, but a prequel worthy of carrying the Stoker name.

I have 3 books that I consider my All Time Favorite Books. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen; Watchers, Dean Koontz; and Dracula, Bram Stoker. I have read each of these books multiple times and go back to them over and over again when I need a comforting read.

Dracul was so engaging, so vivid, so Stoker, that I was sad when it ended. It sets up Dracula in a way that couldn't be more perfect unless Bram Stoker wrote it himself (which given the notes he left, he may have). I will definitely be reading this book again and again. It was completely Stoker-worthy for me.

Re: Narration: a full cast of narrators usually means moments of startles when one voice switches to another. This narration was so fluid, I sometimes didn't realize there were different narrators.

Full cast:
Pete Bradbury, Narrator
Vikas Adam, as Bram Stoker
Saskia Maarleveld, as Matilda Stoker
Raphael Corkhill, as Thornley Stoker
Alana Kerr Collins, as Ellen
Allan Corduner, as Arminius Vambéry

Dracul

Little slow start, but picks up and finishes well. Not scary but a bit haunting. Mystery and suspense more so than a horror story.

Suspend belief and ignore contradictions and you can get through

I am fascinated by history and the super-natural so bought this on a whim. I considered stopping a few times as the story was clunky, disjointed, and contradicted itself at various times. The narration was quite good, however, and there was just enough between that and the story to keep me in. I would not recommend, however, and now that I’m done, kind of wish I had those hours back. :-(

Vampires and more

Interesting take on Dracula from the perspective of the Stoker family. Did find it to be a bit too long, and drawn out at times. But good read none the less.

Great Story

Wow I could not sotp listing to this. The performance was unreal. ONe of the performers (Bram) sound just like Rod Sterling (Twlight Zone). I kept wating for hime to anounce you are now entering the twilight zone..
Over all story was great conections to the orginal novel and charter connections were apperant form the start. I really loved this book and will listen again.
Some of the sceans that came into my mine as i listened made me shudder.
UNREAL.

A great book for Dracula lovers

First off, the performances in the book were amazing. With the way the journal entries would jump around from person to person each chapter, having a different voice to read them all made it much more enjoyable. And each voice actor nailed each other's voice and accent when reading quotes from one another.

Not having been a fan of Dracula: The Undead, I was nervous about this book. However, I was pleasantly surprised! I really enjoyed this book! It felt more in line with the original. The journal style really felt true to Dracula. Definitely a book I'd recommend to any Dracula lover!

Absolutely loved thus book!

The story line was great and epilogue did a great job of giving a brief history on Bram and his writings. I highly recommend this book if you are a fun of Dracula.

loved it. the "after story" is chilling

The after story is chilling and makes me wish I had my hands on the original documents.. am amazing book. Bravo to the cast and the writer. I am so happy this day an age you can read what you want and publish your stories.. if only Bram could've lived in that world.