Dracul

By: Dacre Stoker, J. D. Barker

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

Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker, read by Allan Corduner, Pete Bradbury, Raphael Corkhill, Saskia Maarleveld, Alana Kerr Collins and Vikas Adam.

'Listening to Dracul is like being immersed in a classic vampire film . . . a terrifying listen that gave me hours of fun.' R. L. Stine, author of Goosebumps

Dracul reveals not only the true origins of Dracula himself, but also of his creator, Bram Stoker . . . and of the elusive, enigmatic woman who connects them.

It is 1868, and a 22-year-old Bram Stoker has locked himself inside an abbey's tower to face off against a vile and ungodly beast. He is armed with mirrors and crucifixes and holy water and a gun - and is kept company by a bottle of plum brandy. His fervent prayer is that he will survive this one night - a night that will prove to be the longest of his life.

Desperate to leave a record of what he has witnessed, the young man scribbles out the events that brought him to this point - and tells an extraordinary tale of childhood illness, a mysterious nanny, and stories once thought to be fables now proven true.

Inspired by the notes DRACULA's creator left behind, Dracul is a riveting, heart-stoppingly scary novel of Gothic suspense . . .

©2018 Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker (P)2018 Random House Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Listening to Dracul is like being immersed in a classic vampire film...a terrifying listen that gave me hours of fun." (R. L. Stine, author of Goosebumps)

Biting!

This "prequel" is much better than Dacre Stoker’s "sequel" - his pervious attempt at capitalizing on his famous relative's name. Whether he matured greatly during the decade between the two books, or changed to a writing partner that actually knows the craft, this book simply works.
It's dynamic and engaging, a page turner.

Sure, not everything makes sense. The 8 and 9 year old kids act like teenagers. The narrator, facing terryfing adversity, decides to spend the night by writing a diary. Okay. This was clearly written with a movie adaptation in mind and God bless them for it. Still, it maintains enough literary richness to be enjoyed as a book.

Perhaps, the main reason for "Dracul" to work and for "The Undead" to fail lies in the overall nature of these two works. This one comes from a place of addition and exploration, while the other one is mostly about replacing and retconning. This book feels like a respectful homage to Bram Stoker and a welcome addition to the Dracula myth.

The audio narration is excellent, greatly elevated by the full cast. The voices are distinctive and enrich the experience without being over the top. The decision to use Irish accents sparingly, and mostly in a suggestive manner, was the correct one. A definite recommendation to the Audible community!

Meh

A worthy effort, but too many plot points and characters come across as recycled from the original Dracula. Die-hard vampire fans will enjoy this, but the original Dracula was enough for me.