Dracula (Dramatized)

By: Bram Stoker

Narrated by: Walter Zimmerman, full cast

Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

This is the original classic story of Bram Stoker's undead monster. It has influenced Western portrayals (including Buffy and Angel) of vampires and vampirism for nearly a century. Even after all this time, Bram Stoker's Dracula remains the undisputed masterpiece of horror writing.

©1980 Jimcin Recordings (P)2004 Brian J. Killavey

Critic reviews

"This recording features particularly chilling vocal characterizations of the vampire and Jonathan Harker, which add greatly to the dramatic horror of the story. A highly popular recording." (Booklist)

Great Story - agonizing narration

I really loved this story - with movies you only get so much, but this book really laid the whole story out from the very beginning and it was wonderful.

As for the narrators, for the most part most of them did very well. However, Dr Seward's narrator left a lot to be desired of in my opinion. At best it was agonizing listening to his monotone speech, which offered no emotion whatsoever and his sentences most frequently ran into each other--so you didn't know where he began or ended.

But, all in all, the story is narrated in a fashion that you can follow, imagine and understand. Seward's narrator notwithstanding, I recommend that you be patient with his part for you will learn to deal with it.

Great Listen

Being October, I thought this would be a good book to get me "in the spirit". Did it ever - Great book and read very well. I especially liked the way it was read by different people for different parts. "Johnathan Harker's Journal" by one reader, "Mina's Murray's Dairy" by another, "Val Helsings phonographic diary" ( the first audio book! ) by another and so on. This gave it a verisimilitude that just would not have happened with one reader. I give it five stars.

Drac of the day

I imagine during its time this was a horrific book, however, in our age it is somewhat ...plain? It is a must read for Drac fans of all ages.

Well done!

I have to admit, I was reluctant to get this version. We all know the story but I had never read it, so I thought to give it a try. There are many, many versions to pick from, but I'm glad I chose this one. The way the book is written from so many different perspectives makes the different narrators relevant. Each narrator takes on the characters persona and helps you remember who's view point is who's. I actually got cold chills running down my spine is some spots, which I thought was pretty telling of the narrators ability to read the book as it was intended. In a day an age where violence and vampires are so prevalent, and the public so jaded by violence in films and TV I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this original version.

Faithful adaptation

Enjoyable, if not slightly stilted in delivery, and some very odd attempts at English accents!

Unabridged? - I don't think so.

Caution!!!! This version has been heavily edited!!!! Check out the other version on this site. Don't make the mistake I did. What a bummer!

Unabridged???

Let?s keep it simple; this version has been heavily edited. Perhaps for content, perhaps to shorten it, whatever... I purchased this copy in order to read along with it for a Gothic Lit class I am taking in London, and was extremely disappointed. First off; there are major underlying themes completely missing. Entire paragraphs and even pages missing and most notable were those that detail Victorian attitudes toward women. I grew increasingly frustrated as I read and had to pause the audio at least once EVERY PAGE in order to read the missing parts. Second; Chapter nine is not even an excerpt from Dracula! It?s an entirely different chapter, from an entirely different book. (at least that was the case with the copy I downloaded) All in all it was disappointing to me, that some of the most interesting themes and attitudes were completely wiped out, and one can't help but think it was because they disagreed with an editor's feminist politics. If you are using this for a class, as I was, make sure you read along with it so you don't miss anything, and at the end don't be surprised when you"re left wondering: "Was that worth the 36 bucks I just spent on it?"