Dracula (Blackstone Edition)

By: Bram Stoker

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 14 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1897, at the age of 50, Bram Stoker was touring manager to the actor Henry Irving and was enjoying a modest success as a journalist and writer. Publication in that year of Dracula was to bring him international and lasting fame.

The Dracula mythology has inspired a vast subculture, but the story has never been better told than by Stoker. He succeeds entirely in his aim to terrify. His myth is powerful because it allows evil to remain mysterious. Virtuous action has no more impact than Jonathan Harker's shovel. The high virtue of Lucy can simply be drained away, as her blood is drained away, until she too joins the vampire brood. Van Helsing's high-thinking and scientific skill cannot resist the dreadful potency of the undead. Only the old magic, a crucifix, garlic, a wooden stake, can provide effective weapons against the Count's appalling power.

(P)1998 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"The world's best-known vampire story comes to life in this expert performance by Robert Whitfield.... For a classic performance of a classic work, this production must not be missed." (AudioFile)

Fabulous! Scary and creepy! It didn't disappoint!

What did you like best about this story?

What was the best part? The detailed and descriptive writing by Bram Stoker. I loved the suspense in this gothic tale. And the talent of narrator Robert Whitfield was an added bonus. He was wonderful!

Better than the Book!

I have tried to read the Book many times but never made it thru. As an Audiobook, It was easy to finish and Easy to follow.

Excellent performance

Where does Dracula (Blackstone Edition) rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is the best male reader I have listened to.

What did you like best about this story?

The story isn't the point. You eitherlikeVa,pire storiesoryou don't

What does Robert Whitfield bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He has excellent diction. He can do accents. He does not make mistakes. His intonation is perfect for the context. He understands what he is reading.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Bram Stoker's Dracula

Any additional comments?

This is the best reader I've listened to. That's my point. The rest of the review is filled out online because the questions are there.

Exquisite detail and thrill

Before I begin my review you should know there are a few imperfections in this audio recording. You may pause and wonder if your player has skipped backward a few seconds. This is not the fault of your player, but an error in the recording.

This book is just over 14 hours long and it flew by! The details presented were amazingly visual but not gory/graphic. I held my breath more than once and hoped for amazing results. The story continued to a lovely finish that I didn't expect. This is written by a true story teller and I am happy to have finally read this classic.

A wonderful reading of the vampire classic

I've re-read Dracula many times over the years and always enjoyed it, so I was delighted to find that one of my favorite audiobook readers had done an unabridged version. Listening to it was a new experience, as so many small details become noticeable when heard, and I became more aware of the structure of the story than I had been before. While Van Helsing's broken English was sometimes more funny than Stoker may have intended, overall I thought all of the characterizations held up well, and despite knowing the story backwards and forwards I found myself getting teary once or twice. Definitely recommended!

Not terribly scary.

Well written and well read, but I may be desensitized to the horror aspects of this book more than 200 years later. While I enjoyed it, I guess my expectations were too high, as it played more like a 19th century procedural drama.

It isn't as well crafted, literary-wise, but I found The Strain (Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan) to be much more frightening and suspenseful. I probably should have listened to this book first. ;)

Well written and read, though needed more Dracula

This book was well written and read, but with the title Dracula, I was expecting more, well, Dracula. He was referred to a lot and was much discussed by the characters, but ended up making very few "on-screen" appearances.

The novel is structured as a series of journal entries, and I found it a bit unbelievable (and amusing) that each journal writer could remember events in such detail, including lengthy conversations word for word.

But, I'm glad to have finally read (listened to) it, even though the narrative meandered from time to time. I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could.

classic

A timeless classic well served by excellent narration. lots of fun! i would recommend it to anyone.

The classic Dracula story.

A must for Dracula fans, the original Bram Stoker's Dracula. Brilliant!

brilliant

story telling at it's best. even by contemporary standards the story stands the test of time. a must 'audible read'