Author: Bram Stoker
# of Pages: 5 hours 57 minutes
Genre: Classics, Horror, Thriller
Rating: ★★★★☆ (GR: 4.25)
Synopsis: For centuries, Dracula has evaded capture. Enter Mina Harker. Audible presents Dracula, a brand-new, full-cast adaptation of Bram Stoker's masterpiece starring Ella Purnell, Jonathan Bailey, Aimee Lou Wood, Louis Partridge, David Jonsson, and Maggie Gyllenhaal. When her fiancé vanishes in Transylvania, Mina pieces together letters, diary entries and chilling testimony to hunt the predator stalking those she loves: only to discover he's already hunting her. Dracula lurks in shadow, slips into dreams, and casts no reflection. To nearly all, he defies detection: beyond what the eye can see, and what the mind can comprehend. When her closest friend Lucy succumbs to his thrall, the enigmatic Professor Van Helsing is summoned to wage war on this unfathomable threat. But it is Mina, her intellect, her resolve, her gift for drawing the unseen lines between clues, who holds the key to stopping this ancient killer. If he hasn't already found his way inside her mind… Starring Ella Purnell (Fallout) as Mina, Jonathan Bailey (Wicked) as Dracula, Louis Partridge (Enola Holmes) as Jonathan, David Jonsson (Industry) as Dr Seward, Aimee Lou Wood (The White Lotus) as Lucy, Johnny Flynn (Emma) as Renfield, Lesley Manville (The Phantom Thread) as Mrs. Westenra, and Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight) as Professor Van Helsing, this is Bram Stoker's groundbreaking epistolary novel, given a new lease of life. Directed by Mary Lambert (Pet Sematary) featuring an original score by Ilan Eshkeri (Audible's 1984, House of Guinness) and with full sound design, Audible's Dracula invites you to feel the terror of being hunted. And the thrill of the hunt.
Review: Started listening for Jonathan Bailey, stayed for the amazing voice acting cast!
In all seriousness, this full cast recording was extremely immersive and got me to listen to a classic that I otherwise probably would never have read. It was more like an audio experience rather than an audiobook since there was music and sound effects, and the speaking parts were only dialogue and internal thoughts rather than descriptions on what is happening (could have used more of this during the vampire fighting scenes).
The only reason why this doesn't have an even higher star rating is because the voice actor for Professor Van Helsing broke the immersion. All the other voice actors were acting with so much emotion and intensity, and then Professor Van Helsing's voice would cut in with such a robotic, Siri-like tone.
First couple parts were the best; one of the few times where I liked the beginning more than the ending of a story. Overall would recommend this for as an auditory experience.
