Fun combo of history with famous fiction

The author did a great job combining historical figures with the prominent characters from Bram Stoker's Dracula (including Stoker himself). If the reader is not very familiar with the story of Dracula or such personages as Queen Victoria, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, Jack the Ripper, the book may be less enjoyable.

The narrator was perfection. Don't be put off by the accented narrator in the clip that Audible offers - that's only the short preface.

My only complaint was the ending, which seemed to come suddenly, as if the author was tired of the whole thing. Given the excitement of the denoument, which got all my attention, there were more interesting stories to come. And then it was over.

14 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Interesting premise, failed execution

The premise of this book contained a lot of promise, but there is no real development of the story. Everything just sort of happens, without any real development or, quite frankly, point to it. The constant "name dropping" of the author, inserting both real and fictional characters was over the top. In addition the justification for the changes to a Victorian society and the setting required to even try to make this story work fails to be believable. There are a large number of potential plot lines that begin and then either fade out or are terminated without culminating into anything. The end result is that I have the feeling the author was trying too hard to create something brilliant and never really settled on what, exactly, he was trying to do. Even the central plot of solving the "Jack the Ripper" murders really becomes secondary and fails to really develop into anything overly central to the story. To illustrate this, the characters "solve" the ripper murders and the book goes on for another 40-50 minutes.

The narrator is good and does his best with the material so I'd be willing to listen to other books that he reads, but I'm definitely not going to pursue the sequel to this book, or likely anything else Kim Newman does.

9 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Brillant!

I purchased this awhile ago and just got around to listening to it. Now, I am kicking myself for waiting so long. This book is not only a brilliant reinvention of the Dracula world but also an insightful reinvention of the Jack the Ripper story. Kim Newman uses language to its ultimate potential to create a rich Victorian environment. Each character has a fullness and depth that adds to the quality of the story without losing its energy flow. The narration is also wonderful. There are quite a few characters in this story, but William Gaminara is able to give them all unique voices. This is a must-read for paranormal fans.

9 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

very well done

Any additional comments?

I thought Anno would be a nice diversion, but I found myself very enthralled by it. I wasn't expecting the combination of alternate history, vampire lore allusiveness, Jack the Ripper, and Victorian manners. If you have a knowledge of vampire lit you will pick up on the many allusions to famous stories. Sherlockiana, ditto. Ripperology, ditto. Victorian lit, ditto. Famous literary characters, historical figures blend and move together. Very entertaining.

7 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Tries too hard and doesn't deliver

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No, the story rambles and then just stops. I finished it and was still wondering why I had bothered.

3 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Great Potential, Confusing Execution

Any additional comments?

I liked this book, but I'm giving it three stars. Why? Because, while the story was compelling and filled with references to Victorian literature and history reshaped by Dracula, I found it hard to follow. There are just way too many characters to keep track of. I listened to this on my iPhone, so perhaps it's easier to keep straight if you are actually reading the book, but I found myself going back several times trying to figure out which character's POV we were in and who belonged to what name (one character confusingly has two names he swaps back and forth - even in his own thoughts). I don't think it helps that the whole thing is written with a 3rd person omniscient narrator. I would also add that the story starts off kind of slowly. I found my thoughts drifting off frequently for the first hour or so of listening. Again, this may not be a problem if you are actually reading. In conclusion, I will definitely be giving the second installment of the Anno Dracula series a listen. I think the idea has a ton of potential and am hoping it will be seen through in book two.

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

I tried

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I love the premise of the book, but just couldn't manage to make my way through it. The performance was fine, but gave up after repeated attempts.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Would you be willing to try another one of William Gaminara’s performances?

Yes.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

A terrific premise. I'm still curious about other works by Kim Newman.

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Boring, Boring, Boring

Would you try another book from Kim Newman and/or William Gaminara?

William Gaminara was excellent. Book was dull.

Has Anno Dracula turned you off from other books in this genre?

No.

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

Great voice changes. Good pacing.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Moments of good world building. But mostly tedious discussions.

Any additional comments?

There are much better books.

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Audible delivers crap yet again

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

No one with any brains and values

What do you think your next listen will be?

Depends on what publishers deem is available in my area i guess

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He was not suited to this type of audio book

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment and anger that audible would sell such rubbish

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Great idea for a book, but poorly developed plot

Great idea for a book, but unfortunately a poorly developed plot. Too much time spent with conflicting female characters. Could have developed better the "parallel history" juxtaposed with great fictional characters. Not sure I'll follow the next books.

1 personne a trouvé cela utile