You don't get to the actual story until chapter 11

The story starts on chapter 11, everything before is forwards, intros and backstory of how it came about.

11 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

A worthy companion to Dracula

I greatly enjoyed this lost early version of Dracula. The Count himself was quite terrifying, more so than he seemed in the final version published by Stoker. I enjoyed this version of Harker's stay at the castle much more than that found in the final version. That said, the ending was rushed and nowhere near as developed at the rest of the book. The rushed ending aside, I found it to be a worthy companion to Stoker's final version of Dracula.

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7 chapters of introduction? Really?

Change the title to an In Depth History of Dracula Version 2 Followed By Version 2.

5 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

An unfinished work

If you've ever wanted an hour-long, self-indulgent memoire by a distant descendant of Bram Stoker on the enduring importance of Dracula scholarship, then this book is for you.

And if you want an additional hour or so of some guy's graduate thesis on whether or not some Icelandic newspaper publisher modified Bram Stoker's story without permission, or stole this version wholesale from a Swedish newspaper publisher who modified Bram Stoker's story without permissions, then you are in for a treat. If you were super hoping that this thesis contained a detailed analysis of the conversion rates between late nineteenth century Danish Crowns and 2016 Euros, you will not be disappointed. And if you were hoping that this academic treatise would include two appendices and also spoil every single difference between Stoker's original novel and this version before the novel even starts, then congratulations, you have hit a true goldmine.

But if you were looking for a Dracula story, this will leave you wanting.

The first quarter of the story is well fleshed out, and has some significant additions to the Dracula legend. But once Harker escapes Castle Dracula, the author seemed to lose interest, and it comes across more like a Wikipedia summary of a novel than an actual story. It's a true embodiment of "tell, don't show," and it will leave you wanting.

The translation is superb, as far as I can tell, and the performance is excellent, but far too much of this book consists of people talking about the novel, and not the novel itself, and when you actually get to the story, you're left unsatisfied just as the story's about to get good.

16 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

An interesting version of Dracula

I skipped the whole introduction to the book, an entire 11 chapters of preface is not enjoyable to me, I like getting straight to the story, so this somewhat hindered my interest in the book as a whole. Now the ending is anticlimactic, however the beginning of the story is great, I simply felt disappointed by the ending that hardly felt like a conclusion. This is an interesting story nonetheless and just the beginning is a worthy thing to listen to.

I would not necessarily recommend this book. Unless the prospect of hearing a different side of the classic tale is worth your time. I found parts of this book, mainly the rewrite on Jonathan/Thomas Harker’s journal. Had that been merged with the English version’s ending, it would have been a perfect story. However all the other characters stories aren’t told in their journals or the like, it is told in most part in third person. And I definitely prefer the journal/letter formula in the English Dracula. Still a good listen if you want to learn a generally new plot of Dracula.

4 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Intriguing alternate version of a classic

This alternate version of Dracula focuses almost entirely on Harker’s adventures in Transylvania, with the London scenes limited to one fifth of the overall narrative. Presumably based on an earlier draft of Dracula, it gives us insights into the creative process that led to the publication of the renowned classic of gothic horror, and also insights into the character and mentality of the Count which were omitted in the later version. A must-read for any fan of Dracula.

Who wants to see a film adaptation of this version? I do!

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

A great listen

An interesting adaptation of the original. Similar in a good way yet just different enough to be intriguing in a new way. Highly recommended for fans of the original.

Brilliance found in a lost story.

Fantastic narration of a timeless classic coupled with very interesting, historical accounts of Bram Stoker's original Dracula, skillfully retold in this more detailed, colorful version that leaves one with a lot of questions to ponder. 5 stars! *****.

Amazing Discovery!

Dracula has always been one of my favorite books across all genres. This was so exciting to find! A complete reworking of an amazing classic tale, at least partially from Bram Stoker. The expansion of Harker’s visit to the castle was superb and I’ll probably read it as a prelude to every reread of Dracula in the future.

Skip to Chapter 11

I’m not sure why I think this but I feel like they need to look further into connections from Stokers characters -crazed Dr Seward - whomever inspired his creation and Van Helsing, already admittedly made after a real person, because it feels like Stoker might have known of Jack the Ripper Or at least it feels implied. If you want to get to the actual story skip to chapter 11 wish I’d known that an hour ago.