Technically, I listened to the audiobook, but we can't do audiobook reviews here, so I'm reviewing the Kindle book. The Kindle book is 507 pages long. The Audible audiobook is 16 hours and 25 minutes. I rated it 5 stars. It's rated 4.6 stars. It was written in 2018 by J.D. Barker and Dacre Stoker, great-grandnephew of Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula.

This book is written as a prequel to Dracula (which was written in 1897). It's written as if it were true, but apparently did hold a lot of truth in it. While I doubt that Bram Stoker really encountered a vampire, it's written about him and his family and includes information from his notes, personal journal, etc. It also includes many personal details such as him being very sickly as a child, but then at age 7, he miraculously seems to be healed, not having any further serious illnesses for most of the rest of his life. In Dracul, this is accounted for by his nanny being a vampire and giving him her blood to drink to cure him. There were many other things taken from his life and notes as well, including up to his death where he requested that he be immediately cremated. The book chalks this up to Bram wishing to prevent Dracul from coming to claim him after his death, as Dracul had promised to do.

This story follows Bram and his brother and sister as they grow up with a nanny who, unbeknownst to them, is a vampire. She suddenly leaves in the middle of the night when they are children and they later, as adults, go in search of her. In the meantime, Bram's brother, Thornley, has a wife who is also turned into a vampire and they must try to rescue her from the clutches of Dracul, while trying not to become dinner, themselves.

Those who enjoy gothic horror, Dracula stories, vampires, and scary stories that will creep you out without necessarily leaving you unable to sleep.

How the story was told from different view points--Matilda, Bram's sister writing letters to the nanny, Bram and Thornley's journals, as well as some more traditional storytelling. I also liked how the story held its cards close to its chest. There were a number of mysteries to be solved, but I didn't know what the answers were until the author revealed them.

Start reading Dracula by Bram Stoker.

It was creepy and fascinating and extremely well written. It also tells us a fair amount about Bram Stoker through the story, though perhaps one shouldn't fully trust the parts where he's tracking a real vampire.

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Created Apr 06, 2022 at 11:20pm • Submit your own review...