Dark Shadows: Kingdom of The Dead, Part Two

Dark Shadows Audiobook Drama #2.2

by Stuart Manning, Eric Wallace

“Everything’s unravelling. Soon he’ll come for us… and he won’t stop.”

The Lorelei has gone and Barnabas and Quentin are missing, presumed dead. As Willie attempts to protect Maggie from the sheriff’s investigations, Angelique begins to uncover the truth about Barnabas and Quentin’s fate. But a powerful force is waiting in the wings, and its arrival in Collinsport will soon change the lives of everyone forever…

Genres: Horror, Gothic, Vampires

Audiobook

First published April 1, 2010

Reviews

[Stephen Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Things are heating up in Collinsport. Then again, when are they quiet? Maggie, now knowing Barnabas is a vampire, hides out at Windcliff Sanatorium, but lands in danger there as well. Back in town, the elderly and gentle Reverend Hartswood (Jerry Lacy) goes through a transformation of his own, and is revealed to be yet another Trask. And the ending is a cliffhanger that rivals some of the best of the TV show.

[Alex at lost Haven Homestead · Rating 4 out of 5]

The gothic tension tightens significantly in Kingdom of the Dead (Part 2), as scriptwriter Eric Wallace takes over the reins of Big Finish’s four-part audio miniseries. Picking up directly from the heavy exposition of the premiere, this second chapter excels at escalating the stakes for the fragile remnants of the Collins family. The mysterious, lurking threat hinted at previously begins to step out of the shadows, sending shockwaves through Collinsport and throwing everyone’s lives into chaos. While Willie Loomis continues his desperate bid to shield Maggie Evans from Sheriff Haggerty’s intensifying legal pressure, Angelique takes center stage as she uncovers more harrowing clues about the true fates of the missing Barnabas and Quentin. Wallace strikes a fantastic narrative balance here, keeping the classic, slow-burn 1970s daytime melodrama intact while injecting a more modern, urgent sense of supernatural dread.
Earning a firm 4-star rating, this episode shifts the miniseries into high gear by raising the emotional and supernatural stakes. The legendary original cast—headlined by David Selby and Lara Parker—delivers another masterclass in campy yet genuinely eerie gothic performance, ensuring the dialogue carries the perfect weight of classic tragedy. The standout element of Part 2 is David Warner’s performance as the enigmatic Seraph, whose chilling presence and interactions with the main cast completely steal every scene he is in. The sound design continues to work overtime, using weeping wind, echoing floorboards, and Robert Cobert's haunting musical themes to paint a wonderfully atmospheric audio landscape. While it still suffers slightly from the middle-chapter syndrome of a larger narrative puzzle—leaving audiences with a massive cliffhanger instead of solid resolutions—the excellent pacing and mounting dread make it a fantastic, gripping hour of audio horror.

[Gabriel Mero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Dark Shadows adventure