Dracula

Big Finish Dracula #2

by Jonathan Barnes (Dramatised)

When a young solicitor, Jonathan Harker, visits the heart of Transylvania - ostensibly to meet reclusive nobleman Count Dracula - he cannot begin to imagine what horrors might lie in store for him there… or the chain of events he will set in motion at Castle Dracula.

Soon, Dracula’s bloodlust spreads to England’s shores, and Harker’s fiancée, Mina Murray, becomes embroiled in his affairs. Her best friend, Lucy Westenra, falls victim to the vampire’s thirst, and it is only with the help of an unlikely bunch of allies that the Count might be defeated… but can the undead ever truly perish?

Mark Gatiss stars in this chilling three-hour audio adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic vampire story, dramatised by Jonathan Barnes. This release also includes a bonus CD, featuring interviews with Dracula’s writer and cast, plus a selection of James Dunlop’s soundtrack for the production.

Genres: Horror, Audiobook, Classics, Fiction

Audio CD

First published May 1, 2016

About the author

Jonathan Barnes is the author of two novels, The Somnambulist and The Domino Men. He contributes regularly to the Times Literary Supplement and the Literary Review and is the author of several scripts for Big Finish Productions. He is currently writer-in-residence at Kingston University.

Reviews

[Amina (ⴰⵎⵉⵏⴰ) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant! As always, pure pleasure listening to Big Finish production and Dracula isn't an exception!

[Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant adaptation of the book. Possibly the most Faithful to the original novel with all the characters and locations in place. Most actors are perfect for the roles whilst it's only the interpretation of renfield that didnt 100% work for me. It's a good performance it's just not how my brain interprets the character. Mark gariss' dracula treads a fine line between Christopher Lee's urbane charm and Gary Oldman's Eastern European accent. There isn't much to differentiate his older self to when he is rejuvenated but let's be fair that's a tricky thing to pull off on audio. Great sound design and music add atmosphere and terror. One of the Big Finish Classics ranger's best. Recently they have done a prequel based on Stoker's "Draculas Guests" and a sequel set during WWI entitled "Dracula's War" will check out when I have the opportunity :)

[Pearce · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this adaptation has some real problems, especially the new dialogue sequences with Dracula which are filled with cheesy villain speeches. However the second half comes into its own with interesting reinterpretations of Jonathan and Mina. As with a lot of audio dramatisations there’s corny narration and unintentionally comic sound effects, but overall not a bad effort. The cast is strong except that Dr. Seward and Arthur Holmwood sound too similar at times

[Julie Bozza · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit that I bought this mostly because Rupert Young ♥ voices Dr John Seward in this audio play - but as with every Big Finish audio play I've listened to so far, this really was superb. A good adaptation of the original novel, effectively brought to life with just the right combinations of narration, dialogue, sound effects and music. I am not by nature into audio, but I loved this. (And, oh yes, Rupert was great!)

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A genuinely superb adaptation with evocative performances, beautiful music, and rich soundscapes.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little wary of this after my experience with Big Finish’s adaptation of Frankenstein. I had hoped that that would be a faithful adaptation and instead it made radical changes, many of which I didn’t care for (though Arthur Darvill was excellent). Dracula has a long history of being twisted and mangled in adaptations, sometimes for the better (or at least equally as good as the novel), but more often for the worse.

So I was pleasantly surprised that this was a very faithful adaptation that made a handful of cuts but also added in some excellent new scenes that enhance the story without contradicting the novel. Here Arthur’s father disapproves of his engagement to Lucy and Arthur in turn has chosen her largely to spite his aging and angry father. Lucy’s mother is made an author and Dracula himself gets a few extra moments to shine. Plus Quincy is actually here, goofy Texan accent and all.

I don’t think I need to comment on the plot overly much, since I’ve written about the novel multiple times before. But I will say that using Mina as a throughline narrator is a nice choice and a good nod to her work in the novel of assembling all of the various texts and records into something coherent. I also really enjoyed that this version makes the men a bit less misogynistic and stupid when it comes to Mina. I’m ambivalent about how Dracula’s attack on her is treated, as it changes from her being forced to drink his blood to him feeding on her. I prefer the novel’s version for adding an extra layer of horror and implicitly plays into the concept that vampirization requires an exchange of blood. There were also changes to the end, some of which I like and some I’m not sure I care for, unless they mean Big Finish plans to join the Dracula sequel industry.

Still, this is possibly one of the most faithful adaptations I’ve encountered and a damn good one too. That’s helped by excellent performances from the whole cast. I was especially impressed by how Lucy’s actress makes the difference between human and vampire Lucy clear just by changing her voice. There’s also a lot of good use of sound effects and music. I found it to be a truly horrifying experience at times. There’s something uniquely compelling about horror in audio form.

I do wish that this version had included the score and cast interviews as Frankenstein did as I think I would have really enjoyed that. As it is, this is an excellent adaptation and it makes me hope Big Finish will do more versions of classic horror stories with this level of quality.

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have found that Dracula is the type of narrative I can listen to in several ways, all dramatics redoings including, but can't really find the patience to actually read it!

I rather liked this audiodrama. I bought it with discount instead of full price and it was absolutely worth it. Really liked the voices and even through a couple of more awkward parts, I think it is very successful at what it was trying to do

[embo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best adaptation of Dracula. I am astounded how good it is. The director behind the project said his goal was to tear down the text and build it back up, with new modern interpretations but the same plot throughout. He 100% accomplished his goal and I cannot recommend this audioplay enough.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good adaptation. Got the vibe down.

[Marcel Driel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really excellent adaptation.

[Cecilia Porjefors · Rating 4 out of 5]

A realy good adaptation of the all time classic. Loved that it was more radio thater than normal audiobook, added so musch to the spookines of it <3

[Blair Hodgkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This audio adaptation is quite faithful to the source material and avoids some of the traps that have plagued stage, television and movie adaptations, such as rearranging the names and roles of several of the main characters or leaving out crucial scenes. We have here the familiar elements: Jonathan Harker's harrowing stay at Castle Dracula, Lucy's decline in health and resurrection as a vampire, the banding together of an unlikely group determined to bring Dracula down and a chase that crosses land and sea to end the vampire's threat once and for all time. Much of Stoker's original dialogue is reproduced in this version as well.

Voice casting and sound design is excellent and Mark Gatiss is a stand-out as Dracula, a role the actor-producer has been preparing for since his childhood fascination with horror films helped to shape his desire to perform.

I'd recommend this to anyone looking for an entertaining retelling of Dracula or just looking for a nice gothic diversion.