Dracula (Dramatized) [Abridged Fiction‪]‬

Bram Stoker's horror masterpiece, DRACULA, is a difficult piece of literature to adapt, yet many versions of this timeless story of the bloodsucking vampire have been produced, from movies to television series and, yes, even dramatizations. This particular dramatization remains faithful to the story, although there are some shortcomings. The Transylvanian and German accents (by Dracula and Van Helsing, respectably) range from mediocre to laughable, slightly detracting from the experience. The use of music is sparse, and whenever we hear anything, it's mostly some of the same pieces over and over again. There are also some slow spots which may have impatient listeners fidgeting (this "problem" is actually prevalent with the book). On the plus side, however, the adaptation is genuinely well acted (despite some caricature sounding voices here and there) and provides enough bloodcurdling terror when needed; namely for Lucy's death scene and the hauntingly spooky first half-hour when Jonathan Harker approaches the Castle Dracula. Its many faults aside, I enjoyed the production as sheer audio entertainment value, and look forward to experiencing other dramatizations of this type on iTunes.

Really engrossing. My teenage daughters and I found it really shortened our last, long car trip. You get totally lost in the story. I don’t know how many experiences are this rich for the price of ten dollars.