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Anno Dracula

Book 1

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Anno Dracula

By: Kim Newman
Narrated by: William Gaminara
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About this listen

With the versatile voice talent of William Gaminara, acclaimed novelist Kim Newman explores the darkest depths of a reinvented Victorian London. It is 1888, and Queen Victoria has remarried, taking as her new consort the Wallachian Prince infamously known as Count Dracula. Peppered with familiar characters from Victorian history and fiction, the novel tells the story of vampire Geneviève Dieudonné and British spy Charles Beauregard as they strive to solve the mystery of the Ripper murders.

Anno Dracula is a rich and panoramic tale, combining horror, politics, mystery, and romance to create a unique and compelling alternate history.

©1992 Kim Newman (P)2011 Audible Ltd Fantasy Historical Horror Mystery Scary

Critic reviews

"Kim Newman's Anno Dracula is back in print, and we must celebrate. It was the first mash-up of literature, history and vampires, and now, in a world in which vampires are everywhere, it's still the best, and its bite is just as sharp. Compulsory reading, commentary, and mindgame: glorious." (Neil Gaiman)
" Anno Dracula couldn't be more fun if Bram Stoker had scripted it for Hammer. It's a beautifully constructed Gothic epic that knocks almost every other vampire novel out for the count." (Christopher Fowler)
"Bloody excellent. Kim Newman has exsanguinated the best of fact and fiction and created a vivid vampirous Victorian world uniquely his own. This clever, delicious extravaganza - Hammer horror meets True (Blue) Blood - is just the tonic for the year of a Royal Wedding." (Stephen Volk)
" Anno Dracula is the smart, hip Year Zero of the vampire genre's ongoing revolution." (Paul McAuley)
"A tour de force which succeeds brilliantly." ( The Times, London)
All stars
Most relevant
The author does a wonderful job of taking existing historical figures both real and fiction and blending them together into a gothic serial killer novel. The Victorian England in his book is a horrid vampire ruled city of darkness and blood. William Gaminara did a lovely job vocalising all the characters and mood of this first book in a series.

A wonderful literary alternative universe

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Now don't get me wrong; I love the IDEA of this book. I really wanted to like it. I've just finished listening Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the D'Urbvilles by the same author, and really enjoyed that. Sadly I couldn't get a hold of Anno Dracula and I got most of the way through it.

I'm actually struggling to decide why I didn't like it. The narrator didn't particularly grab me (which is never a good start) as he has quite a soft voice. But I think the main problem for was the sheer volume of characters and sub-plots you are required to follow meant that the book sort of collapsed in on itself. I wasn't entirely sure if it wanted to be a love story, or a re-imagining of the Jack the Ripper in Victorian vampire London. I think it should've stuck with the latter as this was by far the more imaginative line of the two. Some of the characters & sub plots drift in & out so quickly that you are left with a sense of lost possibilities; the idea of a prison camp on the South Downs was never really fully explored. Shame.

Just couldn't get into it - needed a good editor

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Would you consider the audio edition of Anno Dracula to be better than the print version?

Yes, simply because the narrator did such an excellent job.

What did you like best about this story?

The story is great but spotting all the little nods to the genre is entertaining in itself.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The scenes that changed the listeners perception of what happened in Bram Stokers original.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. It's a book to absorb the characters and the atmosphere rather than a race to the finish.

Excellent "what if" tale.

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What made the experience of listening to Anno Dracula the most enjoyable?

I liked the story and where it was going to go intrigued me.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I absolutely adored Genevieve, I've never come across a vampire who was written quite as well as her. She was multifaceted and simply wonderful.

What about William Gaminara’s performance did you like?

It did take me a while to warm up to the narrator but once I got used to his voice it worked very well, especially as Charles.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I was actually rather happy to read this book in sections, I think it would have been too heavy to read in one go.

Enjoyable new take on Dracula

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Any additional comments?

Decent vampire novel set in Victorian era, so lots of literary references scattered throughout. Think this book would work best by actually reading it as opposed to the audio as a lot of the 'clues' were kind of missed or not as obvious to me in this format.

Interesting take on vampiric lore

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