Some people read about zombies, others are into ghost stories. Me? I am a long-time fan of the vampire tale. I collected books based the trope until romance writers attempted to co-opt the trope and co-opt it badly. There was a time when my goal was to own every vampire novel and short story ever written. As I got older, I revised my expectations.

Let's imagine word association between you and me. I say "Bram Stoker." You reply with "Dracula." I say :Dracula." You reply with "vampire." These would be instantaneous responses because you have read the book, seen a stage play, or watched a movie starring the infamous vampire. Although DRACULA is not the first novel written about the undead, it is probably the most recognized by the general public. The definitive story is contained in the novel. The movies and stage plays take liberties to meet time and space constraints. They also add bits to Bram Stoker's original vampire mythos.

DRACUL is more a biography of Bram Stoker, more of a history of his family, than it is a re-writing of DRACULA. Even a cursory Google search of 'Bram Stoker' will confirm that he did indeed have a brother Thornley and a sister Mathilda (although that was her middle, not first, name).

Vampire tales have rules, a mythos to which authors must, at least loosely, adhere. The only way to kill a vampire is with a stake through the heart. Vampires cannot live in sunlight. Vampires must sleep on their native earth. All of these ideas are subject to change as you read the works of different authors. The mythos of the vampire is a fascination of mine. I look for variations with each new book, each new author, each new series about the blood-drinking undead. DRACUL does not disappoint. The things the undead can do in this book vary just enough from the original novel to make it quite unique. Written in the form of journal entries made by some of the characters, and letters by another, it harkens back to DRACULA whose tale is told through the journal entries of Jonathan Harker. In both cases, we are led to believe that as far-fetched as it may seem, the stories are completely true. This truth lies in the conviction each journal exhibits.

For this serious collector of vampire tales, this book is a must. For anyone who has read DRACULA, DRACUL provides insight into the mind of Bram Stoker. Yes, I know that both books are fiction, that vampires are not real, but to suspend disbelief affords a glimpse of what might be.

On the downside (a very small downside), I will say that there is a word or two, here and there in DRACUL, that is too modern. Today's reader might not even notice these literary faux pas, but, when such care has been given the overall work, to me they stood out like beacons.

Having just finished Dracul, I am trying to figure out the words to express how much I loved this book! This isn't my genre of choice but it's a prequel Dracula, which is in a class of its own. Simply a must read. Also, being a huge fan of J.D. Barker, I will read everything he writes because his stories are beyond genius.

Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker went all out with Dracul. It is intense, haunting, scary and I was not able to put this book down til the late hours. Then I kept my eyes drawn to the shadows waiting for something to pop out at me!

Even after finishing the book, the Authors Note made the book ten times more creepy. It was beyond interesting to see and read from the original journal of Bram Stoker. Thank you Dacre and J.D. for bringing Dracul into the world!

Thank you NetGalley, G.P Putnam's Sons, Dacre and J.D. for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

Remember …. don't trust anyone whose reflection can't be seen in a mirror .. or doesn't cast a shadow... or unexpectedly when observed in the daylight doesn't seem to be as powerful or formidable
as in the cloak of darkness!! What we have here is a "guilty pleasure" … a fun read, analogous to devouring a hot fudge sundae. A tale that continuously is permeated with a sense of dread and foreboding... that was gobbled up in two sittings (unfortunately I had to go to work in between). Although billed as a prequel to the classic "Dracula" novel of Bram Stoker … it actually is much more and can certainly stand on it's own as a supernatural thriller. It successfully adds to the Vampire lore and provides valuable insights into the history of the origin of the novel and Bram Stoker's actual life.
Bram is a pivotable character along with his sister Matilda and brother Thornley along with their mysterious caretaker - "Nana" Ellen (Crone). The story shifts back and forth utilizing passages in journals and letters penned by many , but especially Bram and Matilda, to advance the narrative. In the present we find Bram in a locked tower attempting to fend off multiple sources of horror behind a massive oak door … armed with only Holy water, paste from communion wafers and a special shot gun. We learn that much of Bram's life was spent bedridden with eminent expectation of his demise . At age seven his health acutely deteriorates with expectation of his death … only to have his Nana "intervene" with his unexpectant recovery to full health (and somehow his healing powers are even accelerated!). Matilda and Bram follow their "Nana" to a creepy forest and observe her disappearance as she submerges herself in a bog. The quest to shed light on her disappearance eventually leads to formation of a band of virtual vampire hunters … led by Bram, Matilda, Thornley and the Van Helsing-like figure: Arminius Vambery .. who is steeped in the ways of the Undead and possesses knowledge in their ways and weaknesses. Tension ratchets up as they journey to a remote village outside of Munich … to face off against the ultimate forces of evil.
In an afterword by Dacre Stoker... he suggests that in fact the Dracula novel as we know it, is missing the first 100 pages and which Bram Stoker had to cut to achieve publication in England . But, Stoker submitted the original manuscript to other countries which published his definitive version? (the question mark is my own). He adds that the later published short story: "Dracula's Guest" was derived somewhat from these missing pages.
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group / Putnam books for providing this Uncorrected Advance copy of this gem in exchange for an honest review. (

Dracul is a dark, scary, and truly satisfying prequel to Bram Stoker's Dracula. The appendix was especially enlightening and only added to the overall spooky tone of the book. I'd love to read those first 100 pages!

This is the story of the most famous vampire,... no not the one that sparkles either. It's the prequel to the world famous, Dracula.
It is filled with all the intrigue, suspense, horror of the original book. It answers some of the questions we have all been asking through the years.
Well written and well done gentleman.

All fiction – and supernatural fiction especially so – requires us to suspend our disbelief and to accept that the world between the covers of a book is as real as the one we’re living in (if not more). The premise of Dracul however is even harder to swallow than the very existence of the Undead – the novel presents us with a Bram Stoker who has personal experience of vampires and who has a final showdown with none other than Count Dracula himself. The concept intrigued me even whilst setting alarm bells ringing in my head – would Dracul turn out to be the great Dracula prequel touted by the marketing blurbs or just another in a recent tradition of horror mash-ups? The fact that the novel is jointly credited to Dacre Stoker (Bram’s great-grand nephew) and horror writer J.D. Barker only fuelled my misgivings. Apart from my irrational prejudice against co-authored works, the Stoker name on the title page gave me a niggling suspicion that it was there primarily to capitalize on the link to Bram. And so, with some difficulty in setting aside pre-conceptions, uncertainties and pet peeves, I joined a youngish Bram keeping watch in an unnamed tower, eyes fixed on a heavy door behind which untold horrors lurk...

I must say that the initial chapters did little to shake off my doubts . The shifts between Bram’s vigil (helpfully marked “NOW”) and his recollections of his sickly childhood, nursed by the enigmatic “Nanna Ellen”, seemed artificial, the dialogue between Bram and his sister Matilda unconvincing. However, once this backstory was set out and the action shifted closer to the (novel’s) present, I became increasingly engrossed. Like Bram’s original, Dracul follows a group of improvised vampire-busters on a hunt which leads them to the dark heart of Continental Europe. The pace of the plot mounts inexorably and culminates in a set-piece in a ghost-village outside Munich which seems to be as much inspired by horror movies and zombie tropes as by ‘traditional’ vampire fiction.

Part of the fun of the book lies in looking for the parallels between this novel and the original, as well as references to real life events and figures. Thus, as in Dracula, Dracul is recounted through a series of journal entries, diaries and letters, giving the text an immediacy and allowing for different perspectives. There is material which is clearly gleaned from the short story Dracula’s Guest and expanded to fit the plot. The novel also has its own Van Helsing, in the shape of Arminius Vámbéry, a Hungarian Turkologist who, in reality, was an acquaintance of Stoker and might have influenced or served as a model for Van Helsing. Rather than a prequel to Dracula, I’d consider it more of a companion piece – a “pastiche”, in a positive sense, which delights in resurrecting vampire tropes largely shaped by Bram Stoker’s seminal novel.

In an afterword to Dracul, Dacre Stoker explains that this novel is based on his ancestor’s actual notes and on the first hundred-or-so pages of the novel which were allegedly excised at the insistence of the original publishers. Then, Stoker ups the ante – Bram, he tells us, presented the manuscript as a “true story” and Dracula was not meant to serve as ‘entertainment’ as much as a warning against a very real evil. Now, of course, Dracula was neither the first nor the last Gothic novel to present itself as a “non-fictional” account. Presumably, Dacre is riffing on this trope. But this does raise an interesting question – namely just how far is Dracul actually inspired by Bram’s biography, handwritten notes and “original intentions” and how much of it is Dacre’s and J.D. Barker’s own invention? Scholars of the Gothic might illuminate us – in the meantime, Dracul remains an enjoyable vampire romp which nicely complements the (unbeatable) original.

I couldn't put this book down. It was suspenseful and haunting. This is a book that I didn't know needed to be written, but I'm glad it was. Any Dracula fan will love this book. I liked that Bram was a character in this book. I highly recommend this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I was intrigued by the premise of it being written by a relative of Stoker and the fact that the original notes were used to create this sequel. My goodness, this was not a letdown. It was creepy, well-written, and suspenseful. I really liked the writing style and that the author didn't use an old style of writing. While I loved Dracula the original, I found that sometimes it was hard to get through the writing style (a common problem I have with a lot of classics). I am thoroughly impressed by this book and can't wait to share it on my channel.

This gothic novel had every element I enjoy from the genre. Cemeteries, a castle ruin, a nanny, an attic, an abandoned abby, a secret club, the supernatural, a morgue, murder, night journeys, bugs, bodies, wolves, and of course, vampires. I spent all day reading this, unable to put it down for long. The writing is beautiful, and I am reminded of the writing of the classic Victorian gothic writers.

Although Bram Stoker is the main protagonist, I found that his sister, Matilda, was my favorite character. Her intelligence drove the plot along and was a welcome departure from the weak woman trope of many gothic novels.

The history behind how this book came to be is fascinating, and I wished I had read a spoiler-free version of the author’s note as a preface to the book. Knowing about Bram Stoker’s notes and original manuscript would have enriched my reading of the novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this ebook in exchange for an unbiased review.

Have you ever wondered about the origin story of the world's most notorious vampire? Fiction and fact are deftly interwoven in this prequel to Bram Stoker's Dracula.

This gothic masterpiece is a prequel to a classic that I didn't think could get any better, but it did. The best part of this truly terrifying tale of things that don't die is that the voice and macabre setting is spot on to the original Stoker classic. As a young child Bram Stoker, the author of DRACULA, was deathly ill and was miraculously healed by the family's Nana Ellen. Her strange skill at healing was accepted but she didn't count on the natural curiosity of the unnatural in children so when Nana Ellen goes missing, Bram and his sister attempt to find out where she has gone. Sightings of her follow the children and as adults, their search uncovers some frightening results. This is a one sitting book that you will wish there were another 200 pages. Not to be missed is the author's notes from Bram Stoker's journals which is fascinating in its own right. An eerie thing happened to me while I was reading the book one night - every single light went out on my entire street leaving me to jump at every little noise for the next several hours with the only thing illuminating my world was the screen of my iPad. October is the perfect time to release this new gothic horror classic- don't trust anyone who doesn't leave footprints. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy of this gem.

Ever hear something that brings back a childhood fear? Mine are pretty easy. But there is one particular sound that still makes my skin crawl ( you are gonna laugh, I KNOW IT!)

The musical intro to "Are You Afraid of The Dark?"

I am not even kidding! I would hear just the beginning three seconds of this bad boy and run out of the room and beg either my parents or grandparents to turn it off. You see, I was completely sheltered when it came to all things scary. It wasn't until I met my husband that I was introduced to the wonderful world of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Friday the 13th"! While horror isn't my go-to genre, it's always nice to pick one up from time to time. I'm always reminded that you don't always have to watch something on TV to have something scare the pants off of you, and Dracul is no exception.

"Nanna Ellen was there at Bram's beginning and most likely end (as he was for hers)."

Abraham (Bram) Stoker was thought to have been a stillborn at birth. He was brought into this world breach, feet ready to make their mark, and umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, as if the world wasn't ready for him to tell its secrets. Nanna was there to revive his lifeless body, taking him in her own room two days at a time to continually nurse him back to health. After those two days Nanna looked drained, and stayed locked in her room until she fully recovered.

Naturally being sick off and on as a child will eventually come to a head. Bram's sickness rears its ugly head conveniently on a night when Nanna Ellen is out of the house. The only choice the Stoker's had was enlisting the help of father's cousin Edward, a Dublin doctor, who believed firmly in the practice of blood letting. With leeches attached, Bram is left to a fever dream of events. He sees Nanna Ellen come into his room, orders everyone out of the room, and promptly takes the leeches off. When Bram awakes, he feels as though he has never been sick a day in his life.

It wasn't until Bram and sister Matilda were older and more curious that they started noticing oddities about Nanna Ellen.

"At that age, the true and the fantastic blend together, becoming as one."

Matilda was fascinated with art, making sketches since she was little. One of her favorite things to do was draw Nanna Ellen. Years worth of sketches and not a single portrait was the same. It always drew similarities to Nanna Ellen, but never truly captured her. She would tell Bram of all the comings and goings of the Stoker household, whether exaggerated or not. Because how can children understand the difference between childhood fairy tales and reality? The pair sneak into Nanna Ellen's room to do some investigating. But what they find will fill them with more questions than answers, and a lifetime of looking over their shoulders?

"Nanna Ellen told us tales of creatures, so in our minds she became one."

****************POSSIBLE SPOILERS***********************
Have you ever watched a scary movie? Yeah? Me too. Have you ever held a pillow (blanket, hand, etc.) over your face during the scary parts? Yeah? Me too! Have you ever pulled that pillow down when you thought the scary part was over, just to catch a glimpse of it and pull that pillow back up? ME TOO! This is exactly how Dracul reads.

We have paragraph after paragraph that rivals a Stephen King novel. For a book to build the same anticipation as a movie takes ingenious effort. You are lacking the musical accompaniment, the actual film in front of your face. But you have a book that does that, what are you going to do? Close your book or Kindle and put it in the corner until you are over it?

Jump scares? Got 'em. Building amounts of dread? Got ya covered. Dracul had me guessing the entire time I was reading it. Don't get me wrong, there were a FEW instances where I over-exuberantly shouted "I KNEW IT!" which always startles the hubs and the minions.

If I HAD to complain about anything. . . The ebb and flow of present to past was just that. When it was great, it was spectacular, and when it was slow, it drudged on. . .and on. . .and on. But truly, the knowledge of Dacre Stoker combined with the thriller know-how of J.D. Barker is exquisite. Stoker and Barker make quite the horror pair, and while I know another compilation may not be in the works (any time soon, or at all) for me, it would be an instant buy.

Dracul is the ideal read for the fall season, and the perfect prequel to introduce you to the classic Dracula. So grab your pitchforks, throw some marshmallows on, and get lost in the horrifying origin story of how Dracula came to be.

This story is told from the Bram Stokes prospective. Sick as a child with Nanna Ellen caring for him. Dreams that he had that were maybe caused by a fever. Bram, His siater, Matilda and brother Thornley all remember her differently. Does she get younger every year or older at times? Is this their imagination? Then one night she leaves with the bed of dirt that was under her regular bed. Before she left, Bram and Matilda had seen her do some very strange things. Once they are adults, they see her in many different places, but she is never there when they reach the place she was. Many characters appear, many situations. What is the truth and will anyone find out? Great story that is well written. If you like vampires, you will love those a story from a point of view not often used. I received this book from Net Galley for an honest review and no compensation otherwise.

In the year 1868, Bram Stoker is a young man of 22 who enjoys taking in the theatre and writing reviews for a local publication. His world and that of his siblings is turned upside down when they rediscover their nanny Ellen, who looked after them as children, nursed Bram from the brink of death when he was a sickly child then disappeared without a trace.

Bram and his family must unravel Ellen’s secrets if they are to save themselves and everyone they hold dear.

I recently discussed with a friend my tendency to only read one or two epic novels per year. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the rest of what I read, just that it’s either short, not challenging, may not enthral me or doesn’t seem memorable. Again, that doesn’t mean it’s not good but it’s like a Big Mac from McDonald’s as opposed to a three course meal in a swanky restaurant. Dracul is one of the epics I have had the pleasure of reading this year.

For starters, Dracul is the prequel to Dracula that I never knew the world needed until it existed. It breathes new life into a classic novel that has been adapted many times and inspired countless others by giving it deep roots.

As the main course, the characters in Dracul are brought to life fantastically structured with depth and personality. The villains, the heroes and everyone in between are very well written and the plot moulds around them in a way that creates a vivid world and enthrals the reader, much like the eponymous vampire would.

For our final course, the atmosphere in Dracul is delectable and only gets better as the novel progresses. I could almost feel the chill in the air, smell the death in the air and hear the thunder cracking. The level of detail created by the authors of Dracul is spectacular but the story doesn’t get bogged down in any minutiae.

If you love creepy, gothic vampire stories and aren’t afraid of a story that will stay with you, then I highly recommend checking out Dracul.

Rating: 5/5

I liked this one a lot. I wasn't expecting much with a prequel, but was pleasantly surprised by this title. Creepy and mysterious. It made me keep reading late into the night, probably not the best idea given the subject matter. This will be a great fall read for a crisp October day where you want to curl up and read something atmospheric.

5 stars

Nana Ellen joined the Stoker household shortly before Abraham “Bram” Stoker’s birth in 1847. She is a very interesting and intriguing character. She was just a young woman at the time, but had some strange power to heal. However, the healing took much out of her and she had to either lock herself away or leave the home for a few days each time she used her remarkable power. It was never spoken of. Bram was a very ill child, confined to his room for the first seven years of his life. He suffered from fevers, deliriums and other unexplained weaknesses. Every time he gets ill, Nana Ellen does something to cure him. It’s not the ordinary kind of healing, or with herbs, but something supernatural – something otherworldly. Suddenly when Bram reaches the age of seven, he gets much, much better and Nana Ellen disappears.

Bram and his sister Mathilda are trying to sort out the strange occurrences as best as seven and eight-year olds can manage. They don’t tell their parents.

This book goes between Bram as a child and the present in which he is behind a locked door fighting for his life. For there is something on the other side of the door, something supernatural that wants in the room and wants badly to kill him. Bram seems to be fighting a losing battle.

Mathilda sees Nana Ellen in Paris when she is in her twenties. She looks exactly the same as when she was working for the Stokers. She tells Bram when she returns to Ireland, but he doesn’t want to believe her. He has rewritten the past to (mostly) erase all memories of the strange happenings of 1854. But Mathilda won’t give up on her certainty.

The reader enters part two of the novel wherein Bram is dealing with the apparition on the other side of the locked door. He is attacked by a giant wolf. Or is he?

Mathilda convinces Bram to help her to investigate further the strange coincidences and occurrences surrounding Nana Ellen – or whoever she is.

This is a great book. Although fiction, the events described in the book such as Bram’s early life and illness as well as his involvement with the theater are based on fact. This is a wonderful novel. I truly enjoyed it. It is both well written and plotted. Except for the moving back and forth between timelines in part one of the story the book is written linearly. That is to say in a straight line. The book has no wasted words. It is thrilling and very interesting. There is always something happening.

I want to thank NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam/G.P. Putnam’s Sons for forwarding to me a copy of this great book to read, enjoy and review.

Dacre Stoker (Bram's great-grandnephew) & J.D. Barker (of The Fourth Monkey) write this epistolary origin story (of sorts) detailing Bram Stoker's eerie experiences with his family's nanny, Ellen Crone, which eventually lead to his first encounter with a spectre, who would, in fact, turn out to be Count Dracula himself.

The story is fiercely personal, told through the letters and journals of Bram, his sister and brother, and a colleague who helps them pursue the fearsome Count. It is a new story told about an ancient horror and I thirstily devoured every page! Dracul reads like a movie playing in your head with vivid imagery and precise (but not exhaustive) mood-setting.

I recommend this book to fans of the original book, Dracula, by Bram Stoker. Even if you've only ever seen the movie, this book's descriptive prose will instantly transport your imagination back to the 1800s with stuttering lanterns, rolling fog, and things that go bump in the night!

This is a prequel to one of my favorite novels of all time Dracula . Having previously read Dracula Undead by Dacre Stoker and the Fourth monkey by JD Barker and loving them I was anxiously awaiting this collaboration. I was not in the least bit disappointed. Have you ever wondered how Stoker came to write Dracula? Riveting and suspenseful from the first page ,Dracul tells the story of a sickly Child Bram and his family . How he survived his illness will surprise and thrill you. A perfect gothic novel full of horror and memorable characters you will not be able to put this down or soon forget it .

This one left a lot to be desired. I was hoping for more from the story and the writing was kind of weak.