3 Classics but ...

I ordered this audible collection because of Richard Armitage. He has an incredible voice and a very talented actor. I would listen to (almost) anything he decides to read. "Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" is unfortunately by far the shortest of the three novels.

The stories of all three are well known.
"Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley certainly deserves a closer look. Just as is the case with "Dracula" there have been so many adaptations, re-workings, continuations etc. of the story, in written form and as well as in movies that it is well worth to go back and read (listen to) the original. With the point-of-view of a 21st century reader, the creature and his creator deserve to be judged anew.

I was most familiar with "Dracula" before I started listening to it, having read the story several times before. It is noteworthy that for a modern reader the narration is overlong, interspersed again and again with philosphical musings and from our p-o-v pseudo scientific explanations. But this is to be expected from material dating back to the 19th century (and holds true for the other two novels as well).

And here I come to the point why I am writing this review, and it concerns the narrators rather than the material itself. Accents and dialects are not always easy to listen to but if they are done by native speakers they are what they are. In the case of actors/narrators putting on a stage act they can become excrutiating particularly when they keep going for pages and pages, or rather long agonising minutes. This is compounded by the fact that both, Greg Wise and Rachel Atkins, have to speak Van Helsing's words and the accents should at best ressemble each other. Neither gets it right and the longer it goes on, the worse it sounds. Van Helsing is said to be Dutch (although many of the words written in his dialogue seem to be more German than Dutch) - why both speakers make him sound like a non-descript Eastern European native is beyond me. Dutch or German accents are completely different. It gets more and more pronounced as the audiobook goes on. Particularly Rachel Atkins veers into an intonation that sounds more Finnish even (I have Finnish friends who sound like this to some extent). I haven't finished the book yet and I don't know if I will. After all, I know the ending and I wonder more and more whether it is worth being so thoroughly annoyed just for the sake of sticking it out.

There. Rant over. But I needed to say it.

6 Leute fanden das hilfreich

Some of my fav actors reading some of my fav tales

I love this audiobook. The academic introductions to each novel are very good, and it's amazing to hear some of my favourite actors read some of my favourite stories. The perfect Christmas treat!

4 Leute fanden das hilfreich

Dracula bleibt mein Favourite

Alle drei Hörbücher sind sehr gut umgesetzt. Die Sprecher sind top. Ich hatte keine Probleme ihnen zu folgen.
Die Stories sind gewissermaßen bekannt. Von den dreien bleibt Dracula mein Favorit, denn während Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde mitunter sehr hochtrabend erzählt ist desto emotionaler ist Frankenstein. Der Hauptcharakter wälzt sich zu sehr im Selbstmitleid, was es schwierig macht, ihm auf Dauer zu zuhören. Dracula dagegen erinnert mehr an logisch wissenschaftliches Vorgehen mit weniger Gefühlsduselei als Frankenstein.
Alles in allem sehr hörenswert, besonders da man die drei Geschichten im Vergleich hört.

2 Leute fanden das hilfreich

Listening to these classics is not optional!

The movies don't do them justice. The concern for a dear friend, thirst for revenge, dread in the face of sheer malevolent power and determination to save your loved ones doesn't translate well to a screen.

2 Leute fanden das hilfreich

Classic collection brilliantly performed!

What a pleasure to listen to these classic novels performed by such great artists. They read them so vividly, bring them into the 21st century. Am a great fan of Richard Armitage's work for Audible, as always he performs every single character in Dr. Jekyll with their own little quirks. Was not a fan of Dan Stevens - but am now! Frankenstein is one of the best audiobooks on Audible!! He always hits the right pitch of innocence, drama, empathy or despair, befitting the individual scenes, amazing...

1 Person fand das hilfreich

Just great especially Dracula

Great books read by great readers. Dracula was just perfect with different Readers for The men and Mina. I really enjoyed it!

Fantastic

Perfect narration and a must for anyone getting acquainted with British fiction and horror writing from the Victorian era.

Literature out of time

Let me start this by saying that the books included in this collection are a piece of history that everyone should read. Alone by that criteria, they should be rated 5/5, since they spawned countless other genres and sagas we enjoy to this day.

That being said, I consider myself a "modern reader" and out of perspective of someone who enjoys 21st century literature, this is one of the worst reads I ever had to endure.

The books are boring, slow and predictable. The stories are basically a collection of letters, diary entries and telegrams. The relations between men and women, out of today's perspective, are simply ridiculous. But that is to be expected, it is in the end 19th century literature.

So I'll rate this not for its historic value, but for it's entertainment value and modern expectations. 2/5 stars is really stretching it.

Cool

Drei Gothic Novels im Paket, da kann man wirklich nicht meckern. Ist auch alles sehr gut, ich fand nur persönlich den Sprecher bei Frankenstein ein bisschen anstrengend. Aber gut möglich, dass mir Viktor auf die Nerven gegangen wäre, egal wie er vorgelesen hätte.

Great collection...

Richard Armitage's performance was as amazing as always - a pleasure to listen to - though out of the three stories Jekyll and Hyde is my least favorite. I've also enjoyed Dracula very much, however I was disappointed by Frankenstein - my favorite of the three - because of the whiny nature of the Creature's voice: I had to force myself to listen until the end of the second book. I liked the voice of Victor just fine though.