Powers of Darkness, Bram Stoker
Powers of Darkness, Bram Stoker
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Powers of Darkness
The Lost Version of Dracula

Author: Bram Stoker, Valdimar Ásmundsson, Hans Corneel de Roos, Dacre Stoker

Narrator: Adam Verner, Robertson Dean, Ralph Lister, Derek Perkins, R. C. Bray, various narrators, others

Unabridged: 7 hr 27 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/24/2018

Categories: Fiction, Classic, Horror

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included

Synopsis

Powers of Darkness is an incredible literary discovery: In 1900, Icelandic publisher and writer Valdimar Ásmundsson set out to translate Bram Stoker’s world-famous 1897 novel Dracula. Called Makt Myrkranna (literally, “Powers of Darkness”), this Icelandic edition included an original preface written by Stoker himself. Makt Myrkranna was published in Iceland in 1901 but remained undiscovered outside of the country until 1986, when Dracula scholarship was astonished by the discovery of Stoker’s preface to the book. However, no one looked beyond the preface and deeper into Ásmundsson’s story.In 2014, literary researcher Hans de Roos dove into the full text of Makt Myrkranna, only to discover that Ásmundsson hadn’t merely translated Dracula but had penned an entirely new version of the story, with all new characters and a totally reworked plot. The resulting narrative is one that is shorter, punchier, more erotic, and perhaps even more suspenseful than Stoker’s Dracula. Incredibly, Makt Myrkranna has never been translated or even read outside of Iceland until now.Powers of Darkness presents the first ever translation into English of Stoker and Ásmundsson’s Makt Myrkranna. With a foreword by Dacre Stoker, Bram Stoker’s great-grandnephew and bestselling author, and an afterword by Dracula scholar John Edgar Browning, Powers of Darkness will amaze and entertain legions of fans of Gothic literature, horror, and vampire fiction.

About Bram Stoker

Bram Stoker (1847-1912) was an Irish writer and the author of the acclaimed novel Dracula. He moved to London where he worked as the acting and business manager at Lyceum Theatre for twenty-eight years. He was also the personal assistant to actor Henry Irving. To this day, Dracula is a timeless piece of literature that has inspired countless films and spin-off stories.

About Valdimar Ásmundsson

Valdimar Ásmundsson (1852–1902) was the founder and editor of the Icelandic literary journal Lady of the Mountains.

About Hans Corneel de Roos

Hans Corneel de Roos is an independent researcher specializing in French and British Art of the second half of the 19th Century. He is author of The Ultimate Dracula and numerous other articles on Dracula. He is a recipient of the Research Award of the Transylvanian Society of Dracula.

About Dacre Stoker

Dacre Stoker is the great-grandnephew of Bram Stoker. He lives in South Carolina with his family.

About John Edgar Browning

John Edgar Browning is a Marion L. Brittain Postdoctoral Fellow at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is author or editor eleven academic and popular trade books and more than fifty articles, book chapters, and reviews on subjects that cluster around horror, the undead, Bram Stoker, and the Gothic. He has also been a guest on National Geographic’s Taboo USA and the Discovery Channel’s William Shatner’s Weird or What? to discuss vampires.

About Adam Verner

Adam Verner is a full-time narrator who has recorded over 250 audiobook titles. The recipient of multiple Earphones awards, including for Pavilion of Women by Pearl S. Buck, he has also been nominated for Voice Arts Awards by the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences. He holds an MFA in Acting from the Chicago College of the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.

About Robertson Dean

Robertson Dean has recorded hundreds of audiobooks in most every genre. He's been nominated for several Audie Awards, won eight Earphones Awards, and was named one of AudioFile magazine's Best Voices of 2010. He lives in Los Angeles, where he records books and acts in film, TV, and (especially) on stage.

About Ralph Lister

Ralph Lister is an experienced actor and voice artist who trained at LAMDA. He spent fifteen years in mainstage theatre in London, Madrid, Hong Kong, and Edinburgh before moving to America, where he focuses on film, television, and audiobook narration.

About Derek Perkins

A native of the United Kingdom, Audie and AudioFile Earphones Award winner Derek Perkins's audiobook narration skills are augmented by a knowledge of three foreign languages and a facility with accents. He has narrated numerous titles in a wide range of fiction and nonfiction genres. He is a member of SAG-AFTRA.

About R. C. Bray

R.C. Bray has performed Off-Broadway, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and many stages in between. An accomplished producer and voiceover artist, R.C.'s voice can also be heard in countless TV and radio commercials. He lives with his gorgeous wife and two beautiful daughters in New England.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jonathan

For all who've read the classic by Bram Stoker, "Powers of Darkness" is the 1901 Icelandic translation of an unknown manuscript which wasn't discovered until 1986. It adds elements unseen in the other manuscripts and includes forwards from Dacre Stoker and Hans de Roos, the Dracula scholar who'd dis......more

Goodreads review by Sean

The first 2/3 are actually better than the opening part of Dracula. The horror, sexuality, and mystery are turned up and the Count is even more evil here. Indeed, he is a kind of violent social-Darwinist intent on spreading reactionary thought and undermining democracy, although that part remains in......more

Goodreads review by Jessica

Absolutely bonkers! The very idea that this book exists baffles and delights me! In case you are confused: this is the English translation of the Icelandic translation of DRACULA. Why, you ask? Because 115 years after DRACULA was published in Icelandic, translated by Valdimar Asmundsson, someone real......more

Goodreads review by Terence

Powers of Darkness is the version of Dracula found on the bookshelves (or in the databanks, as the case may be) of Star Trek’s Mirror Universe. Further evidence of how screwed up that parallel universe is. Powers of Darkness was the product of Stoker’s collaboration with the author, an Icelander, app......more

Quotes

“With the discovery of its vast differences from Dracula, [Powers of Darkness] will have a lasting effect on the world of vampire studies.” New York Times Book Review

“Powers of Darkness is a completely new look at this classic text that fans of the book and genre won’t want to miss.” San Francisco Book Review

“Powers of Darkness is an entertaining story, and during the read, it is easy to forget what it’s supposed to be—a translation—and think of it as an entirely new novel…To quote from the original: ‘There are mysteries men can only guess at, which age by age they may solve only in part.’ Powers of Darkness does exactly that, while offering new mysteries in their place.” New York Journal of Books

“Stoker’s great-grand-nephew Dacre Stoker writes that he believes his uncle orchestrated the differences between his original version and the Icelandic one, which is shorter, more forceful, and more erotic since it was not subject to English censorship laws…This thoroughly documented work is recommended for Dracula scholars, but general readers of horror will also enjoy the story.” Library Journal

“Provides an illuminating look at an act of literary interpretation. Icelandic translator Valdimar Ásmundsson was faithful to the basic plot of Stoker’s story, but he took some liberties with its telling, including adding in new characters, having Dracula scheme with the world’s power elite to enslave the masses, and describing in lurid detail a bloody bacchanal…English translator de Roos speculates that Ásmundsson may have been working with an early draft of the novel…The translation, although pulpier than Stoker’s original, is a fascinating gloss on a literary classic.” Publishers Weekly

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