You may have noticed from a couple of my 'Things That Made Me Happy This Week' (really need to think of a shorter name for these) posts that audiobooks are now a thing in my life. After a long time of thinking that I wouldn't get on with them, I decided to actually give them a try and very quickly became a convert. That's a subject for another day, however, as today I want to tell you about a brilliant new release from Audible Originals.
Carmilla, written by J Sheridan Le Fanu, was released by Audible last week on 28th October, just in time for Halloween. I couldn't actually listen to it around Halloween because I'm a super-wimp and get easily freaked out, but as soon as the weekend was over I quickly devoured it. I have to say it was one of the most involved audio experiences I have had yet and one I would really recommend, whether you're new to audiobooks or a frequent listener and looking for that one book to spice things up.
I think everyone should listen to this audiobook and here are five reasons why:
1. It's a dramatisation This isn't the standard audiobook defined by one voice narrating an entire novel. Instead Carmilla has been adapted into a drama (by Robin Brooks), which breathes life into the story and creates a more engrossing experience. I find occasionally that my mind wanders when I listen to novels, but that did not happen here. The mixture of voices kept me on my toes and intrigued throughout.
2. The cast is top notch For me the cast is one of the main reasons why you should listen to Carmilla. It features David Tennant (I was sold at the mention of his name), Phoebe Fox (who was excellent in Life in Squares), and Rose Leslie. I've always thought voice acting must be really hard as you don't have body language or facial expressions to support the various inflections and the emphasis put on words, but in this case the cast perfectly embody their characters through voice alone.
3. It's a gothic tale At this time of year it's very hard to go wrong with a gothic story, whether it's a novel with only a twist of darkness or a full-blown spine-tingling gothic thriller as in this case.
4. It's short and gripping Carmilla is only a novella so this audiobook runs just over two hours in length which is perfect for a journey, a long walk, a good cleaning session or just a Sunday afternoon sat curled up in blankets.
5. There are vampires Now, aside from Dracula, I'm not usually big on the vampire scene (I think it's a bit old and tired now), but Carmilla actually predates Dracula as the first vampire story which I think is really quite cool. There's no wishy washy sparkly vampires in this book, it's all about the creepy female vamp, who's out for blood and maybe something more (depending what you read about the story).
With any luck that's sold it to you, so let me know what you think if you have a listen!
I received a copy of this audiobook free of charge for review purposes, but this has in no way influenced my opinion.
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