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  • Published: 1 October 2019
  • ISBN: 9781784164423
  • Imprint: Black Swan
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 608
  • RRP: $22.99

Dracul

The bestselling prequel to the most famous horror story of them all




Written by Bram Stoker's great grand-nephew and a bestselling dark thriller writer, and authorized by the Stoker Estate, Dracul is the prequel to perhaps the most celebrated and terrifying horror story of them all . . .

Inspired by the notes DRACULA's creator left behind, Dracul is a riveting, heart-stoppingly scary novel of Gothic suspense . . .

'Scary as hell. Gothic as decay' Josh Malerman

Dracul reveals not only the true origins of Dracula himself, but also of his creator, Bram Stoker . . . and of the elusive, enigmatic woman who connects them.

It is 1868, and a 21-year-old Bram Stoker has locked himself inside an abbey's tower to face off against a vile and ungodly beast. He is armed with mirrors and crucifixes and holy water and a gun - and is kept company by a bottle of plum brandy. His fervent prayer is that he will survive this one night - a night that will prove to be the longest of his life.

Desperate to leave a record of what he has witnessed, the young man scribbles out the events that brought him to this point - and tells an extraordinary tale of childhood illness, a mysterious nanny, and stories once thought to be fables now proved to be true.

  • Published: 1 October 2019
  • ISBN: 9781784164423
  • Imprint: Black Swan
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 608
  • RRP: $22.99

About the authors

Dacre Stoker

A native of Montreal, Dacre Stoker is the great grand-nephew of Bram Stoker. He has taught Physical Education and Sciences for over twenty years in Canada and the U.S.A., is a Modern Pentathlete and an international and Olympic coach for Canada. He is also an avid player and coach of Real Tennis. As Bram Stoker's direct descendant, he manages the Stoker Estate and travels widely, giving presentations and talks on Dracula, vampires, Bram Stoker and his extraordinary legacy. The co-author of the bestselling official sequel to Dracula - Dracula the Un-Dead - and co-editor of The Lost Journal of Bram Stoker, he lives in South Carolina.

J. D. Barker

J. D. Barker was born and raised in Illinois and then moved to Florida where he gained a degree in business from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. As well as writing for music and pop culture magazines, including 25th Parallel, Seventeen and Teenbeat, he has been a ghost writer and book doctor. His acclaimed debut novel, Forsaken, was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award, while his second, The Fourth Monkey, has been an international success story. He lives with his family in Pennsylvania.

Praise for Dracul

Reading Dracul is like watching a classic vampire film. Bram Stoker lives! Dracula lives! Horror lives on nearly every page. A terrifying read that gave me hours of fun.

R. L. STINE, bestselling author of Goosebumps

J.D. Barker is a one-of-a-kind writer and that’s a rare and special thing. Stephen King comes to mind and Lee Child, John Sanford. All one-of-a-kinds. Don’t miss anything J.D. writes.

JAMES PATTERSON

Brilliant. Dracul pumps fresh blood into the vampire genre by telling the story of the man who started it all-Bram Stoker. And what a story! A grand adventure that contains all the literary playfulness and mounting dread of the original Dracula. It gave me chills.

RILEY SAGER, author of Final Girls and The Last Time I Lied

A compelling, deep, dark drama about Dracula’s origin. Even I had to keep the lights on when reading this book!

JOHN SAUL, author of Suffer the Children

Scary as hell. Gothic as decay. Dracul will have you checking over your shoulder, under your bed, and up on the ceiling, too. All while wondering about the contents of every crate and oblong box you see.

JOSH MALERMAN, author of Bird Box

Whatever fiendish bargain Stoker and Barker struck to resurrect the voice of Bram Stoker with such authenticity and aplomb, it was worth it, at least to their mere mortal readers. Dracul is a genius and fevered nightmare of Gothic madness, each page seeping with ominous dread and escalating horror. It is a prequel more than just worthy of the original novel—it is sure to be an undying classic of its own, haunting, terrifying and entertaining generations to come.

ERIC RICKSTAD, author of What Remains of Her and The Silent Girls

A terrifying and compelling prequel that reveals how a young Bram Stoker confronted evil to craft a masterpiece.

LIBRARY JOURNAL

Very scary . . . a big book that will no doubt be a hit among monster-movie and horror lit fans—and for good reason.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

A blood and thunder tale for those grieving the passing of Penny Dreadful. This novel is like immersing yourself in a Hammer horror film, and I mean that, of course, as great praise.

STEPHEN VOLK

A deliciously dark tale that is sure to satisfy Stoker fans’ enduring thirst for mystery and horror. I loved it!

NEIL SPRING, author of The Ghost Hunters

A thrilling exploration of the novel's [Dracula's] creation and its creator. It is also, as with the best literary horror, genuinely creepy . . . a brilliantly entertaining read.

Zoe Apostolides, FINANCIAL TIMES

A . . . dread-infused atmosphere not at all that far from Poe.

Irish Times

Dracul is utterly compelling, not to mention terrifying . . . it truly is the best possible reading material for October 31st.

Irish Examiner

This Dracula is the vicious, bloodthirsty, malevolent 'strigori' we know and love to hate.

Irish Independent

Dracul is a fat, entertaining novel which mixes fact and fiction with lusty relish . . . Written, like its illustrious antecedent, in epistolary form it also mimics the darkness of the original.

RTE Guide

An intriguing tale of bloodlust, horror and resurrection . . . [Dracul] builds to an exciting and suspenseful climax.

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