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The Monster Collection
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage, Dan Stevens, Greg Wise, Rachel Atkins
- Length: 30 hrs and 25 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Classics
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Renowned as much for her wit and satirical social commentary as for her stories of love and romance, Jane Austen remains unfailingly relevant and one of Britain’s best loved authors. In this Audible Original collection, an all-star list of narrators (Billie Piper, Claire Foy, Emma Thompson, Florence Pugh and Gugu Mbatha-Raw) capture Austen’s pin-sharp humour and tone in these dramatisations of her six beloved novels accompanied by a full cast.
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50 Classic Horror Short Stories 2
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CONTENTS: 1. The Imp of the Perverse [Poe], 2. The Devil in the Belfry [Poe], 3. The Crawling Chaos [Lovecraft], 4. Aunt Joanna [Sabine Baring-Gould], 5. The Outsider [Lovecraft], 6. The Hound [Lovecraft], 7. The Disinterment [Lovecraft], 8. The Horror At Martin's Beach [Lovecraft], 9. The Tree On The Hill [Lovecraft], 10. The Outgoing of The Tide [John Buchan], 11. The Curse of Yig [Lovecraft], 12. The Haunter Of The Dark [Lovecraft], 13. Berenice [Poe], 14. The Angel Of The Odd [Poe], 15. Black Ram [Baring-Gould], 16. The Cask Of Amontillado [Poe], 17. Dracula's Guest [Bram Stoker].
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The Hobbit
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Like every other hobbit, Bilbo Baggins likes nothing better than a quiet evening in his snug hole in the ground, dining on a sumptuous dinner in front of a fire. But when a wandering wizard captivates him with tales of the unknown, Bilbo becomes restless. Soon he joins the wizard’s band of homeless dwarves in search of giant spiders, savage wolves, and other dangers. Bilbo quickly tires of the quest for adventure and longs for the security of his familiar home. But before he can return to his life of comfort, he must face the greatest threat of all.
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Always one of my favourites
- By Sarah on 2019-04-30
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Norse Mythology
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- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Neil Gaiman has long been inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction. Now he turns his attention back to the source, presenting a bravura rendition of the great northern tales. In Norse Mythology, Gaiman fashions primeval stories into a novelistic arc that begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds; delves into the exploits of the deities, dwarves, and giants; and culminates in Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods and the rebirth of a new time and people.
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Fantastic!
- By Taylor Chafe on 2017-12-11
Publisher's Summary
Audible presents a special edition of three Gothic tales for the price of one: a brand-new Audible Exclusive recording of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (ch2), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (ch12) and Bram Stoker's Dracula (ch39).
Bursting with intrigue and suspense, they resurrect the deepest and darkest of all our fears: that a monster lurks, and it lurks within us.
Introductions by Dr Maria Mellins and Dr Peter Howell, Senior Lecturers in Gothic literature at St Mary's University, London, this collection offers additional insight into these audiobooks, their authors and their legacies.
Starting with Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Richard Armitage tells the story of a conflicted man who seeks to free the monster inside him from the clutches of his conscience.
Following his celebrated performances of David Copperfield and David Hewson's Romeo and Juliet for Audible, Armitage delivers another powerhouse performance as the narrator of this Gothic tale.
Shilling shocker enthusiast Stevenson was celebrated throughout his life. In contrast to Mary Shelley, who was often overshadowed by her husband's work, Stevenson lived comfortably by his pen.
It was only with the release of Frankenstein that Shelley finally distinguished herself. Frankenstein was groundbreaking in its ability to fuse passion and romance with gore and horror.
Narrated by Dan Stevens, who rose to fame through Downton Abbey, and Beauty and the Beast, the story of science student Victor Frankenstein has been artfully retold.
Testing the limits of science, Frankenstein fashions a living being from the conjoined body parts of rotting cadavers. Horrified at the end result, he abandons his monster, leaving him to endure a life of isolation and loneliness.
A poignant example of human weakness and our inability to take responsibility for our actions, Frankenstein is both moving and terrifying.
That leads us to the gruesome tale of Count Dracula, the bloodthirsty father of the undead.
Narrated by Greg Wise, star of The Crown and Sense and Sensibility; Greg depicts a young lawyer whose services are hired by a sinister Transylvanian count.
Releasing Dracula 80 years after Frankenstein, Bram Stoker was greatly influenced by Shelley's writing style and similarly propels the story along through diary entries, letters and newspaper cuttings. Possessed of grisly imagery and unexpected twists, it's no wonder that Dracula still manages to shake us to our very core.
All that remains is to offer a note of caution: this collection is not for the fainthearted. Old as these tales may be, do not mistake the unsettling nature of their content.
Grab some popcorn, turn the speakers up and enjoy. Just don't say we didn't warn you.
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What listeners say about The Monster Collection
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Marianne Hertzke
- 2019-03-29
it was awesome to listen too.
loved it. it was well put together. I enjoyed listening to all of it. two thumbs up
3 people found this helpful
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- LorenLaberge
- 2019-03-18
great books to have read to you
I really enjoyed all 3 books in this bundle. got it with my first book free deal. wouldn't have paid the 75 off the bat. but after listening to all 3 thought it would be worth it. loved the narration in all 3 books.
3 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 2020-10-25
Good Story, Alright Performance
I really liked Dr. Jekyl Mr. Hyde. The performance was pretty good and I found the story interesting enough.
Frankenstein was unbearable. The story was great but the performance was hard to listen to. Both Frankenstein and his monster constantly sounded too whiney for me.
Dracula was a fantastic story but the performance didn't do it justice. Saska Reves who is cited at the end of the recording but seems to be missing credit elsewhere is absolutely fantastic. I would listen to anything she read. Greg Wise however fell a little short. His portrayal of Mina kinda took away how strong she really was.
Overall this collection is alright but I wouldn't go back to it since I know of a better recording of Dracula and that's the only one I will revisit.
2 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 2018-12-18
Chilling bundle
Each performance is perfect for the story told. Having never read the originals I was pleasantly surprised when listening to these classic tales, learning the origins of so many pop culture versions.
2 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2021-02-25
Enjoyable
Narration of all stories was great. I enjoyed all the audio books, however, even though the narration was exceptional, Dracula did seem to drag out but this is just because of the authors writing style. Would recommend to anyone interested in these classics.
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- customer
- 2020-05-06
Great classic horror
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde very good also Dracula , I must admit Frankenstein very long winded. Richard armitage was great to listen too . Dan Stevens also.
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- Justin
- 2020-05-03
Great value pack of classic horror.
All three titles are well read and work together to produce an excellent introduction to Gothic horror and Victorian decadence.
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- Anonymous User
- 2019-12-16
Excellent collection of classic horror novels
This collection of 19th century horror was my commute companion for 3 months and I loved every minute of it. Wonderful voice actors (though Frankenstein got tired after a bit) truly brought the stories to life.
I thought I knew these stories based on pop culture's interpretation of them; however these original, unabridged versions are so much more complete than what I knew.
Well worth a listen!
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- Andrew H.
- 2019-07-04
Awesome!
First rate. Order is excellent too. Dracula is particularly well done.
The fact you can get all three books in one is a fantastic deal.
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- Quadratic
- 2019-07-02
Excellent narration.
For classics such as these, the only real way you can judge it from an audio book perspective is narration, for which they did a really good job with this.
Letters in Dracula are read by actors playing the role of each letter's author. This way of telling the story really helps to separate the chapters as distinct letters from distinct points of view, rather than having us misunderstand it to be a chapter-by-chapter novel (as would otherwise be easily confused by having one person read the letters one after the other as written). It makes it very easy to follow.
Frankenstein was excellent also. Clear, distinct voices for each of the main characters really brings it to life. Well acted throughout.
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- Daniel Pavez
- 2019-06-03
Loved it
I loved this collection and I recommend it to everyone. If you are an Audible fan, this is something you have to get.
1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 2019-03-03
Not bad at all
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is the best one. Frankenstein is quite good but a little annoying in its moaning monster voice. Dracula was over long and a little milked but a relaxing listen. Slightly lacking in atmosphere but rich in Victoria diary narrative storytelling.
1 person found this helpful
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- Denise
- 2017-12-21
Best for... First!
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was for me the best of the 3 books, both in terms of performance and story wise.
Both Frankenstein and Dracula were too melodramatic for my taste and as much as I enjoy watching both Dan Stevens and Greg Wise onscreen, neither of them has Richard Armitage's knack for audiobooks.
In this first book, each character really had their own voice, sometimes to such an extent that I could no longer recognise the familiar tunes of Armitage's own voice. That's how good it was.
I particularly enjoyed the voice transitions that revealed the switch from Jekyll to Hyde and viceversa.
The book's theme was the most interesting, it wasn't too long so it never got boring (3h aka only 1/10 of TMC's runtime) and I finished it all in a day.
Performance ***** Story ****
As for Frankenstein it was probably the less stimulating of the 3. It was a continual retelling of life stories, one inside each other and Dan Stevens's voice, as soothing as it felt in the beginning, soon started to feel monotonous and not very modulated. The structure of the book didn't help much; still I feel like one telling their story seldom maintains the same entonation throughout the whole of it.
Walton was the character I most enjoyed hearing from. And to think that at the beginning I only wanted his letters to be over so it would finally get to the story, to the action...
I lost interest in the story from the moment of Frankenstein's reaction to his newly awakened 'monster'. I did enjoy the Coleridge quote right after that though.
Performance ** Story **
Finally Dracula.
It made up 61% of the runtime but it thankfully wasn't as tedious as Frankenstein. It was again a series of intertwined accounts but it was much more organic. Once in a certain character's POV you had dialogue between several characters, so it wasn't as lonely and claustrophobic as being stuck between Frankenstein's complaining and the monster's winning. I didn't enjoy it per se but it wasn't a perpetual lamentation.
I was not keen on the remarks made by both male and female characters on the nature of the sexes. I've read older books that didn't feel as dated and medieval in that regard.
As to preformances, Greg Wise's reading of Dracula and of Dr van Helsing varied in tone but were both made in the same accent. The distinction between Jonathan Harker and John Seward was likewise minimal, if existent at all.
Saskia Reeves's Lucy and Mina were vert similar as well and her Dr van Helsing bordered on painful. Otherwise I think I liked listening to her more and both readers did a decent job in regards to voice modulation.
Preformances *** Story ***
1 person found this helpful