Dane Barrett’s second gamebook, The Mystery of Dracula, is an interactive retelling of Bram Stoker’s 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula, incorporating puzzles, riddles and more than a little clue seeking. It includes the same keyword system used in Children of the Painted Apple, Barrett’s previous gamebook, in which the reader is rewarded certain clue keywords at various points of the narrative so that earlier choices are remembered to determine later events.
Only a poor turn of fate could determine how a simple business trip would release a ravenous horror upon London!
You are Jonathan Harker, travelling to Transylvania to finalise a property transaction for a nobleman named Count Dracula. The man is an enigma, undoubtedly lonely and likely eccentric, but this deal will be a boon to your employer, and a significant step forward for your own career.
The country you traverse is steeped in history and superstition, and as you surge further eastward, the more apprehensive people become. They warn you of the terrors that live in the darkest hours of the night, but you are an Englishman, and not one to be scared off by tall tales!
You choose where the story goes. You solve the mysteries and puzzles that lead to a happy ending, or possibly an early demise. You could be the hero of the hour or the one who propels London to its very doom!
Which road will you choose?
Although based on the original Bram Stoker novel, several changes have been incorporated to better fit the implementation of puzzles and the searching for clues. As Stoker’s story is told from several perspectives, the reader is placed in the shoes of three characters at different points. In the beginning, you are Jonathan Harker, making your way to Transylvania to close a real estate deal with Count Dracula. This part of the adventure contains an extended visit to Castle Dracula (featuring some of the more difficult puzzles) and notably includes an interactive edition of Dracula’s Guest, a short story also written by Stoker (but not released until after his passing), which has been seamlessly added to the overall narrative.
The second character is a crewman aboard the ship Demeter, whose role is short-lived but can provide important clues for later in the story. The perspective then shifts to Doctor John ‘Jack’ Seward in London, who will work alongside the knowledgeable Professor Van Helsing in attempting to save the life of a loved one from an unusual illness. Finally, the reader will once again regain the role of Jonathan Harker to conclude the story.
The Mystery of Dracula reads more like a mystery than a horror, though there are still some tense scenes which can lead to an early demise for the careless. Clues are a big part of the story, and thorough exploration is rewarded with multiple ways to survive later encounters which might prove fatal otherwise. There is also a key part of the story in which previous clues will be gathered by a group of hunters, and there might be a premature ending if not enough evidence can be compiled.
Some of the changes to the original story include the addition of two new minor characters, who may (or may not) have a pivotal influence on which ending the reader establishes at the finale (there is more than one ‘good’ ending, including one which is resoundingly more positive than Stoker’s original conclusion) to give the reader a chance to change the outcome for the better.
Featuring 353 pages, 723 sections and 99,794 words, The Mystery of Dracula is available from Amazon in paperback (US & UK) or as an eBook for Kindle (US, UK & AUS).
* UPDATE * The Mystery of Dracula is now also available in Hardcover via Lulu.