Abraham’s Boys audiobook

That was a great little story!What's it like growing up as a Van Helsing? Bet you never wondered did you? Well now I've asked you will wonder and this story will tell you!I really enjoyed this and it was brilliant in the way it showed how easily people can confuse fantasy and reality.Was Van Helsing a vampire hunter? Or was he just a deranged murderer who saw monsters in the faces of his victims?All reviews can be found at http://lennonslair.blogspot.co.uk

Story of Abraham Van Helsing, and his two sons, Max Van Helsing and Rudolf Van Helsing.Highly recommended.

An interesting spinoff of Dracula that explores the mentality of Abraham Van Helsing. It portrays him as a senile old man that has trouble distinguishing reality from fiction. He drags a woman into his basement believing that she is a vampire when she’s really just an ordinary woman in extremely poor condition. It makes you think. Were the people he killed in his past really monsters or were they just normal people that were disfigured by poor health conditions? Sickness and mental health were treated very harshly in the past so it wouldn’t be out of the question. Perhaps he’s not such an honorable hero after all, just another ignorant man that was possessed by an irrational paranoia for things he didn’t understand.

To me, one of his best stories! The only thing that bothered me is that it breathes German instead of Dutch. No Dutchmen says Nuh? Germans do. In my imagination I could hear them speak with German accents... Also little affiliation for Dutch people with vampires. Germans however do love vampire stories and you can find lots of German vampire stories. It's been in their folklore for ever. And how do I know this? I'm half Dutch

I am a little conflicted with Abraham's Boys, because I am not a fan of vampire mythology but I do love the majority of Joe Hill's work as a author. That being said almost all of the vampire lore was lost on me, with my only real exposure to vampires being the two 90's film adaptions of Interview with the Vampire and Dracula. However I was able to connect to the older son's strained relationship with his father. Being a older sibling his tough, especially when it comes to being protective of your younger sibling. Also I found the lack of confidence in Max and the over confidence in Rudy very endearing. Coming from a large family himself I am sure Joe Hill channeled a lot of his own feelings about living with brothers and sisters. It definitely shows and pays off in this story about a father who is just a little too strict with his two sons. Also.... (view spoiler)[The other aspect I loved about this novella is that we are never clearly shown whether the vampires the father is terrified of are real or imaginary. I would like to think is father is just crazy, but that is left up to the read to decide! (hide spoiler)]The ending to this short story was also something that made me smile with glee! (I am a bit sadistic when it comes to my horror stories.I give this book a solid 3.5 stars out of 5! I vaguely remember being told that this piece appeared in The Many Faces of Van Helsing, however since I don't own that collection I can't say for certainty that it does.

Great, guesome Dracula spin-off. I loved Ven Helsing so I did not enjoy him being so horrible in this but then it kind of makes sense that he would be. Ultimately he is just looking out for his children as he knows what dangers they are in. Loved the ending as well. Along with Best New Horror this is my favourite of Hill's stories so far.

4/5

only thing I didn't like was it was to short. Joe Hill is becoming one of my favorite authors.

Creative but not scary

It was all good, but then the ending sucks.

3.5

From Kerri Maniscalco’s Hunting Prince Dracula (2017) to J. D. Barker and Dacre Stoker’s Dracul (2018), many modern stories have formed retellings of Bram Stoker’s infamous novel, Dracula (1897). One such story is Joe Hill’s “Abraham’s Boys”, which asks its readers to consider the future of the Dutch vampire hunter, Professor Abraham Van Helsing. It suggests that, since the dramatic destruction of Count Dracula, Van Helsing has experienced many changes. He is no longer a vampire hunter: he is a father, and spends most of his time raising and protecting his two sons, Max and Rudy. Of course, after the horrific sights Van Helsing witnessed throughout Dracula, he fears the creatures of the night, and has forbidden his children from leaving the house after sunset.“Abraham’s Boys” tells the story of Max and Rudy, who know nothing of their father’s past, and cannot understand his overprotective attitude. To make matters worse, Van Helsing is not what he used to be. His experiences appear to have unhinged him, for he now possesses a wild anxiety that he reflects onto his sons. They live in fear of their father’s unpredictable mood swings, as well as the thick cane that he carries at his side. Yet when Max and Rudy make their way into their father’s office, they begin to realise the depths of his madness. Why are there pictures of murdered women in his office? Were they vampires? Or does their father hide a darker secret? In this gripping follow-up to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Joe Hill tests the relationships Stoker formed in his original novel, whilst questioning the disparities between fantasy and reality. This is a story filled with action, horror, and – perhaps more than anything else – madness.The ReviewJoe Hill’s “Abraham’s Boys” breathes new life into a timeless classic. It examines Dracula from a new perspective, questioning the ideals and practices that Stoker’s readers may have taken for granted. Yet despite the originality of this story, it remains true to Dracula, fashioning an entire narrative out of the minute details that are revealed in the novel’s final scene. This is accomplished very successfully: in Dracula, Mina Harker gives birth to a baby whose father is never explicitly revealed. Interestingly enough, the baby is not sat on Jonathan Harker’s knee: it is sat on Van Helsing’s. In “Abraham’s Boys”, Hill examines these details, piecing them together as he explores a future in which Mina and Van Helsing raise two children together.These children are the focus of “Abraham’s Boys”, for although the story forms a retelling of Dracula, its references to the original novel are subtle. Rather than bombarding his readers with characters and details, Hill leaves them to discover the truth for themselves. This makes reading “Abraham’s Boys” an extremely enjoyable experience, particularly as the story is not tied to the original novel. Although readers who are already familiar with Dracula will benefit the most from this story, it also speaks for itself. By focussing on Van Helsing’s children, Max and Rudy, rather than the renowned vampire hunter, himself, Hill is able to create what can be understood as a standalone story.“Abraham’s Boys” is both thrilling and horrific: it draws on the horror genre to accentuate Van Helsing’s madness. This might put off some readers, yet it is a trope of gothic literature that should not be overlooked. Moreover, “Abraham’s Boys” blends horror with psychological intrigue. From the moment you begin reading this story, you will feel invested in its characters. You will empathise with Max and Rudy, and want to follow their story through to its conclusion. These feelings are intensified by the fact that, unlike in Dracula, the threat of this narrative is very real. It is not a vicious vampire, but a father with a cane. It is often argued that it is the realist elements of Stephen King’s novels make them frightening. In this respect, Hill appears to have been influenced by his father, for he, too, reveals that the real can be synonymous to terror.Hill’s story is not a tale for readers who are easily frightened or disturbed. It reflects the darker elements of Bram Stoker’s Dracula and can seem a little gruesome at times. Yet for those readers who enjoy tense, heart-stopping narratives, and for anyone who has ever enjoyed reading Dracula, “Abraham’s Boys” is a story that should not be missed.

Neste conto, conhecemos um pouco a vida dos dois filhos de Abraham Van Helsing, um viúva e caçador de vampiros e demasiado severo com os filhos. Estão a reconhecer o nome? Sim, é verdade é o Dr. Van Helsing do livro "Drácula" de Bram Stoker. Apesar de não termos contacto directo com vampiros, gostei bastante quer da escrita simples e directa, quer como a história foi construída. É um conto muito pequeno e que rapidamente chegamos ao fim, em que acontece algo inesperado e ficamos com vontade de saber mais.Ficou ainda a vontade de ler mais de Joe Hill

Another short one, I loved this story, it gave a fascinating look into the life of a classic character. Not really a creepy/scary story but once again as he does so well Joe Hill makes the suggestion of the evil that lurks in the darkness and leaves it to the reader's imagination to decide where that evil really comes from. Is it coming from outside or has it always been here with us all along ?