Carmilla is a 2007 Gothic horror audiobook based on the 1872 novella written by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, narrated by Elizabeth Klett.  The story is narrated by a young woman named Laura preyed upon by a female vampire named Carmilla.

Positives:

• Well-written
• Great narration
• Good story
• Cool antagonist

Negatives:

• Idiot main protagonist
• Slow paced
• Few memorable characters

Plot:  The story follows the daughter of a wealthy Englishman named Laura.  One day, while out with her father, Laura witnesses an “accident” which leaves the two with a guest named Carmilla.  Carmilla takes the time to get close with Laura.  Soon after, young women in a nearby village become ill and die under mysterious circumstances.  It is later revealed that Carmilla is the cause of the deaths as she’s a vampire who’s killing young women and has her eyes set on Laura.

Joseph’s decision to have the book narrated from the point of view of Laura does help make the story feel more personal. As well as chilling. The story is incredibly slow paced.  Yeah sure, young woman are dying across the countryside but there isn’t really a rising tension.  Also, there are points where it does feel messy and lacking the engagement that I would’ve liked to have experienced.  Did not like the ending.  It felt rushed, it felt anti-climatic, there was nothing awesome about it.  It was just she got staked, decapitated, end.

Despite the slow pace, the story is actually good.  (3 out of 5)

Characters:  The main characters are Laura and Carmilla. Laura is a nice girl, the daughter of a wealthy Englishman, and to be honest, Laura is a freaking idiot.  I can understand her train of thought as a woman in her position in that time would probably think that way.  But there are a little too many signs for her to ignore.  However, she does have a sweet personality.

Carmilla is the main antagonist of the book.  She’s a vampire who forms this near sexual relationship with Laura, while feeding on helpless young women across the countryside.  Carmilla is an interesting character but at the same time kind of flat.  Yes, she gets points for how she approaches Laura, which makes her pretty sinister.  But she lacks personality.  She’s rude, she’s gruff, she’s possessive but not really interesting.

Really the other characters aren’t really all that interesting.  There is Laura’s father though he isn’t given much to do.  There is also his associate General Spielsdorf who’s had dealings with a vampire in the past.  There is also Baron Vordenburg, the descendant of a vampire hunter.  I feel like Spielsdorf and Vordenburg could’ve been the same character, especially since Vordenburg came in near the end of the book. (3 out of 5)

Audio: Elizabeth Klett does a great job with the reading.  I have to give her two thumbs up because she was really consistent with the reading and although the Victorian terminology is kind of hard to follow, Klett does a good job of its delivery. (4 out of 5)

Writing:  The author of the book is Joseph Sheridan Le Fanú and the guy is brilliant with the writing.  The words that he uses and the presentation of the events are written in such a way.  I liked the highly descriptive Victorian writing style, especially the dialogue.  The description was surprisingly vivid but not overly done.  Maintains quite a creepy atmosphere.  Some of the creepiest parts of the novella follow Laura’s experiences when she’s attacked by Carmilla.  The are a lot of homophobic and sexual undertones to the writing specifically Laura and Carmilla’s relationship.  It’s great that writing doesn’t venture into porn territory but keeps it mellow.  Carmilla’s seduction is introduced very slowly and that’s a great concept we just don’t see nowadays.  I wished Laura’s character could’ve been written less of a dumbass though and some prominence given to the supporting cast.  Maybe have some of the people in Laura’s circle die to help create rising tension.  Despite my little nitpicks, the writing is done well although the Victorian-style is kind of hard follow from time to time. (3 out of 5)

The Verdict: In the end, Carmilla is a decent read.  Definitely not the most exciting audiobook, but it does tell a good story.  The biggest problem about this book is that it’s incredibly slow paced with not many memorable characters and the main protagonist Laura is just a ditz.  But despite this, Carmilla is a great antagonist, the writing is topnotch, and Klett’s narration is superb.  Carmilla gets 3 out of 5.