The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
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I’m not a big fan of Sci/Fi, and vampires have really never gotten my attention, especially scenes from Ann Rice and other “thrillers,” as they are mainly focused on violence. When my best friend handed me The Historian
The Historian takes a different view on vampirism as it retraces what happened to the remains of Vlad Tepes, a 15th century Byzantine ruler of Wallachia, through Istanbul, Bulgaria and Romania during the Cold War era. The search begins as several characters receive an antique book that contains nothing but a wood print of a dragon and the word: DRAKULYA.
As it turns out Vlad Tepes was affectionately referred to as Vlad Dracula as he had a fetish for tormenting his prisoners. Elena listens to her father’s stories about his attempts to find Vlad Dracula years before, until her father disappears one day to continue the search on his own. The journey takes Elena and her father Paul back through 500 years of history, and a geographical search fueled by vague mentions of Dracula in monastery collections and libraries throughout Eastern Europe. Why all of the research? Simple, Vlad Dracula is still alive.
Kostova does an excellent job revealing the beauty of countries that were closed off to most readers during the Cold War, without The Historian becoming a travelogue. One of the things that I judge a book by, is how much it makes me want to read more on the subject, and good Lord do I want to travel to Europe right now and visit about 1100 libraries! The Historian is a perfect combination of history, travel and intrigue.
The Naked Review:
Novel Whore Rating: 4 Notches on the Bed Post
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