I wanted to like it but while Kostova can write she's not a writer. She can turn a phrase but they have no meaning. She can construct characters but they have no soul (no pun intended). Her scenery is vivid but not at all interesting.

Kostova has indeed put a new twist on the Vampire legend, she has made it boring.

The only positive thing I can say is I bought it for $3.95 from the bargain bin. Now only if I can get those hours of reading back.

Love the historical information weaved throughout this interesting and unique story. Elizabeth does a great job telling 3 different but related stories from multiple view points. This was a pleasure to read and kept me wanting more, she took my interests and imagination to unexplored territory!

A new twist on Dracula, very well done and very entertaining. A very good book to read. Nothing cheap, no sleazy sex scene or predictable ending. Loved it.

I've been reading since I was 3 years old, and after 35 years I can say that not only is this one the best books I've ever read, it might just be THE best. The story is obsessively absorbing; the writing taut yet descriptive, and the delicious details from the author's research bring this book so completely to life that I felt I was literally there with the characters every step of the way. I'm in love and I will keep and re-read this book until it falls apart in my hands----that's how good it is! :)

This was a "Hidden Gem" of a book. My wife told me to read it after she finished it. Most of my time reading this book was during our vacation all over Italy. It was a very easy read and EXTREMELY interesting. There was never a dull moment and I would highly recommend The Historian to other readers. This was the first novel of this genre that I've read and I happy to say that I eagerly await another story of it's kind.

....not that I found that to be a bad thing. The plot is fine and the characters are interesting enough, but this book is really an excuse for the author to convey her love and affection for some of the more obscure corners of Europe. And to her credit she does this very well. I very much enjoyed the book, but potential readers should know that this is not a thriller in the modern sense of the word, but more of a drawn out tale that sprawls.

What the author does very well is interweave multiple story lines in a way that does keep readers anxious to find out what comes next. So while it is not a conventional thriller in many respects, it is captivating.

Finally, it is fair to say that this is a romance novel masquerading as a vampire book. That isn't a criticism, just an observation. For many, this might make the book more interesting and to them I would say... read on!

This book is not the typical Dracula book. It is very factual based and is told from a young girl, whose father is a historian. It is a so suspenseful, I could not stop reading it until I was finished. It is so well written, it seems like it is fact and not fiction. I would recommend this to anyone. I absolutely LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!

The Historian is the interweaving of three stories. One from the 1930s, another from the 1950s, and the main narrative from the 1970s. The common denominator for all three stories is the quest for answers to the truth about Vlad Tepes (the Impaler), also known as Dracula. These interweaving stories involve mysterious old books, castles, crypts and a realization by the characters that the undead do exist.

Kostova provides plenty of atmosphere and uses a rather old fashioned way of revealing her story that reminds me of Bram Stoker. I'm sure this was intentional. Her novel could have easily devolved into mere cliche, but Kostova put her own twist on the vampire legend. She also avoided too much focus on the grotesque and instead created tension using the sinister. There are plenty of castle ruins, secluded monasteries, underground crypts, sinister librarians, and ominous Eastern Bloc secret police to hold the reader in suspense.

Kostova was able to use her characters to promote the idea that history is not dead and it is not just a story to be told. People actually lived and experienced the events from which we feel so removed. The horrors and the joys of the past were real to someone. Kostova also brought the historical research process to life and showed it as something active and exciting and even dangerous. The map of Cold War Europe on the front and end pages of the book was extremely helpful and gave some sense of place to the story.

At 642 pages (hardback version), the book is a commitment but I found it a good read that held my attention throughout.

You don't read this book, you experience it. It's a trite cliche but I literally could not put it down. 900 pages and there was not so much as a single superfluous sentence and it was over all too soon.

Kostova dazzles with this "vampire" novel, probably the best in the genre after Bram Stoker's "Dracula." It has a great beginning, a great middle, but the ending surprisingly fizzles out.

I have been told this is going to be made a movie soon and the rights for the novel have been purchased at seven million dollars! Now, that's the kind of first novel, I would like to write too...

Vampire novels have recently become a dime-a-dozen phenomenon, and what has been offered has been worth just that - scarcely a penny each. This unfortunate turn of events was catalyzed by Ann Rice's horrid Lestat stories - and I don't mean horrid in the good sense! Her novels have gotten measureably worse with each new itteration, as she has invested them with her own psychological introspection.

The author uses letters verbatim, diary entries, published articles and quoted conversations, jumping from one to the other in what could have been a confusing jumble - but is not. Having several voices in the narrative fills out the story - it is richer and fuller for the variety.

Kostova has written an engaging, even enchanting novel in the old Victorian style. She writes extrememly well,and uses the English language with skill and finesse. She combines historical, lingusitic and cultural facts with folklore and myth to weave a tale worth the reading.

If you enjoy Abraham Stoker or Mary Shelley more than Anne Rice, purchase this novel and read it. It is long, but I read it through in one night's sitting.

Richard White

First a caveat: I did not finish this book. Normally, I'll give a book at least a hundred pages to hook me before giving up on it. In this case, because I really wanted to like "The Historian," I gave it almost two hundred pages before giving up. Eventually the slow pace, the coincidences, and the so-so writing style just piled up too high, and I put it back on the shelf. The novel's premise sounded great, but the author just didn't deliver, at least not enough to engage me enough to read the entire book.

"The Historian" clearly fancies itself as being an epic, and in the sense that it covers a large time period and geographic scale, it certainly is. However, in attempting to make the novel fit the "epic" bill, Kostova padded it with such an incredibly massive amount of pointless filler that the excellent story at its heart ends up being one of the more boring books of the 21st century. Pages upon pages of frivolous descriptions of exotic locales-- Kostova visited nearly every place she writes about, and seems incapable of describing each new setting with fewer than 2,000 words-- constantly interrupt the story; skimming becomes a survival method, as Kostova clearly lacks a competent editor. This drivel drags down the action and forces the interesting aspects of the book (in particular, the history of Romania and the surrounding area) into the background.

"The Historian" has other major problems as well. Kostova is a merely adequate writer who fancies herself as a master of the English language. The author cannot go a page without utilizing some ridiculous metaphorical turn of phrase that interrupts the flow of the otherwise straightforward prose. Kostova's excessively flowery language is also an aggravating factor in her bloated descriptions, and one gets the sense that this 650 page novel could easily have been half its length.

Nonetheless, "The Historian" has several positive aspects. The first third is undeniably strong, though the author has an obvious sense of seriousness and self-importance that turns what should be fun passages into ponderous bores. Still, Kostova's description of the history of an obscure part of the world is occasionally fascinating and almost redeeming. Armed with a talented editor and a lighter tone, Kostova might have written a masterpiece. As it stands, though, "The Historian" is a passable piece of frivolity.

what more can i say but that this book was unbelievably amazing from beginning to end... and i did NOT want it to end. kostova writes with such passion and eloquence, i cannot wait for her next book!!!!!!!! i am a huge dracula fan, and this book certainly covers every amazing aspect of the history of dracula. not to mention that her book has made me want to travel throughout eastern europe. just AMAZING. i definitely recommend this book!!!

Let me start with a warning: this is NOT a book for the lovers of vampire books that drip blood and are full of gore and scantily clad females. This is a very intelligent book, falling into the genre of wonderful classical literature. The writer kept me fascinated throughout the book and I cannot agree with the other reviewers that the book should have been edited to half its size. This would have meant losing out on beautifully written descriptive parts which add to the overall feel of the book. I would advise these reviewers to stick to dime-novel-type books in the future. Please, Ms Kostova, write another one soon!!

I have read a lot of books in my day. And I have never read a book that I was 65 chapters in and still waiting for something EXCITING to happen. What a disappointment this book was. This author, tried way to hard to describe so much. I thought if I read one more chapter describing the mountains or the countryside I thought I would vomit. It was just too much. We get it! Europe is beautiful!!!!
The plot seem to go around in circles at times, and the story line could have been cut in half. And I found myself skipping chapters and finding out in the long run, that I didn't miss anything by skipping them! Sad! Dracula has a library, that he wants someone to catalog-thats scary? And I read over 600 pages to find that out? Big deal. This was more like history lesson and geographical lesson not a vampire noval at all. This story line was "never ending" and it could have been cut in half and could have been so much better. I give it two thumbs down :(

The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova

Writing Style - 2/5
Characters - 2
Storyline - 2
Resonance - 2

The Not-Too-Revealing-Synopsis:
This is a search for Dracula through historical documents involving multiple generations of characters and treks through late Cold War Eastern Europe.

The Critique and/or Review
The idea of a new perspective on Dracula, particularly an intelligently written story on the undead is absolutely witching. However this story is much less about Dracula than the historical Vlad Tepes, reads not intelligently but academically and has little fascination or charm.

Kostova's infusions into the vampire story: travelogue, research and romance never coalesce into an engaging whole but parcels that one reads and thinks "I see what she is trying to do here...." The thrill of the historian finding ancient treasures in library archives never translates into a vicarious experience and the drama comes from the more traditional overt threats-to-life sort. It is hard to imagine an arrangement of narratives in a less satisfying order.

It is not all bad though. The historical account of the origins of folklore on vampires is well told and paced. The brief portions regarding music and song reveal a true artistry. Most convicingly one comes to love the imagined smell, feel and look of old books that must lie rarely-thumbed across the continents, mysteries undiscovered contained therein.

If you want at least one source of Dracula information beyond what you know from videogames, movies and halloween costumes this cannot be the worst choice. I do hope however that there is something better out there, something with better characters, a better story and a truly new perspective.

I do not recommend this book.

This was an interesting mix of history and the vampire legend. Usually, I am not fond of vampire stories, but this book motivated me to finally read Dracula, which I loved. This mix represents an interesting viewpoint upon vampires, and the storyline is magnificently crafted. I could not put this book down. The only caution I have is that this book may not be appropriate for history buffs, but I feel it warrants five stars, as it gave me chills throughout. Wonderful.

An intriguing twist on the Dracula legend, wrapped around a mini-history of the Balkans and the Ottomans. The book reads like a history book/travelogue more than is good for the narrative; while it's fascinating and well-executed, the book probably should have been shorter by at least 200 pages.

The Historian has gripping sections, some beautiful prose, and some original, and intelligent ideas. Especially about the nature of History, research, and how both inform our modern lives. However, after finishing the text I am not blown away. After investing the time to read the 600+ page novel I feel slighted if the text does not leave me with something more than a "I'm finished with that one" feeling. The first 300 or so pages of this text are exciting and well written, and then the text slows down slower than the pilgrimages of the medieval monks that it is describing. I don't know where Ms. Kostova's editors were, but they dropped the ball on that one. If you like historical texts, thriller genres, and have an interest in the legend of Dracula then the text is worth the time. However, if you are not ardent about all three then I believe you will not enjoy this novel. I know many people who hated this text and did not finish it. I know only one person, a PhD in History, who loved it. I would count myself as ambivalent. I wish I wasn't.

Bland, slow, incredibly long story about a global search for Dracula, who is seemingly undead and well in the 20th century. One would think that the topic alone would be sufficient to create suspense, but it didn't happen.

I recieved this as a Christmas gift a few years ago by friends who knew my slight, minute, itsy-bitsy, tiny obsession with vampires. And my great love of history. I only recently had time to pick it up - and I could NOT put it down! It is really an amazing read with fascinating language, intellectual discussion, historical character, and intriguing fantasy - EXCELLENT!

A great novel combining vampire lore, history, suspense, travelogue, the real and the super natural. The vampire lore is supplemented by research into the real facts about Vlad Tepes. Elizabeth Kostova does a job of cultural brokering in this novel, describing how Tepes is viewed in his country, the view based on history. The historical layer is an interesting twist in a novel about legendary vampire, whose legend as a vampire is relatively new. She makes Tepes also a personification of evil forces in history: the corrupt and not dead stands for the humanity's inability to learn from the mistakes in history.

The novel is elegantly written, it reads like one of the XIX.c novels,but not old fashioned one. The novel is written from the view point of people involved, narrated by themselves, or written in letters. Not an easy thing for a thriller, but this adds to the linear feel, in spite of the fact that the story is woven from the events separated by time.

In addition to the suspense and history which is so well researched and flawlessly woven into the fabric of the novel, I specially enjoyed the descriptions of places, foods, and people. The book reads in some parts like a travelogue.

And as Kostova's is a writer skilled at characterization, I also was thinking that the descriptions of hospitality were very convincing. I found people for Eastern Europe very hospitable, (though I had never the luck of experiencing them on their native soil, except a brief visit for several days in one country, this experience was too short to count).And yes, the positive experience included the Turkish people whose religion is Islam. Hospitable situations like those described could happen in real life.

What you count occurs regularly int he novel is food, an d a lot of it. Somehow the meals give the pace certain rhythm. As the story has supernatural in it (Dracula, mysterious book,) the blend of real history, places, food, and fine characterization makes many events quite real, which is of course a plus in a novel which has so much of unreal in it.

This book was compared to the Da Vinci Code.In my opinion it is an invalid comparison. Yes, maybe the advertising efforts, but this thriller is slower moving, very suspensefull too, and has better prose, characterization Da Vinci Code. In the Da Vinci Code the action is th emsot important, and of course than the characters can be not too deeply carved out,it is a very quick read. This book is a delectable one. Don't get me wrong, I was not able to put it down, it fascinates, but it is slower than DVC. If this is a plus or a minus in thrillers, it is the mater of taste. Kostova can create and handle suspense very well, so, the letters and the parties, and travels of the monks are not distracting

It took Elizabeth Kostova ten years to write this book, she also traveled to Eastern Europe, is married to Eastern European, speaks Bulgarian, etc. Her connection to the subject can be felt very much in this book. For sure I will be reading her next book when is published.

This book was extremely long, but the author did an excellent job of keeping one intrigued the entire way through the adventure. With so much historical background and so much of the action taking place in the past, the narrative could have easily gotten off track, and it did not.
The payoff at the end was slightly less than I had looked forward to after investing so much time into this book. I thought it could have been more climactic.
Overall, an entertaining read, which put many more European cities on my 'places to visit' list.

I loved this book. I love a good historic mystery. This book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I think that a book is really good when it makes you want to learn outside of the book. I got so into this book, that now (as soon as finals are over) I'm going to read Dracula. I really want to learn more about the places in the book and Vlad himself now. This book had nothing to do with the Da Vinci Code, but I got the same excited feeling while reading it and it made me yearn for more. Read this book!

Maybe 3.75 stars.

I missed the original hype about this book and recently pulled it from the shelve at the local library and read it without any preformed expectations. It is of the sub-genre in which The Da Vinci Code may be found. An academic search for ... with a small amount of action.

It is interesting to note that the distribution of ratings among over 1000 reviewers is almost uniform. I'm not sure what that means.

Well - to put in my two cents, I found the book interesting, but that it started to drag. As the characters visited scholars, historical sites, interviewed people, spent time in libraries, I felt like I was reading (or writing) a research paper.

I want to avoid a spoiler, but when I found out the primary interest of Dracula, the bibliophile, I almost laughed out loud.

What is next? Frankenstein the Potter?

Book was on my daughter's wish list for a while. I took a chance buying used, but it was in excellent condition --just as described. It arrived on time, and I am very happy with the book and the service.

I feel so bad that I was duped by media hype. What a waste of good time and resource. I do see that the author did quite a research before writing this novel. But only that much is good. If this is to be a novel, it should have something good in it. One of the worst books I ever read and I only wish someone could have advised me not to buy this book before I picked it.

A very exciting thrill riding historical novel based on fact and fiction. This book will pull you into the characters and you may lose yourself for a while as you move around from character to character. The book keeps you involved deeply in the plot and you find yourself not wanting to put this book down. I have always been a reader of vampire folklore and this book really keeps you on your seat's edge. I highly recommend this book for many readers, but not for the faint of heart. The author does an amazing job of describing visions, scenery and sensations. Pick it up at this great price.

I really enjoyed this book. I was very impressed with all of the accurate references to the historical details. Great author and I'm hoping she will come out with a new one soon. You definitely have to enjoy history as the title implies or else you may get bogged down by the references to it. IF anything, you'll walk away want to go to Budapest or one of the other fantastic destinations they mention.

Elizabeth Kostova was on to something. At long last, a vampire tale is presented free of inane melodrama and mindless seduction; at long last, a horror novel comes forward from a fresh perspective: an historian/scholar's perspective. And what's more, the novel is brilliantly and masterfully written; its prose is lyrical and majestic--it's a delight to read. As a bonus, the reader is able to learn so much--learn about European history, the Balkans, the Ottoman Empire, Transylvania, Bulgaria. . .learn about Vlad the Impaler, the actual historical figure. And finally, the story starts with such promise, such heart-racing suspense; the reader is eagerly turning the pages, longing to see what happens next.

So what happened? Unfortunately, several things. THE HISTORIAN is perhaps the most disappointing read I have ever experienced, because it starts with such promise, yet Kostova's story unravels and fails dismally to suspend disbelief. Several plot developments and writing devices created problems (for me), and here are the most glaring ones (spoiler alert!):

*The recklessness of Paul (the father). Based on all we learn about the dangers of coming across one of the ancient books with the woodcut engraving of the Dragon, why on earth would Paul leave his copy (along with letters and notes) on a shelf in his study? What father in his right mind would dare expose his teenage daughter (our unnamed protagonist) to such diabolical evil and danger? When the librarian in the Amsterdam library is viciously attacked and killed in an adjacent room next to the study where the daughter (our unnamed protagonist) is doing her own Vlad Tepes research, I said to myself, "Well, there had better be a reasonable explanation why Paul would allow his daughter to be placed in so much danger." Yet no explanation--after some 700 pages--was ever given or provided.

*Paul's "letters" to his daughter (our unnamed protagonist). The bulk of the narrative in this novel is comprised of so-called letters Paul has written to his daughter (our unnamed protagonist); these letters recall the events, some twenty years before, of Paul and Helen (who will become the mother of our unnamed protagonist) as they travel eastern Europe and Turkey in search of Paul's recently-kidnapped mentor, Professor Rossi. These letters were ostensibly written by Paul late at night, over the course of some 18 months, as Paul and our unnamed protagonist travel the European continent. These letters total well over 200,000 words; the logistics of such a Herculean task just don't jive. Supposedly these letters were discovered in a "packet"; one can only imagine the size of such a packet of letters. And finally, these letters don't read like letters; they read like narrative, including dialogue, inflection, and facial expressions. No one (not even an historian) writes letters this way, and Kostova's employment of such a device rings hollow.

*The fragility of Dracula. Vlad Tepes has wreaked havoc throughout the world for more than 500 years. He appears and disappears mysteriously; he possesses superhuman strength; throughout this story he is virtually indestructible. So when he is so quickly dispatched at the end of the novel with little more than a whimper, I actually laughed out loud. It was better than crying, anyway.

*Helen's explanation for running away from her family was lame. Okay, we get it: She's a distant descendant of Dracula, and she's been bitten twice (and according to the story a third bite is fatal, and also an invitation to Undeadville), so she feels the urge to go on a quest to find Vlad before he finds her. Yet she never presents a convincing explanation for just dropping out of her husband's and her daughter's (our unnamed protagonist) lives without a trace--allowing both to assume she's been killed. This subplot just doesn't hold up, and it makes Helen the character look petulant and whiney (as do her unmailed "postcards" to our unnamed protagonist).

Again, these were the major problems I had with this novel; there were several more, but I'm writing a review, not a dissertation. Kostova's Epilogue does feature a nice touch, but it was insufficient to overcome the myriad of problems and unworkable devices utilized to tell the story. THE HISTORIAN certainly reads well, yet the story disappoints, over and over again.
--D. Mikels, Author, The Reckoning

Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

A CK2S Recomended read!

PLEASE NOTE: I had the audio version of this book so cannot guarantee all of my spellings are correct.

The Historian starts off with a young girl, our unnamed narrator, discovering an ancient book in her father, Paul's, library and a pile of letters addressed to "my poor unfortunate successor." As she reads the letters she becomes aware of a decades long quest for the truth of Vlad Tepes, AKA Dracula, where his tomb is located, and whether or not he is dead. Almost immediately we discover he is a vampire and events take off from there.

Three different timelines are occurring simultaneously. We experience the original quest of Paul's mentor, Bartolomew Rossi as a young man, to find the tomb. Then the second timeline is when Paul goes searching for the missing from the university Rossi, accompanied by The equally obsessed Helen. The final timeline is when the young narrator finds a note from her missing father and goes on a quest to find him, and the truth about Vlad. All three stories intersect repeatedly throughout the book giving a vivid look at the strange story of Vlad Tepes and many people's searches for the secrets he jealously hides, killing just about anyone who crosses him.

The Historian is extremely complicated to give adequate review of due to the immensity of the story and the variety of unfolding events. It is very hard to read as well, requiring intense concentration to keep all of the timelines straight. Each time I started a new listening session, I had to backtrack significantly to refresh my memory of previous events and get back into the flow of the story. In spite of the complexity, or perhaps because of, I adored this book and couldn't wait to see what would happen next. I know I missed a lot, not being able to spend long periods of time at one stretch listening, but while it may have confused me a time or two, it did not affect my enjoyment. Part of the pleasure of reading this book is the mystery and trying to guess what would come next.

So much history, so much imagery, three generations of romances all connected through tenuous threads of blood and knowledge, The Historian is such a fascinating and compelling read I encourage everyone who knows anything about the story of Dracula to give this book a try. Do not be discouraged by the length, it is well worth the satisfaction of knowing you finished such a fantastic book. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova is one incredible book!

The only thing I can think of to possibly make the listening experience more enjoyable would have been to have three narrators instead of two. I think if there were one performer for each individual quest, it would have helped me keep up with the transitions between timelines. Don't misunderstand me though, Paul Michael and Justine Eyre do an amazing job performing this novel. If not for the talent of these performers, I probably would have had a hard time keeping up with events as well as I did.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, March 2008. All rights reserved.

I have read several books on the subject, and have never been so brought in to the story as i was with this. Her writing style is smooth and easy to follow and the verbal language is so discriptive you feel as though you are right there along with the characters you are reading about. The amount of real history in this book blows me away, but quickley adds up in giving credit that this mystery is solvable, real to the reader. The dangers her father under goes in his adventures is no stop action you cant put the book down and then when she her self sets off after her father with baily- you know something is going to grow between the two and you see how she ages through the story and how her opinions change, along with how she sees her father, and all that is to make one believe that vlad is still alive and hunting you- the coolest thing was how- she managed to relate the story back to vlads actual family, and make her characters the most recent victims/ his family,that is line has continued and the order of the dragons blood is still flowing through a living vessel of the modern age. a simply marvelous book that no one should pass up, and if you have never been to some of these places you will have felt you have traveled there after you have read this book. this makes vlads story even more real because the history is so acurate, that its possible- anythings possible when you use your imagination as well has Elizabeth Kostova has. Pure no stop enjoyment and un forgetable- no matter what language you read it in. I have read it through a full 2Xs because i love the story and can see myself rereading it again in the future.

I learned a lot about European and particularly eastern European history -- it whetted my appetite not for Bram Stoker's novel, but for histories of Romania, Hungary, Turkey, etc., and biographies of Dracula himself. If people were reading this book for the thrill of vampires, they were probably disappointed. Sometimes judging a book by its cover helps. The title is "The Historian" -- which historian it refers to is a bit up in the air, but it's fascinating reading that sucks you into it.

The Historian comes across as a modern-day Dracula story. The concept, in itself, is original and attractive and provides fertile ground for a very rich piece.
Ms Kostova does a fine work in two dimensions. On one hand, she nicely describes many settings in Eastern Europe as well as many historical events. She does this so well, that I think much of the hype behind this book was based on her skill at this. On the other hand, even if it's not riveting, The Historian captures the reader's imagination. Not being a page-turner, it is still able to maintain a level of suspense to keep you reading.
Unfortunately, her work has two major failings:
- Character development: some best-selling authors -like Dan Brown, for example- have difficulty in developing "complete" characters, and end up presenting them on a superficial level. Even though that is disappointing, it does not become a nuissance. Ms Kostova shows a similar difficulty, but instead she seems to have tried to develop the characters (notwithstanding her inability to do so). A conscious reader will probably feel uncomfortable by the result. Most of the story is narrated by a grown-up man who, not only shows a very high and emotional level of affection for his mentor, but describes other man's voice as "sweet", and other man as someone who "would have been magnificent in horseback" and as someone with a "handsome head" a "genial smile" and (again!) "handsome epicanthic eyes". I will not go into further detail, but I will suggest that Ms Kostova projected herself into all of her characters, so strongly, that all of them think, feel and behave like a woman.
- Plot: The Historian is full of "coincidences" that are key for the development of the story. There are so many, that they corrupt what could have been a fantastic story. For example, getting into a restaurant in the middle of Istambul, to sit down and start conversation with a complete stranger that shares an interest in Dracula is just too much. Ms Kostova's abuse of these "coincidences" devalues the value of the story and the book and is unnecessary.

In short, it's disappointing when such a nice premise is weakened by a sub-par delivery. If you're still curious, read the book. Even with its failings, it will be exciting enough for you to finish it.

I've been on a historical fiction kick as of late. I'm always looking for new authors in this genre to read. I was actually introduced to this book by reading a thread on a music forum (of all places!) by someone looking for horror novels.

Generally I don't read much horror. Not that I don't like horror, but as I said, I've been on more of a historical fiction kick than anything else lately. I was pleasantly surprised by this book.

This book is an amalgamation of classic horror and historical fiction. The reader is swept away in history as the storyteller, which is presented in the first person looking back on her life and the strange events she experienced in the past, goes deeper and deeper into a series of historical texts, travel and personal experiences that are discovered by the primary characters as the book progresses.

The story centers around a mysterious book found by one of the main characters and takes the reader on a thrilling, if not tragic tale, of a family's search for and ties to Vlad Dracula. With each peice of evidence that is discovered, the book travels back into history as more and more evidence is produced and explained.

I've seen some reviewers say that it's a slow read. I may understand that to a certain degree. There is a LOT of reading packed into this book's 640+ pages. But I never felt the book to drag at all. Even during the portions of the book that fall heavily into historical exposition, it was always interesting and I felt myself turning pages faster and faster because I just HAD to know what was going to happen to these characters next.

Count me in as a new fan of Elizabeth Kostova. I don't know if she has any other books out after this one or is in the progress of writing one as I write this but I will definetly find out. A spectacular story teller.

I highly recommend this book to anybody who's a fan of either historical fiction or horror or both. I feel even thriller fans would enjoy this highly engrossing read as well!

I read this as a member of a book club. Most of us found it to be a very difficult read. Several of us did not manage to get all the way through it. I really believe that the editor could have slashed 100+ pages out of the book and the story would not have been negatively affected.

All i gotta say is this book was REALLY slow. If you like history then this is your book. Other wise forget it.

If you're looking for a `classic' vampire tale in the same `vein' as Stoker's original then this, I'm afraid, isn't it! For that you'll need to call on Peter Tremayne's excellent trilogy. While it does feature middle European folk lore and gothic castles the intrusion of clichéd communist heavies so unbalances the plot that it comes virtually off the rails long before Dracula has had a chance to decide whether the October revolution was a good or bad thing for the blood supply! I really wanted so much to like this book, and did, here and there: it was well if over written and a better editor could have excised at least a hundred pages without robbing it of its lifeblood! For example, however well written are the exhaustive descriptions of meals and places they are still exhausting and could quite easily have been omitted without damaging the development of the story in the least. The author has endeavoured to borrow from Stoker the same narrative device of using journal entries and letters but there, regrettably, any similarities to the original end.

I love this book. It is an excellent story. I purchased the book and the audio CD. I really enjoy listening to the audio CD. It provides sounds and music to the story. This is a story that I can listen to over and over again. I hope they make a movie out this book, would be really neat.

A sixteen year old girl discovers her father's secret library with an ancient tome with a picture of a dragon and the word "Drakulya".
That's definetely the start of an interesting novel. The Drakula we all know and still want to know about. This time presented in a historical realm.
After the gaughter asks her father about the tome and letters, the search for Drakuyla becomes her destiny. A neverending obsession. A teenager obsessed and hooked with the legend, as well as the reader, we take that magic ride into a quest of finding, or finding out about, Drakuyla.

The Historian is a long book that you don't want to end. You are not really looking for the ending. We are enjoying every moment, poem, prose of it. A suspense thriller that takes us across Europe as the teen investigates Drakulya in a sometimes twisted tale and gothic atmosphere.

It's one of my favorites, hard to describe, better experienced and kept as a precious book on your bookshelves.
Five Stars

An astonishing debut novel for its mystery, creativity, suspense, complexity of plot and unique characterizaions, the author keeps the reader guessing as clues are revealed about the mysterious disappearance of Professor Bartolomew Rossi from Oxford University. The author builds interest and intrigue throughout the story, holding the reader on the edge of his or her seat. Dr. Rossi is believed to have been murdered but there is no evidence or proof of this. It is theorized he was kidnapped but again, there is no ransom note. It is hoped by those who care that he is still alive but as time marches on, no one hears from this famous and well regarded college professor. His graduate student Paul was given letters and a book which reveals a mystery, a dark and sinister event which Dr. Rossi was researching. After becoming a successful college educator and later a diplomat, Dr. Rossi's former student becomes the founder of the Center for Peace and Democracy, head quartered in Amsterdam. He travels around the world in this capacity, lecturing and holding to the firm hope that his mentor, colleague and friend, Dr. Bartolomew Rossi is still alive. Paul takes his sixteen year old daughter to France and Romania following up on research clues left by the professor. His daughter is aware that her father seems preoccupied, almost haunted by the mysterious disappearance of his friend. He is quiet and secretive about the contents of the letters and book which Dr. Rossi left behind for her dad. At a library in Oxford University, the former student met someone who cared as much, perhaps more about Dr. Rossi's disappearance than himself. She turned out to be his daughter, Helen Rossi. It is the daughter Dr. Rossi did not know he had. She was researching the same dark secrets which Paul had discovered.

Paul and Helen Rossi traveled throughout Central Europe and the Balkans to places Dr. Rossi had visited, researching clues the professor had written about in his letters. The travels included a monastery in France and castles in Romania. They visited Orthodox shrines and monasteries in Bulgaria and even attended a conference in Budapest, Hungary in the early 1970s. The trail led them to Istanbul, Turkey where they unexpectedly met a Turkish professor at a cafe who shared an interest in the same dark forces which they were exploring. In each location, newer dark, hidden secrets were being revealed. The author accurately portrays the Communist regime and secret police tactics in the novel. She does a superb job of describing what life was like living under Communism in Hungary and Bulgaria. Her ability to weave creepy clues and vampire lore into the story is done with elegance and skill. Her understanding of the cultures of Central Europe and the Balkans is most impressive. How she incorporated the Ottoman Empire and the history of its reign throughout Europe is most excellent. It is a great reading adventure to follow the clues and explorations of this former student and professor's daughter on their quest to find her father. Discovering the secret behind his disappearnce is worth reading for one's self. Anyone who loves a good creepy mystery story will love this book. Despite it being almost 650 pages, the book is fascinating and never dull or redundant. In my opinion, the author does a superb gradual build-up of clues which culminates in some very exciting climactic moments. The entire book is very enjoyable and entertaining for those who love reading about vampires. Everyone will be furiously reading, waiting for the next chilling moment to reveal another astonishing dark secret. Erika Borsos [pepper flower]

Well, Elizath Kostova writes well (much nicer prose than Dan Brown's) but this story is a little too 19th century for me. It's like the author's goal was to take as long as possible to tell the story, a technique that worked fine when readers had fewer entertainment options but today it just makes me want to skim the pages. And it is so incredibly complicated as far as point of view--a girl listens to her father telling long, disjointed stories, and she reads letters from different people, and she relates her own actions. When you read "I open the door..." you have to work to remember who the hell "I" is at that moment. Nice imagery, nice historical touches (I'm no expert, though), but too many story-within-a-story-within-a-story layers for me, and a little too much convenient coincidence.

On the other hand, if you like 5,000 piece jigsaw puzzles, you might like it. To each his/her own.

I am an avid reader of the vampire genre stories, generally erotic romance style. I really enjoyed the approach to this as a narrative by an historian about historians tracking Vlad.

I think Ms. Kostova needed the lenght to tell her story her way and disagree with those who are critical of the book length. I debated between 3 and 4 stars on this and finally decided on 4 because Ms. Kostova is a good writer. This was not a page turner in the normal sense for me but I never lost interest and did enjoy the action and the presentation of Vlad. A character that actually had me lighting candles at night for a few weeks.

I can't get over this book, over a year after reading it. I loved (and feared) Bram Stoker's Dracula as a child. I was so afraid after I read it that I put a homemade crucifix over it and hid it in my cedar chest, after which of course it haunted me anyway. But I must say that The Historian puts Dracula in the dust. This is a slow and deeply tragic story. The characters seem safely remote at first, but by the end they are as close as loved family members, and what happens to them, or what happened to them, feels unbearable. Moreover, Dracula himself is a good deal more overwhelming than the monster of Stoker's novel -- in this book he is charming, intelligent, complex and unstoppable. He is more frightening by far than any movie version of Dracula or the original Stoker book could ever have suggested.

Well, don't miss this book, but be ready for it. And be patient. And prepare to live with it after you have read it.

This book was recommended to me because I enjoy vampire lore. I began the book with high hopes. That was probably my problem. I did enjoy the dialoge between the characters and the language of letter writing displayed in the book. I am impressed with the intellectual, antique style of writing.

My main problem with the book is the constant inaction throughout the story. I found myself getting very tired of the main characters going into yet another library, to do more research. I suppose that was the point of the story, but I was still bored with it.

The ending was good and the payoff was right on point. I would have liked to hear more about what happened to the main characters after the final battle. I hear this may be made into a movie. I think a talented scriptwriter could make this story into a great film.

A strange mystery is encountered by the narrator, a mystery that stretches back into the medieval times. She finds a small but unusual book while in her father's library. This book, along with some letters, leads the narrator into a world she never thought she'd encounter. As she learns piece by piece of what others have discovered before her, she also learns how her own personal history has been entangled in this web of historical deception and evil. Will the mysteries behind the history of Vlad the Impaler be uncovered or will this darkness continue to spread?

THE HISTORIAN is told through a series of letters and first hand narratives. We hear the stories of the young woman narrating the story and her father, along with that of several others. The references to medieval folklore and old ballads left me wondering as to how much of this story is based on fact, myth, or simply made up by the author. Regardless, the end result is a breathtaking journey that delves deeply into the mysteries surrounding Vlad the Impaler.

It actually took me two attempts to finish THE HISTORIAN; the second time I listened largely to the audio, and then finished it off by reading the last parts of the print version. The audio adds a mystical touch as the words of the various people populating the story come to life. However, the print version remains to me the best choice for appreciating this tale as THE HISTORIAN is very much a celebration of books and knowledge, wrapped up in the lore of Dracula.

THE HISTORIAN is a complex novel in which the journey is far more important than the actual outcome. Elizabeth Kostova deftly weaves a complex and thought provoking tale. It's not necessarily an easy story to read, as the mysteries are wrapped within mysteries and even the smallest details have importance. Perhaps the reason the second attempt finishing this book went so much smoother for me is that I already had a taste of the storyline and so it was the details themselves that captivated me. THE HISTORIAN can initially be a bit overwhelming due to the plethora of historical accountings and the sheer length of the book and audio. However, THE HISTORIAN is a journey well worth taking and a book worth savoring.

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

I can't find a book similar to this. I don't normally take any interest in Dracula legends and perhaps those who are serious about such things would find the book a disappointment. But for a book rich with realistic imagery, historic context, and thrilling twists that make the book impossible to put down, this is AMAZING. One of my favorites of all time.

This story of three generations of historians searching for the secrets of Vlad the Impaler takes us around the world and delves into the circumstances of personal lives influenced by this man's thirst. The lore of Dracula and the history of the Ottoman Empire make this novel intriguing, as each of the three historians try to unravel the mystery in order to free a loved one. The realistic and well-defined characters are wonderful company on our journey through the 656 pages of text. Although there are some truly slow and arduous parts, I enjoyed this novel very much.

Most of the reviews I've read of this novel are critical of the length mainly. Personally, I don't think she could have told this story any other way and I wouldn't wanted her to cut anything out. Its an incredible tale spanning centuries and vast distances and introduces many important and varied characters. This book is for lovers of history as well as those devoted and efficient speed-readers out there (you cant zone out for a spell and then snap out of it expecting not to need to backtrack). Anyway, this is one of the greatest tales I've ever read and I'm so grateful I stumbled upon it. Its a book for people who love to read, not just one to casually jump in and out of.