Rated of 5
by
ora pihema
the historian
A gripping and fascinating adventure of one young girl's obsession with knowing who her parents really were/are. The delving into the idea of Dracula as a modern day belief so early on in the book, initially can make the reader skeptical; however, I felt the execution (excuse the pun) of it was indeed intoxicating. I especially loved the lesser character of the mother`s mother, the reader gets a sense of organic narrative as though we are sitting down at her humble kitchen table, and being told a story, that although is as old as humanity, we can't help listening to again. A love story. The seductiveness as we meander our way across Eastern Europe, untainted and untouched by lack of language and passports, the characters obviously possessing a magic about them that amplifies as they near their crescendo into Dracula`s lair. But also the labyrinth from which the story unfolds, the present with the past, truth from fiction and fantasy with narrative, entwines itself by leaving the reader asking: Could it be true? and if not, why not?
Rated of 5
by
Steven MacComas
Very engaging read
Excellent story line. I would compare this work to the writing of Anne Rice without all the gay stuff. Excellent blend of history and fiction. A must read for the legion of vampire lovers out there.
Rated of 5
by
Carol Kirk
Excellent
I've read a couple of the negative reviews and have wondered if they and I have read the same book! Yes, nothing too dastardly BUT what a read, I couldn't put it down. it was interesting and gripping, the historical references good and the story that only the imagination could only put in between the lines. I love a read that sets the imagination going, to me its the sign of a truly good story teller. An excellent read, I thoroughly recommend it!
Rated of 5
by
Dani California
Amazing!!!
I loved this book! I was extremely interested from the beginning and I enjoyed every minute of reading it!
Rated of 5
by
Mr. Dark
Eh...
Well, The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. If you ask me, there's really not an awful lot to say. I was basically forced to read this book, all because I was surrounded in a society of Twilight fangirls that basically said "It's about vampires. It's thick. Let's read it!" so, you can predict my lack of enthusiasm from the very beginning. Despite this, it would still be incorrect to say that I was biased at any time, as I didn't fully know what to expect. Thus my reading began. Took me a couple of weeks to finish it. Wasn't incredibly hard to put it down afterward. The main problem with this book is its never-ending attempts to appear "plausible". I understand it fits into the story's theme about historians and factuality, but truly, it feels awkward reading like this in a novel with mostly fictional, baseless events. True, there is a load of text which could basically be interpreted as a history lesson on the war between Dracula and the Ottoman empire, but that doesn't necessarily improve the story's quality in any sense. On the plot itself, due to its tendency to add up tiny bits of story progress from each of the gazillion locations, it feels weak in more than one sense. More awkward moments come from when the context decides to throw a sudden romance straight at the reader. This, mixed with the multiple plotline dispersion (a rather poorly organized aspect) and the overall weakness of the plot, makes it seem more desperate than anything else. Another of the main motifs, the presence of vampires, is unbelievably underwhelming. Aside from Dracula, there is no more than ONE potentially dangerous vampire in the book. More additions to the letdown include opinions on descriptions with absolutely no relevance to the plot or theme, lack of clarity on several elements, constant dispersion and fault to keep consistency, some poorly constructed story arcs.
On the plus side, though, the book was a half-good piece of info dinner for anyone with an interest on dracula or vampire myths, and at least the plot manages to hold together throughout the length of the story. Regardless of one's interest in reading it, it feeds its reader some curious data on medieval europe that may seem interesting to the cultivated, along with the aforementioned mythical elements.
Overall, it's passable. Can't really focus too much on the negative or positive aspects, because they practically eat each other up. I believe that's the best way to describe it in a nutshell Well, this has been my personal review. Signing out for now.
Rated of 5
by
CindyE
Save yourself the time and trouble
I read this novel despite my bosses warning that she was bored and kept waiting for something to happen. She and I are extremely avid readers of all types of novels. I am ever optimistic and rarely do I ever not finish a book once I begin one. I can usually find something redeeming about any novel. After reading the pages of sparkling reviews I thought there has to be something my boss just missed. After all, I do love to savor a good detailed read more than many. I was wrong. There is nothing thrilling, terrifying, contemporary or compelling about this novel. All words used to describe this novel by reviewers I can certainly believe that the book took ten years to write as I felt that it seemed to take that long to read. I literally forced myself to finish it trying for the life of me to figure out what anyone could find remotely scary about it. It was plodding, dated, boring and deeply in need of a skilled editor. Bram Stoker's Dracula to which the author frequently refers, has a more contemporary feel than this novel. I can't keep from asking myself who this author is related to and how much the publisher paid people to write the positive reviews. I really feel that this book was slipped out to capitalize on the success of currently popular historical-geographical thrillers and the equally current vampire craze. I am definitely glad that I didn't pay to read this borefest but felt sorry that my boss did. Please take my advice and save yourself from the Historian.
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The Historian
of 5
by
ora pihema
of 5
by
Mr. Dark
of 5
by
CindyE
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