By now, probably everyone but me has already read and reviewed The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I like some vampire books and I usually like historical novels, so when my sister gave this to me, it moved to the top of the reading pile (well, except for the books I was supposed to review for the children's literature database:-) Although set in the 20th century, this novel is all about delving into the history of eastern Europe and Turkey in the 15th century. The plot is driven by the appearance of apparently very old books with no text, but only a compelling woodcut image of a dragon with the word Drakulya underneath. Are the books delivered as an invitation or a warning or perhaps both? Is the image really a map that indicates where the real Dracula is/was buried? The mysterious volumes invite investigation into the life of Vlad Tepes (aka Dracula) who supposedly ruled an area of eastern Europe around current day Romania in the 1400's. He was at war with the Turks but was expansive in his legendary cruelty and both his own subjects and the enemy were recipients of grisly tortures. It's a fascinating insight into how historical scholarship might be pursued--through interviews, primary source documents, local folklore and songs, connections with other scholars. The problem is that those pursuing the inquiries, or more often those close to them, seem to keep dying or disappearing or worse. And just when you think things have finally been resolved (and it is a long book), Kostova twists your tail/tale and you have to start looking over your shoulder all over again.
p.s. While hunting down an image for this post, I ran a whole website devoted to books on vampires, so if this just whets your appetite for more, check it out.
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