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The specter of the supernatural infuses this academic thriller, the debut of author Elizabeth Kostova. In 1972 Amsterdam, a sheltered, motherless teenager stumbles across an ancient book imprinted with a dragon and stuffed with 40-year-old, mysteriously addressed letters. Gradually, her father reveals the link between the book and various attempts to discover the tomb of the brutal warrior/ruler Vlad Tepes, better known as Dracula. Those who choose to become part of the search generally end up paying with their careers and their lives. Despite (or perhaps because of) these dire warnings, the nameless young woman finds herself compelled to discover who Dracula truly was...and whether he still exists today.
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"[A] hypnotic yarn, saturated in authentic history and eerie intrigue....[F]or the sophisticated reader it's a fine Bordeaux to Dan Brown's overcaffeinated Diet Coke." - Alfred W. Satterthwaite (Salon, 6/6/05)
"[A] smart retelling of the Dracula story." - (New Yorker, 6/27/05)
"[A]n enjoyably rambling Gothic novel, one filled with fascinating details of archaic vampire lore, the splendours of the Ottoman Empire and the beauty of the Romanian countryside." - Seth Tobocman (Times Literary Supplement, 7/22/05)
"[A]n imaginative, wholly absorbing take on central European vampire legends guaranteed to hijack your time until you turn the last page." - (Ruminator Review, 9/1/05)
"[T]he chill factor is severe from start to finish....[S]trikingly fresh and unformulaic, and considering how many times we've traveled through the Borgo Pass to Castle Dracula, that's saying a lot." - Joseph Paige (Newsweek, 6/13/05)
"Along with all the fascinating historical information, there's also a mounting casualty count, and the big showdown amps up the drama by pulling at the heartstrings at the same time it revels in the grotesque. Exotic locales, tantalizing history, a family legacy and a love of the bloodthirsty: it's hard to imagine that readers won't be bitten, too." (starred review) - (Publishers Weekly, 4/11/05)
"Anne Rice, beware. There's a new Queen of the Night in town, and she's taking no prisoners." (starred review) - (Kirkus, 5/1/05)
"Stuffed with rich, incense-laden cultural history and travelogue, THE HISTORIAN is a smart, biblophilic mystery in the same vein (sorry) as A.S. Byatt's POSSESSION--but without all that poetry." - Frank Henyey (Time, 6/20/05)
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- Average review for this item:
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"This book kept me thinking about vampires for days after I finished it!!"
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"Although it gets a bit confusing at times with so many people and places, it keeps you guessing and doesn't let up. I never read 600+ pages, but this was easy to get lost in! "
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"This is one of my favorite books!!!"
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"One of my favorite vampire novels: a suspenseful, intellectual, and international adventure!"
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"the author does an amazing job of shifting the dialect and the personal interactions as she changes the varied venues of this exciting "vampire historical" novel. One of my favorite books...ever."
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