REVIEW: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

 

When talking to my fiancée about this doorstop of a novel, I usually begin by calling it a "kind of sequel to Bram Stoker's Dracula."  In this novel, we follow the stories of an Oxford Professor, the Professor's student and the student's daughter as they all attempt to find Dracula's tomb. The story begins in 1972 when the daughter finds letters that the Professor wrote in the 1930's. The Professor is convinced that Vlad the Impaler - AKA Dracula - is undead and is still wandering around, and he wants to hunt him down. During the course of his search, the Professor disappears, prompting a decades long pursuit of him and research on Dracula, including where is tomb might be. 

What I appreciated was that, even at 700 pages, the books is pretty well paced. It doesn't drag and it doesn't move too fast.  Kostova's alternating between viewpoints is very effective as well.  Even though the novel seemed to focus more on the history of Vlad the Impaler , she didn't make the story full of gore - it was pretty tense at points.  Not quite scary but neck pricks for sure. It was definitely an ambitious novel but I enjoyed the writing style and it wasn't typical for a vampire novel.  Very plot driven.  I would definitely read her next novel.