Book Review: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostovo

Imagine being 16 years old and wanting to know the history of your late father’s life.  It’s not hard to imagine, yet suppose that you uncover something better left unknown, a something that leads you to places of legend that you never knew—or wanted to know—really existed.  The teen uncovers an ancient book in her father’s library filled with old letters that give her a starting point on a journey that takes her into the past—to Vlad the impaler, through the Carpathian mountains to Bucharest, Transylvania, and into the Ottoman Empire… the heart of a territory ruled by the mythology of Dracula.  I listened to the unabridged audio version of this book on a trip (by myself) through Yellowstone National Park.  Driving through the mountains at Dusk… and through foggy meadows in the early morning… left me constantly looking over my shoulder and worrying about what might be around the next bend.  It’s a spooky book, although my experience was enhanced by the occasional moose or buffalo appearing out of the fog, which really freaked me out.  The book is 642 pages long, although 500 or fewer could’ve been adequate.  The story drags in places, and the reader’s suspension of disbelief needs a few crutches as the epistolary format ocassionally falls apart.  However, for vampire fans, this will certainly be a hit.  I enjoyed it, despite its flaws.