The Historian

By: Elizabeth Kostova

Narrated by: Justine Eyre, Paul Michael

Length: 26 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Late one night, exploring her father's library, a young woman finds an ancient book and a cache of yellowing letters. The letters are all addressed to "My dear and unfortunate successor", and they plunge her into a world she never dreamed of: a labyrinth where the secrets of her father's past and her mother's mysterious fate connect to an inconceivable evil hidden in the depths of history.

The letters provide links to one of the darkest powers that humanity has ever known, and to a centuries-long quest to find the source of that darkness and wipe it out. It is a quest for the truth about Vlad the Impaler, the medieval ruler whose barbarous reign formed the basis of the legend of Dracula. Generations of historians have risked their reputations, their sanity, and even their lives to learn the truth about Vlad the Impaler and Dracula. Now one young woman must decide whether to take up this quest herself, to follow her father in a hunt that nearly brought him to ruin years ago, when he was a vibrant young scholar and her mother was still alive.

What does the legend of Vlad the Impaler have to do with the modern world? Is it possible that the Dracula of myth truly existed, and that he has lived on, century after century, pursuing his own unknowable ends? The answers to these questions cross time and borders, as first the father and then the daughter search for clues, from dusty Ivy League libraries to Istanbul, Budapest, and the depths of Eastern Europe. In city after city, in monasteries and archives, in letters and in secret conversations, the horrible truth emerges about Vlad the Impaler's dark reign, and about a time-defying pact that may have kept his awful work alive down through the ages.

©2005 Elizabeth Kostova. All Rights Reserved. (P)2005 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

• 2006 Book Sense Book of the Year, Adult Fiction

"A bloodthirsty delight....Both literary and scary, this one is guaranteed to keep one reading into the wee hours." (Booklist)
"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 gruesome. 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." (Publishers Weekly)
"The Historian is artfully constructed and atmospheric." (Washington Post Book World)

Captivating

I love to read stories that have many clues that lead to a great ending! I also enjoyed the way it easily took the reader through different times/lives so that you got the whole picture.

My favorite book of all time

I have read or listened to this book yearly since it came out. I recommend it to everyone. It's hard to explain the plot without sounding silly, but this Dracula is so much more than the Dracula we all know. The writing in this book is brilliant. It's a long book, but you never get bored. Just read it.

Good history, Poor story, Few Vampires

This book has lovely descriptions of places, food, and some historical events. If you are a history student the added context, comments on architecture, etc must add a lot. Taken as just a narrative, i cant reccomend it. Its hard to get through.

The story follows a man looking for his lost teacher, and every development is the same. 1) find a scholar who coincidently is also studying Dracula 2) said scholar says "did you know Dracula was a real person?" before learning the protagonists mission and sharing some historical trivia 3) learn of another country that will hopefully have Dracula in it, but actually contains step 1 and repeat.

Dracula is laregly absent from the book, and the author seems to have been going for a clinical detached sort of horror, where learning that Drscula has history everywhere SHOULD give a sense of him being all around us through time, but simply isnt compelling enough to pull off. I thought his minions would feature, but despite Dracula's absence, the book laregly implies he alone is their personal enemy, showing up when the camera is away to leave omens for the protagonists, and fleeing to the books very end. His death does not have much gravitas, and they cant resist having more shallow character (master james?) show up immediately afterward, as if that makes it more impactful.

The book has two climaxes in my opinion, and a slew of retcons in the last chapter to answer some bizarre behavior. DONT view this as a mystery and hope for solid closure to strange occurrences. At one point a characters actions are blamed on drinking some alcohol called "amnesia" and it works just like a plot device labeled "drink me." It only comes up the once.

If you like descriptions of the weather in italy, meals on trains, Constantinople and monasteries you might like this. If you want vampires or satisfying mystery look elsewhere.

A brilliant, intricate experience

A brilliant, intricate revisiting to the Legend of Dracula. The book captures a tone of palpable eeriness. It's both slow and urgent, creeping and riveting. My favorite part of Brahms Stoker's Dracula is the journal entries and letters. Kostova carries that epistolary tradition into her tale, weaving many historian's research and experiences into one great hunt.

So good!

I love a good, slower paced, thoughtful fantasy, and this was a delight! From the story to the narration, just excellent. Enjoy!

Gorgeous

Beautiful writing. Seriously one of my favorite novels in years. And the Audible narration was spot on.

Creepy gothic tale

This was a well done gothic story that was meticulously researched. The performance was great and the many different accents impressive. The book could have used a stronger edit to cut some glut out. Parts did linger much too long. I appreciated the history that was all enlightening. Yet there were very long passages of being told rather shown the action. Tightening the action and having more shown would have made this a 5-star book. Yet it’s recommended for fans of the genre. The twists were good and unexpected in parts. The characters were good people if a little one note. Romance was not a strong point and might have been best best not attempted if everyone was simply going to fall in love in a matter of days. That said I liked the couples and the historical intrigue.

my favorite book

I loved that this is an alternate history book and uses lots of actual history to give the story substance!

Everything going for it but the ending

I think that there is a lot to recommend in this audiobook. It was well produced and the narration was excellent. The book was well written and long with multiple arcs. This may not appeal to all but it does to me. There was a good deal of history, no pun, and geography spanning the pages. I diligently followed the characters but was no emotionally invested in any of them. It was a book about the history but not exactly the origin or final disposition of Dracula's vampirism. Many reviewers have commented on the unsatisfying ending of the book and I have to agree here. For a book of this length, I believe it should have fulfilled something more than just an enticement to read the next in a series of the author's books though I do not even know if a sequel is planned. I enjoy long, complex books that are often part of a series but I do believe that each entry in a series should have a certain finality in itself and be able to some extent be a work capable of standing on its own. As well written as I believe this book to be, it really does not stand on its own.

Great Treasure Hunt !

Granted, it started out a little slow, and if you are looking for horror a la Stephen King or Dean Koontz, you won't like it. If you liked the treasure hunt aspects of the Davinci Code, you'll love The Historian.

This story is intricate and has about 4 levels of stories within stories and some of it is very ancient, and I personally could not put it down (stop listening, rather). I have no idea whether any of it is accurate or is even supposed to be, but it is fiction and the author weaves a very good story. Not terribly frightening, but definitely eerie. I can see how others might find it too long, but I was sorry to see it end.

I would love to see more stories like this one, weaving ancient legends with historical events and secret societies leading into the modern.

The Historian kept my commute almost enjoyable for at least a few weeks!