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)

Great Dracula Novel with a Twist

Where does The Historian rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I really enjoyed this book, but I could have done without the daughters narrations. The dad's story was interesting and thought provoking, whereas the daughters was not.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrators were great, though I could have done without the female narrator.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A historical hunt for Vlad the Impaller

Riveting Read

What did you love best about The Historian?

I was not expecting the book to be so good! The author did a wonderful job describing and creating intrigue around some of the countries the characters visited that I now would love to travel to some of them!

Any additional comments?

I think it was well written and an unexpected story-line making for an interesting and amusing read. I highly suggest it.

Loved it

the story is romantically greatly told, the twists and turns and best of narrative parts from different characters lovely

The performance differentiates the characters

This is a captivating story. The book is sometimes difficult to follow, because first-time author Kostova wrote each and every character in the same exact voice. The performance of this audiobook helps to differentiate the characters and increased my enjoyment of the story immensely. That being said, I can't rate the performance five stars because I have to believe an erudite, well traveled narrator would be able to correctly pronounce the word for a rented, short-term accommodation as Pen-see-OHN, not "pension." Seriously, the first time it happened I actually thought the narrator was discussing something financial . . . and then it just kept occurring.

Needed a bigger ending

I felt it fizzled at the end. For all the build up the ending needed a bigger punch, in my opinion. Overall, it was an interesting read from a fictional history perspective.

Exceptional book

Excellent narration. Incredible detail. Made the listener an integral part of the story. Beautifully written.

great

excellently written tale, with some very cool twists. not for the impatient though, does tend to drag in parts

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!

Great Horror Novel!

This book slowly but surely insinuates itself into your psyche, so that by the time your half-way through, the nights becomes a little spooky. I found myself starting at shadows and strange noises. Creepy and full of wonderful historical tidbits, I really enjoyed it, even the ending. Svety Gay-orge anyone?