The Historian: The Best Vampire/Historical Fiction Book Ever

After much prodding and ridiculing on the part of MD, I've gotten back on the proverbial horse and have another review for you. In hindsight, I've really enjoyed writing this blog. I like having a space where I can get up on my soapbox and expound on what I like about books, and what I dislike. I might even have to have a few rants, like what JF does. (Because sometimes you just need to get some things off of your chest). But I've found that when I start reading a book that I want to blog about, I find myself 100 pages in to the book and I haven't been able to put it down. I'm a voracious reader -- I can read in all different environments -- cars, airplanes and airports, the T, in a room with 10 other people. In fact, that's what I would do during my family trips to my paternal grandparents house. I would get a new book (or five) for Christmas, and then plant myself on the couch for three days reading. Dogs would bark, my little brother would try to distract me, music would be played, conversations would be had all around me at all different sound levels. But when I start reading, I'm transported into the world that the author has woven for me. It's as if I'm there, in the action, feeling the pain and jubilation of all the characters as they go through the story. Ken Follet's World without End and Pillars of the Earth are two of my favorite books because they weave the lives of characters throughout an entire lifetime.

So, my conundrum is that I read too fast and find myself having issues taking time away from when I could be reading, so that I can write the blog. Oh well. Hopefully I'll get better about it.

I read The Historian a few weeks ago, and am still lusting after it, and I plan to re-read it (which, for me, is the mark of a good book). It was a whirlwind, roller coaster ride of a novel, heavily based in historical fact that illustrates a world so much different, so much more raw, then what I live in today. In short, the story is about a girl, whose name is never given, who learns through her father that Dracula, i.e. Vlad the Destroyer, i.e. the Transylvannian king who loved staking his entire kingdom and who managed to become undead, is still alive and still very much active.

Her father tells her the story of when he was a graduate student, he received a book with a stamped dragon in it. Subtle clues lead him to believe, and discover, that Dracula is behind the leaving of this strange book, and begins a round the world chase to find him and stop him from killing a close friend, whom Dracula kidnapped. I can't give too much away because my handsome boyfriend is currently reading it and he may break up with me if I reveal too much, so I will do my best to share with you my overall impressions of the book, rather than divulge too much detail.

For starters, I saw this book on the shelves about a year ago, and was unimpressed with the back page summary. When I flew down to Baltimore for Christmas 2009, however, I needed a book and so I went to the Borders in Logan Airport. Chance (or was it fate?) lead me to find The Historian on the top shelf, and my curiosity was piqued when I saw it was an international bestseller. Well, if the world thinks its a good book, I might as well try it out. I read the first 90 pages on the flight down and was stunned. I was exhilarated by the vivid imagery of Communist Europe, and the fast-paced, heart-pounding race to stop Dracula.

What I was most impressed with was the author's use of primary documents that were sprinkled throughout the book, reproduced in whole, that supported the fictitious storyline. It was masterful. I felt I was actually learning something! The author was also very true to the "real" vampire lore -- none of this shiney-in-sunlight, or "vegetarian" vampire stuff.

One final note about this book: it scared the living daylights out of me. I'm a pretty big scaredy cat as it is, and so as I was drawn deeper and deeper into the story I found myself more and more scared. (A note: my boyfriend is not as much of a scaredy cat as me, and even he is scared as he goes through the book). I would look out the window warily, wondering if there was something out there, lurking, watching. For the last 200 pages of the book, I couldn't even bring myself to put the book down. I was addicted to the book, but with each passing page I got more and more terrified that Dracula would come and get me. I stayed up until 1 AM reading until I finally finished the book (that is waaay past my bedtime) and when I was turning off the light, my heart was pounding through my chest as the dark descended over my covers.

My vote: Read this book. You won't regret it. But make sure you have time to devote to reading it, because you'll find it very hard to put down.