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Historian Review
Welcome to the The Historian Review page:
The marketing
campaign is underway and Elizabeth Kostova's debut novel is already being hyped
as the "Dracula Code" or some similar slogan. I disagree with that approach, not
just because they are quite different in more ways than just storyline, but because
"The Da Vinci Code" was a good thriller with elements of history mixed in, but
it is not even in the same league with this book.
"The Historian" is an
epic work of historical fiction that sweeps across Europe during the four decades
between 1930 and the mid 1970s. It just also happens to involve the Dracula myth
and a good dose of suspense. Now, some people may object to me calling this novel
a work of historical fiction because it is mostly fiction and contains very few
real characters. That is true, but Kostova does such an amazing job of making
the Dracula myths come alive that you can't help feeling that the legends and
the story are real. Her research is stunning in its attention to detail and the
wide range of topics Kostova must've studied. A previous reviewer slightly criticizes
Kostova for spending too many pages describing the pilgrimage routes of monks
hundreds of years ago. While sections like that do slow down the pace of the novel
somewhat, they don't distract from it. The last book that I read that combines
elements of history, suspense, and great characters as well as "The Historian"
was "The Devil in the White City".
Buy The Historian
