The Historian in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Apr 01, 2011 Jeff Scott rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobooks, 1001books, fiction, vampires

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. “I became a historian to preserve my own history forever…”

A very chilling tale, very slow paced, but has a nice payoff in the end. It’s a classic retelling of the most famous vampire novel of all time Dracula. I think it’s interesting to read this now, considering it was originally published in 2005, just before the vampire craze took off. Considering what happens in the book, one could do a little spoof. Instead of Dracula searching for books to perfect evil, he could just help generate more Te “I became a historian to preserve my own history forever…”

A very chilling tale, very slow paced, but has a nice payoff in the end. It’s a classic retelling of the most famous vampire novel of all time Dracula. I think it’s interesting to read this now, considering it was originally published in 2005, just before the vampire craze took off. Considering what happens in the book, one could do a little spoof. Instead of Dracula searching for books to perfect evil, he could just help generate more Teen Vampire Novels. THAT would be TRULY evil.
I can also see why so many librarians have read and enjoyed this book. You have evil librarians, and an evil library, all the creation of Dracula. His main goal isn’t necessarily to create a world of vampires, but a way to push the boundaries of evil atrocities and to collect them. Although, I would imagine in today’s climate, librarians would object to a non-librarian cataloging his works  (but again, he IS evil).

I also enjoyed the technique of storytelling through letter writing. You get through about three layers of narrators this way. The author is a very big tease as well. Just as you get into a juicy part, the chapter ends. A box opens, a letter is found, a person is discovered, or a revelation, and then the chapter ends. This technique is very effective, but it makes the pacing very slow. However, without it, I don’t know if I would have finished the book.

I also liked the history of the Ottoman invasion in Central Europe, very educational if one didn’t know about the area and Ottoman occupation for four hundred years.

Some of the parts are a little too convenient, which she does humorously acknowledge. The characters run into too many people who also happen to be vampire experts.

It seems unfair to have a book about Dracula where Dracula doesn’t “get it” in the end. I thought the death was a little too easy with all of the build-up. He just gets surprised by one more person and that’s it? You have this massive build-up of a vampire who is immortal, building a library of evil, responsible for so much evil (an allusion to his involvement with the Nazis was interesting), and he can be killed so easily. However, the epilogue made up for that. Again, classic horror, the villain is killed, or is he?

A fun read, with lots of interesting history, slow gothic pace, and a rewarding ending.
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Feb 21, 2010 Alison rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, own_it

This book was pretty good, though I think it could have been better. The main action centers on two grad students in the 1950s, who are hunting Dracula through the trail he left in historical documents. As a result, there are many trips to libraries, archives and monasteries where Crucial Discoveries Are Made and Clues Deciphered.

This portion of the novel is wrapped into a larger narrative taking place in the 1970s. The male grad student is now a father, and his young daughter stumbles onto his ...more

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Feb 25, 2013 Donna rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

This book is getting three stars mostly because it was good enough to finish, but overall I felt that "The Historian" was quite a bit too long. The story is told in narrative, letters, ancient documents, lectures, and flashbacks. Sometimes it is hard to determine how many steps you are removed from the "present."

This is a Dracula story. I'm not much into horror, though I have read Bram Stoker's book which I thought was much more scary than any movie I have ever seen. You would think this book w ...more

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Oct 24, 2009 Elizabeth rated it really liked it

I was struck at how extremely well-written and engaging this novel was, especially within the rules the author has erected for herself. The only complaint that I had was that there were too many minor characters who played key roles ... I felt like I ought to be taking notes in order to keep them all straight. But this is a great book.

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