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Book Description
To you, perceptive reader, I bequeath my history...... 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 existeda nd 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. Parsing obscure signs and hidden texts, reading codes worked into the fabric of medieval monastic traditions and evading the unknown adversaries who will go to any lengths to conceal and protect Vlad's ancient powers, one woman comes ever closer to the secret of her own past and a confrontation with the very definition of evil. Elizabeth Kostova's debut novel is an adventure of monumental proportions, a relentless tale that blends fact and fantasy, history and the present, with an assurance that is almost unbearably suspenseful and utterly unforgettable.
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- Book Details
- English Books
- Rating:



(259)
4 stars 
3 stars 
2 stars 
1 star 
- Hardcover 656 Pages
- ISBN-10: 0316730319
- ISBN-13: 9780316730310
- Publisher: Little, Brown
- Pub date: Jun 30, 2005
- Dimensions: 23 cm x 15 cm Just how big is that?
- Also available as: Mass Market Paperback, Paperback, Audio CD, Audio Cassette and Others
- In other languages:

Der Historiker.
(Deutsche Bücher)
La historiadora
(Libros en Español)

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Book is seriously damaged by friend R's gf. Trash it.
Personally I like this MUCH MORE than the hype of "Da Vinci's Code". Vampire and the mysterious Eastern Europe always gives you a delicious cocktail. It let you tipsy but not over the head. Though it's 700 pages thick, you just need to spe ... Continue
Book is seriously damaged by friend R's gf. Trash it.
Personally I like this MUCH MORE than the hype of "Da Vinci's Code". Vampire and the mysterious Eastern Europe always gives you a delicious cocktail. It let you tipsy but not over the head. Though it's 700 pages thick, you just need to spend like 3 days to finish it. In the past I joked that the book shall be re-named as "the librarian" instead of the historian, as Dracula is indeed searching for a librarian to manage his(its?!) study. ka. Anyway it did spark off my quest in Eastern European history in medieval time.
Worth to spend some hours to finish it. =)
Although plot seem interested and well-chosen, the pace is far too slow. Could not finish this book even with furious attempts of frequent skimming and scanning. NOT RECOMMENDED
實在太傾心其中關於歷史的敘述。
如果哪天我突然忘了自己對歷史的熱忱,重讀這本書就萬事大吉了。
Was I surprised!
An interesting take on Dracula's story which I thought would be a total waste of time but loved the page turning suspense and to find out it was not the typical story at all!!
I know some people might find it boring, because it describes a lot of things, and basically not a lot of content of Dracula. So if you are expecting a lot of Dracula action inside, I think you might be disappointed? But, it really is a great book, do read it if you have time!
失望!!!!