Історик

by Elizabeth Kostova

Hardcover, 864 pages

Ukrainian language

Published 2024 by Nebo Booklab Publishing.

ISBN:: 978-617-8383-29-9

(33 reviews)

Його таємниця приховується вже більше ніж п’ятсот років. Багато людей поплатилися своїм життям, аби хоч трохи наблизитися до її розгадки.

Але навіть це не зупиняє молодих істориків, які прагнуть знайти істину у легендах про Влада Цепеша (Наштрикувача) — талановитого полководця й кривавого маніяка — графа ДРАКУЛИ!

Через шістнадцять років молода дівчина знаходить старовинний манускрипт і конверт із пожовклими аркушами. І тепер їй належить по крихтах загадкових недомовок і уривчастих спогадів відтворити картину життя трансильванського «князя темряви» і пройти нескінченним шляхом його пристрастей і страждань.

27 editions

Scordatura reviewed The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

None

3 stars

A book that's mostly about archival research, about historians digging through sources and coming up with clues on where to go next on a hunt for Dracula? In lesser hands, this would have been a very dull book - but Kostova manages to make this work even though the book has some serious issues.

I found myself, at times, flabbergasted and somewhat annoyed by several very fortuitous plot events (the dreaded "amnesia" plot element was the most confounding one) but the worst of them are explained by a decent plot development later on.
But her descriptions of all the locations the characters visit on their hunt more than make up for the frustration, as does the deep dive into history (made up or actual) in order to tell a good story.

Not a great book perhaps, but still very much worth the effort if you like horror, mystery and in …

Bonden reviewed The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

An OK read, but not a great one

2 stars

Content warning Spoilers ahoy!

Kostova has clearly tried to breathe new(undead) life into the classic Vampire novel, concentrating on historians unearthing their existence. It's an interesting idea.

But it never really hits the spot. There's long (some might say overlong) sections when we spend a ridiculous amount of time gallivanting all around the Near East and Eastern Europe in search of a folk song or snatch of letter, which miraculously turn up in the collections of a succession of stereotypical Wise Old Men simply in order to move the story along. So many coincidences get increasingly hard to accept.

And when Vlad makes only his second major appearance, he's dispatched with ridiculous ease which only leads you to wonder why it took 600+ years to kill him.

It has it's moments. Kostava is at her best when describing the people of the Eastern European regions she's clearly familiar with but it wasn't enough to save the novel for me.

adrian reviewed The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Top-notch historical fiction, but may be too lengthy for some

5 stars

As a history enthusiast, I absolutely loved this novel! The semi-epistolary format, spanning three generations, may not be for everyone. Plus it's really long - my paperback copy clocks in at over 900 pages!

For me, I felt this novel is just perfect fit for my preference. Highly recommended for history buffs.

Gossamerchild reviewed The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Review of 'The Historian' on 'Storygraph'

4 stars

Whenever I read an epistolary novel, at some point I think, "Gee, they have an awfully significant amount of time to just sit down and write a bunch of letters. And will the recipient actually have time to read those 600 pages of handwritten letters? With Dracula chasing them?" As usual I loved this book, but sometimes I get distracted by this particular format.

rahulgopinath reviewed The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Review of 'The Historian' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Fair read, although at places it was more a travelogue than fiction. The ending is bit awkward.

Benjamin Asher reviewed The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Review of 'The Historian' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I really thought this was going to be another cheap Dracula knockoff. Instead it was so rich and absorbing that you sometimes forgot you were talking about a character that has been written about and satirized from every angle. Excellent book. Would read again