BookWyrm

Scordatura rated Leningrad : Siege and Symphony: 5 stars

No cover — Brian Moynahan: Leningrad : Siege and Symphony (2015, Grove/Atlantic, Incorporated)

Leningrad : Siege and Symphony by Brian Moynahan

Scordatura rated The Shallows: 4 stars

Nicholas Carr: The Shallows (2011, W. W. Norton & Company)

The Shallows by Nicholas Carr

Scordatura rated The Dispossessed: 5 stars

Ursula K. Le Guin: The Dispossessed (Hardcover, 1991, Harper Paperbacks)

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down …

Scordatura rated Fool's Assassin: 5 stars

Robin Hobb: Fool's Assassin (Hardcover, 2014, HarperCollins Publishers)

Fool's Assassin by Robin Hobb (Fitz and the Fool, #1)

Scordatura reviewed The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Elizabeth Kostova: The Historian (Paperback, 2008, Little, Brown and Company)

To you, perceptive reader, I bequeath my history....Late one night, exploring her father's library, a …

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 …

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 particular historical and archival thrillers. It reminded me of Mary Gentle's [b:Ash: A Secret History|808670|Ash A Secret History (Book of Ash, #1-4)|Mary Gentle|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1446742748l/808670.SY75.jpg|13389889] which to me is a huge compliment.