The Historian
Arguably this summer’s most-hyped book was Elizabeth Kostova’s THE HISTORIAN. From that start, it was plugged as “the next DA VINCI CODE,” which makes no sense to me since the subjects are entirely unrelated and the level of writing is on another plane entirely.
I mean, no disrespect to the mega-popular CODE (I like it, too!), but it’s a microwave pancake compared to Kostova’s loaded omelet. THE HISTORIAN was an immediate bestseller and deserves to be, because it’s a solid, dense read, offering a literary twist on Bram Stoker’s legendary Dracula.
The book assumes that Vlad the Impaler – the historical figure Dracula was based on – really was a vampire and, despite being beheaded, never died. A 16-year-old girl searches Europe for her professor father when he mysteriously disappears after revealing to her his life’s work of hunting Dracula down. As she recounts via his letters and journal entries, it’s a mission that has gone on for generations and centuries.
Weighing in at more than 600 pages, THE HISTORIAN is one of those books in which you can immerse yourself, and this one is a satisfying mix of highbrow historical horror, adventure and mystery, richly written and detailed. It’ll make a hell of a movie someday, but it’s a hell of a book as is.
[...] I read DEMON SEED recently when I wanted a down-and-dirty quick read before diving into the brick otherwise known as THE HISTORIAN. It totally fit the bill. Written in 1973 (and revised in 1997), it’s about a woman trapped in her house by a computer that wants to rape her. No, really! She’s no longer living with her husband. a super scientist who previously equipped their whole house with artificial intelligence; everything is run by a thinking, talking computer. [...]
[...] Stephen King won in the sci-fi/horror/fantasy category (that went to Christopher Moore’s THE STUPIDEST ANGEL), but sports, with the Red Soxirific FAITHFUL, which he penned with Stewart O’Nan. Not many other BOOKGASM-friendly titles were honored, except for Elizabeth Kostova’s THE HISTORIAN (Debut Author of the Year) and Neil Gaiman’s MARVEL 1602 (Graphic Novel). [...]
[...] 1. THE HISTORIAN by Elizabeth Kostova I really, really wanted to read this book. I love vampires (the threatening kind, not the wussy romantic kind with long blond hair) and I love thrillers, and this promised to be a Reese’s “two great tastes” moment. But alas, no cash. [...]
[...] 3. THE HISTORIAN by Elizabeth Kostova – Hype or no hype, Kostova’s first novel – a decade in the making – breathed new life into that moribund genre of vampire fiction by, ironically enough, going old (as in Gothic). Highbrow horror thick enough to, um, sink your teeth into. [...]
[...] First released as one of a few books to tie in to the release of Hugh Jackman’s much-maligned VAN HELSING movie, Allen C. Kupfer’s THE JOURNAL OF PROFESSOR ABRAHAM VAN HELSING now hits paperback to coincide with the current hysteria (much of it justified) over THE HISTORIAN, which the cover even name-checks. [...]
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[...] THE HORROR! THE HORROR AWARDS! Nominees for the 12th annual International Horror Guild Awards have been announced. Among the competitors for Best Novel are Elizabeth Kostova’s THE HISTORIAN and Bret Easton Ellis’ LUNAR PARK. Is that even horror? Regardless, winners will be named in November. [...]
[...] QUILL YOU PLEASE VOTE? Nominations for the 2nd annual Quills Awards were announced yesterday, honoring the best in books among 20 categories. Well, at least they say “best,” but Tyler Perry is nominated in the humor category for DON’T MAKE A BLACK WOMAN TAKE OFF HER EARRINGS. (Really? Were only five humor titles published last year?) The nominees are all over the board and appear to have been picked randomly, although they did have the good sense to nominate James Swanson’s MANHUNT in two categories, and it remains our favorite non-fiction title of the year (for damn good reasons, hoss). Other titles nominated that we’ve reviewed here include Stephen King’s CELL, Christopher Moore’s A DIRTY JOB and Raymond Khoury’s startlingly mediocre THE LAST TEMPLAR. So go vote now in their laborious one-category-at-a-time process before Sept. 30, at quillsvote.com. The awards ceremony will be televised on NBC stations Oct. 11, to even fewer viewers than the least-watched episode of JOEY. However, if we can get Elizabeth Kostova (a winner for last year’s THE HISTORIAN) to show up in a slightly more revealing dress than she did before, that could change. [...]
[...] One of our favorite books of the past couple years is Elizabeth Kostova’s debut novel THE HISTORIAN, a sprawling tale of a woman in search for her missing father, whose disapperance may or may not have something to do with Dracula. Now the Quill Award-winner is fresh out in paperback, and BOOKGASM has five copies to give away! [...]
[...] Determining our five winners of a paperback copy of Elizabeth Kostova’s debut novel THE HISTORIAN was too easy: Because only five people got the answers right. [...]