BOOK REVIEW | AUDIOBOOK REVIEW

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova — An Audiobook Review

The hunt for the tomb of Vlad the Impaler, aka Dracula, is told in a story so rich you almost have to believe it’s true

For me, the only fiction more lifeless than vampires is zombies, and it has been exceedingly rare for any new attempt at those dead tropes to hold my interest in a book or on screen. The only exceptions are Bram Stoker’s Dracula and possibly World War Z.

Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian qualifies as a worthy addition. But, be forewarned; if you feel that Twilight was a vampire highlight, The Historian will die in your hands, underappreciated, with you, disappointed. This is not a love and gore story — it’s a “going back to the beginning of it all” quest, and if you enjoy history, it’s worth every step.

The Historian has over 20,000 reviews on one popular book site, with another showing nearly the same, with over 17,000. With those numbers, does it matter whether they land at five stars or two? I think not. Kostova is a success.

The story takes shape with the protégé of a college historian stumbling onto a rare and unique book, placed, seemingly by intention more than chance, on his library study…