The Matryoshka dolls become a bit bewildering at times - as I frequently found myself going a couple of pages without knowing which strand of the story I was in. A review with a blue-tinted title indicates a book of. And, more than once, within that as well. Little, Brown, 25.95 (656pp) ISBN 978-7-8 A starred review indicates a book of outstanding quality. But those letters often contain tales told by other characters within them.
The device of finding a historic letter which explains a plot-point is neatly done. I almost felt like it should be peppered with footnotes and have a solid bibliography in the appendix. Instead it reads like it is a genuine scholarly work.
It eschews the romantic and sexy tropes which dog a lot of Vampire fiction. The Historian is a novel that should satisfy readers of subtle horror and those of mysteries and suspense/thrillers. Genuinely creepy - without being gory and super-violent. It holds itself ever-so seriously - occasionally dropping into the meta-narrative of fictional vampires - but always treating the gothic horror with the respect the genre deserves. The caper takes us all over Europe - a veritable travelogue of bustling capitals and dusty backwaters. Or do I mean tomb…? What if you discovered that your widower-father was not a mild-mannered historian but, instead… A VAMPIRE HUNTER!
0 kommentar(er)
