The Historian
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| Length: | 10 hours | ||||||||||
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Overview
In this riveting debut of breathtaking scope, a young girl discovers her father's darkest secret and embarks on a harrowing journey across Europe to complete the quest he never could—to find history's most legendary fiend: Dracula.
When a motherless American girl living in Europe finds a medieval book and a package of letters, all addressed ominously to “My dear and unfortunate successor...”she begins to unravel a thread that leads back to her father's past, his mentor's career, and an evil hidden in the depths of history.
In those few quiet moments, she unwittingly assumes a quest she will discover is her birthright: a hunt that nearly brought her father to ruin and may have claimed the life of his adviser and dear friend, history professor Bartholomew Rossi. What does the legend of Vlad the Impaler, the historical Dracula, have to do with the 20th century? Is it possible that Dracula has lived on in the modern world? And why have a select few historians risked reputation, sanity, and even their lives to learn the answer?
So begins an epic journey to unlock the secrets of the strange medieval book, an adventure that will carry our heroine across Europe and into the past—not only to the times of Vlad's heinous reign, but to the days when her mother was alive and her father was still a vibrant young scholar. In the end, she uncovers the startling fate of Rossi, and comes face to face with the definition of evil—to find, ultimately, that good may not always triumph.
When a motherless American girl living in Europe finds a medieval book and a package of letters, all addressed ominously to “My dear and unfortunate successor...”she begins to unravel a thread that leads back to her father's past, his mentor's career, and an evil hidden in the depths of history.
In those few quiet moments, she unwittingly assumes a quest she will discover is her birthright: a hunt that nearly brought her father to ruin and may have claimed the life of his adviser and dear friend, history professor Bartholomew Rossi. What does the legend of Vlad the Impaler, the historical Dracula, have to do with the 20th century? Is it possible that Dracula has lived on in the modern world? And why have a select few historians risked reputation, sanity, and even their lives to learn the answer?
So begins an epic journey to unlock the secrets of the strange medieval book, an adventure that will carry our heroine across Europe and into the past—not only to the times of Vlad's heinous reign, but to the days when her mother was alive and her father was still a vibrant young scholar. In the end, she uncovers the startling fate of Rossi, and comes face to face with the definition of evil—to find, ultimately, that good may not always triumph.
Reviews (13)
Disappointing
Written by Stina on December 1st, 2008
- Book Rating: 3/5
I thought the story was disappointing - blah for a dracula/vampire story. In the future I'm going to stay away from abridged books - I'm not sure if this was one of the reasons I did not enjoy it. I was never able to get close to any of the characters, never felt any real empathy for any of them.
Biting Satire
Written by Mandi Chestler from Lake Oswego, OR on January 28th, 2008
- Book Rating: 3/5
Maybe something is lost in this abridged version, but this audio book was more funny than anything else. If you are looking for spine tingling suspense, then make another selection. Hopefully for Dracula fans, The Historian is a better read, than listened to. The amateurish use of sound effects and music made this audio more of a halarious satire of the gothic horror genre, than a legitimate thriller. The producers seem to have a biting sense of humor.
Good Special Effects, Average Story
Written by Brett Tiller on April 24th, 2007
- Book Rating: 3/5
This is the first book I've listened to where special sound effects where added to give a feeling of horror. In addition, there were several readers to provide voices for the characters which was also a nice touch. However, the story tended to drag on at times, and while it had its moments of excitement, many times I felt the strong desire to skip ahead because of the slowness of it all. Sometimes the special sound effects were over the top and caused me to laugh rather then be more afraid as intended. The ending was also anti-climatic as well, and could've been much more exciting. I'd give it 3 1/2 stars out of 5, but since I can't do that, it gets 3.
The Historian
Written by David Atkinson on January 5th, 2007
- Book Rating: 4/5
Good old fashioned gothic horror. well written and well read. very atmospheric. i had chills running down my spine at times. definately worth a listen
good history
Written by Lee Werley from Chapel Hill, NC on November 22nd, 2006
- Book Rating: 4/5
I thought this book was worth the listen. Many voices helped with the different characters. Chasing around the many countries seemed like Dracula meeting Leonardo, a bit of the Da Vinci code. Very enjoyable
Great book!
Written by Jessica Campbell-Smith from Palm City, FL on May 31st, 2006
- Book Rating: 5/5
Loved it! This is the kind of book I like to listen to: a fictitious story of history that reads as if you're actually learning something mysterious and secret (and scary in this case.)along with the main character.
I lOVED IT
Written by Anonymous on March 16th, 2006
- Book Rating: 4/5
I love historical fiction and didn't find it hard to follow a all. The voices for each person are very different and to know them, is to know where in the timeline you are. To me is was not a retelling of Dracula at all, in fact, most of it had to do with the real life Vlad than Bram's telling. The music, which was used very sparingly is a litle ridiculous, but it's easy to ignore. I'm loving the story, finding it suspenseful and would recommend this book.
historian
Written by Kenya Holmes on March 2nd, 2006
- Book Rating: 2/5
It took forever to finish this book. I had to actually repeat disks because the way the story jumped timelines so much. Also it didn't help that most parts were very boring and drawn out. I am a sucker for finishing a book, even though it may not be up to standards. I love historic novels, and I am currently watching uptairs/downstairs on cd, but this novel was amaturish and boring.
Historian
Written by Teresa from San Antonio, TX on February 16th, 2006
- Book Rating: 5/5
Don't know if I qualified to rate this book. I'm only on Disc #3 of 10 but I am enjoying it. The readers are absolutely making it enjoyable .. 3 readers for this novel! It flows well. There's excitement to learn the next part of this age old mystery. Travel to Europe and old world descriptions are interesting. Personalities are believable. Everything pulls together. Enjoyable. I give it 5 stars.
The Historian
Written by Lynne Liu on February 13th, 2006
- Book Rating: 1/5
I rented this audiobook because the reviews of the written novel were uniformly good. Therefore this abridged, audio version was a profound disappointment. Apparently the heart of the book has either been gutted in the abridgement, or it did not merit the good reviews. The format (multiple readers and cheesy music) did not help maintain my interest (although it probably helped the hapless listener keep track of the incoherent stream of multiple flashbacks of three storylines). It was a boring, unimaginative re-telling of the classic Dracula tale, lacking any suspense or even logic to the story. I would not recommend this to anyone.