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The Historian

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The Historian

By: Elizabeth Kostova
Narrated by: Justine Eyre, Paul Michael
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About this listen

THE SUMPTUOUS INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER IN FULL UNABRIDGED AUDIO.

Breathtakingly suspenseful and beautifully written, The Historian is the story of a young woman plunged into a labyrinth where the secrets of her family's past connect to an inconceivable evil: the dark fifteenth-century reign of Vlad the Impaler and a time-defying pact that may have kept his awful work alive through the ages. The search for the truth becomes an adventure of monumental proportions, taking us from monasteries and dusty libraries to the capitals of Eastern Europe-in a feat of storytelling so rich, so hypnotic, so exciting that it has enthralled readers around the world.

©2005 Elizabeth Kostova (P)2021 Hachette Audio UK Action & Adventure Fantasy Historical Fiction Medieval Fiction Scary Paranormal Thought-Provoking

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Critic reviews

"Quite extraordinary...Kostova is a natural storyteller.... She has refashioned the vampire myth into a compelling contemporary novel, a late-night page-turner." (San Francisco Chronicle)

"Filled with fascinating details of archaic vampire lore, the splendours of the Ottoman Empire and the beauty of the Romanian countryside." (Times Literary Supplement)
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I love the novel and so had to give the full unabridged audiobook a listen. Slightly unfair comments about the voice actors, the reading is understated yet adds a little colour to proceedings. It is long, and at times thick with dense tracts about historical documents retellingthe journeys of monks through the ottoman empire etc, and at times it does start to become a bit of a slog. The story itself is interesting and well told, and the scares are kept infrequent but dramatic, with the overarching sensation of a darkness settling above the protagonists. I love the book, but it's not for everyone. Given the recording length it's certainly a way to get more listening for your book on a monthly sub, Truly mixed feelings, the author has come up with an undoubted masterpiece, a fantastic and well researched historical novel about Dracula. Worth a go if this is your thing, but not a casual listen.

Breathtaking detailed blend of historical fact and fiction

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It's another story about prince Dracula and vampires but it is a good one. Good pace of action, well created characters, plenty of historical facts, well written and well narrated. I enjoyed every minute of this long audiobook.

Dracula story

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A wonderful period adventure \mystery that mixes the Dracula legend beautifully with the history of Vlad Tepes. Well worth a listen

An excellent re-imagining if the Dracula myth

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a long but thoroughly immersive listen. some beautifully described locations with plenty of suspense and a love story too.

beautifully written

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Did not finish this despite enjoying the story. The narrator does the same annoying accent for all the foreign characters regardless of their nationality. I’d rather he just didn’t attempt any accent. The female narrator also put me off. I’m going to read the book myself instead.

Annoying accents from narrator.

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An astonashing book, with a language and story that capture you so you don’t want to put it down or to end. Hope for a sequel. Just loved it.

Read it!

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First of all I’d like to say I thought the narrators did a great job. As someone with hearing issues I felt the bright, clear voices were great for understanding but did not detract from the story itself.

The story however, left a little to be desired. I won’t spoil anything but I cannot deny that 79 chapters of build up felt somewhat wasted when everything met a conclusion so suddenly. I do like how the author writes though and will definitely try some more of their work. I just feel like with this, emotional connections to characters weren’t honoured by abrupt endings.

Strong story that was suddenly rushed.

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5am it's dark and I didn't want to turn over, I don't think there's anything there... Suspense and pace throughout the Italian, Dutch Professor and daughters narrative.

Satisfied with the ending, of course an undead Dracula, Vlad (insert name) should be a possibility...

It gave me the horrors

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Absolutely loved this story, The mix of real history and place names intermingled with a modern take on Prince Vlad Dracul.
I enjoyed every minute.

Vampiric Treat

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loved every minute of this book. it was so enjoyable to listen to and so easy to follow

enjoyable

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