November Fantasy Thread - SPOILERS - The Historian

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November Fantasy Thread - SPOILERS - The Historian

Dit onderwerp is gemarkeerd als "slapend"—het laatste bericht is van meer dan 90 dagen geleden. Je kan het activeren door een een bericht toe te voegen.

1Morphidae
nov 4, 2012, 1:57 pm

Spoiler thread!

2hfglen
Bewerkt: nov 4, 2012, 2:32 pm

Started reading today and am about 120 pages in. Curious that some place names are readily findable on a map (Collioure, France, for example), but others, mostly but not all East European, are in some way 'protected'. Thus we have Emona in the story for Ljubljana, Ragusa for Dubrovnik, "Kostanjevica" untraceable on any map I have, but possibly the locality matches Skofljica, and "Les Bains" for presumably Amélie-les-Bains. By the way, she suggests that "Kostanjevica" is derived from the local name for a chestnut tree, but both sources I checked give the Serbian / Croatian / Slovene name as kesten, not *kostanje. Yes, I'm nit-picking in a mighty fine story.

3Bookmarque
nov 4, 2012, 2:50 pm

I thought about joining you guys for this one since I still have the book, but I was SO disappointed by it that I can't put myself through it again. It will be interesting to see if anyone else has the same reaction.

4Sakerfalcon
nov 5, 2012, 8:30 am

I enjoyed this the first time I read it, and am liking it just as much the second time around, although I have to suspend disbelief a lot more. One thing that is a bit silly - Paul and Helen fighting over the only copy of Dracula in the university library. In a 1950s New England (?) college town, one of them could just go to the bookstore and buy a second copy, I'm sure it would have been in print and easily obtainable! Surely the author could have found a rarer book to use as the plot device to get these two together!

5clamairy
nov 17, 2012, 2:28 pm

Talk, people! :)

6hfglen
nov 17, 2012, 2:58 pm

Yes, I know the opinion in #2 above is contradicted by my post in the non-spoiler thread. After about 500 pages, I got bored.

7reconditereader
nov 17, 2012, 3:34 pm

I agree with Sakerfalcon in #2 above. Unlike hfglen, I didn't get bored. Is that enough talk for you, clam? (-:,

8Jarandel
nov 18, 2012, 3:43 pm

Enjoyed it overall though I found the end somewhat quick and contrived.

In the later parts of the book it's hinted that D. has infiltrated to some extent human political and intellectual circles in the old and new world.
The idea (that vampires make such use of their longevity and whatever other gifts their particular fictional version of the condition entails) isn't rare in itself but it's often (like here) quickly glossed-over background or justification for how a character possesses vast riches or a long-armed reach that happen to be necessary to the plot.

I wonder if there are books in which the implications and consequences of a covert (or overt) vampiric presence on a human society is explored in the same kind of details and verisimilitude that are lavished here on the protagonists' travels and research.

9Sakerfalcon
nov 19, 2012, 7:36 am

As I said in the non-spoiler thread, this book is really all about atmosphere and scene-setting. I like that we are shown the main characters, rather than told all about their personalities and traits. For me, the supporting cast, such as Aunt Eva and Turgut, are more vivid and interesting than the protagonists, although I do like that they are persistent and studious rather than heroic kick-ass types. That's a nice change. And I love that the book never becomes a cheesy romance (as opposed to A discovery of witches, which also starts out in a similar way, but descends into insta-love and angst). That said, the pacing of the book is reeeeaaallly slow, which is a problem if you are not in the mood to sit back and enjoy the scenery. And I agree with Jarandel that the ending is wrapped up too quickly after all that slow build-up.

I found myself wondering if there could have been a better way to tell this story, rather than through nested letters and manuscripts. Seriously, about 80% of the narrative is told through someone's writing, rather than direct reporting of events!

There are also a few too many coincidences - so many people out there *also* looking for Dracula, who just happen to run into each other!

I did enjoy this reread, and will hang onto my copy of the book in case I want to pick it up again in a few years time, when I feel like another tour of Eastern Europe and Turkey.

10reconditereader
nov 20, 2012, 2:23 pm

The coincidences did bother me a little bit, too, but I tried not to think about it. I mean, if you're gonna buy vampires... I sort of let myself be swept along by the story and overruled my brain's objections. I can't do that in all books, but I did in this one.