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lilifane's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I just read the best and funniest 1 star review for this book and I agree with everything in it. I still give this book 4 stars just because it satisfied a very very niche interest of mine.
If you want to read a scary vampire story, some kind of Dracula retelling or a fast paced adventure. This book is not for you. If - like me - you love reading, research, solving mysteries by visiting old libraries and reading old books and travel. Well, this is perfect.
The structure of this book is a little complicated. Basically it's a story within a story within a story, told mostly in letters and book excerpts, spanning several decades (between 1930s and 1970s) and countries (UK, Netherlands, France, Greece, Turkey, Ukraine, Bulgaria...). It's about the search for the grave of the historical figure Vlad III, Dracula, but also for some historians lost during their research. (Basically Tomb Raider/Indiana Jones for people who hate action. ^^v)
This book is extremely slow paced and looooong and story driven. The main characters are some of the flattest characters I've ever encountered (I had trouble remembering who was telling parts of the story because their voices were basically identical) but I loved most of the people they met on their way and got help from. And when the story is the main focus of the book, I don't mind when there is no character development. Maybe the book also could have been a little shorter by eliminating the daughters story line... completely? That didn't interest me very much tbh. And my main problem with the book was the writing. I didn't enjoy it at all. But after reading some quotes from the English original, I think the issue is with my German translation.
I get btw that the whole resolution why all of this happened in the first place was a little ridiculous. But I thought it was refreshing and I like how it explains the book title. :D (I alsway love when the book title has more than one meaning)
If you want to read a scary vampire story, some kind of Dracula retelling or a fast paced adventure. This book is not for you. If - like me - you love reading, research, solving mysteries by visiting old libraries and reading old books and travel. Well, this is perfect.
The structure of this book is a little complicated. Basically it's a story within a story within a story, told mostly in letters and book excerpts, spanning several decades (between 1930s and 1970s) and countries (UK, Netherlands, France, Greece, Turkey, Ukraine, Bulgaria...). It's about the search for the grave of the historical figure Vlad III, Dracula, but also for some historians lost during their research. (Basically Tomb Raider/Indiana Jones for people who hate action. ^^v)
This book is extremely slow paced and looooong and story driven. The main characters are some of the flattest characters I've ever encountered (I had trouble remembering who was telling parts of the story because their voices were basically identical) but I loved most of the people they met on their way and got help from. And when the story is the main focus of the book, I don't mind when there is no character development. Maybe the book also could have been a little shorter by eliminating the daughters story line... completely? That didn't interest me very much tbh. And my main problem with the book was the writing. I didn't enjoy it at all. But after reading some quotes from the English original, I think the issue is with my German translation.
I get btw that the whole resolution why all of this happened in the first place was a little ridiculous. But I thought it was refreshing and I like how it explains the book title. :D (I alsway love when the book title has more than one meaning)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Murder, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
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