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beachy123's review against another edition
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I enjoyed the descriptions of London. The author had clearly done his research. I felt more could have been done with the plot.
debyik's review against another edition
4.0
This book combines Egyptian curses, Bram Stoker, and the Titanic. The historical aspect of the time period was accurate and done really well, although there was some liberty taken with the historical accuracy of some of the characters at times. That didn’t really bother me too much though as I knew it was fiction and there has to be some liberty taken here and there as you never really know the day-to-day of someone’s life when they lived back in the 1800s.
We are following a few different main characters, Bram Stoker, Mina Harcourt, Lucinda, and the Thornes. Mina is the daughter of an archeologist and a gypsy and she is an intrepid explorer who is searching for a Sphinx in Transylvania. While there she finds a mysterious box that has Egyptian origins. From there we follow Bram who works at the Lyceum Theatre where Henry Irving performs. On his way home he sees Lucinda, a young girl on a bridge and they eventually become friends. Lucinda lives and works at The Thorne’s mission house making matches.
The story concludes with the Titanic. It was interesting how he worked that into the story, but I feel it was unnecessary and that’s where some of the historical accuracies fell apart for me as Bram Stoker was never on the Titanic. There are many other ways the story could’ve ended and I understand him wanting to include something so big that happened during that time period, but I still wasn’t sold on it.
Overall I enjoy Robert Masello’s writing and getting to know some great periods of history, albeit from a fiction standpoint. I also really enjoyed The Haunting of H.G. Wells by Robert Masello.
7.86 on CAWPILE
We are following a few different main characters, Bram Stoker, Mina Harcourt, Lucinda, and the Thornes. Mina is the daughter of an archeologist and a gypsy and she is an intrepid explorer who is searching for a Sphinx in Transylvania. While there she finds a mysterious box that has Egyptian origins. From there we follow Bram who works at the Lyceum Theatre where Henry Irving performs. On his way home he sees Lucinda, a young girl on a bridge and they eventually become friends. Lucinda lives and works at The Thorne’s mission house making matches.
The story concludes with the Titanic. It was interesting how he worked that into the story, but I feel it was unnecessary and that’s where some of the historical accuracies fell apart for me as Bram Stoker was never on the Titanic. There are many other ways the story could’ve ended and I understand him wanting to include something so big that happened during that time period, but I still wasn’t sold on it.
Overall I enjoy Robert Masello’s writing and getting to know some great periods of history, albeit from a fiction standpoint. I also really enjoyed The Haunting of H.G. Wells by Robert Masello.
7.86 on CAWPILE
mommawolf's review against another edition
5.0
The Night Crossing by Robert Masello was about Bram Stoker. It was a twist on how monsters are real, so is magic, and how he based Dracula on these evil siblings he knew in "real life". He befriends two female characters and by doing so he is entangled in their lives. One young lady is a poor worker for a match factory who had just lost her son (and love child of the match factory's benefactor) Bram saves her life when she attempts to drown herself. The other young lady was brought up by her wealthy British father who was an archeologist. After his death she follows in his footsteps. The story is surrounded in Egyptian lore, gypsy magic and drama. Would recommend 100%
pix's review against another edition
Interesting, but I wasn't really able to get into it
shadocvao's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
thebookclectic's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
cassies_books_reviews's review against another edition
4.0
A explorer discovers a mysterious golden box in the Carpathian Mountains. She is completely unaware of the danger it poses and she takes it home to London. Unaware the evil had started in the city. Bram stoker a theatre manager and frustrated writer finds himself pulled into a plan of the rich owners of a mission home for the poor. Stoker and the explore mist rescue the city from an evil Egyptian enemy!
matosapa's review against another edition
3.0
A nice little variation on historical events using supernatural events and a bit of help from old-school monster movies.
I like reading his books because it's fun to discover the boundaries between what happened historically and what didn't. I also like the moments when he drops historical figures/events into the story in a seamless fashion.
I like reading his books because it's fun to discover the boundaries between what happened historically and what didn't. I also like the moments when he drops historical figures/events into the story in a seamless fashion.
bookishgurl's review against another edition
4.0
I received a complimentary ARC copy of The Night Crossing
by Robert Masello from NetGalley and 47North in order to read and give an honest review.
The Night Crossing is a well written and intriguing gothic novel that blends historical fact, paranormal twists and a mystery, to create a tale that will keep you flipping pages. There are three main plot lines running through this story which all blend together into a fantastical tale that takes a very unexpected tangent about two-thirds the way through the book.
Following in her father’s footsteps, Egyptophile and archaeologist Mina sets out on an expedition to the Carpathian Mountains to visit and document a mysterious phenomenon of a Sphinx which when the sun sets appears to come to life. Mina and her guides climb a mountain to get a perfect vantage point to capture a photograph of the Sphinx. After getting the shot they start on the journey down the mountain when an unexpected storm forces them to seek shelter in a cave. Too dark to continue they decide to set up camp in the safety of the cave. Mina awakens to find two of the guides have abandoned them during the night. She retraces their footprints which leads her to the back of the cave where a skeleton whose hands have been damaged after an artefact of some sort had been forcibly removed. Mina finally tracks down the artefact, a mysterious gold box, to a gypsy camp but when she arrives they are in the throes of the funeral and can’t give Mina back the box quickly enough.
Aspiring writer, Bram Stoker working as the manager of the Lyceum Theatre in 19th century London has his life turned upside down when he stops to rescue a young waif, Lucinda, who has jumped off a bridge on the Thames River in an attempt to take her life. Being a kind gentleman, he continues to care about this young woman, her body ravaged by chemicals from working making matches in a mission house where she and her son resided. Lucinda’s suicide attempt was a result of being distraught over the death of her young son Davey and the guilt she feels not knowing what happened to his body. Stoker becomes a friend and a father-like figure to her and offers her kind words and support. When Lucinda returns to work at a mission house she is intent to find out what happened to the body of her son, but nothing can prepare her for what she finds. When Mina, Bram and Lucinda cross paths, a family-like bond is formed and together they fight an evil that could be the death of them.
In Night Crossing, Robert Masello creates an interesting well-rounded cast of characters with a few familiar names such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the “Unsinkable Molly Brown”. I was impressed by the intelligence, strength and resiliency displayed by his female characters as well as genuinely evil villains who the reader can’t help but despise. The author also tackles some of the social issues prevalent at the time such as racism and sexism which he addresses accurately and with class.
As a writer, I also enjoyed the way Mr Masello gives us insight into the fictional inspiration behind Stoker’s Dracula. Although I found the tangent as well as the time jump of 19 years a bit frustrating at first, I eventually grew to appreciate the author’s unique way of tying two very different storylines together making it fairly cohesive once it unravels.
All in all an interesting read that I would recommend to those looking for a gothic thriller with threads of the paranormal.
by Robert Masello from NetGalley and 47North in order to read and give an honest review.
The Night Crossing is a well written and intriguing gothic novel that blends historical fact, paranormal twists and a mystery, to create a tale that will keep you flipping pages. There are three main plot lines running through this story which all blend together into a fantastical tale that takes a very unexpected tangent about two-thirds the way through the book.
Following in her father’s footsteps, Egyptophile and archaeologist Mina sets out on an expedition to the Carpathian Mountains to visit and document a mysterious phenomenon of a Sphinx which when the sun sets appears to come to life. Mina and her guides climb a mountain to get a perfect vantage point to capture a photograph of the Sphinx. After getting the shot they start on the journey down the mountain when an unexpected storm forces them to seek shelter in a cave. Too dark to continue they decide to set up camp in the safety of the cave. Mina awakens to find two of the guides have abandoned them during the night. She retraces their footprints which leads her to the back of the cave where a skeleton whose hands have been damaged after an artefact of some sort had been forcibly removed. Mina finally tracks down the artefact, a mysterious gold box, to a gypsy camp but when she arrives they are in the throes of the funeral and can’t give Mina back the box quickly enough.
Aspiring writer, Bram Stoker working as the manager of the Lyceum Theatre in 19th century London has his life turned upside down when he stops to rescue a young waif, Lucinda, who has jumped off a bridge on the Thames River in an attempt to take her life. Being a kind gentleman, he continues to care about this young woman, her body ravaged by chemicals from working making matches in a mission house where she and her son resided. Lucinda’s suicide attempt was a result of being distraught over the death of her young son Davey and the guilt she feels not knowing what happened to his body. Stoker becomes a friend and a father-like figure to her and offers her kind words and support. When Lucinda returns to work at a mission house she is intent to find out what happened to the body of her son, but nothing can prepare her for what she finds. When Mina, Bram and Lucinda cross paths, a family-like bond is formed and together they fight an evil that could be the death of them.
In Night Crossing, Robert Masello creates an interesting well-rounded cast of characters with a few familiar names such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the “Unsinkable Molly Brown”. I was impressed by the intelligence, strength and resiliency displayed by his female characters as well as genuinely evil villains who the reader can’t help but despise. The author also tackles some of the social issues prevalent at the time such as racism and sexism which he addresses accurately and with class.
As a writer, I also enjoyed the way Mr Masello gives us insight into the fictional inspiration behind Stoker’s Dracula. Although I found the tangent as well as the time jump of 19 years a bit frustrating at first, I eventually grew to appreciate the author’s unique way of tying two very different storylines together making it fairly cohesive once it unravels.
All in all an interesting read that I would recommend to those looking for a gothic thriller with threads of the paranormal.