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A review by kamisha
The Night Crossing by Robert Masello
4.0
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, 47North, for the opportunity to read and review this book!
This book ended up being a fun diversion read for me, as I was reading this amongst the heavy chapters of I‰ŰŞll Be Gone in the Dark, and it was a great escape tactic! The atmosphere of this spooky Victorian story was also a great way to begin the best season of the year!
This is a historical fiction story with a distinct supernatural bent, a reimagining of Bram Stoker‰ŰŞs life before he wrote Dracula and some of the events that ultimately lead up to his inspiration for that novel. The story primarily follows both Bram Stoker and a young woman named Mina Harcourt. Mina is an archaeologist, trained from an early age by her father (a famous archaeologist) and in the beginning of this story, she is searching for a relic in the Carpathian mountains. The relic is ultimately stolen by the porters accompanying her, but ends up back in her hands after they attempt to sell it due to it‰ŰŞs sinister nature and the deadly luck it seems to carry with it.
Mina heads back to London with the relic where she ultimately crosses paths with and befriends Stoker, who is currently shuffling about life in a state of skepticism and hopelessness about his own writing. Both characters are thrown into a series of events of a supernatural nature that lead them both to realize that there is more to the world than they previously thought. There is something very sinister going on at the local mission house and there is something even more sinister about the proprietors of the house, the Thorne siblings. Stoker and Mina must find a way to stop the Thorne siblings and end their horrific reign of terror.
Like I said in the beginning, this book ended up reading like a fun supernatural romp to me, the characters (both good and bad) were enjoyable and I liked seeing all of the historical references. My only qualm with the book was that despite the relic that Mina picks up and the implied ancient evil that it contains, the ‰ŰĎevil‰Űť isn‰ŰŞt actually dealt with or mentioned that often throughout the story, only cropping up here and there. I enjoyed the plot with the Thorne siblings and I know they were meant to be the ultimate evil presence in the story, but I was slightly disappointed in the lack of detail about the relic and it‰ŰŞs inhabitant. Aside from that, this is an enjoyable supernatural romp through Victorian London with mummies, ancient Egyptian folklore, Dracula references, and even a short Titanic spotlight! Definitely check this out if you are looking for an atmospherically spooky Victorian story without too many horrific elements.
This book ended up being a fun diversion read for me, as I was reading this amongst the heavy chapters of I‰ŰŞll Be Gone in the Dark, and it was a great escape tactic! The atmosphere of this spooky Victorian story was also a great way to begin the best season of the year!
This is a historical fiction story with a distinct supernatural bent, a reimagining of Bram Stoker‰ŰŞs life before he wrote Dracula and some of the events that ultimately lead up to his inspiration for that novel. The story primarily follows both Bram Stoker and a young woman named Mina Harcourt. Mina is an archaeologist, trained from an early age by her father (a famous archaeologist) and in the beginning of this story, she is searching for a relic in the Carpathian mountains. The relic is ultimately stolen by the porters accompanying her, but ends up back in her hands after they attempt to sell it due to it‰ŰŞs sinister nature and the deadly luck it seems to carry with it.
Mina heads back to London with the relic where she ultimately crosses paths with and befriends Stoker, who is currently shuffling about life in a state of skepticism and hopelessness about his own writing. Both characters are thrown into a series of events of a supernatural nature that lead them both to realize that there is more to the world than they previously thought. There is something very sinister going on at the local mission house and there is something even more sinister about the proprietors of the house, the Thorne siblings. Stoker and Mina must find a way to stop the Thorne siblings and end their horrific reign of terror.
Like I said in the beginning, this book ended up reading like a fun supernatural romp to me, the characters (both good and bad) were enjoyable and I liked seeing all of the historical references. My only qualm with the book was that despite the relic that Mina picks up and the implied ancient evil that it contains, the ‰ŰĎevil‰Űť isn‰ŰŞt actually dealt with or mentioned that often throughout the story, only cropping up here and there. I enjoyed the plot with the Thorne siblings and I know they were meant to be the ultimate evil presence in the story, but I was slightly disappointed in the lack of detail about the relic and it‰ŰŞs inhabitant. Aside from that, this is an enjoyable supernatural romp through Victorian London with mummies, ancient Egyptian folklore, Dracula references, and even a short Titanic spotlight! Definitely check this out if you are looking for an atmospherically spooky Victorian story without too many horrific elements.