![]() ![]() ![]() It's a multigenerational mystery about the search for the tomb of the medieval Wallachian (not Transylvanian!) tyrant Vlad Tepes (the real-life Dracula), conducted by a handful of historians who become convinced he is still alive - or, rather, undead. Granted, this is a vampire story, of which there are surely already too many, but "The Historian" eschews the extravagant gore and even more extravagant pose-striking of the modern vampire novel. Two years ago, we got the phenomenally successful but historically bogus and literarily negligible "The Da Vinci Code." Last year, it was the callow, garbled "The Rule of Four." This year, the publishing business finally delivers on its promises: Elizabeth Kostova's "The Historian" is a hypnotic yarn, saturated in authentic history and eerie intrigue. Wait long enough, and the right one will come along: That's the philosophy of Yukiko, the husband-seeking sibling in that great Japanese novel (and perennial summer reading treat) "The Makioka Sisters." And for once, at least, the advice has worked for lovers of suspense novels rooted in historical mysteries, too. ![]()
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