Well...lets see. I've had these books on my shelf for what...two years now?? I always tend to avoid things that are hyped up in any way...and Dan Brown books are the epitome of hype in my mind. The were given to me with a couple others from the 'best sellers list' by my dear, dear friend Cari (no blog to link to, sorry). I adore her in so many ways...we share so much, including our love of reading. She does beat me hands down--always picking up something new! We also like a lot of the same books and are always sharing our latest finds. Anyway...back to these little gems. Well, pyrite bits are more like it. They are both fast paced, easy to read with very simple language and style. I found them to be basically the same book with a twist of what IS the mystery and which clues are needed to solve it. The guy writes fiction...and in a way I found myself a bit nostalgic reading these...like old dime store novels--you know the ones, the mysteries where they tell you who dunnit and your mystified since that character was never really introduced or it is SO obvious who did do it--you wonder why you bothered continuing on. I was entertained...like when I would turn on cable and run into some movie and I would catch the first five minutes of it and not be able to stop watching...through all the horrible acting or very weak plot, I HAD to know WHO DUNNIT?????!!!I think what perturbed me about these two didn't really have to do with the ACTUAL BOOKS....but everyone who read them and created all the hype. I mean SERIOUSLY...this guy takes some incredible liberties with art, art history, history....a lot of things. Some of them so obvious that I really had to wonder.... ...and wonder I do. (IT IS FICTION PEOPLE!!!)Anyway...if you want a bit of fast paced fiction with a bit of mystery and a lot of jumping around from one thing to the next--dive in! Take a minute to see what the hype is about. ...these would be good pool/beach books. Bottom Line: on the shelf for now...until I'm desperate to trade for anything new!
I borrowed this book from my friend Carol who recommended it, though my my friend Marie was the first to praise this novel and insist I would enjoy it way back in 2006...I just failed to pick it up until now. :(
The book is of the adult fiction genre with 656 pages (I believe). As the title indicates, there is quite a bit of history in this novel, though it is a fictional tale. The main character is the teenage daughter of a historian. She stumbles across a very strange book in their library...when she asks her father about it the journey begins.
I particularly enjoyed this book for the wonderful way the author describes the various places across Western & Central Europe that are visited. Particularly how the are described in context to the story/time period of the story. I'm no expert...but things appear to be quite accurate as the setting is prior to the fall of communism.
Another reason I found this one especially intriguing...the subject under the history...what these characters are searching for: the tomb of Vlad Tepes, the Impaler: the actual, real, once live resident of the Wallachian region in Romania, often referred to as Dracula.
Don't misunderstand. This is not a "vampire novel" similar to Bram Stoker's or Anne Rice's...this is a story about Vlad Tepes and where his tomb is/was. I'll leave the out the why...for those of you who choose to pick this one up (which you should). It is not about the vampiric deeds done by the undead, rather more about the life of the man and the clash of cultures during the time he lived.
I found the writing style to be rather "slow" and the pace of the book steady. The story is very enjoyable and the characters are developed well for this novel. They are not the focus, per se. It is more about what brought them to this story and how it is going to play out. The mystery is there and the reader can unfold it as the book continues, which is a lot of fun. The book isn't scary. There are points where I wasn't quite sure what would happen...but no gore or horrific elements.
I enjoyed this book a lot. I loved reading about places I've been and places I'm planning to go. The historical elements seem to be well researched and were intriguing. I highly recommend it!
Bottom Line: When I stumble across a nice copy of this one in a used book shop, it will be in my library!
Well...lets see. I've had these books on my shelf for what...two years now?? I always tend to avoid things that are hyped up in any way...and Dan Brown books are the epitome of hype in my mind. The were given to me with a couple others from the 'best sellers list' by my dear, dear friend Cari (no blog to link to, sorry). 
