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For a first novel, this is relatively well written. Elizabeth Kostova weaves a modern Dracula story that engrosses its readers, not for its horror or shock value, but for its thoughtful nature and obvious love of history. The novel is rich in historical detail as well as layered in its narrative structure. The often epistle-like structure acts as an homage to Stoker's Dracula as well as a subtle reminder that all history is story-telling.

Opening with a note that informs readers that the following 600 pages is a story never intended to be told, the unnamed narrator immediately sets the stage for the historical intrigue novel. What follows is an often labyrinthine series of letters, folktale, and story-telling about the historical Vlad the Impaler, the mythical Dracula, and the reality of love.

The narrator follows in her father's (Paul's) steps as he traces the historical elements of Vlad the Impaler that may just lead him to the real-life Dracula. Prompted by the disappearance of a friend and mentor and later spurred by the belief that his wife, Helen (named perhaps in honor of another mythical Helen), may still be alive, Paul relentlessly follows clues for Dracula across continents and centuries.

Kostova is strongest in her attention to historical detail. She brilliantly describes places and times removed from present-day reality. Occasionally, the cuts from past to present are confusing or a bit jarring. Most of the time, however, the transitions seem smooth. Perhaps the strongest objection to the novel is its ending. The story begins to drag in the last 100 pages or so, and the ending itself seems vague and somewhat unsatisfying considering the heft of the previous 500 pages.

Obviously intended for the more thoughtful reader, the multiple narrative levels of this text make readers seriously consider the "factual" element of the relayed story. In the same train of thought, how "factual," then, is what we consider history? Kostova seems to pose this question by blurring the lines of history and fantasy.

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