The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova

There are now two really good vampire novels, this one being a great successor to the Bram Stoker Dracula. The story is about the search for Dracula's tomb (still not found in real life) in his Vlad Tepes persona. It's told from several points of view and is very long, 657 pages I think it was in paperback.

The research Kostova put into this is fabulous. The tale reminds me of the Millenium (Dragon Tattoo) series which were also highly detailed but completely engrossing. Follow this one from Oxford through Istanbul, Romania, Bulgaria, France and points in between. 

I checked online for reviews - I picked the book up at the library being unaware of its existence though it has been around for quite a long time - and found reviews tended to be polar opposites and it's clear that a lot of readers were disappointed by a detailed well-researched story that had no explosions in the first ten pages. Thankfully, many more enjoyed the story and gave it five stars, as it deserved to get. 

Films? The Lost Boys is very good but Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula is sumptuous and colour-saturated to great effect. That's another Gary Olman triumph. 

GEORGES SIMENON - THE HANGED MAN OF SAINT-PHOLIEN

I mentioned Joyce Carol Oates below and Simenon was one of her subjects. It reminded me that I used to read Simenon a long time ago, and I enjoyed this rather convoluted detective story. It also reminded me of a gentlemen who worked with me back in the early sixties. He was a former real detective who opted for a quieter life but he turned out to be obsessed with the television Maigret and went so far as to emulate his clothing, pipe and even Maigret's car, a black Citroen bought black so he said he would never have to wash it. Yes, he was intimidating when he climbed out of that car and stared at you on a Monday morning but he caused endless speculation and gossip. 

THE GIRL IN GREEN - DEREK B. MILLER

I'd read Derek B.'s stuff before and enjoyed it. I enjoyed this one for several reasons. Firstly, it's just a good story which revolves only partly around the Girl in Green. Secondly, once you've read it and failed to understand the factions and tribalism that created and maintained the Iraq wars, you'll understand that real, long-lasting peace in that region is almost impossible. Worth a read for that information alone.  

SOUL AT THE WHITE HEAT - JOYCE CAROL OATES

I kinew who she was of course, who doesn't, but I'd never read any of her stuff until I came across this volume. A few chapters about writing and then many chapters about books and writers. 

It was enlightening to read about some famous authors I always liked, H.P. Lovecraft for example. Not just about his writing but a summary of his work and life in a few pages that resonated. She referenced a few stories I haven't read but also name-checked some I've been reading for years, like August Derleth and Arthur Machen. 

Cue a story by Larry McMurtry, The Last Kind Words Saloon. I've never been inclined to read McMurtry although I know several who think he's the greatest living writer. Oates made me want to read this book because, if nothing else, I liked the title. Joan Didion beckons. Margaret Attwood appears. The whole book is great reading.

The final chapter, about her visit to San Quentin, is fantastic, a genuinely moving account of her visit. This line attracted my attention - 

We were aware of high stone walls strung with razor wire like a deranged sort of tinsel.

TWO NIGHTS - KATHY REICHS

Thank God. I was sick to death of Temperance Brennan and her foibles and constant crises. Two Nights is a new direction and a worthwhile direction. Sunday Night and August (Gus) Night - twins with attitude and smarts. This story revolves a plot by a group determined to exact revenge on Islam extremists by an act of violence. Well written and credible, we need more writing about these twins. Read it, you won't be sorry. 

BLEAKER HOUSE - NELL STEVENS

Nell Stevens went to Bleaker Island in the Falklands seeking isolation so she could really concentrate on her novel. She got the isolation but the novel she was intending to write escaped and so we have Bleaker House, the story of her stay on Bleaker. Cold, barren, harsh, all these words apply to this godforsaken piece of dirt but the story of her stay is an excellent one. We get glimpses of the story she was trying to write but I doubt it would be better than this story. Highly recommended. Yes, it's in the library and is a treasure.

THE ESSEX SERPENT - SARAH PERRY

I'm not into historical novels but following some good reviews I picked this up, the last book due as part of my prize for winning the Chapter Bookshop Short Story competition run by Romance Writers of New Zealand for 2016.

Part social commentary, part fantasy, with the mythical Essex Serpent playing it's part, it's about friendship, lust, magic and death. Attraction between men and women (or vice versa) is a mystical process and that's true here. People who would never consider moving outside a relationship suddenly find, to their surprise, that there's a person with some kind of magnetism who is affecting their rational thinking. I sometimes feel like that when I see pictures of certain people and if you never, ever consider an adventure with someone of the other gender, real, imagined or mythical, you should.

Anyway, it's a good read. It's probably in the library.