Literary take on vampires gives 'Historian' bite

The legend of Dracula has long been entangled with Bram Stoker's fictional account of the blood-sucking fiend we know so well. But there was a real Dracula: Vlad Tepes, or Vlad the Impaler, known for running his enemies clean through from tail to tip. He ruled Walachia, one of the last Eastern European holdouts against the Ottoman invasion in the 15th century. Kostova's novel does a convincing job of blending these two characters into one mysterious creature.

The novel follows Paul, a young and gifted historian. While working on his dissertation late one night in the library, he discovers a strange book. At first glance it appears to be an old leather-bound volume of blank pages, except that the center leaves are engraved with a drawing of a fierce dragon, holding a banner that reads ''Drakulya." Paul decides to show it to his adviser, Bartholomew Rossi.

After Rossi admits to having a similar book, he entrusts Paul with the story of his own research into Dracula. Soon after their discussion, Rossi disappears, leaving behind a stack of unsent letters recounting his quest to uncover the burial place of Dracula, who Rossi believes is still alive. So begins an epistolary narrative, which moves from Rossi's letters to Paul's own, written to his daughter. In these letters, the novel's centerpiece, Paul recounts his search for Rossi.

Lovers of the new genre of bibliophile mysteries will find much to cozy up to. While there are certainly encounters with vampires, there are more encounters with books. Instead of fetishizing blood, Kostova fetishizes documents (manuscripts, maps, letters) and the places that house them (libraries, archives, and monasteries).

Paul follows Rossi's trail through Istanbul, Bulgaria, across the Danube to Romania, and beyond. Eastern Europe becomes charged with mystery and holy dread, and history is everywhere. Dracula himself exists at the margins of the tale; his chronicles, like a coffin, are slowly unearthed. To say more about what's inside would constitute what is rightly called a spoiler.