November 2005


By Elizabeth Kostova

A very innovative way to write. The author tells this story through a series of scientific papers, letters and postcards. It follows the adventures and research of three generations of scientists who have devoted their lives (unwillingly) to finding the truth about Dracula. There were a few mechanical tricky spots that were obviously hard to maneuver the story around. Instead of inventing hokey tales to explain how the narrator can jump from one place to another the author sometimes refrains from giving any explanation other than “some stuff happened” which is usually hard to absorb into a story but, in this case, actually lent some strength to the idea of the story being told as though pieced together from several different sources. I liked the ideas the author shares about Dracula. I was also intrigued about the landscapes and culture of Romania, Turkey and other eastern European countries.

By Terry Pratchett

There’s not much more praise I can heap on Mr. Pratchett that will make what I say about this book stand out from most of his previous works. “Thud” follows Good old Sam Vimes, Detective, Duke of Anhk-Morpork and father to young Sam Vimes Jr, to whom Sam Vimes Sr. reads “Where’s My Cow” every night at 6pm sharp – no exceptions. When political unrest threatens the (relative) peace of his city, Vimes intends to see that peace is restored, whether Anhk-Morpork wants it or not. In “Thud” we meet Mr. Shine (Him Diamond), learn more about the Thud – the game (it has been nodded to in previous works) and watch Vimes settle the score. As always, Highly recommended.