Elizabeth Kostova won an award for Novel-in-Progress while writing her first book, The Historian.

This is the story of a family who, over the course of some forty years, hunts for the tomb of Dracula. The stories of each member are intertwined within the book, melding the past with the present, giving us a glimpse into the future. The climax comes with a bang, but just when you think the story's complete, you read the last page...

For those of you who liked The DaVinci Code, you'll probably like Kostova's work. This story will appeal to those who like thrillers, stories of pilgrimages, the history of Eastern Europe, or vampires.

I liked the way Kostova set up the book. It's not told in chronological order, which might frustrate some readers, but I found this added to the story. I loved the idea of secret societies, hidden tombs, and the historical facts in the book.

At times, Kostova gets a little too wordy. I found that some passages -- especially one section about mid-way through the book -- was written in an extremely academic style. As Kostova was sharing a "written report" with the reader, I understand the reasoning, but it made me skip over a lot of (unnecessary) detail to get back into the story.

I want to know when the movie's coming out! I've read online that the rights to the screenplay have been bought, and I'm interested to see how someone organizes this book for the big screen.

I really enjoyed this book, and read it in about four days. I liked the race through time, the characters, and how informative Kostova was. Whether what she wrote is fact or fiction, I don't know, but I'm not inclined to check her research. If you like thrillers, horror stories, or you're just looking for a good vampiric tale, this is the book for you.