Sunday 19 April 2009

HISTORICAL FICTION REVIEW: Vlad : The Last Confession - CC Humphrys


BOOK BLURB:

DRACULA. A name of horror, depravity and the darkest sensuality. Yet the real Dracula was just as alluring, just as terrifying, his story not of a monster but of a man and a contradiction. For the one they called 'The Devil's Son' was both tyrant and lawgiver, crusader and mass slaughterer, torturer and hero, lover and murderer. His tale is told by those who knew him best. The only woman he ever loved and whom he has to sacrifice. His closest comrade and traitor. And his priest, betraying the secrets of the confessional to reveal the mind of the man history would forever remember as Tepes - 'The Impaler'. But Vlad's actions defy such labels. His extraordinary life burns with passion, taking him from his years as hostage to the Turk, through torture, battle, triumph and betrayal, ultimately to a last crusade - there perhaps, beneath the twin banners of the Dragon and the Cross, to find redemption for his innumerable sins. Vlad: The Last Confession spins legend and facts and together into a monumental novel of blood, love and terror. This is the true story of Dracula as it has never been told before


REVIEW:

In a world where the very name of a certain Eastern Count is the very epitome of fear and evil deeds it was with great interest that I awaited the first novel by CC Humphrys to land. Not only has the author humanised the principle protagonist but rather than ridding the tale of some of the excesses of the “Impaler” they allowed the character the chance to explain their actions before a reading public which presented them in turn with the discovery that he was not quite the rogue agent that we’ve all come to believe.
Whilst many would prefer to keep the Prince as the Vampire of Legend who dreamt of new ways to torture his prisoners, CC allowed the reader the chance to see the man behind the myth and what he did to save Christendom from the Turk. Cracking historical fiction with a humanised Count who utilised the greatest weapon in his arsenal against an invader and a book that is a must have for all fans of the genre.

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