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Title: a novel that never gels
Review: This novel starts out interestingly enough, but then seems to run out of steam. Cordrescu's idea of linking the past (Bathory), with present (the current problems in the Balkans as represented in the figure Drake), is solid. But as the novel unfolds, he barely scratches the surface of possibilities. The litany of horrors -- and there are plenty -- eventually leave the reader bored. The violence and sex become gratuitous when it becomes apparent that there is no progression in the story, and that what you're reading seems more and more like a cut and paste job. The last two hundred pages are torture (maybe that's the point). Still, you can find some good stretches in this book. But if you have something else on the shelf (King, Straub -- if its horror you want), I suggest starting there.
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