The Historian　　歷史學家

5/22

Vampires don't exist. Or do they? Perhaps that mysterious-looking stranger you saw on the train home last night could be Dracula himself. Maybe your neighbor you only see at night has a secret he's been keeping for centuries. Is it possible that the blood-sucking beast did once exist and continues to live among us? In Elizabeth Kostava's The Historian, this isn't just a possibility but a reality.

Weaving the present with centuries of history and involving three different storylines, The Historian leads readers throughout Europe, where different events in history coincide with the hunt for Dracula. The discovery of an evil little book sets the story in motion. Save for a sinister woodcarving of a dragon and one single word "Drakulya," the pages of the ancient book are blank. Eventually, the narrator is led to important letters that help unravel a mystery that might have been better left unsolved.

While other books in the vampire genre tend to be full of violence, The Historian takes a more intellectual approach that is based on actual events. Even though it is jam-packed with in-depth detail, it's still a page-turner that will send chills up your spine and make you fear venturing out at night alone. The Historian and other books about vampires, Dracula in particular, are based on a man that actually lived, Vlad "Tepes" Dracula. This real-life monster once roamed the earth, quenching his thirst with blood.

1. vampire n. 吸血鬼

2. blood-sucking a. 吸血的

3. weave vt. 編排（故事、情節等）；編織

4. storyline n. 故事情節

5. sinister a. 邪惡的，不祥的

6. narrator n. 敘述者

7. unravel vt. 闡明；弄清

8. genre n.（文學、音樂）類型

9. page-turner n. 引人入勝的書

10. roam vt. 徘徊於；漫步於

1. keep a secret　　保守秘密

2. save for...　　除了……

3. be jam-packed with...　　充滿了……

4. venture out　　冒險外出


1. coincide with...　　與……巧合／同時發生

coincide vi. 巧合，同時發生
例: My birthday coincides with the Dragon Boat Festival this year.
（今年我的生日和端午節碰巧是同一天。）

2. set...in motion　　使……開始／開動
例: We have to set the plan in motion now if we want to finish it on time.
（如想按時完成計畫，我們現在就得著手進行。）

3. take a + adj. + approach　　採取……的方法
例: You'll have to take a different approach if you want to save money.
（你想存錢的話，就該採取別種方法。）

4. in-depth a. 深入的

in depth　　全面地；深入地
例: The speech was in depth and interesting.
（這場演說既深入又有趣。）

5. send chills up one's spine　　使某人毛骨悚然

spine n. 脊椎
例: Harry's ghost story sent chills up my spine.
（哈利的鬼故事讓我毛骨悚然。）

6. in particular　　特別，尤其
注意：
in particular 置於名詞之後作後位修飾；particularly 則置於名詞之前。
例: These boys are mischievous, Billy in particular.
= These boys are mischievous, particularly Billy.
（這些男孩子很頑皮，尤其是比利。）

7. quench one's thirst　　解某人的渴

quench one's thirst for...　　滿足某人對……的渴望
例: If you want to quench your thirst for fashion, you should buy this magazine.
（你若想滿足對時尚的需求，就該買下這本雜誌。）


　　吸血鬼並不存在。或者他們確實存在？也許你昨晚搭車回家看見的那個外表神秘的陌生人，就是德古拉本人。或許你只有在晚上才遇到的鄰居，有個保守了幾世 紀的秘密。這吸血生物有沒有可能曾經存在，而且還繼續活在我們當中呢？在伊麗莎白•科絲托娃的《歷史學家》一書中，這不是可能，而是事實。

　　書中的時空背景在現代與數世紀的歷史間交錯，並有三條故事主線同時進行，故事的場景在歐洲，所有的事件都碰巧與獵捕德古拉有所交集。一本邪惡小書的發 現揭開故事的序幕。除了一個不祥的龍紋木刻與 Drakulya 一字外，這本古書內全是一片空白。最後，敘事者陸續讀到重要的信件，解開了也許保持無解會更好的謎題。

　　雖然關於吸血鬼文類的作品都充滿暴力情節，但《歷史學家》採取的是較理智的方式，以確切的事實為根據。雖然充滿了深入的細節，它仍是一部引人入勝的小 說，會讓你毛骨悚然，晚間不敢獨自外出。《歷史學家》與其他和吸血鬼有關的作品，特別是《吸血鬼德古拉》，都是以一個真實人物為基礎，他名為 Vlad "Tepes" Dracula。這個真實的魔物曾經在世界各處遊蕩，只求以鮮血一解飢渴。

from 常春藤解析英語雜誌