Vlad: The Last Confession
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Review
'A fast-paced, intriguing and beautifully-constructed thriller and its final twist - not a phrase you use lightly in the context of impaling or disembowelling - certainly took me by surprise. If you see it coming you are a more insightful reader than I am. Just don't read it before you go to sleep.' (Andrew Taylor DAILY EXPRESS )
'A chilling masterpiece that weaves fact and fable. Bedtime reading? Only if you don't need much sleep...' (BEST )
'Humphreys' elegant prose and command of his obscure subject matter creates an uncompromising, extraordinary journey into the brutal times and tortured soul of an oft-misunderstood ruler whose reign became synonymous with terror' (HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW )
'Cracking historical fiction... A book that is a must have for all fans of the genre.' (FALCATA TIMES )
'An accessible, fast-paced, narrative-driven, damn-near-irresistible historical thriller. Humphreys's research infuses every page, but never calls attention to itself; the story always has centre stage. It's the consummate "good read" for a rainy fall weekend, pulpy and engrossing and just gross enough to satisfy that monster craving.' (TORONTO GLOBE )
'Literate elegant writing... Vlad: The Last Confession superbly portrays the passions which drove Vlad, taking the reader on a whirlwind ride through torture, battle and despair. It's a dark tale, but Humphreys illuminates it with historical details and page-turning bravura prose.' (YORKSHIRE EVENING POST )
'Vlad: The Last Confession is a superb page-turner from start to finish that offers a captivating look at the true picture of Vlad. Highly, highly recommended. No vampires though...' (FANTASYCRITIC.COM )
'There's a maturity in his writing that places it above much of the cash-in fare surrounding the middle European leader... An unexpectedly riveting read. 8/10' (TOTAL SCI-FI ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
'A chilling masterpiece that weaves fact and fable. Bedtime reading? Only if you don't need much sleep...' (BEST )
'Humphreys' elegant prose and command of his obscure subject matter creates an uncompromising, extraordinary journey into the brutal times and tortured soul of an oft-misunderstood ruler whose reign became synonymous with terror' (HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW )
'Cracking historical fiction... A book that is a must have for all fans of the genre.' (FALCATA TIMES )
'An accessible, fast-paced, narrative-driven, damn-near-irresistible historical thriller. Humphreys's research infuses every page, but never calls attention to itself; the story always has centre stage. It's the consummate "good read" for a rainy fall weekend, pulpy and engrossing and just gross enough to satisfy that monster craving.' (TORONTO GLOBE )
'Literate elegant writing... Vlad: The Last Confession superbly portrays the passions which drove Vlad, taking the reader on a whirlwind ride through torture, battle and despair. It's a dark tale, but Humphreys illuminates it with historical details and page-turning bravura prose.' (YORKSHIRE EVENING POST )
'Vlad: The Last Confession is a superb page-turner from start to finish that offers a captivating look at the true picture of Vlad. Highly, highly recommended. No vampires though...' (FANTASYCRITIC.COM )
'There's a maturity in his writing that places it above much of the cash-in fare surrounding the middle European leader... An unexpectedly riveting read. 8/10' (TOTAL SCI-FI ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
A superb gothic novel about the real Vlad the Impaler - one of history's greatest psychopaths or a hero of the West? Perhaps both...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I don't read much fiction, usually opting for real history but I thought I would give this one a go and I am so pleased that I did. This novel exceeded my expectations in every way.
The idea behind the book is that 3 people, all of whome knew Vlad throughout his life are brought together to retell his story in a trial that hopes to re-establish Vlad Dracula as a hero of Christendem and not a blood thirsty monster.
Through these three narratives we are able to follow Vlad from his younger years (as a hostage in Turkey), into the prison where he learns the art of Impalement, onto his crowning as Voivoid of Wallachia and the war he raged with Turkey, and finally onto his final years as a fallen Prince feared and despised my most but still loved by some. Along the way we meet a cast of colouful characters that will stay with you even after you put the book down. Ion Tremblac his right hand man best friend and one of the few people Vlad trusts. Ilona Vlad,s love interest, the Sultans, Murad and Mehmet, Hamza Pasha Vlads mentor in his younger days and Radu Vlad's younger brother.
I don't want to give anything away as it will spoil the read but I did find myself at 2.00am saying "Just one more chapter" "I've got to see what happens next" and this sums up the book for me. It's moving in places as Vlad's relationships with his closest "friends" change and is quite graphic in others (the impalement scenes leave nothing to the imagination) but in the end it's a great story well told and that in my opinion is what makes a book worth reading.
The only negative thing I could find to say about this book is the chapters did jump ahead in time quite a lot (7 months later, 1 year later etc) but that's only because I wanted to know more, what happened in those 7 months? tell me more!
Give this one a try, I'm sure you won't be dissapointed especially if you have an interest in the real Dracula. However, if you are looking for a book about Vampires this may not be the ideal book for you, but it's still a great read and worth a try.
The idea behind the book is that 3 people, all of whome knew Vlad throughout his life are brought together to retell his story in a trial that hopes to re-establish Vlad Dracula as a hero of Christendem and not a blood thirsty monster.
Through these three narratives we are able to follow Vlad from his younger years (as a hostage in Turkey), into the prison where he learns the art of Impalement, onto his crowning as Voivoid of Wallachia and the war he raged with Turkey, and finally onto his final years as a fallen Prince feared and despised my most but still loved by some. Along the way we meet a cast of colouful characters that will stay with you even after you put the book down. Ion Tremblac his right hand man best friend and one of the few people Vlad trusts. Ilona Vlad,s love interest, the Sultans, Murad and Mehmet, Hamza Pasha Vlads mentor in his younger days and Radu Vlad's younger brother.
I don't want to give anything away as it will spoil the read but I did find myself at 2.00am saying "Just one more chapter" "I've got to see what happens next" and this sums up the book for me. It's moving in places as Vlad's relationships with his closest "friends" change and is quite graphic in others (the impalement scenes leave nothing to the imagination) but in the end it's a great story well told and that in my opinion is what makes a book worth reading.
The only negative thing I could find to say about this book is the chapters did jump ahead in time quite a lot (7 months later, 1 year later etc) but that's only because I wanted to know more, what happened in those 7 months? tell me more!
Give this one a try, I'm sure you won't be dissapointed especially if you have an interest in the real Dracula. However, if you are looking for a book about Vampires this may not be the ideal book for you, but it's still a great read and worth a try.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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.
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.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Well this is a bloody tale, but it is blood 'spilling' not blood 'sucking'!
Humphrey's gives the infamous 'Vlad the Impaler' the historical treatment rather than another vampire story. And lets face it this guy was scary enough without fangs, a bad hair do, a pantomime cape and a pet bat!
There are wooden stakes involved though they are somewhat longer than Buffy's and are not driven into the heart!
The author ackowledges it is the gaps in history that allows the historical author to thrive and Humphrey's makes full use of the somewhat patchy records in 15th Century Wallachia to create a kind of fall and rise, fall again rise again, fall... I could go on but you would rightly stop reading!
The book has two main strands. The Vlad story - What made him the man(monster?) he was, who were the people around him, was he justified in his rather brutal methods and just what happened to him.
Then there is the Turkish element. The religious tensions, the expansionist ambitions and the taking of Constantinople.
This makes for a heady brew and enough material for a couple of volumes, but Humphreys decides to keep the action within one book, and personally I want to applaud that as I do get tired of all these endless serialised historical sagas that need 5 years to conclude with huge gaps in between so that you have to practically re-read the previous novel again to follow the story and costs you about £50 all told!! (ok rant over)
Those of you who are looking for a Conn Iggulden/ Bernard Cornwell type book may be disappointed. The emphasis here was far more charactor study and personal rivalry than epic 20 page battle scenes. Action descriptions are short and low on detail and can often at the next page have jumped forward 2 years. I would perhaps have liked a little more but at the same time other authors can over do it with 3 pages of parry and thrust!
My only other minor criticism is that I did see a couple of the twists coming from some way off, something I'm usually rubbish at!
Also I never really sympathised with Vlad but then I'm not sure I was ever meant to. Humphreys rather points to the events that would warp anyones personality and asks US to judge Vlads last confessions!
In summary, a brilliantly written and researched work I would heartily recommend but would warn 'warfare' fans the cover on this edition is a little misleading. Think more 'The Borgias' than 'El Cid' and completely forget 'Count Dracula'
Humphrey's gives the infamous 'Vlad the Impaler' the historical treatment rather than another vampire story. And lets face it this guy was scary enough without fangs, a bad hair do, a pantomime cape and a pet bat!
There are wooden stakes involved though they are somewhat longer than Buffy's and are not driven into the heart!
The author ackowledges it is the gaps in history that allows the historical author to thrive and Humphrey's makes full use of the somewhat patchy records in 15th Century Wallachia to create a kind of fall and rise, fall again rise again, fall... I could go on but you would rightly stop reading!
The book has two main strands. The Vlad story - What made him the man(monster?) he was, who were the people around him, was he justified in his rather brutal methods and just what happened to him.
Then there is the Turkish element. The religious tensions, the expansionist ambitions and the taking of Constantinople.
This makes for a heady brew and enough material for a couple of volumes, but Humphreys decides to keep the action within one book, and personally I want to applaud that as I do get tired of all these endless serialised historical sagas that need 5 years to conclude with huge gaps in between so that you have to practically re-read the previous novel again to follow the story and costs you about £50 all told!! (ok rant over)
Those of you who are looking for a Conn Iggulden/ Bernard Cornwell type book may be disappointed. The emphasis here was far more charactor study and personal rivalry than epic 20 page battle scenes. Action descriptions are short and low on detail and can often at the next page have jumped forward 2 years. I would perhaps have liked a little more but at the same time other authors can over do it with 3 pages of parry and thrust!
My only other minor criticism is that I did see a couple of the twists coming from some way off, something I'm usually rubbish at!
Also I never really sympathised with Vlad but then I'm not sure I was ever meant to. Humphreys rather points to the events that would warp anyones personality and asks US to judge Vlads last confessions!
In summary, a brilliantly written and researched work I would heartily recommend but would warn 'warfare' fans the cover on this edition is a little misleading. Think more 'The Borgias' than 'El Cid' and completely forget 'Count Dracula'
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not my kind of thing
Well, I gave it a go, as I like historical novels, but found that I did not like the main character. I gave up about half way through the book as I could not see it improving. Read more
Published 3 days ago by sleekgreyhound
An excellent read and NOT bloodthirsty!!
Vlad: The Last Confession: n/a
Vlad "The Impaler" - oh, how that name sends a shiver down everyone's spine. Read more
Vlad "The Impaler" - oh, how that name sends a shiver down everyone's spine. Read more
Published 5 days ago by Aremess
Vlad come to life.
I rarely read historical fiction, but I am facinated with Vlad Tepes. I wrote many a paper in school on him and am always on the look out for some new information. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Teresa Scudder
One of the most fascinating books I have ever read...
One of the most fascinating books I have ever read... and trust me, I have read a few!
This book took me out of my comfort zone despite being a lover of horror but this... Read more
This book took me out of my comfort zone despite being a lover of horror but this... Read more
Published 2 months ago by A. Price
Sad Vlad
I was looking for to this read but ended up disappointed. There was no real flow to the story with several threads failing to converge and thus failing to hold my interest at... Read more
Published 6 months ago by george robson
One of my favourite historical novels!
This is the first of this author's work that I've read and my, what a treat! His depiction of Vlad the Impaler is as grounded as you're likely to find on the subject anywhere. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Valak
My Fav book 2009
In this excellent title by CC Humpreys you meet finally the real Vlad Dracul, not the blood sucking vampire but the real man the prince, you learn how the legends were born and may... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Parm
Vlad: Another 'Hollywood' Tale
I stumbled across Vlad: The Last Confession after reading several reviews on this very page and decided to give it a go. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Adam Tyson
Very good
I am a big fan of fiction history and whilst this is definitely more fiction than history it is a very well written book. Read more
Published 17 months ago by S. Glossop
Vlad: The Last Confession
I bought this book on the basis that the author's four previous books have been real pager turners. As an avid reader of historical novels for the last 30 years this has to be by... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Steve Cooper
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