LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
An historical adventure steeped in blood and mystery and, in my opinion, C C Humpreys’ best book to date. This story of Vlad the Impaler, the real-life Dracula, contains no vampires, but offers an insight into a fascinating period of strife in the history of Eastern Europe. Dracula’s struggle to gain his throne and defend his land from the Turks, as well as the enemies he left rotting on stakes behind him, are the stuff of legend, but in this tale we meet a very human man, motivated by love and revenge and we come closer to one of history’s most misunderstood figures. A stunning novel of battles, escapes, torture, intrigue, loyalty and betrayal, and not to be missed.
Comparison: Bernard Cornwell, Conn Iggulden, Valerio Manfredi.
Sarah Broadhurst
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Primary Genre |
Fiction
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Recommendations: |
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About
Vlad: The Last Confession Synopsis
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, who he must 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.
About This Edition
ISBN: |
9781409103301 |
Publication date: |
11th February 2010 |
Author: |
C. C. Humphreys |
Publisher: |
Orion (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd ) an imprint of Orion Publishing Co |
Format: |
Paperback |
Pagination: |
446 pages |
Primary Genre |
Fiction
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Recommendations: |
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Press Reviews
C. C. Humphreys Press Reviews
'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
Author
About C. C. Humphreys
C.C. Humphreys is an actor, playwright, fight choreographer and novelist.
‘My first job out of school was as a motorcycle messenger, based in St Giles, where much of Plague and Fire takes place. It was a ghastly slum in 1665, and thousands died horribly there in the Great Plague. And much of this area suffered during The Great Fire of London in 1666. I think many Londoners have a deep-buried memory of the devastating things that have happened to their city. Walking those streets again, it’s not hard to sense the bones just below the paving stones.’
Chris has written nine historical fiction novels including The French Executioner, the Jack Absolute Series, Vlad and Shakespeare’s Rebel. Fire is a thriller set in London 1666 and follows on from Plague..
More About C. C. Humphreys