Vlad [Paperback]

Melodie Romeo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 30, 2002

Vlad Dracula, bloodthirsty tyrant; Nicolae of Cozia, avenging son of a murdered noble; Maria, grieving, widowed tavern maid: on a snowy, blood-soaked hill, the three will meet. One will die; one will be the killer; one will be reborn. History tells us that the real Vlad Dracula was much more frightening than Bram Stoker's vampire. After killing over 100,000 people during his first reign as Prince of Walachia, he returned after years of exile ready to wreak terror on anyone he chose. Many were afraid, but only two were bold enough to risk death at every turn to see his rule stopped short. Maria and Nicolae find more in common than a hatred of Vlad, but will they both live long enough to declare their love? With heart-stopping danger at every turn, detailed historical accuracy combined with fictional characters, and a myriad of surprises, Vlad is sure to keep you on the edge of your chair!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Melodie Romeo is a high school history teacher and music minister who loves to write. She lives in Mississippi with her two children and numerous cats, dogs, and horses. Melodie received her master's degree in history from the University of West Florida in 1996. She is currently working on a historical romance set during the Viking Age. Vlad is her first novel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (May 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0759694389
• ISBN-13: 978-0759694385
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,574,696 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very highly recommended!, November 7, 2002

By 

Huntress Reviews (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vlad (Paperback)

This novel is based on the history of the REAL Vlad Dracula, Prince of Walachia, who lived during the 1400's. The author added her own fictional characters, Nicolae of Cozia and Maria, so this story is a work of fiction. However, most of the other characters were real.

As the reviewer of my own web site, I took the liberty of placing this title under "Horror" instead of "Fiction" due to all the awful acts described in the book. Many impalings, massacres, acts of torture, etc. are revealed within these pages, all of which really happened in history. Yes, it is actually documented that Vlad would drink the blood of some of his victims, but NOT as Bram Stoker's vampire did. The truth can be found within the pages of this awesome novel.

** Author melodie Romeo did much historical research while creating this book. She more than earned the five stars I have rated it, not only for the research, but also for the well crafted story. I highly recommend it to all. **

Reviewed by Detra Fitch.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Little too Anachronistic, August 2, 2005

By 

Lee Freeman "lfreeman_histgen" (Florence, Al United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Vlad (Paperback)

"Vlad" by Melanie Romeo promised to be a great read but sadly, didn't quite deliver. I suppose its not bad for a first novel, however there were some problems. For a work of historical fiction there were several anachronisms that in my opinion an author who is a history major could have avoided. For example, in one place, a character talking with the Impaler exclaims "But. . ." and Romeo has Dracula interupt with "Butts are for sitting." Another example is when the characters shop at a boutique and drink tea instead of wine or ale. A third is when she has the main charcters discussing the fact that Vlad requires marriage licenses of all married couples-an obvious anachronism, since, as far as I know, marriages were considered a sacrament of the Church, not under the jurisdiction of the secular authorities, hence marriage licenses wouldn't have been issued (and most people couldn't have read them even if they'd had them. Besides, who carries their marriage license with them on their person, anyway?). And then Vlad's government has ministers of trade, and he comments that he's trying to centralise his government to make it more efficient-an interpretation of Vlad favored by Romanian Communist propagandists. Perhaps these are minor anachronisms, but they're enough to distract a purist like myself. Romeo just didn't seem comfortable enough with writing in a medieval setting.

Romeo portrays Vlad as being almost prudish in requiring that couples be lawfully married with proof of marriage (hence the marriage licenses). Consequently, she has the main characters terrified that if the hero is seen leaving the heroine's house early in the morning Vlad's informants will automatically assume they're committing adultery and turn them in.

The author is obviously familiar with the history of Vlad and has studied a bit of Romanian, however the way Romeo uses the Romanian terms seems forced, rather than natural, as if she's using them to prove to you that she can. To me she didn't seem comfortable with the terms. It felt like she almost over-used them. She was no doubt attempting to capture the flavor of medieval Romania but it came off as kind of stilted.

I did like the way she used actual quotations from the pamphlets written by Dracula's detractors chronicling his atrocities as chapter headings.

All-in-all an okay first novel, but for someone who likes a bit more polish and historical detail, somewhat disappointing.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A gripping tale!, September 27, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Vlad (Paperback)

History meets horror in this real-life story of Prince Vlad Tepes (Dracula). The fast-paced writing style and engaging characters take us through a web of deceiption, intrigue, and gruesome reality as the novel's heroes try to end the bloody reign of the Impaler Prince once and for all. Action and suspense with a cast of strong characters kept me turning page after page, but my favorite part was the romance. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, I got another surprise at the end. Intentionally, I suppose, it was often difficult to separate the history part from the fiction part. Although death lurks around every corner, the scariest part for me was that most of this story actually happened - that Vlad Dracula really lived in the 15th century and killed all those people, a brutality unequaled until Adolf Hitler. I strongly recommend this book.