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    House of Bathory
    House of Bathory
    House of Bathory
    Audiobook13 hours

    House of Bathory

    Written by Linda Lafferty

    Narrated by Kathleen Gati

    3/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    In the early 1600s, Elizabeth Báthory, the infamous Blood Countess, ruled Čachtice Castle in the hinterlands of Slovakia. During bizarre nightly rites, she tortured and killed the young women she had taken on as servants. A devil, a demon, the terror of Royal Hungary—she bathed in their blood to preserve her own youth.

    400 years later, echoes of the Countess’s legendary brutality reach Aspen, Colorado. Betsy Path, a psychoanalyst of uncommon intuition, has a breakthrough with sullen teenager Daisy Hart. Together, they are haunted by the past, as they struggle to understand its imprint upon the present. Betsy and her troubled but perceptive patient learn the truth: the curse of the House of Bathory lives still and has the power to do evil even now.

    The story, brimming with palace intrigue, memorable characters intimately realized, and a wealth of evocative detail, travels back and forth between the familiar, modern world and a seventeenth-century Eastern Europe brought startlingly to life.

    Inspired by the actual crimes of Elizabeth Báthory, The House of Bathory is another thrilling historical fiction from Linda Lafferty (The Bloodletter’s Daughter and The Drowning Guard). The novel carries readers along with suspense and the sweep of historical events both repellent and fascinating.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateJan 14, 2014
    ISBN9781480538573
    House of Bathory
    Author

    Linda Lafferty

    Linda Lafferty is the author of The Bloodletter’s Daughter, House of Bathory, Light in the Shadows, The Girl Who Fought Napoleon, and the Colorado Book Award winners The Drowning Guard and The Shepherdess of Siena. Her books have been translated into ten languages. She holds a doctorate in bilingual special education and taught in Spain for three years. Lafferty is also an avid equestrian and horse lover.

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    Reviews for House of Bathory

    3/5

    70 ratings15 reviews

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    • 2/5
      The plot of “House of Bathory” is shallow and coupled with poor writing.

      Nothing felt genuine: not the dynamic between Betsy and Daisy (or the dynamics between the rest of the characters for that matter), not the emotions, and not the conversations or other interactions. Even the sadistic Countess Elizabeth Bathory couldn’t be brought to life and she was a real person. Every character was 1D and unbelievable.

      Daisy’s character grated on my nerves more than anything and her Goth obsession was not successfully incorporated. The way it was presented was so generic that it was comical. I didn't get the impression that Lafferty knew much about Gothicism as she wrote this book. It was like the she couldn't help but to drill into the reader’s brain that Daisy is a Goth chick with an endearing supernumerary tooth (we get it!!!).

      Aside from the characters there were other things that didn't add up. The editing was lazy and left errors all over. Certain occurrences in the story didn't even make sense within the context of the story itself. I kept checking to make sure I wasn't reading an ARC but nope, it’s a regular finished copy.

      I expected the historical angle to be better. Instead it was melodramatic drivel, like a bad (or good?) soap opera. The Countess’ story started out fine but became clumsy. After a while I just went with the flow and stopped expecting anything. There was no need for a bibliography in a novel like this.

      The big reveal at the end concerning Daisy and her sister Morgan was just.... nobody would do that in real life. It deals with a serious issue but it was horribly done and didn't fit with the rest of the story. It was weird. Plus, why did Morgan look the way she did? It didn't make sense. The entire ending was terrible.

      I was willing to suffer Betsy and Daisy just to see what the author was going to do with the past events surrounding Elizabeth Bathory. I was let down in all respects. The only parts I really liked were the descriptions of the castle when Janos Szilvasi first arrived there and his dinner with the Countess. The Taltos element was also an interesting inclusion, but it fell flat in the end. Elizabeth’s story became repetitious and blah. I didn't care for any of the present day Carl Jung & His Red Book/Circle of Life/Generic Goth Chick/ Carl Jung & His Red Book/Nightmares about Castles and Blood/Extra Thin Plot/Carl Jung & His Red Book/Coked Out Vampires mixture. That by itself would be 1 star.
    • 5/5
      Fans of Dracula will like this book and even if you are not a fan it is sill full of adventure and a little horror.
    • 3/5
      I'll admit: I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. The plot was fairly decent, I really enjoyed the political court intrigue, and the pace and characters were both pretty solid. But ...

      I felt the connection between Betsy and John was pretty bland; I really could have done without it (having them be ex-spouses kinda felt like a bit of a cop-out as to why they care about each other, because it's never really explained/shown). I also felt like sister relationship between Daisy and Morgan was pretty lacking too ... what the hell was with the random "oh btw our dad molested us" plotline thrown it at the very end? It didn't really serve any kind of purpose at the end at all.

      In general I'd said it's mediocre in terms of historical accuracy. It's basically what you'd expect for any type of media based on Elizabeth Bathory: some of it's true, some of it's the same old myths trotted out again. It wasn't wildly over the top for the most part except for Elizabeth banging her cousin, wtf?, so it was at least tolerable in that sense. I've seen and read a lot worse.

      But probably the biggest question mark for me is the supernatural aspect. Kinda. Because at times supernatural-esque stuff happened (the dreams, the tarot card predictions, etc.), and the plot completely seemed to be going in the direction of reincarnation, but then ... it never really took hold at all. That seemed kind of ... sloppy. As if at first Lafferty really wanted to do a story about reincarnation, but then at the last second just wanted to make it about a random delusional psychopath -- only she forgot to take out the other supernatural aspects and/or couldn't figure out how to make some plot points happen without them ... yeah.

      Overall, it's not bad, but it's not great either. It's your standard stuff in terms of Elizabeth Bathory media.
    • 3/5
      The House of Bathory was not my cup of tea. The initial premise is interesting, but I feel the plot has some pacing problems, certain scenes seem to take a very long time, while others (most especially the climax at the end) seem rushed. The use of Jung's Red Book is interesting, and that is a subject I would like to learn more about. All in all, I feel this book had promise, but this wasn't quie realized in the execution.
    • 3/5
      Interesting at bits perhaps, but never gripping or thrilling.
    • 2/5
      I purchased this book on the strength of Linda Lafferty's previous novel, The Bloodletter's Daughter. Parts of this novel lived up to the previous work, but on the whole, the narrative was confused by two different plotlines, set in two different times. Constant switches between the 16th century household of Countess Bathory and a modern day thriller involving a direct descendent and a teenage goth along with the very strong form of the chapters made it difficult to become immersed in the world of the story or to engage with the characters. I was unable to become emotionally involved enough in the book to feel any suspense about the fate of the characters in either the past or the present day.
    • 5/5
      Loved this book. It gave me chills

      ** I received this book for free as part of a First-Reads promotion
    • 1/5
      amateurish dribble - or perhaps it is just a sophomoric young adult book.
    • 2/5
      It’s always a little disheartening to finish a book like this. I don’t mean a book with this kind of macabre storyline, but a book that had so much potential and really failed to live up to it. This could have been an absolutely amazing work. It had a unique premise for one. The novel chronicles two seemingly unrelated stories - a) the weeks leading up to the arrest of the sadistic and murderous Countess Erzesbet Bathory in December 1610 and, b) the unlikely partnership between a modern-day Jungian psychotherapist and her “Goth” patient who unwillingly come together to help find the therapist’s missing mother. They shouldn’t be connected at all, but as each story unfolds, it is revealed they are related in multiple ways.

      But here is fault one in the book: the storyline tries to be more deep than the finished novel actually turns out to be. There are threads of connection, strings of depth, that basically flutter away, and are never fully enveloped. Such as this concept of a Taltos, personified in the 17th century story through the character of Janos, Countess Bathory’s “horsemaster.” This mythical idea is never really explained, nor is it ever really embraced. Snippets are included, but they are done in such a way as to leave the reader (or me anyway) feeling like they are useless tangents. I’m guessing that Lafferty tried to be mysterious or tried to lead the reader to his / her own conclusions, but all I felt like it did was detract from the main story. There didn’t seem to be any point ...

      On the reverse, Lafferty also spends alot of time “harping” on certain themes that makes one think this particular concept is even more significant than the others. But I was left feeling like, “okay, got it. This is x, y, and z. Now, what’s the point?” Especially since said theme doesn’t become part of some big reveal. Example? The continued return to main character Daisy Hart’s gothness. It comes up over and over again that modern-day, angst-ridden teen, Daisy Hart, patient to main character Dr. Betsy Path, is a goth. Everyone Daisy encounters in the book is so fascinated by seeing her dressed as a goth, they have to bring it up some way or another. Everyone. Including a clerk in a hotel. Daisy has to keep identifying herself as a goth. And guess what? Spoiler alert: this goth thing goes nowhere. It’s not like the fact that Daisy self-identifies as goth leads to some ultimate reveal in the story. Instead, it feels like Lafferty was trying to make her character complex … and all she really did was make the goth thing so redundant, I got bored reading about it.

      I kept going with this one though (as compared to my last review on Bellman and Black which bored me so quickly, I put it down after 36 pages) because I did want to see how it all turned out. And Countess Bathory, for all her sadism and cruelty, is a fascinating historical figure. Which, sigh, I think was the biggest disappointment of all. Lafferty could have made the Blood Countess a richer, deeper, more layered figure, even as the murdering psychopath that she was, and, therefore, one the reader could really hate. In my erstwhile opinion, that did not happen. On the contrary, the Countess is so far removed from me that at one point I actually wondered why the “officials” (in the form of a fellow Count and a local parish priest) wanted to arrest her so badly. Because, as Lafferty herself kept “harping” on about: most of the women the Countess killed were her servants, and the murder of a servant was not a punishable offense at the time. So, in staying true to the culture of 17th century Eastern Europe, these men shouldn’t have cared. Why did they? That is yet another thread of depth that fluttered away.

      So, yes, a very disheartening read. Not because I felt sorry for the characters or was sickened by the torture or anything related to the novel at all. But because this novel could have been one of the greats, but the poor writing really did it in.
    • 3/5
      Research was fascinating, the ending and modern storyline not so much.
    • 4/5
      I had no idea this woman existed and was possibly an inspiration for the Dracula story. Then again, who would believe a woman with noble blood would be responsible for the deaths of as many of 600 young women in her service? This historical fiction has a very clever link from the present day to the 1600s when Countess Bathory lived. The story moves back and forth between the centuries until it all comes together at the end. A really fun read!
    • 2/5
      I bought this because the premise sounded interesting and it was the Kindle Deal of the Day. While you can see the influence of the original Dracula book at times...overall the story is just slow and I never really found myself caring about the modern day characters. The author should have just written a fictional account of the original Countess rather than trying to mix in modern day characters. Predictable plot with a ho-hum ending. If you want to read this one get it at a library don't buy it.
    • 3/5
      This novel is divided into two parts--the historical part which focuses on the misdeeds of the Countess of Bathory and a modern part which focuses on...well, not sure really. Where the book shines is the historical part--it is well-written, flows nicely, and is rich with historical detail that made me Google for more factual information. The modern part? Just seemed cobbled together to make the book longer--I began skipping it altogether.
    • 3/5
      This is one of those books that is very difficult for me to rate. It's written in two distinct parts - 17th century historical fiction and present day suspense. While these two storylines are woven together and alternate throughout the book, I feel like I need to rate and review them separately. First, the book centers around the real life Countess Bathory, or the Blood Countess, who lived in Slovakia during the 1600s. This historical aspect is incredibly well written. I felt like I was there in the castle, witnessing the horrendous conditions, the torture, and the desperation. I was emotionally invested in the characters and their story. The modern part of the story, for me, is not nearly as interesting. The premise of these characters' story - of this entire book - is synchronicity. Put simply, this is a Jungian (psychology) theory where two or more events are connected, despite having no causal relationship. The use of synchronicity here leans a bit into the paranormal and is the thread tying the past to the present. While an interesting theory, it didn't make for interesting characters. I never felt connected to them, didn't totally understand their motives, and didn't always believe their actions. One area where the book really fell apart for me came with Daisy's character. She plays a key role in the modern story and I did not find her at all believable. I don't want to give spoilers, so I'll just say that I found this especially troublesome toward the end. I wanted to scream, "Where are this girl's parents?"I didn't like the end at all. It felt too chaotic, with too many characters all converging in order to tie everything up neatly. Again, I didn't find most of these events at all believable.Overall, I think perhaps the story became bigger than it needed to be. Kept as historical fiction, this would have been a fascinating, 5-star read for me. But there were far too many characters and not nearly enough of the modern story to make an impact, and the book suffered because of that.
    • 4/5
      Horrifying and fascinating at the same time. It's like passing an accident and staring. You can't help yourself. This book is very similar. It jumps between the past and the present. Countess Bathory, 17th century, villain. I felt nothing except disgust for this woman. She is mean, hateful and cruel. She bathes in the blood of young girls to keep her youth. The people who surround her are loyal out of fear and need. They need the few pennies she pays for their families. They fear her reaction and response if they betray her in any way.Modern day, we have a psychologist named Betsy, treating a trauma plagued 'goth girl'. Modern day Count Bathory, as crazy as his ancestor and several other players.The story goes back and forth between past and present. We follow the story and eventually it does merge. Remember, truth is stranger than fiction. Countess Bathory was a real person, her crimes of cruelty and murder were real. Very well written story. I was never bored or distracted while reading.