-Poet, author; literary scholar-
David Grinnell
"'Who will reveal yourself to their eyes? Death.'"
​The pages of this diary belonged to a young British archeologist, Nicholas Ainsworth, known for his odd curiosity for the morbid and macabre. His expedition for deviant burials and historical artifacts in the Transylvanian Alps abruptly ruined with the approaching Nazi occupation, he seeks refuge in a mysterious old castle. As he settles into the abandoned gothic ruins, strange phenomena cause him to question his sanity...and if he is truly alone.
This story is like Dracula meets M.R James, with a marked degree of romance included in this story steeped in history and folklore. This is a story that I would say is a slow burn, yet there is ever present within it an air of the gothic that will serve to drive you on, though the sweetness of the story's inclusion of love is also a hook that will keep you pouring over the text. I adored the fact that this book took the form of an epistolary novel, adding to the feel of Dracula the story also does bear about it the same scholarliness of the antiquarian ghost stories of M.R James, you can truly tell from this book the similarly scholarly background of the author. Certainly, a wonderful read for lovers of older macabre works.
--Byron Griffin, author of A Witches Quickening
This book was fantastic! Written as a series of journal entries, the main character is very likable despite his serious character flaws, which ultimately seem to lead to his undoing(?). The book not only has well developed characters, it establishes a dreamy, ethereal and thoroughly gothic mood. It has many mysteries which will keep you guessing as to what’s actually going on right up to the very end. Even as certain mysteries are solved new ones are revealed. The book very well researched, taking a surprising amount of inspiration from real people, places and events. You’d be amazed how many of the locations referenced here are actual places you can visit.
I really can’t recommend this book more highly. Check it out!
-R.E. Sohl, author of Jersey Devils
