Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Historical Detail and an Interesting Story
Review: As a graduate student in the area of Medieval and Renaissance Europe, I always go into historical novels with a bit of skepticism but also hopeful optimism. Codrescu's account of 17th century Hungary and the historical character of Countess Bathory met my optimistic hopes. The brutality, suspicion and general hardship of the time was obviously well-researched, as was the totalitarian power of the noble class which provoked peasant revolts like the one described in the book. The characters were possibly not developed enough, particularly the modern-day Count Bathory-Kereshtur about whom I would have liked to know more. But the complex psychological motivations of Elizabeth Bathory were developed quite well and in a chilling and descriptive manner. The descriptions of violent acts were perhaps a bit graphic, but relevant within the historical context for the period and place in which they occur. Overall a book definitely worth reading, but not for the squeamish.
Rating:
Summary: Disturbing and Fascinating
Review: If nothing else, this story will remain imprinted in my memory throughout my life. "The Blood Countess" is absolutely the most graphic book I have ever read (and I've been reading horror/gothic/sci fi for a long time), and yet, through all my disgust and horror, I found myself unable to look away from the scene written before me. This, I finally concluded, was not necessarily because of the innate urge for humans to gawk at car accidents and watch Jerry Springer, but because I was curiously attracted to the mad genius of Elizabeth.Although the modern-day secondary story annoyed me with its shallowness and (mostly) irrelevance to the "true" plot, I truly admired the author's writing style, and the few moments of insight into Elizabeth's psyche touched me. Please, gentle reader, do not think that I would release a monster from its due blame - but I nearly cried the few times the Countess actually showed her vulnerability. How alone, how lost, how angry she must have felt to do such things! Her vision of reality was so skewed and disjointed that I felt I must mourn for the genius that could have done so much, but instead felt compelled to cause suffering. The use of sexuality is extremely powerful in this novel. In my darkest dreams and nightmares, I could never have conceived of such horrible torture, and at the same time the sexual naivete of Elizabeth. The fact that so many of her victims were tortured and murdered sexually simply adds to the disturbing image of the Countess. The reader can clearly see each point at which the Countess is faced with a glimpse of her own fragility and humanity - she wavers on the brink of self-understanding, then the madness rips it from her and she resumes her ritualistic pasttimes with a newfound viciousness. The author's perception of European witchcraft during this time in history is rather interesting - those who are familiar with "The Burning Times" as they are called in the neo-pagan communites may be shocked and horrified at the idea that women during this time had indeed incorporated the Devil into ther rituals and spells. It disgusted me, too, at first. A couple of things saved this plot-device for me: A) this is a work of (mostly) fiction, and B) It makes sense that after a few hundred years of being told that midwifery, herbal lore and women's spirituality was evil and wrong, that the women would come to believe it as well, whether they practiced it or not. On the whole, a great story with a lot of filler. It seemed to me as if the author threw the "real-time" scenes in to fill the story to novel-length. This, I found disappointing. I should have just skipped over these parts, because they seemed unrealistic and flat. I honestly do not know how much of Elizabeth's story is historically accurate. It may be that this novel is all fabrication and assumptions - but knowing nothing about Hungarian history, I found the intricate details fascinating. The story has a great flavor - although the explicit violence and sex may leave a bad taste in your mouth.
Rating:
Summary: A Brutal Work Of Art
Review: Andre Codrescu's "The Blood Countess: A Novel" first is a description of Elizabeth Bathory, the 16th Century Hungarian countess who ruled a kingdom in her warrior husband's absence. Elizabeth was an able administrator, but she is known instead for her brutal and mechanical fascination with depravity and torture. Elizabeth's obsession with youth caused her to torture and murder 650 indentured maidservants at her castle, often bathing in their blood to restore her own youthfulness. "The Blood Countess ..." also is the fictional interwoven story of Drake Bathory-Kereshtur, a journalist and direct descendent of Elizabeth who fled to the United States during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. During his return visit to Hungary after the fall of Communism, Drake becomes involved in a coup attempt to reinstate the hereditary Hungarian monarchy, and with his acquaintances Drake becomes entangled in Elizabeth Bathory's depraved heritage. Andre Codrescu's descriptions of depravity are troubling despite the current popularity of macabre entertainment (of which "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" is the tip of the iceberg). Yet Andre Codrescu is a craftsman and a wordsmith, and his own experiences with (gothic) Romanian culture are reflected throughout this fictional novel. Codrescu's descriptions of depravity create an atmosphere of hopelessness that reminds me of "The Gulag Archipelago" by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn. IMO this wonderful portrayal of hopelessness elevates "The Blood Countess: A Novel" from a good read to a brutal work of art.
Rating: 
Summary: This book rubs your nose in the ugliest side of human nature
Review: This book is a confusing mixture. It tells the story of a rather fascinating human monster, but gives the reader no real understanding or empathy for any of its characters. The voices of the book are too removed, too cold. The countess tormented and killed her hundreds of young women with no interest in the reality of their lives and interests; the book chronicles the killings in the same manner, and thus fails to involve the reader. Even the parallel plot line of the modern-day Drake, drawn into the mystical world of immortal evil, fails to involve the reader closely. Too much blood, pain, and perverse excitement, not enough understanding. All in all, it was lurid and adolescent.
Rating:
Summary: A Brutal Work Of Art
Review: Andre Codrescu's "The Blood Countess: A Novel" first is a description of Elizabeth Bathory, the 16th Century Hungarian countess who ruled a kingdom in her warrior husband's absence. Elizabeth was an able administrator, but she is known instead for her brutal and mechanical fascination with depravity and torture. Elizabeth's obsession with youth caused her to torture and murder 650 indentured maidservants at her castle, often bathing in their blood to restore her own youthfulness. "The Blood Countess ..." also is the fictional interwoven story of Drake Bathory-Kereshtur, a journalist and direct descendent of Elizabeth who fled to the United States during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. During his return visit to Hungary after the fall of Communism, Drake becomes involved in a coup attempt to reinstate the hereditary Hungarian monarchy, and with his acquaintances Drake becomes entangled in Elizabeth Bathory's depraved heritage. Andre Codrescu's descriptions of depravity are troubling despite the current popularity of macabre entertainment (of which "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" is the tip of the iceberg). Yet Andre Codrescu is a craftsman and a wordsmith, and his own experiences with (gothic) Romanian culture are reflected throughout this fictional novel. Codrescu's descriptions of depravity create an atmosphere of hopelessness that reminds me of "The Gulag Archipelago" by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn. IMO this wonderful portrayal of hopelessness elevates "The Blood Countess: A Novel" from a good read to a brutal work of art.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring, turgid, with an ax to grind
Review: First off, Blood Countess is NOT a horror novel, NOT a vampire novel. Instead, it's part morbid biography, part political tract. There are two stories, told in alternating chapters. One is a fictionalization of true-life Elizabeth Barthoy's depravities (no supernatural vampire stuff, just torture). The other story is set in the present, as Barthoy's Hungarian decendent returns to Hungary to come to terms with his past. Codrescu has a dense, turgid writing style that makes for slow reading. And it's boring. Hard to imagine Barthoy's life could be rendered dull, but Codrescu manages it, despite his discomforting torture scenes. Too much "inner life" as his characters think about this or that, philosophizing and such, and not enough dialogue. And when there is dialgue, it's not crisp or pithy. Furthermore, Codrescu strikes me as dishonest and bigoted toward Hungarians. Dishonest, because the dust jacket claims that he's Hungarian, yet Codrescu is a Romanian name. In fact, his book about Romania (The Hole In The Flag) claims that Codrescu is Romanian. So which is he -- Hungarian or Romanian? Maybe it's just a case of publishers trying to slant Codrescu's bio to fit his book, but it's not an idle question, because Hungarians and Romanians have long suffered ethnic tensions and hostility toward each other. Reading the Blood Countess, I get the sense that Codrescu is a Romanian who doesn't much like Hungarians. His present day Hungarian character does much ruminating about the national crimes and sins of the Hungarian people. In fact, his Hungarian character sounds like a Romanian who dislikes Hungarians. I'm not saying which ethnic group has more to complain about. But I think readers should be aware of the animosity between these two groups, so they can take the Blood Countess's Hungarian-bashing with a grain of salt. Codrescu has also written a book on bigotry (The Devil Never Sleeps). But instead of preaching tolerance to others, he should do a reality check on his own animosity toward Hungarians.
Rating:
Summary: A historical-based page-turner...
Review: You might have heard of Countess Elizabeth Bathory of Hungary. She's quite infamous. You see, the Countess murdered over 650 young girls. She was said to bathe in their blood. This novel tells two stories, side by side. We have the tale of Elizabeth's life, filled richely with background history so maybe we can understand this woman's ways. The other story is of Drake Bathory-Kereshtur, a fictional descendant of Bathory who believes his last name will forever haunt him. The novel, rich with detail, moves back and forth between the past and the present. However, there is never really a SOLID connection made between the two. Yet, the author writes so well, it almost doesn't matter, for it's as if the stories could almost stand alone. It's a shocking read, but you can't put it down.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book!
Review: Okay, I must admit that I only read every other chapters. The ones with a guy going on and on about why he should die yaki yaki yak... were boring.
Believe me, just read the ones about Elizabeth Bathory's life. I've never done any kind of research on her, so I have no idea how accurate this book is, but it was still a great read.
o^_^o
Rating:
Summary: Historically Inaccurate
Review: Just to give a brief example, the Peasant Rebellion led by
György Dózsa took place in the year 1514, forty-six years
before Erzsébet Báthory was born. Yet Codrescu has Dózsa
killing family members of Countess Báthory in front of her
eyes. The book is nothing more than anti-Hungarian propaganda
written by a (Romanian) with a politcal agenda. An earlier book by Codrescu, "The Hole in the Flag" was a
noble effort, but "The Blood Countess" is disappointing
to say the least.
Rating:
Summary: Swords, Sorcery, and Serial Killers...
Review: This reminds me something of an uncensored Grimm's Fairy Tales, though far more graphic in nature (and without all the bothersome morality). No disgusting, bloody, pornographic detail was spared. More historical facts would have been nice, but let's face it: if Elizabeth Bathory wasn't such a disturbed and sadistic killer, no one would have ever bothered to research her life at all.
The supporting characters (From Countess Bathory's time, at least) are truly fascnating and seem well researched. Her uncle, George Thurzo for instance, the magistrate who invented or improved upon several torture devices, can only be of the line of Thurzos at Emperor Sigmund's court during the mid-1400's. Here mentor, the Friar Silvestri, is equally interesting, though many of his exploits are obviously exagerated from hearsay.
One wonders, though, why the subplot about the 'last of the Bathory line' is needed at all. The reader never finds out how Elizabeth lives beyond the grave or exactly what she wants with the character. It is, so far as I can tell, one big metaphor that never leads anywhere. I found myself skimming through every other chapter just to get to the parts about the real Bathorys.
Nonetheless, while reading the book it is easy for the reader to discern what is fact, what is fiction, and what the author simply takes some artistic licnse with. I must admit that what I expected was more of a historical novel, but I have no regrets about reading it.
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