Rating: 
Summary: A well-crafted tale, so horrifying it can't be fiction..
Review: And of course it's not. The story of Countess Erzebet(Elizabeth) Bathory and her cruel experiments, taken straight from the pages of Andrei Kereshtur's chronicles, at once mesmerize and revolt the reader. The fictitious modern-day parallel plot adds a touch of irony and the supernatural to this amazing novel. While the squeamish might find this book too graphic, those with an intrest in true crime will find it a very unusual addition to their personal libraries.
Rating: 
Summary: Certain people should not read this book. . .
Review: And that would be anybody who appreciates artistry in literature. What could have been a profound philosophical delving into the desire for immortality and youth is, in Codrescu's unstable, showy prose, mere superficial shrieking, subsumed to the nuances of titillation and the flexing of the (rather useless) plot muscles.Characterizations are so "clever," so unsubtle, as to make this reader roll her eyes; the writing is garish and unconsidered. Over half the book follows Elizabeth from age eight to age thirteen; then it's as if he suddenly remembered what the book was supposed to have been about, and we dash through the 650 virgins, with nary a philosophical tangent on the meaning of it all. Characters and plot points are left unused, even after we've been dragged along by their supposed importance, and this is, of course, supremely annoying. Not once in the entire book is the reader invited to ponder anything weightier than "How long is this chapter, anyway?" Codrescu is a second-rate writer. Don't waste your time on this; read Mary Shelley instead.
Rating: 
Summary: Kinda Sleazy
Review: This book was a huge disappointment. I was looking forward to an informative historical novel about a truly terrifying woman. Instead what I got was a cold, dull, mildly pornographic tale. Don't get me wrong, I expected some pretty graphic stuff given the subject matter, but there were a few too many completely gratuitous sex scenes seemingly randomly thrown in. Even secondary and tertiary characters were given perverse romps in the hay. I know Codrescu is an intelligent man--you can't be an NPR commentator and be a dummy--but I can't help picturing him rubbing his hands and grinning lasciviously as he wrote this stuff. This is not the scholarly work you might expect--consider yourself warned.
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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: B Movie Material from a Likeable Source
Review: I wanted to like this book. I really enjoy Codrescu's essays on NPR, especially when they touch on topics pertaining to New Orleans, where I lived for five years. I also thought the subject matter had some potential. Unfortunately, he is trying too hard to follow in the footsteps of his fellow New Orleanian, Anne Rice. The portrayal of the countess is really unconvincing. She wants eternal youth. Ok, so? She comes across as about as complex as the evil queen in Disney's Snow White. The "present day" subplot makes the game, Clue, seem like an Umberto Eco masterpiece of intricacy. For readers who want a complex representation of a reprehensible villain of the middle ages, go to Joris Karl Huysmans' La Bas for his depiction of Gilles de Rais, who made the Marquis de Sade look like a neophyte. Codrescu should stick to what he does best - write clever essays for NPR. He's no great shakes as a novelist.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book
Review: This book was a chilling tale of a very sick woman with too much power. A sort of gothic story. I was reading it on the plane and at some points I flinched so obviously that the man next to me asked if I was okay. This book pulls you into it, as you learn about the different torture devices the Countess used. She believed that bathing in the fresh blood of young women mixed with milk, would keep her young forever. This is not a romance novel. Someone who enjoys Anne Rice would love this book!
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Summary: If you like grade school horror this is not for you.....
Review: I loved this book. It took me into a dark and intense world that involved one of my favorite historical villians. If you like grade school horror like King's new stuff this is not for you. If you like the author to paint a vivid and disturbing picture in your head than this is for you.
Rating:
Summary: Not for those that prefer grade school horror like King.....
Review: I loved this book. I was drawn into a dark and intense world that had one of my favorite historical villians. If you like Stephen King don't read this. If you like your books to be graphic and to paint beautiful pictures in your head with words longer than four letters read this.
Rating:
Summary: Does Codrescu mean corkscrew?
Review: This book will yank you in so many directions you'll be numb. Very dirty in spots. Calling it pornographic would pigeon hole it wrongly. But a fascinating mix of a modern story and a old legend. I enjoyed each one and how they mixed. I shouldn't like it (because of the violence), but I loved it. By the way, notice how the negative reviewers didn't surrender themselves to the stories and read every word. I skim some documents for work. Books I read everyword, and lose myself in the story.
Rating:
Summary: a waste of time.
Review: i just finished reading this book. barely. only because i couldent stand to leave it unfinished. i skimmed much of the end of it (just to get through it!) found the ending unexiting and uneventfull. the "present" part of it was borring. more of a perverse tale that i wasent too interested in finishing. the book failed to meet my expectations. while the author has a way with words and such... the story was dull, dragged on, and never realy climaxed. maybe it did but i was too bored to catch it.
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