The Bathory Curse

Usual disclaimer: Author Renee Lake gave me an e-version of The Bathory Curse in exchange for a review.

The Bathory Curse is one of those books that as soon as I started to read I knew was going to be good. Guess what? I was right! While reading I often thought; How did she come up with this? It kind of turns the horror genre sideways. Being a reviewer of almost exclusively indie authors, I'm not surprised when a book is very different from the main stream. Author Renee Lake firmly established her position well up on the shore from the mainstream.

I am somewhat familiar with the story of Elizabeth Bathory from those tv shows about evil historic figures. Lake has taken this bit of history and spun a fun (yes fun) story about goddesses, strega & strigoi (never heard of them before), vampires  and other scary creatures. The story spans several centuries in the lives, afterlives, and non-lives of the female side of the Bathory family.

Along the way, Vlad Dracul and his gang are woven into the story as well. A different take on Dracula to be sure. Not really a "vampire" story in the traditional sense. With all of these "evil" characters to contend with you may expect a very dark and eerie book. Yes, there are those aspects to be sure, but I would not categorize this as a "dark horror" story. It is at its core, a story of love and redemption, but yeah it does take place in the context of a horror setting (go figure).Bad guys enough to make the good guys lives miserable at times.

All in all, The Bathory Curse by Renee Lake is a satisfying read that takes a turn through history, mythology, and literature, that you won't quite expect. Enjoy!


Mike