WINNER OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION’S BEST HORROR NOVEL OF THE YEAR“As much F. Scott Fitzgerald as Dean Koontz” (#1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Briggs), Christopher Buehlman excels in twisting the familiar into newfound dread in his “genre-bending” (California Literary Review) novels. Now the acclaimed author of Those Across the River delivers his most disquieting tale … River delivers his most disquieting tale yet…
The secret is, vampires are real and I am one.
The secret is, I’m stealing from you what is most truly yours and I’m not sorry…
New York City in 1978 is a dirty, dangerous place to live. And die. Joey Peacock knows this as well as anybody—he has spent the last forty years as an adolescent vampire, perfecting the routine he now enjoys: womanizing in punk clubs and discotheques, feeding by night, and sleeping by day with others of his kind in the macabre labyrinth under the city’s sidewalks.
The subways are his playground and his highway, shuttling him throughout Manhattan to bleed the unsuspecting in the Sheep Meadow of Central Park or in the backseats of Checker cabs, or even those in their own apartments who are too hypnotized by sitcoms to notice him opening their windows. It’s almost too easy.
Until one night he sees them hunting on his beloved subway. The children with the merry eyes. Vampires, like him…or not like him. Whatever they are, whatever their appearance means, the undead in the tunnels of Manhattan are not as safe as they once were.
And neither are the rest of us.
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Trust no one.
Did I say trust no one? Yes – absolutely – trust no one.
Especially bitie little kids with a voracious thirst.
Very well written, it get’s you in, and there are some classic scenes and images that will linger in my mind the way that a well remembered dream stays with you after you awake.
For example, ever seen a strobe light? They’re used by auto mechanics when checking timing of the engine. The thing is that the light strobes at the same rate as the engine moves – and makes it look like it’s standing still. I had the same sense in one of the scenes where some little one was stalking her prey on a subway train and during each of the ‘dark’ moments – they would move. And you get a sense that the inbetween periods – the movement was magical – like a jump without time.
Spooky stuff – and it’s things like that which linger after the event has passed, like the after image of an exploding white phosphorus grenade…
4 stars only – because, I’ll only read this book once. Worth reading the first time – wouldn’t make sense to read it a second time. Yes – read it, you’ll understand my position at the end.
*My review is for the audiobook format.*
Okay, how have both this book and this author not yet blown off the shelves and into the mainstream? The “vampire diary” trope isn’t new but Buehlman comes at it from a whole ‘nother perspective. He takes all your expectations on a high-speed centrifugal spin in his million dollar street rocket and then dumps them out onto a curb so the puke won’t stain those buttery leather seats. No, Buehlman isn’t writing an action film. I was just genuinely impressed by the directions he goes in with his characters, and then also where he takes us readers to find the truth about these characters. I was hooked from the get-go, partially due to Buehlman’s narration prowess, and elsewise because the story is so darn tootin’ fantastic! Looking forward to now “going back” and reading his debut novel!
That’s it then: this is my favorite Christopher Buehlman book. It’s made even better by the fact that he narrates it himself. It’s unbelievably FUN, gory, tension- filled and fascinating! What more could a horror fan ask for?
Imaginative? Check!
New spins on old tropes? Check!
Twists and turns that you can’t see coming? Check!
Bloodbaths? (Literally!) Check!
BIG OLD SMILE on my face when I finished? Check!
I don’t even know what else to say. I’m glad I bought this audio because I know I’ll want to listen to this again in the future. It’s the kind of story where you can find something new each time you read it. I’m looking forward to my re-read already!
The Lesser Dead gets my highest recommendation!