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Summary: Lord of the dead rules!
Review: A powerful novel that chronicles the life of Lord Byron. A bored Englishman sets out for adventure in Greece. He finds it! He unwillingly becomes the most powerful vampire the world has ever known. He struggles to maintain a link with his former humanity, and his lust for blood, and the excesses immortality has to offer. A must read for those of you who enjoy the vampire genre.
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Summary: Interesting mixture of horror and historical fact
Review: A quick paced and interesting mixture of historical fact and fiction. This novel mixes an Anne Rice vampire chronicle's flavor with an english romantic timesetting. Answering some of the questions about the secret life of Lord Byron.
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Summary: Not Impressed
Review: A word of caution to the propective reader of "Lord of the Dead". Byron and most of the other vampires in this chilling tale "play from both sides of the field", "go both ways", or can be considered "open-minded"
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Summary: The Vampyre?
Review: First of all I am confuesed: Do I really have the same book? I bought my copy in London in summer '95 and it is called The Vampyre, is this really the same book? Anyway, I pretty much liked the book, but it had its weak points - such as the way Holland describes the way a vampire is made and then the thing about the children.... that did not make any sense to me... but it is a good read anyway.
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Summary: unoriginal
Review: Have you read "Interview of the Vampire" by Ann Rice? Apparently Tom Holland has.
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Summary: Lord Byon is Alive?
Review: Holland wrote this novel with a lot of historical evidences and his great fancy. The writer is dashingly smart. I almost believe I can meet Lord Byron in modern London. If Byron is a vampire we can understand his peculiarities perfectly. If you are a Byron fan or vampire fan, please try!
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Summary: A GOOD READ BUT...
Review: I found Tom Holland to be a very good author and the book was captivating. His use of history entwind with his enchanting look at Lord Byron has you hooked from the get go. The book never dragged, and kept the reader motivated as to what was to become of poor Rebecca. The tragedy of the novel lies in it's ending or should I say the lack there of. The ending was so abrupt that it left the reader wondering what is to happen, obviuosly Rebecca can not live she knows too much. Does Lord Byron go after her and kill her? Make her into a vampire (doubtfull)? or does haidee finally feed? All too confusing to the reader, but it does seem like a good set up for a follow up book, which is perhaps the reason the author chose to end the book this way. Either way it is worth the time it takes to read.
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Summary: Move over Ann Rice
Review: I just couldnt put this book down!! The best Vampire novel since Rice's first. Imagine a vampire that eats food as well as blood, survives in the daylight, and still has a mortals sexuality. Cant wait for a sequel!!
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Summary: Started Out Ok, But Grew Tedious
Review: I know virtually nothing about Lord Byron, except that he was a 19th-century English poet, so I can't say how accurate "Lord of the Dead" is in regard to certain parts of his life shown in here. But Byron fans should like this one since he's cast as the main character--as a vampire, of all things--narrating his past to his single captive audience, Rebecca Carville. His existence in "Lord of the Dead" basically consists of him traveling all over Europe, which does become monotonous after awhile. Yet it's in Greece, where he's traveling with his companion Hobhouse, that he is unwillingly turned into a vampire by Vakhel Pasha. Byron also happens to be in love with the Pasha's young runaway slave, Haidee, which is part of the reason why he kills the Pasha and then escapes the rabid village with her--only to face tragedy a short time later.The book started out ok, so I was a little confused by all of the low reviews; however, as I continued reading, I understood why. After the first couple chapters, the book seems to fizzle out, especially after Byron kills the Pasha for the first time (yes, he has to attempt this more than once; I guess some people don't understand the meaning of "immortality.") Then comes Byron's internal struggle with his new existence--as well as his acquaintance with other fellow vampires--which doesn't really add anything new to the vampire myth. I wondered exactly how Rebecca could sit there and listen for all 341 pages and not become bored herself. About 100 pages could have been removed from "Lord of the Dead" and it wouldn't have harmed the story a bit; in fact, it would have probably improved it. And like a few reviewers before me, I did notice some similarities between Anne Rice's "Interview With the Vampire" (because of how the book's told in story form) and Bram Stoker's "Dracula" (when Byron is brought to Vakhel Pasha's dark, mountainous castle). And like in most vampire novels, there's blood-drinking and casual sex (as expected with the notorious Byron) in this one as well, though it's relatively reserved for the most part, except for a few scenes that involve things like meat hooks, homosexuality, and incest--but none of them were very erotic or exciting, in my opinion. In summary: This isn't a book I'd necessarily recommend, unless you're a really big fan of Lord Byron and vampires.
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Summary: The quintessence of romantic vampires: Byron
Review: I personally thought this book to be very good. The book had its weak points and its strong points. The weak ones were the ending, the fact that the whole book is basically narration, and perhaps my wish to see Rebecca become a vampire. It all seems strange that he would tell her the story of his vampiric conception only to soften the blow of death. Yet, the good qualities of this book make up for its weaknesses and then some. The flow of Byrons journies are so immensely intruiging, that I couldn't put the book down. Many orignal and unexplored areas were ventured upon in this novel. Such as vampires who can exist during the light of day and their sexual indulgences by night. This book is exceptional and I would recommend it to any classicist or romantic like myself.
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