Reviews

The Lesser Dead by Christopher Buehlman

chancyb's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

imaginary_space's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

🦇🦇🦇🦇 4/5 underground-dwelling vampires

"He gets away with it because he's strong."
"This is the story of mankind."
"I thought you were going to be a priest at one point."
"Yes. But then I read the newspaper."

I love me some good vampire horror and Christopher Buehlman delivered. I wasn't sure if I would give it 3 or 4 stars, until the end, which pushed it firmly to 4 stars. 

A lot to like about this book:
  • the whole world building around the vampires, how they work as a species and (how they live in) the tunnels makes for great atmosphere from the get-go
  • the characters are very flawed and lovely
  • Cvetko
  • unreliable narrator
  • creepy kids are creepy and cute
  • the stakes exist and are very real
  • those nice scenes of real horror and tragedy in between, absolutely loved them
  • the ending really elevates the story

Why I didn't give it 5 stars:
  • Even though I liked the ending, it did feel a little like the author
    wasn't sure which ending would be best received by his audience and decided to offer all of them instead, placing the responsibility of whether you liked it or not on the reader.
  • I couldn't establish a strong emotional connection with the narrator, this might be different when I read it again in the future.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

toadfairy's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

crowhaven's review against another edition

Go to review page

Am just over vampires. I did enjoy "Those Across the River" but this one just didn't speak to me.

harrisoncrerar's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark lighthearted tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

mellabella's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I had read other Christopher Buehlman books. But this one made me a fan. The story is told by Joey Peacock. He was turned into a vampire at 14 by a former housekeeper named Margaret. Margaret was a tough Irish woman in life. She is a tough Alpha vampire in death. Margaret turns Joey for lying and saying she stole something from his mother. Causing her to lose her job. Her, Joey and a few other vampires live comfortably underneath NYC. They live by a set of rules. Then the children turn up. The children don't follow the same set of rules. They appear to not know what they are doing at first... All wide eyed innocence. But, Joey and company soon learn that they cannot be trusted. I was hoping for a different kind of ending. I also wish the author had used the NYC backdrop a little more. But, this is a great chilling, creepy (and sometimes humorous) read.

thevampslayer's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

bpelle0207's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

Enjoyed the narrators POV and wit but didn’t find the characters as scary as I’d hoped. Found this one just overall lacking.

iztrkfliers's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Fun urban fantasy-horror romp, wanted to read something quick and easy. Does what it does well, stuck between two stars and three stars for this one--two because of lack of staying power, but three because it was a genuinely enjoyable read and I went into this book wanting a chill vampire urban fantasy story anyways.

mudekate88's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5