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damesies's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
chellecmorgan's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
youraveragedave's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Love a new take on vampires. And it's self-aware of vampires as a tale or story. We get gritty 1970s NYC, vampires, and maybe an older type of vampire. I'm the opening of the book the narrator tells us he's unreliable, which pays off in the Coda. Also the author breaks the fourth wall at one point and tells us to stop reading for a happy ending, just awesome stuff.
My 2nd Buehlman and it's also a banger. The audiobook is read excellently by the author.
My 2nd Buehlman and it's also a banger. The audiobook is read excellently by the author.
bigjohnspud's review against another edition
dark
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
daniellie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
chancyb's review against another edition
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
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Pedophilia, Racism, and Classism
toadfairy's review against another edition
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
harrisoncrerar's review against another edition
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