The Eyes of the Dead (A Vetala Cycle Novel) [Kindle Edition]

G.R. Yeates (Author)

Book Description

The critically-acclaimed debut by the author of the Vetala Cycle!

Vampires are loose in the trenches of the First World War.

Passchendaele, 1917. Private Reg Wilson is a man with a name but no memories. A soldier who remembers nothing of life before the fighting began. Until he comes to Black Wood, a tainted place that knows him intimately. There, he will discover a darkness buried long ago by time and dust. An appetite that has been awoken by war. A hunger that will feed upon his blood, his regrets and his worst fears. It will show him what he has forgotten. It will show him nightmare made flesh. And, before he dies, it will make him look deep into the eyes of the dead.

This edition also includes:
* Deleted Scenes
* Bonus Short Story: The Last Post

Yeates, has an assured writing style, that when combined with a natural storytelling ability has resulted in a very satisfying novel...There is a great balance between the horrors of warfare, and the horror of the supernatural, in this case vampires...Yeates has done the almost impossible and brought a fresh new spin on the vampire. ~ Jim Mcleod, Gingernuts of Horror reviews ~

A smashing success......this is truly horrifying, in a deep and disturbing way that very few manage to write......I would recommend it to horror lovers, as I find it to be a chilling masterpiece of the genre ~ Livia, Butterfly-o-Meter Book Reviews ~

It is evident that the author is a very gifted writer; he has an outstanding command of the English language – his narrative is vivid, no detail is left to the imagination, the scene is set for you with every element described right down to minutiae and to complete perfection ~ Cathy Speight, Cath 'n' Kindle Book Reviews ~

G.R. Yeates does a masterful job of combining the horrors of the First World War with the things that nightmares are made of. ~ Ann Giardina Magee, Booze and Books Blog ~

Product Details

• File Size: 267 KB
• Print Length: 174 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0052BPGTM
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #606,991 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Vampires and Nightmares and Rats, oh my! May 27, 2011

By andy angel

Format:Kindle Edition

A book that combines the horror of vampires with the horrors of war - and does it well.
Three soldiers (one seriously wounded) rest up for the night in a damaged church near Passchendales, Belgium and one uncovers nastiness in the crypt....
This book, set in WW1 Belgium conveys the feel of its time very well. I wasn't sure about it because I'm not a fan of 'war books' but I'm glad I did. You can almost feel the mud and grime of the trenches and hear the bombs whistling overhead.
Later the scene moves to a field hospital and again, the desriptions and characters really stand out and pull you into the story.
If I have one teeny moan, it does seem a bit wordy in places but not enough to take anything away from this book.
I'll definatly be looking out for more from this author

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic! May 24, 2011

By AnnBoozeandBooksBlogspot

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Horror is a much broader genre than most people realize. I think it is the best one for holding up a mirror to humanity, and allowing us a look at everything the human race is capable of doing. G. R. Yeates does just that with WWI as a setting for The Eyes of the Dead, the first book in the Vetala Cycle. He brings to life the horror of trench warfare in a way stayed with me long after I had finished reading. Yeates uses his mastery of the English language to paint a bleak picture of a hellish time in world history. Another unusual thing about this book, and the whole trilogy, is the Vetala themselves. They are vampires based on Hindu mythology, so they are quite different from what a western audience would be expecting. Yeates uses them and their more abstract nature to bring nightmares to life. This is horror at it's best; it is both frighting and thought provoking. Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Something wicked has arrived May 29, 2012

By TrueJDK

Format:Kindle Edition

There's some very strong positive points to this book, particularly so for a debut author.
Yeates has an obvious passion for WWI, and it shows. He also as a dark and furtive imagination, coming up with several graphic and disturbing scenes throughout the book. Giving a new and original take on vampires (and thankfully, there's no "sparkling in the daylight" here) is a difficult task these days, but again, Yeates has managed it.
However, where there is positive, there is also some negative. But bear with me here.
Personally, I found the characters a little lacking (and frequently brief) making it harder to invest in them, and the overarching story a little muddied and weak. Particularly the descriptions of the Vetala.
However. This is the first book in a series. I strongly suspect that reading subsequent volumes will remove some of those criticisms, particularly as Yeates is very gifted at creating those kind of disturbing images which stay with you for some time (rather than a sudden shock, or a description which goes for repulsion for its own sake). This strikes me as the work of an author in it for a long-term payoff, with your investment in each volume bringing greater and greater reading pleasure.

All in all, a nice debut (which is anything but nice), which should lead into a strong climax. Original and disturbing, I'd certainly recommend it.

More About the Author

G.R. Yeates is a critically-acclaimed author who has published a series of horror novels set in WWI entitled The Vetala Cycle. He has also published two literary horror novellas and appeared in anthologies from Dark Continents Publishing and Cutting Block Press.

He was born in Essex, England and was brought up in seaside towns along the South-East coast. He studied English Literature and Media at university before spending a year in China teaching English as a foreign language.

For information and updates about G.R. Yeates, visit him at www.gryeates.co.uk, find him on Facebook on his G.R. Yeates Horror Author Page and follow him on Twitter: @_gryeates_