Lord Of The Dead [Paperback]

Tom Holland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1998

Famed 19th-century poet and rake Lord Byron travels to Greece and becomes the world's most formidable vampire--entering a dark, intoxicating world of ancient arts and scorching excesses of evil--in this offbeat book by the author of "Slave of My Thirst".

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lord Byron as a vampire? That notion may not explain the aberrant behavior of the much-revered Romantic poet, but it definitely provides a racy foundation for Holland's engaging and sophisticated debut novel. The story begins in London in the present, as lovely young Rebecca Carville petitions her lawyer for the keys to the family crypt, where she hopes to find the sole existing copy of Byron's memoirs. Instead, she finds Byron himself, who proceeds to tell her the story of how he became a vampire during his journey to Greece. The first half of Byron's account remains within the conventions of the horror genre, as the great poet desperately fights the efforts of the powerful Greek vardoulacha, who eventually drains his blood. Once Byron begins to explore his new nature, however, Holland embarks on a remarkable literary journey, touching on how the poet's burden might have affected his relationships with the women in his life as well as his problematic dealings with Shelley. Other subplots recall the early Anne Rice novels, particularly the sections in which Byron tries to unite the vampires and help the Greeks in their revolt against the Turks. But the most compelling portions of the book probe the links between blood and family that surface when Byron discovers that he must take the life of a relative in order to maintain his youthful beauty. Both the period detail and the biographical material are exquisitely rendered, and the shocking revelation that brings the story full circle and places Rebecca Carville in extreme peril makes for a nice surprise ending. With this striking, highly original debut, Holland offers a valuable addition to the vampire legend. 75,000 first printing; $100,000 ad/promo; BOMC and QPB selection; simultaneous Simon & Schuster Audio.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Noted poet Lord Byron recounts to a frightened young woman the harrowing events that led to his becoming a vampire of tremendous power, a true Lord of the Dead. While traveling through 19th-century Greece, he was befriended by a centuries-old Turk, who first lured him into the vampire life and then seemingly murdered the one woman Byron had ever loved, the beautiful slave Haidee. Holland's uneven first novel closely follows the actual events of Byron's life. It also adds an interesting slant on the vampire world by exploring its darker side. Interwoven throughout is a sad and strange love story. Most fiction collections will want to acquire this BOMC and QPB selection.?Patricia Altner, Information Seekers, Bowie, Md.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books (July 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671024116
• ISBN-13: 978-0671024116
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #339,145 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The downward spiral into sadness, April 7, 2003

By 

Azurestrangelove "Life in the So-Called Space... (Upstate NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lord of the Dead (Mass Market Paperback)

I would like to distance myself from all of the negative criticisms of this novel; as valid as they may truly be.

I am not a 'reader' in the sense of actually liking to pick up a book and read it as a source of leisure and entertainment and even when it does happen, I am rarely if at all convinced that what I was reading was indeed a good use of my time. But, one day I bought a lot of vampire novels to read to pass the time at work. All of which were terribly written, full of cliches, gory descriptions and dull charactors. All except this one.

The book starts off with Ms. Rebecca Carville, a strong willed young woman who conives her way into aquiring the keys to the Chapel of St. Jude, which has been locked and forbidden to be entered by anyone for many years. She hopes to uncover the truth of what happened to her Mother, who disappeared when Rebecca was only 4 years old. Despite frantic warnings not to enter the chapel, Rebecca desends into the shadowy depths only to find herself in the prescence of powerful and radiantly beautiful vampire,Lord Byron.
From that point on, the point of view is shifted from 3rd person to 1st, as Lord Byron tells Rebecca the story of how he came to be who he is today. Living the life of a monk whose greatest pleasure is the sin of eating pork, The 21 year old Lord Byron becomes bored with his life and sets out traveling the east with his friend, Hobhouse.
While in Greece, they accidentally are led to off course to Aheron, which is known as "The gateway to Hell". Entranced by a mysterious stranger, Byron decides to continue to Aheron while Hobhouse returns to Greece. He falls in love with a beautiful slave named Haidee who has been enslaved by The power Pasha, the dread-lord of the Aheron. The Pasha is quite taken by Byron from the start and wants Lord Byron to be his heir. While staying at the Pasha's palace, Byron is visited in his dreams by the Pasha, who tempts him with hidden truths and ideals and immortality. It isn't long before Byron finds himself being treated like a slave; his mind clouded by vivid dreams, and strange marks and bruises appearing daily all over his body.
But in their love stems hope and Byron and Haidee plot their escape. Will they make it safely out of Aheron? Sadly the end is only the beginning.

As a vardoulacha( vampire ), Byron drowns himself in the dark side of life { ie: Booze, sex, and more sex, and not to mention a little murder through draining of blood but ONLY for necessity. } He relishes in the pleasures and powers that he now posesses, but soon realizes that the benefits will never outway the downfalls of his state. He has to drink blood or he will shrivel up and feel agonizing pain but never die, in order to maintain his youth he must drink the blood of someone who shares his blood, and the greatest curse of all; that he will forever damn everyone he loves.

I think what it is that I like so much about this book as opposed to other books of the genre is how You first get to relate to Byron as the flawed, but heroic and good-hearted human being. Instead of just having him swoop down from the darkness as this vile, evil-spirited heartless creature. Byron has a very strong sense of conscience, even when he begins to distance himself from the life he once lived and accepts a life of terror, murder, and the curses he will always posess, through it all he always maintains a very mortal conscience that is always evident by everything he does. It's very sad to watch the events unfold, the regret he feels for what he can no longer control. This will please many with it's blending of Horror, Science Fiction,and Adventure with an interesting mix of romance and melancholy. Very well done. Worth more than just one read.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Started Out Ok, But Grew Tedious, April 14, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Lord of the Dead (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Decent Premise, Mediocre Execution, January 25, 2010

By 

Jack Quincy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lord Of The Dead (Paperback)

The premise of the novel is certainly entertaining -- take a Romantic poet, one famous for his debauchery, and make him a vampire. While we're at it, why not introduce a few other historical (literary) personages who are also vampires?

Unfortunately, that's about as far as the book goes. There's plenty of sex and violence -- with Byron, what else would you expect? -- but the novel is little more than a retelling of Byron's historical life through the lens of vampirism: when he was in Italy and Greece he was apparently not only having sex with everything that moved, but also drinking blood continually. An amusing thought, perhaps, but little more than that.

What the novel really needs is to go beyond this concept and add a plot beyond its idea that Byron is a vampire. Without that, the characters are flat -- with no plot, there's no real way for them to develop -- and the reader is left wondering, "And, why do I care about any of this?" If you want a quick read with a few literary references and a healthy helping of sex, this is your book. If you want a vampire novel that is more than that, I suggest that you look elsewhere.