The Vampyre - Tom Holland

Vampires have got to be the greatest fictional monster ever. Supremely powerful and vulnerable they represent something repellant yet inexplicably tantalising. It is largely for this reason that they came to be used as a symbol in modernist writing. Bram Stoker, for many considered the father of modernism, is perhaps the most famous proponent of the vampire, having created the Dracula myth as we largely know it today. And it certainly has its origins ...
...he was not the only one to see it as a great plot device and vampires crop up again and again in literature and artwork throughout the early decades of the 20th century used as a symbol for decadence at its height - for a vampire has it all, everlasting life, supreme eroticism and a thirst for forbidden experiences, yet is ultimately doomed to destroy everything it loves, a tantalising, compelling and tragic character. This is what makes the premise ...

x_elf_x 03.09.2002 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Vampyre - Tom Holland

"It was the custom then for men such as myself, well bred and hopelessly in debt, to perform a tour of the Continent ... I wanted to sample new pleasures, new sensations, new delights..." History tells us that the close friends of Lord Byron burned his memoirs to hide the truth about his life and travels, wary that they may shock the outside world, this has left many to their imagination The book sets off along the darkened streets of 20th century ...
...world. We follow the actions of a descendent of the great and mysterious Lord Byron as she tries to track what she believes to be his memoirs after being told by a ghastly stranger that they still exist. Her mother has already been consumed by curiosity and has disappeared in her own search leaving no trace or clue to her whereabouts. The story leads you through happiness and sorrow, hope and despair as you fall backward and forward through the centuries ...

shanklin 02.09.2005 · Read full review
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Review of The Vampyre - Tom Holland

...a book on love and the terror and heartache of immortality. The book surrounds the immortal life of Lord Byron, a vampyre. Who struggles to deal with his lost loves, fiery passions and the heartache of who he used to be and who he has now become. It is a must read for any student of language or writing. The structure his masterful and the plot fantastic. I have read it more than three times and class it as one of my fave books. If you like horror ...
...read, read. I can't stress the quality any more than I have. The book has a lot of content and details for people to pick up on everytime they read it. There is always something that you have missed, that is just plain brilliant. The quote of the book, for me anyway, is 'A man can be a man and not be any the les a monster', A truly great book. ...

lethalkisses 15.07.2000 · Read full review
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Review of The Vampyre - Tom Holland

Tom Holland’s The Vampyre, doesn’t just tell the tale of a mere bloodsucker. No, it deals with the life, death, and afterlife, of Gordon, Lord Byron himself. After the young man comes into wealth he finds himself of a journey through Europe which brings him in contact with one of the eldest vampires... Byron falls in love, and “dies” while trying to save her from the clutches of this monster. And then becomes one himself. A tasteful, talented monster, ...

Misha13 28.06.2000 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of The Vampyre - Tom Holland