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The Lesser Dead

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The Lesser Dead

By: Christopher Buehlman
Narrated by: Christopher Buehlman
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Christopher Buehlman excels in twisting the familiar into newfound dread in his genre-bending novels. Now the acclaimed author of Those Across the River delivers his most disquieting tale yet.

The secret is, vampires are real and I am one. The secret is, I'm stealing from you what is most truly yours and I'm not sorry.…

New York City in 1978 is a dirty, dangerous place to live - and die. Joey Peacock knows this as well as anybody - he has spent the last 40 years as an adolescent vampire, perfecting the routine he now enjoys: womanizing in punk clubs and discotheques, feeding by night, and sleeping by day with others of his kind in the macabre labyrinth under the city's sidewalks.

The subways are his playground and his highway, shuttling him throughout Manhattan to bleed the unsuspecting in the Sheep Meadow of Central Park or in the backseats of Checker cabs, or even those in their own apartments who are too hypnotized by sitcoms to notice him opening their windows. It's almost too easy.

Until one night he sees them hunting on his beloved subway. The children with the merry eyes. Vampires, like him…or not like him. Whatever they are, whatever their appearance means, the undead in the tunnels of Manhattan are not as safe as they once were.

And neither are the rest of us.

©2014 Christopher Buehlman (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Classics Fantasy Scary Vampires Horror Fiction

Critic reviews

"As much F. Scott Fitzgerald as Dean Koontz." ( New York Times best-selling author Patricia Briggs)

Featured Article: The top 100 horror books of all time


This list encompasses the full spectrum of what horror can be—campfire-worthy tales, stomach-churning gore, and incisive social commentary. The classics are accounted for, but it also spotlights more recent titles, because that’s the nature of the genre—it is as perennial as it is ever-evolving, conjuring whatever frights most haunt our collective consciousness. Each title does have one thing in common: It makes for devilishly good listening. So cut the lights and press play—if you dare.

Featured Article The top 100 horror books of all time
Captivating Storytelling • Fresh Vampire Perspective • Exceptional Voice Acting • Nuanced Characters • Dark Humor
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Let me preface this by saying, as a general rule, I don’t “do” contemporary vampire novels. To be honest, pop-culture has all-but ripped the fangs out of vampires. Few and far between are tales of these monstrous masters of the undead that are actually visceral and scary. I want my vampires to be frightening. I don’t want to fall in love with them. I want to be afraid of them, in those little cowering monkey-places that keep me scared of the dark. I picked this book up on a recommendation and I’m glad I did. Simply put, it is my favorite book of 2016 so far, and in the vein of “scary vampires” it’s a triumph that does not disappoint. Now, the rest of the story…

I picked up a copy of “The Lesser Dead” on Audible Audiobook and not only was it my favorite novel of 2016 to-date, it’s also one of the best audiobooks I’ve listened to in years. The book is narrated by the author Christopher Buehlman, and in my experience, authors generally give mediocre performances at best as narrators. Not so with Buehlman’s performance of The Lesser Dead. His characterization and dramatic performance is absolutely first rate. I’ll be comparing other audiobook performances to this one for a very long time to come.

The story itself hit two personal home-runs for me right out of the gate.

First, the vampires were scary. Dark, hungry, scary things that lived and hunted in the shadows of New York. And much to my joy, the only got scarier as the book went along. Which, frankly, was a hell of an accomplishment on the part of Buehlman. More than that though, the characters themselves, the people they’d been in life and the creatures they became in undeath, they were refreshingly, and even at times, upsettingly real. These weren’t all pampered little whitebread vampiric offspring of thoughtful doctors and upper middle class souls. Most of them had raw, dirty, and utterly believable origins. Buehlman did a phenomenal job of bringing the lives they had lived (while living) into their existence as vampires in the underworld ruins of New York City.

Second, it was a period piece, and a masterfully done one at that, set in one of my favorite, iconic settings – 1970s New York. Buehlman’s narrative of New York was alive with the sights, sounds, and smells of the city’s late Sodom and Gamora period. The dirty New York from the ’70s people prefer to talk about in the past-tense.
Remember when I said that Buehlman’s vampires only get scarier as the book goes along? I mean it. Follow the blood flowing in the cracks and gutters to the very end, and I promise you, your skin will crawl while the Rolling Stones “Sympathy For The Devil” echoes in your head. Don’t trust the children…

A solid-gold 5 out of 5 star read. A glorious, nasty reminder of why you fear the dark…

Glorious, nasty reminder of why you fear the dark

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I feel like I’ve been on some dazed and confused, crazy seventies hippie vampire wild ride! Such description and vivid imagery. I mean this book is weird, and in that weirdness is absolute greatness. You will love this book and it’s definitely worth the credit. I will be reading this mans other books. Lol I’m pretty sure all of them. And wow he narrates this his this his self. I’ve only ever heard one other author narrate is own work and it be decent. This guy knocks it out of the park. R.C Bray, Luke Daniels, Sean Runnette, or Ray Porter could not have done it better.

Wow!

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It was made better by the Author reading the book himself! Loved how he played each character perfectly & couldn't tell it was the same person

I loved it!

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I don’t know what I was expecting but this story gave me something entertaining. First, the author is the narrator and does an amazing job. Second, there’s a lot of uncomfortable topics handled well in my opinion. Cultural and racial bigotry, domestic violence, violence against and by children. And third, a story very different than anything else I’ve read about vampires. There’s no sparkling in this story and no deep love story, oh no. Low level horror for sure but not so graphic that it made me flinch. Not one I expect to be sequel material so it’s a good palate cleanser between series.

A different take on vampires

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This is the best vampire novel that I have read in a very long time.

Outstanding.

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I don't read too much horror, except for the Exorcist (which is mighty excellent and also read by the author).Normally, I get stuck in a loop of Jane Austen, the same books over and over with different readers...even the bad one. Or the Patrick O'Brien series, (ALWAYS Patrick Tull....whatdya want my Dad a Brit).


I can't tell you how happy I am to have found this author. I'm in love! On to the next!

Supremely entertaining horror poetry.

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This was my third Buehlman book, and I’m gobsmacked. I didn’t know what to expect, because his genres and writing styles vary so much. I didn’t love Those Across the River. I bought it because Amazon wouldn’t stop advertising it to me, basically forcing me to give in to curiosity. I liked it, but then Between Two Fires came to me by word of mouth. That book was totally rad! I’d never read anything like it! Was this the same Christopher Buehlman? Only one way to find out, right? Read another one. The Lesser Dead is one of the most imaginative, darkly vivid piece of craftwork I’ve come across. It also scared me, which doesn’t happen often. Buehlman went deep, found the fear. His narration is excellent too, which makes me conclude that he is just one of those rare living geniuses who we need to protect, honor, and tell our friends about.

Blown six ways till Sunday!

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Buehlman has hit it out of the park with this engaging, funny, and credible take on a late 70s NYC vampire and his weird clan as they face a deadly "new" foe. His narration is brilliant as well. Highly recommended.

surprisingly entertaining and fun

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That is the most fun I've had with a quirky narrative since Eaters of the Dead. Wacky, irreverent, compelling, engaging and disturbing. Drug me around in the mud and hung me up to dry somewhere in rural Alabama. Good s**t.

Brilliant and whack, more please?

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The narrator's and story made this the most enjoyable audiobook I've yet listened to. I can't recall the last time a book so dark made me genuinely laugh so often. I highly recommend it.

Bloody fun

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