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A review by cynicaltrilobite
The Lesser Dead by Christopher Buehlman
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
"Man, fuck them kids" ~ What Billy Bang presumably scrawled all over the walls when he gets back.
I didn't quite jive with this at first. A lot of it seemed shocking for the sake of shock, but the more that it went on, the more I became engrossed in these characters. Bar none, my favorite was Margaret. She could be an absolutely brutal and cruel woman, but you really do get the sense that she cares about her little group in that tough love kind of way. I also just love the idea of her, almost completely naked, draped in a bathrobe, and taking motherfuckers out with a shovel.
I think the biggest surprise of the whole thing was how Johnny Peacock evolved from being a main POV that I simply tolerated to being extremely invested in. Though.... there may be a reason for that. Spoilers.
The children were absolutely wonderful antagonists, and you wanted so badly for the little bastards to get what was coming to them. Alas, it's not meant to be. I also really appreciate how their power is so expertly shown off and it helps explain why they've kept this up so long. If you can charm a huge room full of people to throw themselves at adult vampires, well, killing a couple hundred folks and keeping it under wraps is no problem.
I won't say anymore about this as to do so would really ruin the overall experience and the huge twist. Just be aware that when you read this, it has damned near every trigger warning you can think of. These vampires are gross and not nice.
Wild that this is the third horror book I've read in a span of two months that has had parrots be a plot point.
I didn't quite jive with this at first. A lot of it seemed shocking for the sake of shock, but the more that it went on, the more I became engrossed in these characters. Bar none, my favorite was Margaret. She could be an absolutely brutal and cruel woman, but you really do get the sense that she cares about her little group in that tough love kind of way. I also just love the idea of her, almost completely naked, draped in a bathrobe, and taking motherfuckers out with a shovel.
I think the biggest surprise of the whole thing was how Johnny Peacock evolved from being a main POV that I simply tolerated to being extremely invested in. Though.... there may be a reason for that. Spoilers.
The children were absolutely wonderful antagonists, and you wanted so badly for the little bastards to get what was coming to them. Alas, it's not meant to be. I also really appreciate how their power is so expertly shown off and it helps explain why they've kept this up so long. If you can charm a huge room full of people to throw themselves at adult vampires, well, killing a couple hundred folks and keeping it under wraps is no problem.
I won't say anymore about this as to do so would really ruin the overall experience and the huge twist. Just be aware that when you read this, it has damned near every trigger warning you can think of. These vampires are gross and not nice.
Wild that this is the third horror book I've read in a span of two months that has had parrots be a plot point.