Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Grafton Books (1989), Paperback
Description
World Fantasy Award Winner Michael Crawford is forced to flee when discovers his bride brutally murdered in their wedding bed. Yet it is not the revengeful townspeople he fears but the deadly embrace of the malignant spirit that is claiming him as her bridegroom. Crawford will not travel alone; soon he is aided by his fellow victims, the greatest poets of his day--Byron, Keats, and Shelley. Together they embark upon a desperate journey, crisscrossing Europe and battling the vampiric fiend who seeks her ultimate pleasure in their ravaged bodies and imperiled souls. Telling a secret history of passion and terror, Tim Powers (The Anubis Gates, Declare, Three Days to Never) masterfully recasts the tragic lives of the Romantics into a uniquely frightening tale. Back in print for the first time since 1994, this newly revised edition of The Stress of Her Regard will thrill both Powers fans and newcomers to this gripping Gothic tour de force.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member beserene
I have already indicated my love for Tim Powers on numerous occasions across LibraryThing, but if I had not loved him before, if my life had by some ungodly circumstance been empty of Tim Powers up to this point, this book would make me love him. (And, by "him", I of course mean his work. Sort
This is an intense literary-historical fantasy that challenges the reader with a wealth of allusions and deeply conceived and constructed ideas. The premise--which explains some of the odd behavior and fascinations of nineteenth century Romantic poets Byron, Shelley and Keats by positing the notion that they were all interacting, to some degree, with vampiric supernatural beings spun out of European fable and myth--is complex enough. Add to that a protagonist embroiled in a murder plot, early obstetrics, and his own tragic past, as well as a complicated woman who is so much more than a love interest, and you have a rich loam of story into which the reader's mind roots and grows.
There is not a moment in this book where the reader stops thinking. While Powers constructs a plot with the ups and downs of a roller coaster, at no point are we simply "along for the ride". Every page engages one's rational faculties, philosophical perspective, or emotional core. I, for one, found myself fascinated even by the epigraphs that began each chapter, which alluded both to the novel's themes and to the historical personages Powers machinated into the book.
Powers has said that he writes inside the spaces of history -- according to WikiPedia, he states "I made it an ironclad rule that I could not change or disregard any of the recorded facts, nor rearrange any days of the calendar – and then I tried to figure out what momentous but unrecorded fact could explain them all." Rather than taking liberties with the record, he looks for the patterns and the mysterious moments in the lives of particular figures, then speculates what fantastical images or events could inhabit that space. In this novel, one is especially conscious of that method -- the extracts from letters, poetic epigraphs, and precise dates are all reminders, but so is the realism of the characters and their environments. Even though I have read and taught Romantic poetry, I had not previously thought of the poets in such a human way as I did while reading their fictional endeavors. Perhaps that seems strange, but Powers' rich renderings make even the most exotically mythic encounters seem possible.
The novel is not an easy read, by any measure; it is a book that asks you to take your time and read with consideration. It also, as is typical of Powers, contains much more than one expects; there were multiple moments, while reading, that I thought the climax had come and gone, only to find that there were 200 or 100 or 50 pages yet to go and the most intense moment was just around the corner. There were even, again, as often happens with Powers, moments where I asked aloud, "what else can he possibly fit into this book?!" While that rarely felt overdone, in the big picture, it can be exhausting for an unprepared reader. When I began this novel, I did not anticipate how epic in scope it would be; by the end, I felt I had read a lifetime, not just a book.
The novel closes with one of the most elegant last lines I have ever read -- which I will not spoil here -- but there are few books that offer such satisfyingly subtle, melancholic, yet somehow sweet endings. Lines like that resonate long after the book is closed, and Powers is full of them. For sheer craft and style alone, this book is worth reading, but it is also so much more than that. An absolutely necessary read, especially for fans of thought-provoking fantasy, historical fiction with a supernatural twist, or even that fan of serious literary fiction who doesn't think fantasy can do it right.
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of.)This is an intense literary-historical fantasy that challenges the reader with a wealth of allusions and deeply conceived and constructed ideas. The premise--which explains some of the odd behavior and fascinations of nineteenth century Romantic poets Byron, Shelley and Keats by positing the notion that they were all interacting, to some degree, with vampiric supernatural beings spun out of European fable and myth--is complex enough. Add to that a protagonist embroiled in a murder plot, early obstetrics, and his own tragic past, as well as a complicated woman who is so much more than a love interest, and you have a rich loam of story into which the reader's mind roots and grows.
There is not a moment in this book where the reader stops thinking. While Powers constructs a plot with the ups and downs of a roller coaster, at no point are we simply "along for the ride". Every page engages one's rational faculties, philosophical perspective, or emotional core. I, for one, found myself fascinated even by the epigraphs that began each chapter, which alluded both to the novel's themes and to the historical personages Powers machinated into the book.
Powers has said that he writes inside the spaces of history -- according to WikiPedia, he states "I made it an ironclad rule that I could not change or disregard any of the recorded facts, nor rearrange any days of the calendar – and then I tried to figure out what momentous but unrecorded fact could explain them all." Rather than taking liberties with the record, he looks for the patterns and the mysterious moments in the lives of particular figures, then speculates what fantastical images or events could inhabit that space. In this novel, one is especially conscious of that method -- the extracts from letters, poetic epigraphs, and precise dates are all reminders, but so is the realism of the characters and their environments. Even though I have read and taught Romantic poetry, I had not previously thought of the poets in such a human way as I did while reading their fictional endeavors. Perhaps that seems strange, but Powers' rich renderings make even the most exotically mythic encounters seem possible.
The novel is not an easy read, by any measure; it is a book that asks you to take your time and read with consideration. It also, as is typical of Powers, contains much more than one expects; there were multiple moments, while reading, that I thought the climax had come and gone, only to find that there were 200 or 100 or 50 pages yet to go and the most intense moment was just around the corner. There were even, again, as often happens with Powers, moments where I asked aloud, "what else can he possibly fit into this book?!" While that rarely felt overdone, in the big picture, it can be exhausting for an unprepared reader. When I began this novel, I did not anticipate how epic in scope it would be; by the end, I felt I had read a lifetime, not just a book.
The novel closes with one of the most elegant last lines I have ever read -- which I will not spoil here -- but there are few books that offer such satisfyingly subtle, melancholic, yet somehow sweet endings. Lines like that resonate long after the book is closed, and Powers is full of them. For sheer craft and style alone, this book is worth reading, but it is also so much more than that. An absolutely necessary read, especially for fans of thought-provoking fantasy, historical fiction with a supernatural twist, or even that fan of serious literary fiction who doesn't think fantasy can do it right.
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LibraryThing member fyrefly98
Summary: In 1816, on the night before his wedding, young doctor Michael Crawford places his wedding band on the hand of a statue so that he wouldn't lose it in the dark and stormy decorative garden. However, the next morning, the statue - and his ring - are gone. The wedding proceeds anyways, but
Review: When I was looking for my next book to read, I saw this title on my Kindle and thought "Oh, hey, historical fiction and vampires, should be fun, and totally appropriate for an "I-am-not-overfond-of-air-travel-so-I-get-to-read-trashy-books-as-a-reward-when-I'm-on-a-plane" book." Right? Right? Wrong. So very wrong. This book was dense, complicated, and twisty in a way that made it really difficult for me to keep a lot of things straight. It wasn't a bad read, but it was a read that required more brain power and undivided attention than I really had free to give it, and it was also a lot more serious and dense than I was expecting.
A lot of this is because Powers's worldbuilding is really, really complex. I love the fact that he incorporated all kinds of folklore and mythology and history into a single cohesive idea. I also love the fact that he managed to work this story into the real history, into the lives of real people, without (insofar as I know; I am by no means an expert - or even a well-informed amateur - on the period and people involved) altering what's known from the historical record. He manages to pull quotes from the writings (published and personal) of the romantic poets and their contemporaries that support his version of events, and weaves it all together so well that I started to think "What if this really were what happened? What if this is how it works? Could I prove that it wasn't true?" It's rare that a book manages to pull that off, but I absolutely love when one does (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is another example, although they're otherwise not particularly similar.)
But the problem with all that complexity is that it makes for very confusing reading if you're not going slowly and paying attention, and sometimes even when you are. I spent a lot of the book not entirely clear on the differences between an individual who is born into the "family", vs. those that marry into it, vs. those that are outside but eager to attract a lamia, vs. those that are attracted to the humans who are lamia-touched, etc. Not to mention the extent of lamia powers, what they can and can't do, and what they do or don't do to humans, how they're related to the Graeae, how the Graeae work to influence probility, and so on. Even after having slogged through the entire 400-odd pages, I'm *still* not sure I understand it well enough to give a coherent explanation or summary. I'm sure it all does fit together - nothing in this book gave the impression of being random or ill-thought-out - but the underlying order didn't always come across clearly on the page.
This detail-packed but not always clearly delineated style came across in the pacing as well. There are certainly some very tautly suspenseful and effectively creepy scenes, in particular most of the confrontations with the lamia. The initial scene, where Michael puts the wedding ring on a statue, which then closes its hand when he's not looking, was scary enough that I didn't want to read it after dark... and not just because it reminded me of the Weeping Angels from Doctor Who. (That sure didn't help, though.) There were other scenes that were just as good; the problem was that I found a lot of the interstitial parts much slower going. It may be because I'm not particularly familiar with the romantic poets, or it may just have been the style of the book, but I had a really hard time connecting with any of the characters, which made it difficult to really get invested in the parts of the story where nothing much was happening.
In short, this book took a lot of very interesting ideas and wove them all together in a creative and fascinating way, but the actual execution of the story itself, while perfectly fine on a technical level, just didn't always work for me. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: This would probably be best for people who like their fantasy more on the literary side, both in terms of the density and complexity of the prose, as well as in the sense that it involves actual figures from literary history.
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Michael's relief is short-lived, as during their first night together, his new bride is murdered in a terrifyingly gruesome manner. Suspicion of course immediately falls upon Michael, who flees, and winds up in hiding with a young medical student named Keats, who introduces Michael to the world into which his has inadvertently stumbled. Because the statue was no statue, but rather a lamia, a member of an ancient race of beings that have been called everything from vampires to nephilim, and a creature to which Crawford is now inextricably bound. Interactions with the lamia are not uncommon in 19th century Europe, and as Crawford travels on, he meets several others so afflicted, including the poets Byron and Shelley. But is the benefit of binding oneself to a lamia really worth the terrible cost that it can exact?Review: When I was looking for my next book to read, I saw this title on my Kindle and thought "Oh, hey, historical fiction and vampires, should be fun, and totally appropriate for an "I-am-not-overfond-of-air-travel-so-I-get-to-read-trashy-books-as-a-reward-when-I'm-on-a-plane" book." Right? Right? Wrong. So very wrong. This book was dense, complicated, and twisty in a way that made it really difficult for me to keep a lot of things straight. It wasn't a bad read, but it was a read that required more brain power and undivided attention than I really had free to give it, and it was also a lot more serious and dense than I was expecting.
A lot of this is because Powers's worldbuilding is really, really complex. I love the fact that he incorporated all kinds of folklore and mythology and history into a single cohesive idea. I also love the fact that he managed to work this story into the real history, into the lives of real people, without (insofar as I know; I am by no means an expert - or even a well-informed amateur - on the period and people involved) altering what's known from the historical record. He manages to pull quotes from the writings (published and personal) of the romantic poets and their contemporaries that support his version of events, and weaves it all together so well that I started to think "What if this really were what happened? What if this is how it works? Could I prove that it wasn't true?" It's rare that a book manages to pull that off, but I absolutely love when one does (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is another example, although they're otherwise not particularly similar.)
But the problem with all that complexity is that it makes for very confusing reading if you're not going slowly and paying attention, and sometimes even when you are. I spent a lot of the book not entirely clear on the differences between an individual who is born into the "family", vs. those that marry into it, vs. those that are outside but eager to attract a lamia, vs. those that are attracted to the humans who are lamia-touched, etc. Not to mention the extent of lamia powers, what they can and can't do, and what they do or don't do to humans, how they're related to the Graeae, how the Graeae work to influence probility, and so on. Even after having slogged through the entire 400-odd pages, I'm *still* not sure I understand it well enough to give a coherent explanation or summary. I'm sure it all does fit together - nothing in this book gave the impression of being random or ill-thought-out - but the underlying order didn't always come across clearly on the page.
This detail-packed but not always clearly delineated style came across in the pacing as well. There are certainly some very tautly suspenseful and effectively creepy scenes, in particular most of the confrontations with the lamia. The initial scene, where Michael puts the wedding ring on a statue, which then closes its hand when he's not looking, was scary enough that I didn't want to read it after dark... and not just because it reminded me of the Weeping Angels from Doctor Who. (That sure didn't help, though.) There were other scenes that were just as good; the problem was that I found a lot of the interstitial parts much slower going. It may be because I'm not particularly familiar with the romantic poets, or it may just have been the style of the book, but I had a really hard time connecting with any of the characters, which made it difficult to really get invested in the parts of the story where nothing much was happening.
In short, this book took a lot of very interesting ideas and wove them all together in a creative and fascinating way, but the actual execution of the story itself, while perfectly fine on a technical level, just didn't always work for me. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: This would probably be best for people who like their fantasy more on the literary side, both in terms of the density and complexity of the prose, as well as in the sense that it involves actual figures from literary history.
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LibraryThing member williemeikle
One of my favorite Powers books, and that's saying something, this ranks up there with THE ANUBIS GATES and LAST CALL in the pantheon of greatness.
Again, it's a simple enough idea -- what if the muses of the great Romantic poets were actual supernatural beings, a kind of psychic vampire? From that
As ever with Powers the language is lyrical, the imagery is staggeringly well conceived and the characters meticulously drawn. There are majestic supernatural set pieces high in the Alps and in the narrow canals and palaces of Venice, musings on the nature of reality, and tying it all together a fractured love story that starts, and ends, in an English pub garden.
It's such a beautifully put together novel. I'm in envy of the man's talent.
Again, it's a simple enough idea -- what if the muses of the great Romantic poets were actual supernatural beings, a kind of psychic vampire? From that
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Powers imagination takes flight and we get Nephilim, Byron, Shelley, Keats and all manner of innocent bystanders pulled under the influence of ancient creatures, Lamia, trying to find a foothold again in the world.As ever with Powers the language is lyrical, the imagery is staggeringly well conceived and the characters meticulously drawn. There are majestic supernatural set pieces high in the Alps and in the narrow canals and palaces of Venice, musings on the nature of reality, and tying it all together a fractured love story that starts, and ends, in an English pub garden.
It's such a beautifully put together novel. I'm in envy of the man's talent.
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LibraryThing member bunwat
On the plus side, I'm starting to enjoy the Powers thing of taking some known historical characters and events and weaving an outrageous story around the interstices. I used to own a book about writing called "Telling Lies for Fun and Profit," (good book btw), and I think the Tim Powers book about
In this case, its a mock gothic set in the early 1800's on the premise that for 800 years many of the major European poets got their gift from being victims of an elder race of non human intelligences that are sort of vampires, sort of Melusine snakes, sort of incubus/succubus shape shifting rock monsters. The story centers on the efforts of Shelly, Byron, Keats, various of their associates and a guy named Michael Crawford teaming up to try win free of the creatures.
Lots of this is great fun. So that's the plus. The minus is that I felt like it went on entirely too long and eventually it just wore out its welcome with me. The first three times they were in a pitched battle with monsters trying to devour them, I was right in there rooting for them. By the seventh trip through the same territory I was a little tired of the landscape and starting to think about what might be for lunch.
Still, I think its well worth reading, and there are many reviewers for whom it clearly didn't wear thin. So if it sounds interesting I say check it out and see how your mileage varies.
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writing would be "Inventing Wacky Conspiracy Theories for Fun and Profit."In this case, its a mock gothic set in the early 1800's on the premise that for 800 years many of the major European poets got their gift from being victims of an elder race of non human intelligences that are sort of vampires, sort of Melusine snakes, sort of incubus/succubus shape shifting rock monsters. The story centers on the efforts of Shelly, Byron, Keats, various of their associates and a guy named Michael Crawford teaming up to try win free of the creatures.
Lots of this is great fun. So that's the plus. The minus is that I felt like it went on entirely too long and eventually it just wore out its welcome with me. The first three times they were in a pitched battle with monsters trying to devour them, I was right in there rooting for them. By the seventh trip through the same territory I was a little tired of the landscape and starting to think about what might be for lunch.
Still, I think its well worth reading, and there are many reviewers for whom it clearly didn't wear thin. So if it sounds interesting I say check it out and see how your mileage varies.
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LibraryThing member craso
Have you ever wondered why romantic poets lead such tragic lives? Why did they have such poor constitutions? Why did they drink too much? Why did all their loved ones die so tragically? This novel provides the reason, vampires. Seems we have been living with them since the Earth was first formed.
Like all of the books I have read by Tim Powers, this is an adventure story that puts all of the characters in deep peril. They travel from England through Europe and they endure many physical and mental hardships. It is also a story about addiction. They all become addicted to the vampires for different reasons; to feel loved, to write poetry, through despair. Once addicted, they deny it and make excuses and conveniently forget what has happened. Even when the vampires kill their loved ones their will is too weak to give up whatever the creatures provide.
The story is well researched. The historical characters are well constructed and the author adheres to the actual stories of the many tragedies in their lives. The story opens with the fateful night when Byron, Shelley, Mary Shelley, and Polidori are challenged to write a ghost story. Polidori and Mary Shelley take up the challenge with one writing the first vampire story and the other writing “Frankenstein.”
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They are called the nephelim, a stone based life form that feeds on human blood. Our hero Crawford accidently marries into the “neffy” family by placing a wedding ring on the finger of a statue. The creature kills his wife and then begins passionate erotic nightly visits that leave him weak and feverish. He flees toward the Alps to find a cure and meets Percy Shelley and Lord Byron who are also afflicted by these creatures. Their lives become intertwined as they travel through Italy looking for the only way to be released from the beings poisonous regard.Like all of the books I have read by Tim Powers, this is an adventure story that puts all of the characters in deep peril. They travel from England through Europe and they endure many physical and mental hardships. It is also a story about addiction. They all become addicted to the vampires for different reasons; to feel loved, to write poetry, through despair. Once addicted, they deny it and make excuses and conveniently forget what has happened. Even when the vampires kill their loved ones their will is too weak to give up whatever the creatures provide.
The story is well researched. The historical characters are well constructed and the author adheres to the actual stories of the many tragedies in their lives. The story opens with the fateful night when Byron, Shelley, Mary Shelley, and Polidori are challenged to write a ghost story. Polidori and Mary Shelley take up the challenge with one writing the first vampire story and the other writing “Frankenstein.”
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LibraryThing member RandyStafford
My reactions to reading this novel in 2004.
In terms of the number of elements he put together in his plot, the complexity of historical events he had to fit his plot into the interstices of, this may be Powers most accomplished novel.
Powers fits together the lives of several historical figures --
Not all of them are from the featured poets. The wonderful title phrase comes from a Clark Ashton Smith poem (Powers is a fan.). Some of the epigraphs are also quotes from letters.Fittingly, for a novel featuring vampires, this novel has a persistent air of horror about it, particularly from the doom of whole families getting the attentions of the nephilim and the temptation to trade inspiration and artistic talent (and reap immortality -- the Romantic poets aren't the only literary figures to have connections with the nephilim) for one's soul and family. There is, of course, also the air of doom given the lives of Keats, Shelley, and Byron.
are several of the familiar Powers elements here. The maiming of characters is taken to the extreme of any Powers' novel. Protagonist Michael Crawford loses one whole finger, part of another, gets a permanent limp from being shot in the leg, and goes bald after spending some time offering himself as a Christ parody to the blood drinking sexual underground of the nephilim fetishists. Josephine Carmody loses an eye. There are family issues -- the whole idea of some humans being adopted by the nephilim family. John Keats' poem "Lamia" is one of the major influences on the story. The portrayal of the nephilim as beautiful, erotically attractive, and snake-like -- as well as linked with Medusa -- comes from that poem There is also a fully believable romance, forged in adversity and self-sacrifice (a noble trait many Powers heroes come to embrace), between Josephine and Crawford. Incest -- a plot element of Powers Fisher King trilogy -- is here with Shelley and his nephilim twin sister. As with Powers' The Drawing of the Dark, there is magic in high places, here in a thrilling scene (which, in other novels, would have been the climax but is here about a third of the way in the book) set in the Swiss Alps. Of course, Powers' Declare with its scenes on Mount Ararat also features magic in high places as well as sharing the idea of the nephilim.
Austro-Hungarian politics show up here as they do in The Drawing of the Dark. Josephine's multiple personalities would show up later in the character of Plumtree in Powers' Earthquake Weather. Byron, of course, also shows up (as a quite different sort of character -- he comes off as a very difficult person here and a bit of a jerk -- if a very talented one) in Powers' The Anubis Gate.
I didn't quite like this novel as well as Declare even though the Romantic poets were as interesting of characters as Kim Philby and the plotting was even more intricate -- if not alternating back and forth in time like that novel. (Stylistically, it seemed to me that Powers reveals a major part of his fantasy element -- the existence and characteristics of the nephilim -- earlier than his other fantasy novels.) However, I didn't think he quite integrated the speculations touching on quantum physics and what, exactly, Werner the Austro-Hungarian was up to.
I would certainly consider it one of Powers' three best novels.
In terms of the number of elements he put together in his plot, the complexity of historical events he had to fit his plot into the interstices of, this may be Powers most accomplished novel.
Powers fits together the lives of several historical figures --
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not just one Romantic poet but three: John Keats, Percy Shelley, and Lord Byron as well as their literary acquaintances including Leigh Hunt and the petulant (and here vampiric and menacing) Dr. Polidori, the Biblical nephilim, several elements of the European vampire legend, Frankenstein and its author Mary Shelley, Italian politics (specifically the importantly named Carbonari), quantum physics (and questions of free will and determinism), Austro-Hungarian politics, the ancient riddle of the Sphinx and speculations on silicon versus carbon life. And, of course, there is his excellent use of epigraphs at the beginning of chapters. Most of them are from the Romantic poets in the novel and fit uncannily with his plot (of course, Powers achieved this effect by building his plot from those quotes). Not all of them are from the featured poets. The wonderful title phrase comes from a Clark Ashton Smith poem (Powers is a fan.). Some of the epigraphs are also quotes from letters.
are several of the familiar Powers elements here. The maiming of characters is taken to the extreme of any Powers' novel. Protagonist Michael Crawford loses one whole finger, part of another, gets a permanent limp from being shot in the leg, and goes bald after spending some time offering himself as a Christ parody to the blood drinking sexual underground of the nephilim fetishists. Josephine Carmody loses an eye. There are family issues -- the whole idea of some humans being adopted by the nephilim family. John Keats' poem "Lamia" is one of the major influences on the story. The portrayal of the nephilim as beautiful, erotically attractive, and snake-like -- as well as linked with Medusa -- comes from that poem There is also a fully believable romance, forged in adversity and self-sacrifice (a noble trait many Powers heroes come to embrace), between Josephine and Crawford. Incest -- a plot element of Powers Fisher King trilogy -- is here with Shelley and his nephilim twin sister. As with Powers' The Drawing of the Dark, there is magic in high places, here in a thrilling scene (which, in other novels, would have been the climax but is here about a third of the way in the book) set in the Swiss Alps. Of course, Powers' Declare with its scenes on Mount Ararat also features magic in high places as well as sharing the idea of the nephilim.
Austro-Hungarian politics show up here as they do in The Drawing of the Dark. Josephine's multiple personalities would show up later in the character of Plumtree in Powers' Earthquake Weather. Byron, of course, also shows up (as a quite different sort of character -- he comes off as a very difficult person here and a bit of a jerk -- if a very talented one) in Powers' The Anubis Gate.
I didn't quite like this novel as well as Declare even though the Romantic poets were as interesting of characters as Kim Philby and the plotting was even more intricate -- if not alternating back and forth in time like that novel. (Stylistically, it seemed to me that Powers reveals a major part of his fantasy element -- the existence and characteristics of the nephilim -- earlier than his other fantasy novels.) However, I didn't think he quite integrated the speculations touching on quantum physics and what, exactly, Werner the Austro-Hungarian was up to.
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LibraryThing member VivalaErin
My English major side loved having Keats, Shelley, and Byron interacting with Crawford! It was an interesting take on the vampire tale as well as the lives of the poets, and I love historical horror. There were some areas that ended up being very strange and convoluted, but overall this book was
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quite enjoyable. I know some other Romantic poet lovers who would also like this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member BMcknight
Another of Power's "secret histories" where he combines historical fact with a wholly original take on a myth or legend, in this case that of the Vampire/Muse. The book follows a doctor and several famous Romantic poets across Europe and the years as they attempt to free themselves from the fatal
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attraction of these creatures. Dark, layered, melancholic and chilling. A Vampire book like no other and an antidote for those bored with the "pin-up" vampire cliche currently so popular. Show Less
LibraryThing member salimbol
I'm finding this a very difficult book to review and rate. With a premise that has the 19th century poets Byron, Shelley and Keats battling ancient vampire/succubus creatures, I should have loved it, but I found it equal parts interesting and unsatisfying. There are certainly some magnificently
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creepy and exciting sections, and the book as a whole is a very clever weaving together of historical facts, the works of the poets and their personal correspondence, folklore and mythology (both Biblical and Classical), and early 19th-century scientific knowledge and technology into a cohesive whole. However, at the same time it felt *extremely* anachronistic, particularly in terms of dialogue, and I found that very jarring (I half-expected Byron to start saying "okay" or "whatever"). On top of that, the characterisations frequently fell flat, and it spent little time on the characters I found most interesting (e.g. Josephine, Mary Shelley, John Keats). Show Less
LibraryThing member imyril
Gothic novelists inspired (and consumed) by vampiric siblings and muses in 19th century Italy - this should be an absolute winner, but I found the pacing off, the characterisation thin, and the dialogue jarring, resulting in a real problem with suspending my disbelief. I wanted to like it a lot
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more than I actually did. Show Less
LibraryThing member isabelx
He slid his hand up the extended stone wrist to the stone hand - the ring was still there. He tried to push it up off of the statue's finger, but it was stuck somehow.
An instant later he saw why, for a flash of lightning abruptly lit the yard: and the stone hand was now closed in a fist,
The story starts the night before naval doctor Michael Crawford's wedding, when he places his wife-to-be's wedding ring on a statue's finger for safekeeping, not realising that by doing that he has entered into a mystical marriage with an inhuman being that can appear as a man or a woman, a winged serpent, or a statue. Crawford is soon forced go into hiding as a suspected murderer and while living incognito in London, he starts to learn about the creatures known as Nephilim or Lamias from the poet John Keats, who has come across them in the past. After travelling to the continent he realises that Keats is not the only poet in thrall to inhuman muses who inspire their poetry to great heights, but endanger their families doe to their jealousy.
The plot is convoluted, I found the enthralled men's attempts to free themselves in the Alps and in Venice quite confusing, and on re-reading it I didn't enjoy it as much as I remembered liking it the first time I read it back in the 1980s, maybe because I felt differently about Crawford this time. I don't remember disliking him the first time I read it, so maybe I am less sympathetic towards his plight and the choices he makes than when I was younger. But what I still like about it is how well the fantastic story of the vampiric shapeshifters is entwined with the historical events of the poets' lives and the themes of their poetry.
An instant later he saw why, for a flash of lightning abruptly lit the yard: and the stone hand was now closed in a fist,
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imprisoning the ring like the end link of a chain. There were no cracks, no signs of any fracture - the statue's hand seemed not ever to have been in any other position. Rain was streaming down the white stone face, and its blank white eyes seemed to be staring at Crawford.The story starts the night before naval doctor Michael Crawford's wedding, when he places his wife-to-be's wedding ring on a statue's finger for safekeeping, not realising that by doing that he has entered into a mystical marriage with an inhuman being that can appear as a man or a woman, a winged serpent, or a statue. Crawford is soon forced go into hiding as a suspected murderer and while living incognito in London, he starts to learn about the creatures known as Nephilim or Lamias from the poet John Keats, who has come across them in the past. After travelling to the continent he realises that Keats is not the only poet in thrall to inhuman muses who inspire their poetry to great heights, but endanger their families doe to their jealousy.
The plot is convoluted, I found the enthralled men's attempts to free themselves in the Alps and in Venice quite confusing, and on re-reading it I didn't enjoy it as much as I remembered liking it the first time I read it back in the 1980s, maybe because I felt differently about Crawford this time. I don't remember disliking him the first time I read it, so maybe I am less sympathetic towards his plight and the choices he makes than when I was younger. But what I still like about it is how well the fantastic story of the vampiric shapeshifters is entwined with the historical events of the poets' lives and the themes of their poetry.
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LibraryThing member revslick
Powers combines the mythos of vampires and nephilim with a cast of great gothic writers and poets, Byron, Shelley, Keats and more, glued together with a healthy dose of religion. If you've enjoyed any of the above writers and have an ear to the macabre then this will feel like home. Also, Stress
As a side note - I had the pleasure of being on a panel discussion on Religion and Horror with Powers at a WorldCon many moons ago. He was one of the few authors on the panel that didn't disdain religion and it felt he approached it from one who's been there. I had forgotten it until reading this novel, and it is nice to see it put into practice.
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must be written alongside the ghosts of Poe and Lovecraft. What I most enjoyed, besides the gothic feel and mythic integration, was his use of religion. It is used with knowledge and respect and a dash of creative ingenuity i.e. early use of the Paten was to see if the person was a vampire before giving them communion. As a side note - I had the pleasure of being on a panel discussion on Religion and Horror with Powers at a WorldCon many moons ago. He was one of the few authors on the panel that didn't disdain religion and it felt he approached it from one who's been there. I had forgotten it until reading this novel, and it is nice to see it put into practice.
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LibraryThing member jkdavies
not entirely sure why I was underwhelmed with this... the writing style was ok, the settings were better than ok, but I failed to empathise with any of the characters... it also felt a little jumbled... and the self indulgent romantic poets have never appealed to me
LibraryThing member marti.booker
Not the best Powers book.
LibraryThing member Stewartry
I don't recall if I've read anything of Tim Powers's before; I've known the name forever, though. And Simon Vance narrated, so with the description listed for The Stress of Her Regard seemed like a solid lock.
But it was so very much not.
Vampires, succubi, fairy godmothers, muses – oh, and the
There was one good line: "Crawford blinked around at the steep streets and old houses and wondered what he was doing here, weary, fevered, and cabbage-decked" – and apart from that I fluctuated between boredom and tendencies to minor violence.
And when Lord Byron – Lord "Mad, Bad, and Dangerous To Know" – comes off as a repetitive bore (which he really, really does), that's a serious problem. (And I'm not too sure it's correct for him to be referred to as "the lord". That brings to mind a whole other guy.) The whole thing took itself very, very seriously indeed. Almost all of the humor was unintentional. And the whole surreal episode on the mountaintop … phew. I was grateful when it was over.
Even Simon Vance didn't seem too into it – he did everything possible with this, but he pronounced Byron's "Don Juan" the way everyone says it, not the way Byron apparently meant it. I was grateful when the whole book was over.
But it was so very much not.
Vampires, succubi, fairy godmothers, muses – oh, and the
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Sphinx – all have the same origin and explanation: lamia. Done right, this could be fascinating. Done not-quite-right, and I wanted to hurt every major character in the book, and some of the minor ones. And more than that I began to develop a deep desire to spit in the author's eye; it's a little off-putting that some of the best creative work of humanity is only due to the lamia. Shelley and Keats and Byron, just for starters, all owe every particle of their talent and fame to these things – things which are revolting and horrifying. (Although I would like to be able to blame vampiric succubus creatures for the fact that Shelley screwed up the lie/lay thing in "Passage of the Apennines". That just made me sad.There was one good line: "Crawford blinked around at the steep streets and old houses and wondered what he was doing here, weary, fevered, and cabbage-decked" – and apart from that I fluctuated between boredom and tendencies to minor violence.
And when Lord Byron – Lord "Mad, Bad, and Dangerous To Know" – comes off as a repetitive bore (which he really, really does), that's a serious problem. (And I'm not too sure it's correct for him to be referred to as "the lord". That brings to mind a whole other guy.) The whole thing took itself very, very seriously indeed. Almost all of the humor was unintentional. And the whole surreal episode on the mountaintop … phew. I was grateful when it was over.
Even Simon Vance didn't seem too into it – he did everything possible with this, but he pronounced Byron's "Don Juan" the way everyone says it, not the way Byron apparently meant it. I was grateful when the whole book was over.
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LibraryThing member ragwaine
This was good, but it kind of meandered and was confusing at times. The story is told over a long period of time, with sometimes years between the "action", but it's still the same struggle and the same characters. The writing was excellent, I just wish the story would have been a little more
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straightforward. Show Less
LibraryThing member electrascaife
This fantasy/sort-of horror (but it's not scary at all) novel employs the likes of Shelley, Lord Byron, and Keats as characters and explains their real-life eccentricities as symptoms of their various involvement with a species here called the Nephilim and which includes what people have termed
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lamia, vampires, and the like. It's an absolute hoot and I love the way Powers entwines the poets into the story. Think Pride & Prejudice & Zombies before it was cool. (And take that statement with a grain of salt because I fully admit that I've never read P&P&Z). At any rate, if you like this sort of thing, you'll love this. It's very well paced and nicely written, and again, the plot is imaginative and cool. Also, the audio was read by Simon Vance, so you know it's great. Show Less
LibraryThing member Mike_Hungerford
The first of Powers' novels I ever read, and still my favorite. My wife and I brought our scruffy, dog-eared paperback copy along to a convention where he was signing, and the way his face lit up when we sheepishly presented it is something we will never forget. He was delighted to sign a copy that
I would really like to see this re-released for Kindle, simply for the portability.
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had so obviously been read over and over, versus all the pristine books he'd been signing for people who simply collected them.I would really like to see this re-released for Kindle, simply for the portability.
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LibraryThing member ScoLgo
I originally read this book when it was first released in paperback in the early 1990's. I just finished a re-read and liked it even more the 2nd time around. Five stars and a ♥!
But how to review this book? It's a romantic vampire story that is the absolute antithesis of Twilight and its ilk. It
The Stress of Her Regard is a beautifully written "secret history" period piece set in the early 1800's. Several of the characters are known historical figures, (Lord Byron, Percy & Mary Shelley, John Keats, Ed Trelawney). The creative works of these people are enhanced... elevated to genius level by the influence of their muses, the vampires. But these elemental patrons are jealous beings! This is immediately brought to our attention near the beginning of the story when our protagonist, Michael Crawford, (after accidentally marrying a disappearing statue), awakens on the morning after his wedding night. To avoid spoilers, let's just say it's not a happy day for anyone in the little village of Bexhill-on-Sea.
Powers threads together a plethora of historical events into a cohesive fictional storyline that seems more real than reality itself. It's almost as if you are getting the true story behind the official historical one. I have not personally studied this particular time period in detail. However, in reading this book, I get the distinct feeling that, if I did delve into it, I would find not a crack in the timeline Powers presents, nor in the details of these peoples' lives and deaths. For example, the drowning death of Percy Shelley during a sailing accident, and the subsequent identification and cremation of his exhumed body on an Italian beach by Ed Trelawney, is incorporated seamlessly.
To sum up: this is one of my favorite Tim Powers books and falls squarely amongst the best fictional novels I've ever read. The sequel, Hide Me Among the Graves is a worthy follow-up as well.
But how to review this book? It's a romantic vampire story that is the absolute antithesis of Twilight and its ilk. It
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also bears little resemblance to Dracula or The Historian.The Stress of Her Regard is a beautifully written "secret history" period piece set in the early 1800's. Several of the characters are known historical figures, (Lord Byron, Percy & Mary Shelley, John Keats, Ed Trelawney). The creative works of these people are enhanced... elevated to genius level by the influence of their muses, the vampires. But these elemental patrons are jealous beings! This is immediately brought to our attention near the beginning of the story when our protagonist, Michael Crawford, (after accidentally marrying a disappearing statue), awakens on the morning after his wedding night. To avoid spoilers, let's just say it's not a happy day for anyone in the little village of Bexhill-on-Sea.
Powers threads together a plethora of historical events into a cohesive fictional storyline that seems more real than reality itself. It's almost as if you are getting the true story behind the official historical one. I have not personally studied this particular time period in detail. However, in reading this book, I get the distinct feeling that, if I did delve into it, I would find not a crack in the timeline Powers presents, nor in the details of these peoples' lives and deaths. For example, the drowning death of Percy Shelley during a sailing accident, and the subsequent identification and cremation of his exhumed body on an Italian beach by Ed Trelawney, is incorporated seamlessly.
To sum up: this is one of my favorite Tim Powers books and falls squarely amongst the best fictional novels I've ever read. The sequel, Hide Me Among the Graves is a worthy follow-up as well.
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LibraryThing member PirateJenny
Byron, Shelley, Keats, vampires (well, lamia). What more could you want?
LibraryThing member cmc
_The Stress of Her Regard_ is (still) pretty much my favorite Tim Powers book. It is exactly what you expect from Powers: an in-depth exploration of some literary ideas, poets, or authors, based on historical facts, but with ribbons of supernatural mystery winding through the gaps.
Awards
Locus Award (Nominee — Fantasy Novel — 1990)
Mythopoeic Awards (Finalist — 1990)
World Fantasy Award (Nominee — Novel — 1990)
Gigamesh Award (novela de fantasía 1993)
Ignotus Award (Winner — Novela extranjera 1992)
Language
Original publication date
1989
Physical description
400 p.
ISBN
0246134259 / 9780246134257