Lord of the Dead the Secret History of Byron

By: Tom Holland

Narrated by: Richard E. Grant

Famed nineteenth-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.

Traveling in the mountains of Greece, Byron falls under the spell of a mysterious fugitive slave, whose pale, slim body arouses his lust. Utterly entranced, his fate is sealed. The supreme sensualist embarks on a life of adventure—that of the world's most formidable vampire.

Chosen to enjoy powers beyond those any vampire has ever known, Byron enters a dark, intoxicating world of long-lost secrets, ancient arts, and scorching excesses of evil. He drinks deeply of terror and sex. But his diversions, delicious and cruel, are also his torment: an all-consuming thirst damning all those he loves...

Decent, but I wouldn't get this as an audiobook

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes. It was entertaining, and relatively short. If it were longer my answer would be different. Although the novel was entertaining, it wasn't necessarily a quality piece.

Would you be willing to try another book from Tom Holland? Why or why not?

Maybe, it depends on the content and reviews. I wouldn't buy the sequel to this book though.

What does Richard E. Grant bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He was great at portraying the characters. He did a great job with Polidori.

Could you see Lord of the Dead the Secret History of Byron being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

I suppose it could, but it probably wouldn't do very well. Or maybe it would; bad movies become blockbuster hits inexplicably. With that in mind I could see Robert Pattinson as Byron, Kristen Stewart as Caroline Lamb, Michael Cera as Polidori.

Any additional comments?

Try to get this one at the library, or find a used copy. It's worth reading if you're really into Byron and his connection to vampires (fictionally of course). But if you take your Romantics seriously, skip it.

First User

I am a first time user and I wanted to use a book that I knew the outcome already. I read this book over 15 years ago and it's just as fascinating now as it was then. Richard E. Grant made the words come alive for me he did a better job with the characters than I did in my mind all that time ago

Wonderfully atmospheric

Beautifully written, especially in the first two thirds, though the last bit stops being quite so artful and uses dull superlatives far too often when we’ve already seen the author is capable of better. The narration is likewise beautiful, though the voice affected for Polidori is so unbearably grating (intentionally) that while im glad to have experienced the overall story I’m never listening to it again.

abridged version

I read this book many years ago and would say it was one of the best vampire stories ever. Most intreging and realistic in the web Tom Hollow created between real and fictional caractors. this was so lost in this version the audible although not horrible left much to be desired it practically starts in the middle of the book just touching on two of the most interesting and scary elements of the story. I would highly suggest that this is bacicly a spoiler so I would say skip this and reading the book .

A most excellent performance....

I loved this book since my youth & dreamed of it to become a movie; here due to a most excellent performance it feels more like a movie than a book! Great story. Great performance!