The Lesser Dead

By: Christopher Buehlman

Narrated by: Christopher Buehlman

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.

Critic reviews

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

This book is remarkable.

Possibly one of the best genera books I have ever read. And the author should be commended for the quality of his narration.

Is it "Let the right one in?" No. Nothing can be. But it is easily that books next door neighbor.

A fresh approach to the modern vampire story

Christopher Buehlman makes a wonderfully fresh and different story from the modern vampire story. As he so frequently has done with his other novels, he takes a genre beaten to the ground by pulp authors, and get you to quickly care about the people he creates.

If you are unfamiliar with his works, Christopher often puts a heartbreaking, harsh and realistic edge in his stories. He also seems to not be interested in writing sequels, though if he were to deign to do so, many would line up to see the return of his characters and follow their adventures again.

I love this book!

I love this book, I've read it twice now! I gave a copy to my boyfriend and he and listened to it together.

Surprisingly good

Narrator has great accents. Helps bring life and credibility to the characters. Plot is slow to get going at first. But don't be fooled, there's a lot more going on both creatively and intellectually once it picks up. I thought the ending was great too,no idea why some reviews have a problem with it. It's very difficult to write interesting vampire fiction at this point in pop culture. It's realistic and believable without being boring, it's scary without being monotonous, and it didn't overstay its welcome. I'm glad I invited it in.

Damn kids mucking up my city

Joey is doing just fine, hitting the clubs, charming his food and living the good life in the subway tunnels of New York. Then he runs across a group of Penny Dreadfuls that are new to the city and looking to fit in. To feed. To take the tunnels for their own.

I don't know how to rate or review this one. I really enjoyed the story but had issues with some of the delivery. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending either - the premise was very good, but the execution didn't gel completely with me. I'm giving this one 4 stars, because I really did like it, but I reserve the right to revise at a later date.