This horror novel is based on the mechanism of the supposed contents of the lost memoirs of Byron, which in reality were burned on his death with their contents unrevealed. Here they reveal Byron's transformation into a vampire, before he becomes world famous, the first real celebrity in the modern sense. There is a framework narrative set in the present day but the main story is Byron recounting his vampiric life and adventures around Greek and the near East; this is a very well written and atmospheric Gothic narrative, by an author better known as a historian of the ancient world. Inevitably there are some very disturbing and repellent incidents (frankly also true in Byron's real world biography), and by the end, I definitely felt my next read should be something "cleansing". But this is an excellent traditional horror story. ( )

I haven't read a vampire novel in a long time. Was very glad this one was mostly a flashback to ancient times rather than something modern. Pretty cool story with some new "vampire rules". The ending wasn't great, but overall I liked it. ( )

A well thought out, well-written fabulous blend of fact and fiction, but as one character tells the story to another, I felt distanced from the action. The strange circumstances which take Byron to visit the ancient castle are all too reminiscent of the most famous vampire, with, for several pages, Byron taking on a similar role to that of Jonathan Harker, and Vakhel Pasha, that of Dracula. There were parts I found absorbing, other areas where my attention wandered. The creatures that occupy the castle give the classic Igor competition. Still, overall it’s an excellent work with ideas both incredible and ludicrous, often hallucinatory. I came to love the book, though some of my feelings remain ambiguous. ( )

What a bizarre book! I had it marked as horror while on my tbr shelf. After reading it, I unclicked the horror box and selected gothic. It's truly a gothic story, very similar I'm sure to Anne Rices work. The entire book is a narrative of a past life and history. While this can grow annoying, at least the life led was interesting.

I was bitterly disappointed and aggrieved by something that happened when Bryon was made Vampire, but was happy the author resolved this a bit in the end with a surprise visit. I wish it would have worked out the other way though without misunderstanding.

There were a lot of changes to the classic vampire story here but I don't wish to say them as that would spoil the surprise of the story as Byron himself finds out the true horror of being undead.

Byron by himself was an okay sort pre-vamp, but due to his nature and just him in general he's not the greatest type of person. How truly awful it would be to live an existence as they did. Not an amazing piece of literature, but still a good piece of work for someone wanting a different sort of tortured vampire story. When I say tortured I don't mean innocent vampires trying to play nice, they are cruel and matter of fact in this book. The tortured element is just part of the the horrible existence of immortality for this piece.

I'm not familiar with Byron's work and this is the first piece of fiction I've read about the author. Really dug the writer's style and it's clear he has talent with the word. ( )

This book is quite dark, and not at the expense of the imagery or characters. Years after reading it I can still clearly recall the world of this book, especially one particularly terrifying scene. ( )