SFF

The Lesser Dead

by Christopher Buehlman
Berkley. Oct. 2014. 368p. ISBN 9780425272619. $25.95; ebk. ISBN 9780698146327. HORROR
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Turned at the age of 14, vampire Joey Peacock uses his innocent looks to ensnare victims in 1978 New York City. He is part of an underground community of the undead who are roused to action when a new set of players enters their territory in the form of child vampires. They laugh and play and want Joey to join them, but these young people are dangerous to both humans and vampires alike. Although it isn't clear why this novel is set in 1978, the details of a dirtier, graffiti-splattered New York are vivid—we even get a visit to Studio 54!
VERDICT Buehlman (Those Across the River; The Necromancer's House) is in general a lovely stylist and probably intends his direct addresses to the reader (such as many "more on that later" interruptions) to be conversational; they are instead distracting. But once the action accelerates as the tunnel dwellers must decide what to do about their dangerous child rivals, readers won't be able to put the book down.
Reviewed by Megan M. McArdle , Sep 15, 2014
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