Hide Me Among The Graves

Last updated on: December 6, 2012 at 7:13 pm by willduquette

Hide Me Among The Graves 2012-12-06T19:13:20-06:00 willduquette

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

As soon as I saw Jeff Miller’s mention of Tim Power’s latest, Hide Me Among The Graves, a sequel to his 1989 book The Stress of Her Regard, I went out (metaphorically) and snagged an e-copy. I’ve been a Powers fan since the ’80’s, and pick up anything new whenever I happen to run across it.

Jeff describes it as a “vampire” story, which is not incorrect, but it’s also pretty much entirely misleading. Powers’ vampires are identified with the Nephilim of the book of Genesis; there’s more of stone than of flesh about them, and they have a tendency to get fixated on individual human beings. The thing is, they don’t usually kill their immediate victims, the ones they fixate on; but they are jealous and tend to kill anyone loved by their victims. This makes them hard to live with.

As is usual with Powers, there’s a historical angle. In this case the light shines on poet Christina Rosetti and her siblings, especially her brother Dante Gabriel Rosetti, one of the Pre-Raphaelite painters, and their friends, including poet Algernon Swinburne. The Rosettis, it develops, were the nieces and nephews of John Polidori, who was the author of Varney the Vampyre, a friend of Shelley, Byron, and company, one of the party at which Mary Shelley began to write Frankenstein, and a significant character in The Stress of Her Regard. As Polidori died under the influence of one of the Nephilim, one might say that he’s a signficant character in this book as well. See, here’s the thing: the Nephilim are like a kind of fatal muse, ultimately destructive but inspiring in the short term.

So anyway, I grabbed the book, and alas! it did not reciprocate. I don’t know whether it was the book, or whether it’s me—The Stress of Her Regard is probably my least favorite of Powers’ books—or whether I just wasn’t in the right mood, but I never really got into it. I finished it, mind you, but I read it in dribs and drabs instead of getting caught up in it and staying up too late.

Bottom line: if you’ve not read Powers, he’s worth reading; I’d start with The Anubis Gates, Last Call, or Declare. If you already know you like Powers, read The Stress of Her Regard first, and move on to this one if you like it.

Review

Previous Post

December 6, 2012

Walking Dickens London by Lee Jackson

Next Post

December 7, 2012 The Hobbit, Or, There and Back Again ... And Other Related Reading

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Art Bible Study Bulletin Board Catholic Church Excerpt Faith-y Stuff Funny Stuff Good Deals Listening Now Patheos Book Club Personal Reading Challenge Podcast Alert Random Bookishness Resources Review Uncategorized Well Said What I'm Reading

Select a Month January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 January 2016 December 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz