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Hide Me Among the Graves

Tim Powers

3.58 · Rating details · 2,100 ratings · 410 reviews

Winter, 1862. A malevolent spirit roams the cold and gloomy streets of Victorian London, the vampiric ghost of John Polidori, the onetime physician of the mad, bad and dangerous Romantic poet Lord Byron. Polidori is also the supernatural muse to his niece and nephew, poet Christina Rossetti and her artist brother Dante Gabriel.

But Polidori's taste for debauchery has grown ...more

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Paperback, 511 pages

Published March 13th 2012 by William Morrow (first published March 2012)

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Apr 03, 2012 karen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: bossy-book-titles, real-people-fake-stories, distant-lands

byron is not in this book.
at all.

which is a shame.

when this came in to the store, greg handed it to me and grunted something like, "here. byron."

and i was like "yayyyy!" because of all the millions of books i have read that have byron as a character, tim powers is the only one who ever got it "right." and i skimmed the dust jacket and saw polidori's name and saw byron's name, but didn't really read it too closely because i knew i had to borrow it immediately.

and i kept waiting for byron to appe ...more

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Mar 31, 2012 Tim rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The unwary might stumble upon Tim Powers' new novel, "Hide Me Among the Graves" and think: latecomer to the vampire craze. Powers' longtime fans, though, will recognize the book as a sequel to his excellent 1989 novel, "The Stress of Her Regard," but with those readers, belated recognition of the relationship would be understandable: nowhere on the "Hide Me" cover is the link between the books mentioned, so buyer beware. Does it matter? Yes and no. The reader who has completed "Stress" will be f The unwary might stumble upon Tim Powers' new novel, "Hide Me Among the Graves" and think: latecomer to the vampire craze. Powers' longtime fans, though, will recognize the book as a sequel to his excellent 1989 novel, "The Stress of Her Regard," but with those readers, belated recognition of the relationship would be understandable: nowhere on the "Hide Me" cover is the link between the books mentioned, so buyer beware. Does it matter? Yes and no. The reader who has completed "Stress" will be far more comfortable with Powers' complex take on Victorian era (and before) vampirism, and recognizing the handful of recurring characters will boost enjoyment. But newcomers to Powers still are likely to enjoy the new book plenty, and aren't likely to be too confused. It's like the fact that knowledge of Keats, Shelley and Lord Byron is helpful to enjoyment of "Stress," and familiarity with painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti, his sister poet Christina Rossetti and poet Algernon Swinburne — I had next to no such familiarity — is a boon to reading "Hide Me."

In any event, Powers has returned to familiar unholy/holy ground here, and it's very welcome. "Hide Me Among the Graves" is just his second novel since 2001, and 2006's "Three Days to Never" was, by his standards, mediocre. This new novel seems at first merely a welcome return to Powers' 19th-century England under the sway of the odd vampire, but it gathers strength every step of the way and, in the end, is every bit as good as "The Stress of Her Regard." I'd still advise reading the earlier novel first, however.

"Hide Me" picks up in 1845, 20-some years after the main action of "Stress." By shedding her blood on a small statue containing the essence of her uncle, Christina Rossetti resurrects the vampiric ghost of John Polidori, Lord Byron's former physician. In the coming years, Christina, her brothers and sister and Swinburne become enmeshed in Polidori's gathering power and nefarious plans. So, too, does John Crawford, son of the "Stress" protagonist. In 1862, he learns that his interlude with a then-prostitute, Adelaide McKee, seven years earlier, resulted in the birth of a daughter, Johanna, who now is imperiled by Polidori. Crawford and McKee eventually join forces with the Rossettis in trying to vanquish Polidori and a female vampire who is the companion of Edward Trelawny, a writer and former friend to the long-dead Shelley and Byron. Trelawny, a bridge between the human and Nephilim species, tries in his own way to aid Crawford/McKee and the Rossettis.

Powers, a master of ghosts and secret histories — the "real" explanations behind what happened to historical figures — generally wants nothing to do with either new-school sexy-cozy vampires or, at least on stage, old-school biting of necks. He's more interested in the psychic links between vampires and those they prey upon, and the power exchanges. Here, victims of a vampire's "attentions" benefit through great enhancement of their creative powers. Poets, for example, are inspired to great heights when vampires become their "patrons," but there are costs to their physical well-being (sunlight sensitivity, hastened death) and, particularly, to those they love: vampires are insanely jealous and will eliminate the loved ones of those they've preyed upon. As Powers describes a vampire's effect: "She was more like a sun that ignited a reciprocally fueled solar fire in him, while simply incinerating any lesser planets that presumed to orbit him." Powers may go easy on the biting, but, after a merely good opening third of the novel, he ratchets up the action and weird goings-on into an embarrassment of imaginative riches. Graves, seances, strange creatures, underground passageways, bottles of garlic uncorked to evict vampires, beings descending from the sky, legions of street waifs drawn to the vampire-connected, a twice-dead boy blindly directing hordes of seeking wasps. As is usual for Powers, the details and inventive explanations in his stories are absolutely astonishing. When he builds a world, he goes all out and creates it on his terms. If it's overkill — and some might feel it is or be a little baffled by the details — it's a glorious form of overkill, such as undead ghost vampires would appreciate.

Powers is one of my favorite writers, and I was delighted to find that "Hide Me Among the Graves" is far from a nostalgic revisit to old haunts. I don't think it's his best work, but it's in the ballpark. And that's a wonderful thing from a 60-year-old author who has been writing novels since the mid-'70s. Bravo.
...more

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Oct 27, 2020 Bradley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: worldbuilding-sf, 2020-shelf, fantasy, horror, history

For those of you in the know, all I really need to say is TIM POWERS. You'll get it.

For everyone else, we've got here a VERY period tale that has done an immense measure of research into the lives and times of Christina Rossetti and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, featuring these siblings as main characters in an all-out VAMPIRE novel. And it never feels contrived.

Excuse me, lol. We have a modern audience here. Dante Gabriel Rossetti was a famous poet and painter in the 19th century. Christina Rossetti ...more

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Oct 22, 2014 William rated it really liked it

Shelves: vampire-fiction

I've been a big Tim Powers fan for many years now, and a new one from him is always a delight. HIDE ME AMONG THE GRAVES is no exception. I adore the way he attacks a plot with exuberance and bravado. In this one we're tossed into the lives of the Rossetti family, a veterinarian, a prostitute and an adventurer in Dickensian London all plagued by a family blood curse that has come back to claim its own. It's also a sequel to an earlier work, but you don't need to know that to enjoy this one on its ...more

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Apr 30, 2012 Captain Sir Roddy, R.N. (Ret.) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: horror, historical-fiction, read-in-2012, fantasy-scifi, american-literature, neo-victorian-literature, american-authors-translators

A couple of observations about Tim Powers and the books that he writes--First, he can weave a hell of a tale! Second, he certainly does his homework, as his blending of historical fact within his fiction borders upon both the sublime and brilliant! Hide Me Among the Graves is only the third novel by Powers that I've read, but it is easily the best. The other two were The Anubis Gates and The Stress of Her Regard.

By way of background, and as some of you may know, I am a huge fan of the Victorian ...more

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Aug 09, 2017 samantha (books-are-my-life20) rated it it was ok

Was it horror or sci-fi or just a drama? I couldn't really tell. It didn't pull me into the story and it took quite awhile to understand what was happening. Having figured it out, it was a bit too weird for me. but i Wouldn't hesitate to try another book by him, this one was just well....Boring ever with vampires ...more

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Nov 28, 2011 Kelly rated it really liked it

(3.5 stars) Tim Powers’s The Stress of Her Regard was one of my favorite random used-bookstore discoveries. After reading it ten years ago, I talked it up to all my friends. It was out of print at the time, so I constantly lent out my own copy until the time I didn’t get it back. When I got wind of Hide Me Among the Graves, a sequel of sorts, I was thrilled and hoped it would be one of my favorite books of the year. So how does it stack up? Well, to be honest, I didn’t like Hide Me Among the Gra (3.5 stars) Tim Powers’s The Stress of Her Regard was one of my favorite random used-bookstore discoveries. After reading it ten years ago, I talked it up to all my friends. It was out of print at the time, so I constantly lent out my own copy until the time I didn’t get it back. When I got wind of Hide Me Among the Graves, a sequel of sorts, I was thrilled and hoped it would be one of my favorite books of the year. So how does it stack up? Well, to be honest, I didn’t like Hide Me Among the Graves quite as much as I did The Stress of Her Regard. I’m not sure if it’s Powers’s style that’s changed or if it’s me, but more on that later.

In The Stress of Her Regard, a group of characters (including several prominent poets and some invented characters) are terrorized by the nephilim. The setup is similar this time around, but a generation later: the central characters include the artistic Rossetti family and their friends, and veterinarian John Crawford, son of Michael Crawford from the first book. The four Rossetti siblings have essentially inherited the family vampire, who takes the form of their uncle, John Polidori. John Crawford’s parents passed on a lot of lore on fighting the creatures, and Crawford finds himself putting it to use when Adelaide McKee, a former prostitute with whom he once spent a fateful night, comes back into his life with a shattering piece of information. The fictional characters and the famous ones must work together to free all of them from the attentions of the nephilim.

The first thing I appreciated about Hide Me Among the Graves was simply seeing Powers’s nephilim again. The nephilim concept has become hugely overdone in the intervening years, and watered down in the process. Powers’s original take on that mythology was refreshing then and it’s even more refreshing now. In his universe, nephilim are fundamentally inhuman creatures; they are life forms based on silicon rather than carbon, and they are vampiric, seductive, and violently possessive of those humans they consider “theirs.”

The slotting of the nephilim mythos into the real history is brilliantly done. It makes such perfect sense out of weird things that really happened, that it almost makes you wonder whether it could have been possible. Powers even incorporates Queen Boadicea in a really clever way. The quirks of London are worked into the mythos as well; one great example is how the “Oranges and lemons, say the bells of St. Clemens” rhyme is associated with occult lore in the novel. And the imagery is vivid and superbly written, immersing the reader in the sights, sounds, and smells of the city.

I mentioned above that I’m not sure whether it’s Powers who’s changed, or if it’s just me. I’d probably have to embark on a reread of The Stress of Her Regard to be sure. In my early twenties I had much more patience for books that were intensely atmospheric, but slow. For much of the middle stretch of Hide Me Among the Graves, it feels slow, and too long, and bogged down in its details. This is especially true when the poets are at center stage; at times these characters seem to be going in circles. It fits the real facts of their troubled lives, it works as a metaphor for artistic madness or for addiction, and it illustrates the dangers of the nephilim, but it can still be frustrating for a reader. I found that my interest flagged when the poets came to the fore and perked back up whenever Crawford had the point of view.

Hide Me Among the Graves picks up momentum again in the later stretches, probably in large part because the plight of Crawford and McKee becomes more prominent, and these two are characters that readers will connect and sympathize with. We learn what the vampires’ ultimate plan is, and it’s one with horrifying ramifications for these two (and for another character who’d be spoilery to mention). The course of their unusual relationship tugs at the emotions as well, as does a beautiful scene — somehow sad and eerie and uplifting all at once — that will touch the heart of any pet lover who has lost some of these dear companions. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention Edward Trelawny, a septuagenarian author who is utterly badass here, and who speaks almost all of the few humorous lines in Hide Me Among the Graves.

While Hide Me Among the Graves doesn’t quite live up to the (admittedly stratospheric) hopes I had for it, I’d recommend it for anyone who is interested in “secret history” fantasy or Victorian London or the Pre-Raphaelite poets and artists. It sags some in the middle, but Powers’s clever mingling of real history with secret supernatural goings-on makes it well worth reading.

See this and my review of "Stress" at FanLit ...more

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Oct 06, 2012 Philtrum rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Having worked my way through all 500 pages of this work of “speculative fiction” it’s more a case of ‘Hide Meh Among The Graves’.

Powers specialises in basing his novels around real historical characters (in this case the Rossetti family) and then weaving in some supernatural hokum (in this case vampires).

This is a sequel of sorts to his 1989 novel ‘The Stress of her Regard’ which need not be read first.

I won’t go through the plot in detail here. It’s reasonably well worked out, and it’s linear ( ...more

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Aug 25, 2013 Nicole rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy-adult, historical-fantasy, vampires-after-all

I bought this at the local more-literary-leaning SFF con' after hearing the author speak. He's very witty, and the brief discussion of this book during his session really piqued my interest.
A good read! I would've finished it sooner if not for various external distractions. What an inventive, atmospheric, complex, intelligent, and creepy story! Of the intriguing characters, I especially liked Christina, Crawford, McKee, Trelawny, and Johanna. ...more

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Mar 12, 2012 Melissa McShane rated it liked it

Shelves: own, fantasy, historical-fiction, supernatural, dark-fantasy, secret-history

Like almost every other reviewer of this book, I have to say: do NOT read this if you haven't read The Stress of Her Regard, to which this book is something of a sequel. Tim Powers excels at creating alternate explanations for actual historical events, and at revealing the truth behind those mysteries, but in this case, those revelations all happened in the first book. Combine this with the return of characters (or their descendants) from The Stress of Her Regard and you have a book that can't c Like almost every other reviewer of this book, I have to say: do NOT read this if you haven't read The Stress of Her Regard, to which this book is something of a sequel. Tim Powers excels at creating alternate explanations for actual historical events, and at revealing the truth behind those mysteries, but in this case, those revelations all happened in the first book. Combine this with the return of characters (or their descendants) from The Stress of Her Regard and you have a book that can't completely stand on its own.

That said, as a companion to this much-earlier novel, Hide Me Among the Graves works very well to bring this mythology to a close. In Stress, the characters' actions to stop the vampire/nephilim creatures are effective, but not permanent, where in this novel the goal is not just to survive, but to win. The central historical figures this time are the Rossetti family of literary and artistic fame, relatives of John Polidori who, in the previous story, became one of the nephilim. I had no idea the real Polidori was the Rossetti children's uncle, and if this was Powers' plan from the start, I am totally impressed; we go from the real Polidori being one of the fathers of vampire fiction, to the fictional Polidori becoming a vampire himself, to vampire Polidori's attentions to his family giving them outstanding artistic abilities, to those periods of genius matching up with the historical assessment of the quality of Christina and Dante Gabriel Rossetti's respective works. Powers sees connections between the most unlikely of events and, more importantly, makes us see them too.

I'm giving this only four stars mainly because I'm not sure how I feel about tying this book so closely to another, let alone one published thirteen years earlier. To me, part of the joy of a Tim Powers novel is discovering a new or reimagined mythos, not just continuing to explore an old one. (Even with the linked novels Last Call, Expiration Date, and Earthquake Weather, each book either entangles the characters in a new mythos or reveals a previously unknown aspect of an old one.) I'm also not sure about using the Rossetti family and Algernon Swinburne as the pivotal historical figures, because as important as they are to literature (maybe not Swinburne, but I've always felt he was sort of a hack--and hey, Powers says I'm right about that!) they aren't nearly as well known as Shelley or Byron, and I feel this makes Hide Me Among the Graves less accessible to people who don't know their 19th century literature. On the other hand, maybe Tim Powers' ideal audience for his books is people who *do* know their 19th century literature, in which case this isn't so much a problem. My personal quibble is that I don't care for books that make huge temporal jumps--this story begins in 1845 and ends around 1888, skipping five or nine years between sections. This is probably to accommodate that whole matching the story with the Rossettis' and Swinburne's artistic output, so it's necessary, but personally annoying.

Tim Powers is one of those authors I can't imagine writing a terrible book. I enjoyed this immensely, despite my criticisms, but I admit I'm already looking forward to whatever he writes next. ...more

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Mar 17, 2012 Catherine Siemann rated it liked it

Shelves: neovictorians-and-steampunk

The idea of this one is terrific -- a sequel to my Powers favorite, The Stress of Her Regard (Keats, Byron, Shelley, and lamia-like vampires which spark your creativity but destroy your loved ones). This one has the entire Rossetti family, including some fabulous Christina Rossetti selections as chapter headings, plus Swinburne, Trelawney, Polidori-as-vampyre, and the son of the protagonists from Stress. I liked Powers' characterization of Christina, particularly. The text doesn't quite seem to ...more

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Mar 27, 2012 Mark rated it liked it

Update: Ripped through it. Didn't love it. Liked it though, enough to slow down and re-read passages, at times.

A good enough read, but for Powers fans, it'll be familiar stuff, images and ideas already hashed out in "The Stress of Her Regard," "Declare" and others. What seems to be missing is the sense of something larger at stake, which Powers grasps for in the story/legend of the ancient warrior-woman Boadicea (which continually made me think of one of my top 10 favorite words, bodacious), but ...more

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Jun 12, 2014 S.B. Wright rated it it was amazing

It was a disconcerting coincidence that brought this book to me and if I weren’t a skeptic and a rationalist I might be worried. I had been researching the history of Speculative Poetry for a panel I was moderating at Continuum X and had of course come across the English poet Christina Rossetti, most famous perhaps for her poem Goblin Market, a snippet of which is presented below:

Lizzie met her at the gate
Full of wise upbraidings:
'Dear, you should not stay so late,
Twilight is not good for maiden ...more

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Mar 14, 2012 Reed rated it liked it · review of another edition

There was a time when rumors of a new Tim Powers book sent me into a frenzy of motion to track it down and read it immediately. He produced an amazing run of books that I loved: Anubis Gates, On Stranger Tides, The Stress of Her Regard, and Last Call in particular. Each book was better than the one before, and I thought I'd found a writer who could do no wrong.

Since then Powers has, for me at any rate, faltered from time to time. Don't get me wrong, I still find his writing intriguing and worth There was a time when rumors of a new Tim Powers book sent me into a frenzy of motion to track it down and read it immediately. He produced an amazing run of books that I loved: Anubis Gates, On Stranger Tides, The Stress of Her Regard, and Last Call in particular. Each book was better than the one before, and I thought I'd found a writer who could do no wrong.

Since then Powers has, for me at any rate, faltered from time to time. Don't get me wrong, I still find his writing intriguing and worth my time. But lately, the magic has begun to dissipate. I'm not sure if this is due to my changes as a reader over time (likely) or his changes as a writer (just as likely), or both. In any case, while I still grab every Powers book when it comes out, it has been some time since I devoured one of his works in short order.

A spiritual sequel to one of those wonderful early novels (Stress) Hide Me Among the Graves left me hopeful that Powers could again capture that early magic.

As is often the the case with Powers, Hide is an historical fantasy depicting famous personages facing fantastic situations that slowly wreak havoc upon their lives. Hide Me Among the Graves follows the poet Christina Rosetti, her artist brother Dante Gabriel Rosetti, and poet Algernon Swinburne. Like the previous novel, vampiric entities feed off of humans but in return give their hosts a wealth of creativity. The novel details the Rosetti's fighting their ties to these vampiric creatures, and the devastating effects that come from their attentions.

Powers is a master at depicting magic in organic and unexpected ways that feel so natural that it delights the reader, and this novel is no exception. My problem with the novel is perhaps one of expectation, as it is more leisurely and slowly paced than I desired. I wanted Powers to "get on with it" and throw me in the action, but he takes his time, and at times I felt frustrated as a result. It also felt a bit too familiar--an author must walk a fine line with his fans, between giving more of the same and writing something new. Hide Me Among the Graves is a fine read, but retreads too many ideas and themes for me to rate it any higher. This is a good, not great Powers novel.

...more

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Nov 08, 2012 Psychophant rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, reviewed, alternate-history

This book is a sequel to The Stress of Her Regard, and I suspect that deliberately it is detached and languid as the pre-rafaelites that are the main characters, compared to the fiery passionate Romantics of the previous book. In the 25 years between both books Powers has slightly improved his technique but he has lost the passion that made Stress... resonate so strongly with its lively characters and the Nephilim that preyed on them. The fact that the previous book is one of my all time fantasy This book is a sequel to The Stress of Her Regard, and I suspect that deliberately it is detached and languid as the pre-rafaelites that are the main characters, compared to the fiery passionate Romantics of the previous book. In the 25 years between both books Powers has slightly improved his technique but he has lost the passion that made Stress... resonate so strongly with its lively characters and the Nephilim that preyed on them. The fact that the previous book is one of my all time fantasy favorites may have worked against this one, as it is good but not great.

It is not surprising that most of the passion (love of life, of freedom, hate of losing himself among the vampires) comes from the only Romantic to survive the fifty years that separate both books, Edward John Trelawney. Many other real characters, most of them artists, people the book. Unfortunately Christina Rossetti, her brother Dante or Swinburne do not compare favorably with Keats, Byron or Shelley, even if they probably were as they are sympathetically pictured in the book.

This time the Crawford family are not the main characters, and in my opinion the book suffers because of this. With them Powers could have written without the constraints of historical fact that affect the real characters, as most readers will have already googled them, a suspense kill switch when you know the main details of someone's life.

Finally he has also tried to shoehorn ghosts of the Earthquake Weather variety into the story, breaking continuity both with the previous book and with itself at certain points. It may be nitpicky to complain about consistent supernatural abilities, but it really breaks the serious effort he has made to integrate the supernatural into the mundane.

Yet, it has one of the best recreated Victorian Londons of the recent literature, and believable, if at times boring, characters. Add Powers mistreatment of characters to create a few brilliantly moving moments.

If you have not, read The Stress of her Regard, and if you like it, pick this one.
...more

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Feb 28, 2012 Michael O. rated it really liked it

Disclaimer: I read the novel in its proof copy, so the published version may be slightly different.

Hide Me Among the Graves ranks as a middle-of-the-road Tim Powers novel, which still gets it 4/5 stars from me. The story concerns Rosetti family, famous for their poetry, art and criticism in the Pre-Raphaelite, haunted by the pseudo-vampires who also appeared in Powers' The Stress of Her Regard (which I have not read), and using the concept of eating ghosts which appeared in Expiration Date (whic ...more

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Apr 11, 2012 Lawrence Kapture rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy-new-weird

In London, 1845 a 14 year old Christina Rossetti, who will become a well known poet, accidentally awakens the vampire-ghost of her uncle. This will set in motion three decades of struggle as Christina, her brother Gabrielle, a hapless veterinarian and a reformed lady of the night are haunted and stalked by the two great vampires of London. The vampires inspire the Rossettis to create great poetry, but jealously kill anybody their poet "family" might love more than the vampires.

Tim Powers write ...more

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Feb 09, 2012 Kim rated it really liked it

Shelves: first-reads

Please note: I received an ARC of this novel through the First Reads program. The novel itself will be published on 3/13/12.

Tim Powers is an author I have been reading for at least 25 years. His particular blend of dark fantasy and historical fiction may not appeal to everyone, but I have always been impressed with the way Powers weaves his fantasy throughout the historical narrative, without disturbing the threads that are already there. Not surprisingly, my favorite Powers novels tend to be th ...more

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Jul 17, 2020 Amy (libraryofamy) rated it liked it · review of another edition

I read this book several years ago... I can't even remember when. All I can remember is that I spent several hours one day during one summer reading this, finishing most of it in one sitting.

I remember loving the beginning and ultimately feeling disappointed by the end. This story was very repetitive, and I felt like there were so many missed opportunities.

However, I still think about this book often. I truly can't remember what year I read it, but this is one of the few books that burned itself ...more

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Oct 11, 2018 Amy "the book-bat" rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2018, romance, history-historical, audiobooks, suspense, vampire, ghosts

This was a somewhat unusual book and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. I will say 3 stars for now, but that could change. ...more

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Aug 29, 2012 TheBookSmugglers rated it liked it

Original review posted on The Book Smugglers

In Tim Power’s 1989 acclaimed novel The Stress of Her Regard, the protagonist Michael Crawford battles vampiric forces of evil side by side with Byron, Keats, Shelley et al.

Hide Me Among the Graves is a standalone sequel to that novel, following John Crawford, the son of that novel’s protagonist as he battles the same sort of vampiric forces of evil, this time alongside another group of artists: the Rossetti family (Dante Gabriel, Christina and their s Original review posted on The Book Smugglers

In Tim Power’s 1989 acclaimed novel The Stress of Her Regard, the protagonist Michael Crawford battles vampiric forces of evil side by side with Byron, Keats, Shelley et al.

Hide Me Among the Graves is a standalone sequel to that novel, following John Crawford, the son of that novel’s protagonist as he battles the same sort of vampiric forces of evil, this time alongside another group of artists: the Rossetti family (Dante Gabriel, Christina and their siblings) and their surrounding group of friends.

The above is nothing but a cheeky, basic summary and Hide Me Among the Graves is a lot more than this basic premise. It’s a historical supernatural thriller that takes basic facts about the lives of its historical characters and plays with them in an atmospheric London of the late 19th century.

The Rossettis’ siblings have been haunted by the ghost-like vampiric presence of their uncle John Polidori ever since Christina succumbed to its allure when she was a young girl and opened the doors of her life (and that of her siblings, most notably Dante Gabriel) to this spectral presence. Years later, they are still struggling against this ghost and come to realise that Polidori is not the only vampiric creature and they are not their only victims. There is the veterinarian John Crawford whose father was a victim of the same sort of creature years before; as well as Adelaide McKee, a former prostitute whose daughter has gone missing. Her connection to both John and Dante Gabriel makes these two groups of people to join forces against a common enemy. Eventually they come to learn that there is a plan to destroy London.

There is a lot to enjoy about Hide Me Among the Graves. Starting with its particular take on vampirism: these vampires are spectral creatures who take over somebody’s dead form and function as succubi/incubi as well as muse to their victims. They exert influence and although they don’t make their living victims immortal they do expand their lifeline. This concoction of ideas serves as a great exploration of both the repulsion and attraction that these creatures engender in their victims especially those with artistic souls. This is sharply explored in the particular lives of the Rossettis and Christina has the biggest struggle of them all. Her repulsion toward her uncle is as great as her attraction. There is hatred and fear born out of her Christian upbringing and the knowledge that there is nothing natural about her relationship with this Polidori creature. But there is also love and lust and the certainty that her writing is at its best when she allows Polidori to exert his influence. There is a lot of tragedy here, present in the lives of the Rossettis and for them the biggest tragedy of all is their knowledge that their work is at its best only when they open their souls to possible damnation.

As interesting as this insertion of these characters into this Fantasy world is, Hide Me Among the Graves proves to be more engaging when it moves focus to the wholly fictional characters Crawford and Mckee. Mckee is a particularly well-drawn female character who is fully aware of this hidden London of magic, of curses and where ghosts can be trapped in birds. I loved McKee, her budding relationship with Crawford as well as her missing daughter Johanna – who turns out to be a funny and capable street urchin.

On the flip side, the basic plot of the novel – characters get together to fight the vampires and how this affects their personal lives – is rehashed many times throughout what can only be described as a very bloated book. This is a trap of Powers’ own making because by using the Rossettis as characters, he has to inevitably follow the course of their lives. In addition, despite the fact that so many characters suffer under this evil influence, Hide Me Among the Graves is a very plot-focused novel where events brought about by external influences kept leading characters here and there. Because of that, and I admit I am not usually a fan of plot-driven novels, it lacked something more substantial so that I could fully emerge myself and sink my teeth into this novel (pun not intended) with gusto.

Ultimately Hide Me Among the Graves is a very enjoyable, atmospheric read and I found it to be extremely engaging as I read it. I am trying to find a way to say that I think this is a good, solid novel but one that in spite of its clear qualities (and there are many), lacks a je ne sais quoi . And this missing… gravitas…prevents it from being a truly remarkable novel. ...more

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Nov 30, 2017 Christina Vasilevski rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, horror, 2017

The first section was great, but the book didn't quite land the ending. ...more

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Mar 24, 2012 Andrew rated it it was amazing

I have survived a string of Tim Powers novels that I didn't care much about (but also _Declare_, which I loved). So I worried about a long-interval sequel to _The Stress of Her Regard_. Unnecessary! This is one of the good ones.

The original book had Byron, Shelley, their crowd of artsy associates, and (protagonist) Michael Crawford. This one, set a couple of decades later, has Christina and Dante Rossetti, *their* crowd of artsy associates, and (new protagonist) John Crawford. Plus the vampires, ...more

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Jan 20, 2012 Laura rated it it was ok

Shelves: old-reads, mt-bookpile-2012

This one took a while to get into and figure out what was going on and which version of the vampire/ghost mythology was being put forward.

Turns out that John Polidori, friend to Byron and a doctor, became a vampire when he committed "suicide" and he's infected his brother-in-law, Gabriele Rossetti; Rossetti's children, including Dante Gabriel and Christina, take on the role of fighting these risen ghosts. Garlic, metal, silver bullets, staying in an enclosed area and using birds to capture the s ...more

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Apr 12, 2012 Jason Modisette rated it it was ok

A warning: this is a sequel to The Stress of Her Regard - which, strangely, is mentioned nowhere on the cover. The reader is assumed to be familiar with the non-standard vampire mechanics from the first book. The mechanics are further elucidated here - I admit I came out of Stress without a very good understanding of them - but I wouldn't recommend anybody read this book first.

Tim Powers always has good ideas, but in recent years he seems to have more and more trouble putting together a captiva ...more

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Sep 12, 2011 Gary rated it it was amazing

I just love Tim Powers. Well his writing anyway, having never met the man. What's not to love about a book about proper vampires ( they don't glitter) set in 19th century England with Christina Rossetti and her brother Dante Gabriel struggling to avoid being overcome by vampiric possession and maybe save the world as well? This book is up there with the best of Tim's work. So much atmosphere that it practically rolls in off the cold river Thames like an early morning mist...
Just get it and read. ...more

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Feb 10, 2016 Lana Sims rated it it was amazing

As a pre-Raphaelite fan and devotee of Christina Rosetti, I loved this book. The book is filled with characters from the time and the characters themselves are imbued with paranormal influences that are oddly apt for what is known of their personalities and writing. This is a masterful blend of poetry, paranormal events, vampires, myth, and adventure. Fans of On Stranger Tides will not be disappointed. While this is not a quick read, particularly if one is tempted to reread the poets during the ...more

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Mar 01, 2012 Stefan rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, did-not-finish

Here's the Fifty Page Fridays mini-review I wrote about this novel:

http://farbeyondreality.com/2012/03/1...

Short version: looks like a great novel, but it's probably best if you read The Stress of Her Regard first.

Long version: click on the link above! ...more

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May 20, 2017 Teàrlach rated it liked it

Shelves: reviewed, vampires, historical-fiction, gothic, faux-history, horror, supernatural, big-sigh, multiple-deaths, the-romantics

This one was almost a disappointment, because I loved The Stress of Her Regard so much, and the plot of this book (pretty much a sequel to The Stress) seemed a little stretched, a little repetitive in parts. I still liked it a lot, though, especially because it introduced me to poets and artists I hadn't exactly been interested in before. I looked up Algernon Swinburne during a reading break and spent the rest of the book snickering to myself whenever he showed up. He sure was something.

There w ...more

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May 24, 2017 Issabella rated it did not like it

DISCLAIMER. I haven't read the entire book, I didn't finish it(!), but I wanted to review it, so here we are. Some of this stuff may be, and quite possibly will be, settled at the end of the book, please keep that in mind. If you have read this book till the end, feel free to let me know if I'm completely missing the point.
I didn't want to keep reading, simply because I really didn't like it. Here's why:
1), Tolerant View of Prostitution. I don't want to have to go into details, just simply that ...more

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About Tim Powers

Tim Powers

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Timothy Thomas Powers is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Powers has won the World Fantasy Award twice for his critically acclaimed novels Last Call and Declare.

Most of Powers's novels are "secret histories": he uses actual, documented historical events featuring famous people, but shows another view of them in which occult or supernatural factors heavily influence the motivations a ...more

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“We need a pretty substantial favor.” She pointed at Crawford and herself. “He and I want to get married. Uh, Father Cyprian, this is John Crawford, and this is our daughter, Johanna.” The priest nodded sympathetically. “One does tend to keep putting these things off, doesn’t one?” — 1 likes

“The poem was called “Goblin Market,” and the book whose proof pages were on the desk was titled Goblin Market and Other Poems. Christina” — 0 likes

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