Not one of Powers' best books, it's a story of various people in 19th century London haunted by ghostly figures referred to sometimes as vampires, but largely unrelated to the ones we know. The rules surrounding the creatures and how they're dealt with or worked around are hazy at best, and the eventual climax isn't very satisfying. It's sort of a sequel to The a Stress of Her Regard, and if you enjoyed that one then you'll probably like this one (I don't rank Stress among his best, either). But as a fan of his more tightly-plotted novels, I don't think this one measures up. ( )

I admired it. Well written and the way he uses real poems and events to fit into his novel is clever. But I didn't love it; I'm not sure how much I even liked it. But it is the sort of book which may resonate and I'll think better of it after a few months. ( )

Let start with what this is about: Poets and prostitutes, veterinarians and vampires (well, sort of). A missing child, struggles against strong temptations, love, death, spirits, ... oh, and poetry. While Stress made Lord Byron, and Shelley, and Keats into characters, this follows the Rossetti siblings, especially Christine and (Dante) Gabriel, along with their friend Algernon Swinburne. It explains the shifts in subject matter and quality of their poems through the years by way of a supernatural influence. But that's not all that's happening here, and fans of British history may be pleased to discover who else shows up here.

When I read [b:The Stress of Her Regard|417656|The Stress of Her Regard|Tim Powers|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1503059955s/417656.jpg|937457], I enjoyed it, but didn't quite realize what it was, since I'm so used to thinking of Powers as a fantasy writer, and that's how I made sense of it. But in this sequel, which begins 30-ish years after the last book's events, the genre is inescapable. This is Gothic Horror (although notably lacking both clergy and castles), and it has more in common with Frankenstein or The Picture of Dorian Gray than it does with Last Call or Declare. Once I recognized that, my enjoyment of the book went up dramatically. If you like that kid of thing, and you like the Rossettis, I think you'll like this too.

( )

https://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2021/01/2021011-hide-me-among-graves-tim-powers.h... ( )

While I usually enjoy Powers, this one was a miss for me. The return to the "vampires infest Romantic poets" world of The Stress of Her Regard doesn't really unveil anything new or introduce any really interesting new ideas, and seems to consist of a repeated cycle of confrontations with very little variation in between. There are some creepy parts, but not quite enough to save this from being average. Still, Powers at his average is a lot more interesting than most. ( )