The Stress of Her Regard
by Tim Powers
List Price:
Our Price: $9.07
You Save: $5.88 (39%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $7.81 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Tim PowersEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-08-22
ISBN: 1892391791
Number of pages: 432
Publisher: Tachyon Publications
Book Reviews of The Stress of Her Regard
Book Review: A new edition of the genre-bending literary vampire novel
Summary: 5 Stars
Tim Powers is not a "vampire author." His oeuvre is a style of fantasy known as "secret history." Powers begins with real life people and events and weaves alternate versions of their "official" stories, suggesting unknown, and usually magical or occult, influences at work behind the recorded facts. Powers is one of the original authors whose style inspired the "steampunk" genre which has become so popular, and which naturally overlaps with a great deal of vampire fiction set in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries.
But Tim Powers' work defies easy categorization, and in many ways fits the newly recognized realm of Instititial Arts: creative work that combines, transcends or falls between standardized genre definitions. *The Stress of Her Regard* is fantasy, horror, literary fiction, historical fiction and vampire novel all at the same time. Originally published in 1989, at the beginning of a massive revival in vampire fiction, it's unquestionably one of the most unusual vampire tales written in the last six decades.
This is a literary novel in the classic sense: long, leisurely, meticulously crafted, and full of allusions to literature and cultural motifs. The plot spans six years and multiple countries, although the story, altogether, forms a sweeping epic beginning at the dawn of time. Powers never drops big expository boulders on his readers' heads, though--the complicated mystery of the lamia, or Nephelim, whose "regard" for their beloved victims is so destructive, unwinds bit by bit as the tale progresses.
*The Stress of Her Regard* brilliantly twists fantasy together with historical fact, and many details that sound like horror fiction are actually true. The original characters of Crawford and Josephine, whose rejection of her own identity leaves her vulnerable to the wiles of the lamia, are strongly drawn, complex and memorable. Powers' framing of a vast, mysterious conspiracy, with ancient supernatural powers, hidden riddles and secret societies, rivals anything written by Umberto Eco, let alone Dan Brown. I only wish that I had read this book much sooner! Now that it's back in print after fourteen years--with breathtaking cover art by Ann Monn--I urge all serious vampire fiction fans not to wait as long as I did. *The Stress of Her Regard* is an intelligent and original variation on the vampire theme.
Literature & Fiction Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Literature & Fiction Books
Little Womenby Louisa May Alcott
Scribner; Published: 1986-06-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops:
The Killing Groundby JACK HIGGINS
HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS LTD; Published: 2007; Hardcover; Book
Saving Fish from Drowningby Amy Tan
4th Estate; Published: 2005; Paperback; Book
Life Expectancyby Dean Koontz
Harpercollins Pb; Published: 2005-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Constant Princessby Philippa Gregory
Touchstone/Simon & Schuster; Published: 2005; Hardcover; Book
Wolf of the Plains (Conqueror, Book 1)by Conn Iggulden
Harper; Published: 2007; Paperback; Book
Saharaby Clive Cussler
Harper Collins Pb; Published: 2005-03-21; Paperback; Book
Perelandra (Cosmic Trilogy)by C. S. Lewis
Voyager; Published: 2005-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.67
Price in other shops:
The Lord Of The Rings: Part 2 The Two Towersby J. R. R. Tolkien
Harper Collins Publishers; Published: 2001; Paperback; Book
Red Marsby Kim Stanley Robinson
Trafalgar Square; Published: 2001-06; Paperback; Book
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Strange Itinerariesby Tim Powers
Tachyon Publications; Published: 2005-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.68
Price in other shops:
Hide Me Among the Graves: A Novelby Tim Powers
William Morrow; Published: 2012-03-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.95
Price in other shops:
The Bible Repairman and Other Storiesby Tim Powers
Tachyon Publications; Published: 2011-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops:
Earthquake Weatherby Tim Powers
Orb Books; Published: 2007-10-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
Expiration Dateby Tim Powers
Orb Books; Published: 2007-03-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.46
Price in other shops:
Last Callby Tim Powers
Published: 1996-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.37
Price in other shops:
Three Days to Neverby Tim Powers
Harper; Published: 2007-11-27; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.50
Price in other shops:
The Drawing of the Dark (Del Rey Impact)by Tim Powers
Del Rey; Published: 1999-11-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.24
Price in other shops:
On Stranger Tidesby Tim Powers
Harper; Published: 2011-04-26; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.96
Price in other shops:
The Anubis Gatesby Tim Powers
Ace Trade; Published: 1997-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.49
Price in other shops: