Tim Powers, as John Clute memorably puts it, has a knack for expertly punishing his protagonists, and though he has mellowed in recent books, this is peak punishment, a veritable holocaust visited upon the couple caught up in the plague of vampirish lamias latching on to men and women, especially the romantic poets of the era, and giving them unnatural long life while jealously destroying everyone they love. The reader is made to feel every hurt and humilation, but also their strength of character as they struggle against formidable odds to remain themselves. A riveting suprnatural epic.