I really enjoyed Roberts' writing style. The wordplay he uses throughout this book is incredible. It has such fantastic elements of metafiction, allusions, and use of language.

While I greatly enjoyed his language and the philosophical nature of this book, the plot was a little convoluted. I wish the timeline of Graham's life was more clear and I did not enjoy that due to Graham's stay in the woods, the reader was denied a knowledge of what occurred politically around the bêtes and their existence. I think it could have been very interesting to see exactly how the legal status of bêtes unfolded and when the war started. But alas, due to a plot point, this was not something I got to learn about.

Possibly the gayest book I've ever read, which is wild considering it was published in 1872.

But seriously: if you are a Dracula fan, a gothic literature fan, and/or a lesbian fan, there is PLENTY of gothic vampire romance in this little book! I read it in about an hour and loved every minute of it.

Did I mention it's really gay?