Necroscope (Necroscope, 1)

The Necroscope series are my favorite vampire books as they are not written in the usual sense of vampires from Pennsylvania but instead travel beyond your thoughts of what the world is like and takes you to an alternate universe where the vampires can and do have their own talents and create their bodies in their own view. They also create their own "monsters" that they use for various reasons.

Harry Keogh tells the story of his first battle with the mysterious Wamphyri, an undead race also called vampires, and how he came to be a renowned ESP agent for the British, almost... Brian Lumley relays this tale with such a vivid imagination and an unformulaic style that he actually veers into a science fiction sub-genre without any visible seams in the plot. Highly recommended for horror fans looking for something more than a gory kill-fest.

Its been three years since I bought NECROSCOPE and I still can't find any horror series even remotely as good. The first installment of the series plunges us into a world of cold war, secret goverment agencies, western and eastern block, intriguing characters and a race of vampires that is so impressive and so unlike anything I've ever seen that I can't even being to explain them. I wont waste any more words so I'll just say: buy this book, you won't regret it.

I'm not sure where to begin praising the Necroscope series. Let me try to break things down scientifically...1. Brian Lumley's writing style is... unique. He truly shines during this series, but... buyer beware. He has a quirky style to say the least. Don't look for characters who mirror real-life. They don't. Don't look for his "pseudo-science" to make too much sense... it doesn't. But the rewards far outweigh any suspension of disbelief you'll have to excercise. DO look for quality, suspense filled writing that builds and builds until it hits the boiling point! DO look for some of the most inventive and original use of "blood-and-guts" ever to be put on paper, and somehow he manages to keep the descriptions eloquent and elegant.2. These books contain, without question, the greatest vampire literature in the history of mankind. This is not a joke, nor is it blind worship of the author. Lumley's vampires are leaps and bounds above any other vampire characterizations you will ever find, period.3. Lumley's use of stories-within-stories is also top notch. He is the only author I know (with the possible exception of older King) who can tell a very long and detailed history of a character or plotline (for hundreds of pages sometimes!) without losing his readers or becoming boring. You WANT to know what happened way back when, and when Lumley is finished, you crave more!4. Lumley seems to be a bit of an enigma. I've read other works; The House of Doors (terrible), Psychomech (even worse), and Demogorgon (passable, I think, but I don't remember it AT ALL!). I have never come across an author who is sooo good at one particular brand of story or series, yet falls flat with everything else.Anything else I say here would probably ruin the plots, so I will quit now. Buy this series.

People need to know some things about Brian Lumley's writing in general, and this series in particular.My firm belief is that the idea had gone as far as it should have with the first three books. Of the subsequent novels, there's perhaps two good novels of material spread over about six books, more or less.My advice is to get the first three, and then buy used copies of any others. After awhile, Lumley's egregious use of exclamation points wears on a reader. And, honestly, the ideas are better than his execution at times.However, the *ideas* are incredibly good, and really, the first three books are excellent diversions and good reads. Not strictly "horror"- this isn't scary like Salem's Lot is scary- but if you made the first book into a movie, you'd probably have a box office hit grossing $100 million.