NECROSCOPE

MR. MACABRE

Registered
Joined
Jan 8, 2021
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
I'm a huge fan of BRIAN LUMLEY'S NECROSCOPE series. I also like his TITUS CROW series and all of his other short stories. As a horror fan my entire life, there are certain genres that I like more than others. Lovecraft and POE are two of my favorite authors, and LUMLEY is a close third. Even as a kid, I never thought that vampires were that interesting or scary. The one horror movie that involved vampires that I liked and watched several times was "THE HORROR OF DRACULA". Any movie with CHRISTOPHER LEE and PETER CUSHING in it was always worth a watch. LUMLEY'S series the NECROSCOPE is different though, he depicts vampires in a different way, and in my opinion, it makes them pretty scary. The series involves a man who discovers that he can literally talk to the dead, that everyone dies, but a little of your" personality" survives death, and if he goes into any graveyard, he can communicate with the people buried there. That's how he discovers that vampires are real, and that they pose a threat to humanity, and that he must try to stop them. The books also involve the soviet union, british intelligance, and dead vampires. Very well thought out, each book( I've read the first 6) is about 500-600 pages long, but once you get into them, they're a fast-read. What's your opinion of LUMLEY'S work, are you a fan, or do your tastes go in a different direction ?
 

David Penchyk

Registered
Joined
Nov 12, 2020
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
I'd read at least one of Lumley's short stories, I believe the Mythos-related one about the Lloigor, before reading Necroscope. That novel was highly original and I enjoyed it a great deal. I can imagine Charles Stross' Laundry novels were informed partly by it; the first Laundry novel had a great essay at the end suggesting Lovecraft wrote spy stories and Len Deighton wrote horror novels.

Necroscope brought vampires firmly back into the realm of the alien and monstrous, while visiting some of that on modern magic as well ("Oh, here's a Soviet necromancer, I suppose he's going to communicate somehow with oh Jesus what is he doing to that body...").
 
Last edited:

MR. MACABRE

Registered
Joined
Jan 8, 2021
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
When I first discovered the NECROSCOPE series, it was in the late '80s, and I couldn't wait for the next book to come out. I hadn't heard of LUMLEY before that, but going back through his other published stories I was surprised to learn that he had been writing since the early '70s if I remember correctly. He's a big fan of LOVECRAFT, and some of his short stories reflect that, especially his TITUS CROW stories. I've also read some of his other novels like HOUSE OF DOORS and DEMOGORGON. His NECROSCOPE series has grown to almost a dozen books by now, haven't read them all, but I have several of them and will read them in the future. Right now I'm re-reading all of LOVECRAFTS work, not sure what will be next.
 

David Penchyk

Registered
Joined
Nov 12, 2020
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Well, there are tons of worthwhile authors out there. I read a Laird Barron collection recently and rather liked it. I read a bunch of Stross's Laundry novels, which throw in a bit of low-key humor as well.

Lumney gets a bit of short shrift in Bitter Karella's Midnight Pals tweets, but it's all in good fun.

It sounds like some Occult Detective fiction might be up your alley. There are groups for it on Facebook, as well as Occult Detective Magazine.
 

williemeikle

The force is strong in this one.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 17, 2005
Messages
3,732
Reaction score
669
Location
Canada
Website
www.williammeikle.com
Another Lumley fan here, and have been since way back even before Necroscope. I've got a lot of signed first edition hardcovers of his, including a handful of the Necrosope ones. I found his Titus Crowe books a bit twee, and that last Necroscope trilogy with the 'new' necroscope was heavy going for me, but apart from them I generally enjoy his work.