Necroscope

First off, I would like to apologise for the lack of posts. I ended up not reading much during Winter break, and then it took me forever to write this demmed review.

 

Level: Explicit

Genre: Fantasy/Horror > Vampires

Obtained: Purchased at Borders

Reviewed by: Nic Echo

About the Book:

Taking place during the Cold War in the 70's, we follow two main persons: Harry Keogh and Boris Dragosani. On Harry's path, we learn about his unique ability to commune with the dead and how he grows as a person. On the other path is Boris Dragosani, who doesn't so much as talk to the dead but torture information out of them. As a reader, we also get to see Boris grow as a character, but his path is tainted with the undead. It is tainted with the wamphyri. While we watch Harry grow from a child in both mind and body with his dead friends to help him along, Boris changes through treachery and greed. Finally, the two paths are tied together with a U.K. vs. U.S.S.R. ESPionage war, murder, and the teeming dead.

Rating: 10/10

This is  actually my second time reading this novel, and I loved it just as much as I did back then. Lumley writes a thrilling tale that fans of the non-romantic vampire and Lovecraft will enjoy. I, myself, have been scrambling to find the rest of this fantastic series. First off, even with such fantastic elements such as ESP and speaking with the dead, Lumley creates a very believable world. Supposedly, he helped serve before hand and uses this to his advantage. Now,  will admit that I know very little about espionage and military so if there are faults, I would not be the one to spot them.

Lumley was also quite original while keeping some of the vampire myths such as blood lust and an aversion to sunlight, but his vampires are not created with a typical bite. Lumley's vile creatures are parasitic leeches that infuse themselves to a human host. I also found it interesting that the vampire, Thibor Ferenzcy, lies within the ground throughout  most of the book and yet remains terrifying. Although weakened, you know he is not one to mess with lightly.

Now, one issue I often have with the first book in a series is that I tend to find it dragging or a bit mediocre due to all the introductory elements. However, I did not find this to be the case at all in Necroscope. I gobbled up the tales of the Wamphyri, relished in Harry's journey, and enjoyed learning the turmoils of the ESP branches.

Now, I will say this book isn't action packed. Don't get me wrong; there is action enough, but this is a book consisting mainly of development, especially concerning the characters Harry and Boris. Now, just because it isn't action scene after action scene does not mean it moves at a snail's pace. On the contrary, I found the story constantly unfolding with each page with a brilliant twist at the end.

Before I complete my review, I do feel that I should make note that this tale can get pretty graphic at times so if you have a weak stomach, you may want to pass on this one. If you are up for some gore and a fair amount of thrills, I would highly suggest this novel. It's a brilliant read with well developed characters and a most interesting concept that will keep you up late at night.

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