Lumley's vampires are thoroughly evil and thoroughly cool. Not like that sparkly fairy from Twilight. Keogh may have come on a little too strong, too fast though. ( )

I have several friends who love this series, and being a fan of the occult, I thought I would. Being a fan of political intrigue, I thought I would like it. No...no...not really. The one character that I found to be engaging was not developed at all (Harry) and I was disappointed by that. The plot idea was very engaging, but the writer missed the followthrough in the actual production of the work. The characters seem to be undeveloped, overdramatic and stilted. The descriptions are long, drawn-out and redundant. Just about everything in these books seems to be wolf-like, monstrous, bat-like or demonic. Where's a thesaurus when you need one? And the editing left something to be desired. It has been a long time since I have seen to many typos in a book!

I gave this two stars because I was able to slog my way through to the finish...something I was not able to do with book 2--and being someone who reads everything from comic books to classic literature, I can count on one hand the number of books I have not finished in the last 20 years. Apologies to my friends who love him, and to Lumley himself--just not for me! ( )

Imaginative and unpredictable.

Two words any reader wants to see. Lumley delivers a great piece of horror fiction with Necroscope. It's a slow builder, carefully building a detailed history of the two main characters, the adversaries with paranormal powers. The central plot tells the story of a personal fight between good and evil, saturated with plot twists, foreboding menace and originality. The surrounding influences for the plot are all well described, a factor which no doubt encouraged Lumley to continue the Necroscope series. Necroscope cleverly entwines science and legend to create a book which will demand your attention to the very end - and what a finale. It is a standalone story and a real treat which is in no way dated. ( )

Back in the day I went through a vampire phase brought on by Anne Rice’s books. Thankfully the harlequin romance of vampire series wasn’t out yet (yeah, I’m looking at you Stephanie Meyers). I’m not a soppy sort of girl so wouldn’t have been attracted to that series even if it were out. Instead I got sucked up into the world of Harry Keogh and the espers. I bet I’m practically the only woman who read and enjoyed this series. Honestly I have only read the first five before getting bored, but I did like them and so am reading them over again.

In this imagining vampires are parasitical organisms as old as humanity itself. They have, in fact, evolved along with us and are completely dependent on us for pretty much their higher life support. Oh sure, without a host a vampire can exist, but it cannot thrive. It’s all very biological, but in turn for acting as host the human is rewarded with long life, weird ‘super powers’ and amped emotions and responses.

But vampires are still evil and must be stopped. This involves two rival government organizations dedicated to the pursuit of supernatural powers to further the ends of their own governments. Chiefly Russia and Britain take this stuff seriously and Harry is discovered and recruited by the British organization. Because of a massive evil presence in the form of Boris Dragosani, he wages war on the Russian ESP headquarters.

But this is only the end of the book. What leads up to it is much more interesting. Harry’s ability to speak to the dead and to allow them to speak through him gives him enormous talent beyond his natural scope. In Lumley’s world the dead exist as pure mind and once a genius always a genius and their work continues long after death. Theories and formulas never dreamed of in living humanity are a dime a dozen in dead humanity and Harry learns to harness the metaphysical powers of the Mobius strip to literally jump through time and space. Very handy.

Another interesting aspect of the book is the relationship between Dragosani and Thibor Ferenczy aka The Old Thing in the Ground. Thibor is an ancient vampire who has been rendered helpless by men centuries ago. He’s chained and imprisoned in the ground physically, but his psychic presence can still wander among men. It finds Dragosani and further corrupts him. I won’t give the game away, but it does not end well.

Am continuing on with Necroscope II and the rest of the five I own because the story is different. It’s not romantic. It’s visceral, brutal, esoteric and just weird. If you are tired of teenaged vampires lounging to death of ennui or sword wielding vampire slayers trying not to become enslaved by the very thing they battle, give Lumley’s Necroscope series a try. ( )

The first in a great series...Really good! ( )