How did you find Mr. Lumley?

[ShadoeWolfe]

If memory serves, this topic has been done quite a while back, but this will give some of the new members a chance to share their thoughts, as well as some old-timers. smile.gif

Just how did you stumble on reading the grand works of Brian Lumley and did the first story you read get you hooked - or did it take a couple of them?

As for me, I was wandering through the local bookstore horror section (they had one back then - now it is all lumped into Fiction) my senior year in high school and saw a nasty/cool looking skull on the spine of a book called Necroscope. I picked it up and read the cover - and figured what the hell.

Trying to read it during school took some time, but after 3 weeks I had it completed - and never was able to turn back. I went crazy and bought everything I could find from that point on. Thank God I was bored that one day and took a chance on a book I didn't know anything about!

How about the rest of ya?

[ August 22, 2002, 08:07 AM: Message edited by: ShadoeWolfe ]

[Vereor]

Well I'll throw my hat into the ring, although most people here have probably read in the newsletter how I came across Brian's works. While strolling through a store one day looking for a book to buy a friend for his birthday I purused the many selections that were there and decided on getting him "The Drawing of the three" by Stephen King. I had read the book recently and thought it was fairly entertaining. At the time I hadn't found a writer yet that really captured my imagination. When I stumbled across this really neat looking cover. I remember the feel of the cover being a little bit different from most books. Now I know you are going to think I am stupid, but the feel was one of the first things that got me. I was used to most paperback books having a slick cover, but this one was smooth. The texture was very interesting, I know what you're thinking, that I am some weird freak, but aren't we all. Anyways once I got past the interesting texture I noticed the artwork. The book was "Deadspeak" and I will always love the skull from that cover, it graces my computer screen. Well I had to have the book. I bought it read it and promptly went out searching for all of his other books. That was the beginning for me.

[Exsanguinator]

Desperately trying not to say, 'In the Fantasy Centre behind a glass of wine...'

The old man put me on, I was bored one day while watching the washing machine's spin cycle and asked him if he had anything decent to read - he gave me Necroscope II.

I hated it.

But then I found the first Necroscope and devoured it in a couple of days (was only 14 or near...) and then NecII became alot more interesting and before you knew it I was bugging those nice staff at WHSmith's for all they had on the computer - each week going in and asking if there was anything new out (what do you mean, it's been over a year since VW1, how long does it take to write a 750 page novel?) until I realised that everything that was in print then I had - and much of that was already disappearing from the shelves.

I blame my Dad for this obsession, but as far as obsessions go...

[Lagula Longarm]

As the old adage goes, "you should never judge a book by it's cover", but unfortunately I have to admit I did.
I have always read horror and to my shame overlooked the Necroscope's because I didn't much care for the cover design :eek: ...Now hold on before half of you blow a gasket, I'm talking about the New English book version (which I must add, got better as the books went on, so much so I had a tattoo done from one of the designs)
Well not for the first time (no doubt the last either) Mazrah knew better than me, and bought me a copy of Necroscope for my birthday. Quite ironically, I read Necroscope on holiday on a Greek Island and that is where my love for the work of Brian began.

[Goth Girl]

Again, this isn't the first time I've posted this, but here you go...!

I was visiting a boyfriend in London (was living in Cambridge at the time), and he had to go into University for a few hours, so knowing my penchant for vampires, he passed me a copy of Necroscope and said "try this, it should keep you quiet for a while". It looked a little bit too 'horror' for me, having been put off horror books by Stephen King (sorry to any SK fans, but that's just me!), but I thought I'd give it a go.

I started noticing place names that matched towns and villages that I grew up around in the North East of England, which really got me interested. Then I realised that I was totally drawn into the storyline... I was engrossed, I was there. I'm sure you all know what I mean! I didn't even notice when the boyfriend returned!

So the boyfriend vanished, but my love of Brian's writing has continued and grown, all the way through Necroscope, and into all his other work.

I actually ran into my ex in a pub a year or so ago... I thanked him then and I thank him now! :D

[ August 27, 2002, 09:26 AM: Message edited by: Goth Girl ]

[DC 1]

Never really thought about this before.

1980/81 I think. I was in the Army and stationed in a place called Chichester. I remember walking into the sergeant major's office and he had a couple of really cool books lying around. :cool:

I was hooked then but never managed to get a hold of my first book for about 8 months after that (Caller of the Black) which a m8 brought back from the good old US as a favour. :D

I never really started collecting until 1989/90 when I left the army. Never looked back since.

[Spike]

I Only started reading Brian's books about two years ago when i was at my first year in college. I was skipping class in my local waterstones, when i found a huge vampire encyclopedia. It was really good, i got to the "D" section and seen a picture of this guy, smearing blood all over himself. I thought cool!! and beneath the picture it said " Dragosani, Boris. See Lumley,Brian. Necroscope page 116"

I was instantly enthralled. I bought all the books and couldnt wait for the E-Branch Trilogy. I looked for the comics and found them along with the Mythos Omnibus. Am still trying to collect all the books i havent read.

[ August 28, 2002, 02:47 PM: Message edited by: Spike ]

[Lady Rissa]

smile.gif I was a sophmore in high school and one of my friends, Jeremiah, was reading Necroscope on the bus on the way to school (a good hour long journey). I asked what it was about as we were always comparing books. He smiled and let me read the 1st 2 chapters. He then had to tear it from my grasp because I did not want to give it up. After he finished the book, he let me borrow it while he read Nec 2. I devoured it and read it twice before he finished Nec 2. Before long, I had all of the books and had even surpassed him in the reading order. :D
I wonder where he is so I can thank him. :confused:

;) On another note, we lived very close to Bangor Maine (Stephen King's home town). Jeremiah once ran across SK in a local bookstore, held up one of Brian's books and told SK he thought BL was a better writer. smile.gif

True Story.

[ August 28, 2002, 06:10 PM: Message edited by: Lady Rissa ]

[Ema]

Hmm.. can't remember the year exactly, late 80's, but on one of my regular jaunts to the bookstore, was told by the manager of the store that there were new paperbacks out.. directed to said paperbacks and so picked up Demogorgon as I was intriqued with the tidbit I read on the back. :)

Then other life things hit me and the next time I stumbled upon his works was with House of Doors. Loved the book, remembered (although vaguely) that I had read another book of his so decided to read all the ones he had out (at that time started buying all books by authors I enjoyed and if they were series, then would try to get them all and read in sequence.. have never quit doing it that way!), buying what I could, as well as another copy of Demogorgon as I had lent it out and never got it back! Never thought a series with Vamps, ESP & Spying would be so great!

As far as this site.. was in a RPG with a group of folks in Yahoochat, and one of my characters was a benign necromancer, was asked by one member why I went that way (instead of the raising just for evil purposes..lol) and started telling him about the Necroscope, about how all necromancers weren't bad folks. While talking with him, did a search for Brian Lumley to get a book list link to give to him as my memory flies out the window at times..lol, and here I am! :) Oh, and converted him too btw :)

[Mike C]

The cover of the first Necroscope (in 1986 or 87) got me to pick up the book. I read it, I loved it... a year later I saw Vamphyri with the hint that the Source was forthcoming. Over the past 15 years I have been keeping an eye out for the next Brian Lumley work, and looking to fill in the older works from Ebay. :D

[JB_Lestat]

Hmmm... this takes me back, back, back to seventh grade... I just finished The Vamp Cronicles and being sickened and bored with her writing(can you blame me? :rolleyes: ), I went to the local(about 1/2 hour away...) Barnes and Noble and asked a nice knowledgeble gent what I should do... he took me to the Lumley/all better writers than Rice section, and it was big...(hehe... :eek: ); we scimmed this section for a bit and then he picked up Necroscope... and with that cover, that desciption, and such a lyrical name as Brian Lumley, I just had to get it. I have been hooked ever since... THE END

[Nathan]

Where I found Mr. Lumley can be found in Volume Four (2001), issue three (April/May) of the newsletter. smile.gif

[ September 10, 2002, 09:10 PM: Message edited by: Nathan ]

[The Bloody Lady]

I found him while browsing thru a bookstore in houston, i had run out of John Saul books and came across Lumley

absolutely fantastic!!!

[Silver]

I was 1996, I was in college and my class was trying to raise money for a work experience trip to France so we had a market stall. One of the girls brought a bin liner full of second hand books to sell that her boyfriend has kindly donated so we decided to sell them for one pound each or 3 for 1.50.

It was common knowledge that I was into horror - especially vampires so the girl who brought the books showed me some that her boyfriend said were about vampires. I had never seen anything by the author before but as they were so cheap I decided to give him a go!

I picked up the 5 books in the Necroscope series and another book by a different author for 3 quid!! They were already extremely well read and the covers really tatty but I was amazed, I couldn't put them down! I started to look for other books by The Master in the shops and bought as many as money would allow, usually one a month until I found that everything I wanted seemed to be out of print!! I never stopped looking though and when I got the internet I looked him up and found out about KC2 and now here I am!

[topol_sheap]

I was on holiday (stop me if you've read this before, but I'll make it short), in a nice cornish village (Saint Ives). I was bored and 12 (13 maybe)... was with parents who dragged me into a bookshop where I discovered a copy of the Source ( smile.gif )... the rest is as they say history....

[SpOOkshow]

It was 1987/88 (Memory doesn't tell me exactly).

I was in a bookshop called Fagins (now gone) in Derby's Saddlergate area.

I was looking for something new to read, and I wondered what lay behind those damn cool-looking black and silver covers...

'Necro-what?" I said.

Later on, I found out that BL wrote other stories in a Lovecraftian vein. That sealed it for me.

smile.gif

[Lady Karen]

I started back to front fisrt book i read was blood brothers then the last aerie and bloodwars.Necroscope i read after lol though the first book had me hooked and it was a friend who leant them to me about 6yrs ago never looked back since theres only one master of horror for me now.
Now im working my way through all the books reading compleat khash at the min. tongue.gif

[Lupa the Ancient]

I reckon it was about 1985/86 time .. I was around 15/16 and was an avid reader of Stephen King and James Herbert. I exhausted all the available reading matter and dabbled in other authors. Brian Lumley was certainly the most powerful, I started reading HPL and really haven't looked back since. I try other authors genres as much as possible, but always seem to come back to the horror/scifi/fantasy genre .. with the Master always on my reading list.. I always think I am wasting my valuble reading time if not. I think as Lumley like a fine wine .. gets better with age!! I think my mum and dad thought I would grow out of the horror genre when I was younger .....if anything as a married dad of 32 my interest is even more extreme, trying to get hold of collectable editions I missed when I was skint over the years! Lets hope I never grow up eh?!?

[Exsanguinator]

Hiya Lady Karen! Welcome and all that... Nice site, and is Slappy a relation of Eric Estrada? tongue.gif

Hope to hear more from you... smile.gif

[Lady Karen]

Hi,
and thanks slappys still never forgiven me for that one but im safe im in the uk and hes in the us lol.Site needs updating though lol :eek:

[Lady Karen]

PS looks like your site could be fun ;)