Brian Lumley was born on the 2nd December 1937, in Horden on the northeast coast of England. He left school at the age of 15 to start a career as a woodcutting machinist. Getting married at the age of 21 he joined the Army as a Royal Military Policeman. He became a ‘lifer’ and went on to complete 22 years of continuous service. Having started collecting HP Lovecraft stories around 1960 in Germany, and after serving 3 years in Cyprus (1963-6), he ended up in Berlin where he wrote to August Derleth at Arkham House, Sauk City, Wisconsin. Brian wanted to buy some Lovecraft titles and had included a few hideous ‘excerpts’ from the dreaded Necronomicon in his letter. Derleth was so impressed by the letter that he asked to see more stories written by Brian. So he wrote some and in turn August bought them. Amazingly, it was as simple as that – Brian had become a writer. But he was also a soldier, it was his bread and butter, while writing was merely a hobby.
The author HP Lovecraft exerted a terrific influence on Brian and he wrote stories set ‘after’ HPL – in fact a host of stories and novels with a Cthulhu Mythos background. His first work was published by Derleth in 1968. Prior to December 1980, when he completed his military service, he simply wrote for his own amusement – and if it got published (which all of it did) then so much the better.
During this time he was finding his niche in letters, developing a style, building towards a second career. And when he left the Army, he carried on writing as he explains: “There were a couple of lean years. I order to eat I worked as a glorified night watchman at a huge store in Oxford Street, but at nights when the place was empty I was writing the Psychomech trilogy. It sold and I was able to quit ‘working’ and just write.”
In 1984, Brian wrote Necroscope and things really took off. Necroscope was a breakthrough in the Vampiric genre. His Vampires and ‘Wamphyri’ dispensed with all the romantic connotations that have followed the Vampire mythos since Anne Rice first picked up her pen. The true Vampires are actually bloodthirsty, primitive parasites or ‘leeches’ that control their ‘host’ vessels from within. They feed on blood and amplify the host’s strengths and emotions in order to get what they want. In return they give near invulnerability and the usual Vampiric superhuman abilities – excellent night vision, metamorphism, immense brute strength, various mind reading abilities and hypnotism amongst others.
This thesis on the Vampire myth allowed Brian to successfully tie in the various Eastern European myths with his species of Vampire. For instance, ‘leeches’ that infected a wolf or fox would become technically a Vampire-dog. They would then infect a human host (via a bite) and the host would become a Vampire with the traits of the original vessel. The new host would in fact be a Vampire/human that resembles the legend of the werewolf – with dog-like features and the behavioural traits of barking and howling at the moon.
There is another group known as the ‘Wamphyri-Lords’. These creatures are hosts that have been infected by their ‘leech’ for so long that they have merged and become ‘one’ sentient being. The tenacity of the ‘leech’ and its will to survive, amplifies those of the host and this is what makes the ‘Wamphyri’ oh-so-very deadly. They have various ways of reproducing other Vampires, either by biting their victim in the usual way (the victim is then in thrall), or they can produce one solitary egg. The only exceptions to this rule are the ‘queens’ who can produce many hundreds of eggs. A victim who is touched by the ‘egg’ becomes a member of the ‘Wamphyri’ clan. The fact that they can only produce one ‘Egg-son’ means that they are an incredibly selective bunch. It is this hybrid of the Vampire and human species that gave rise to the Vampire legends on Earth. In essence they are what we would see as the typical Vampire.
Given that Brian has obviously spent a long time thinking about the Vampire myths and legends we wondered why he chose to have them feature so predominately in his books. A thoughtful Brian answered: “I’ve always liked Vampires. I read Dracula when I was very young… never forgot it. But poor old Bram was restricted… it was obvious what he was getting at, but he could not state it in so many words. (These days you can, and I do.) Later, I was very much into EC Comics – the ones they banned – but of course that was the late 50s when they also stopped Elvis Presley from wriggling about on stage. God, what an age of prudes! Anyway, I always enjoyed the Vampire tales in EC, and in Weird Tales, and later still I read Richard Matheson’s incredible I Am Legend. So yes, I suppose you could say I’ve always been hooked (or staked) on Vampires – but I knew that when it was my turn I’d have to do it differently. Very differently.”
He continues: “I have no idea why the Vampire is so appealing. Perhaps it’s the sheer, awesome strength of the beast. They are, after all, superhuman. But the fact is (if you think about it) you really wouldn’t want one in your house… I don’t know if they can evolve. I mean, there are certain rules you can’t mess with. Strong sunlight kills. Garlic makes for nausea. They feed on blood, which makes a) dead people or b) undead people, more Vampires. The logical (?) conclusion is that the world will become theirs – and Matheson’s already done that in I Am Legend.”
So how did he derive his unique concept of the Vampire, which is far more barbaric and bestial than say, the conventional ‘Dracula’ or Anne Rice type and if given the choice, would he ever choose to become one?
“I don’t know why so many prefer romantic styles. But I know that the ones who prefer my creatures, the Wamphyri, are highly in favour of them,” explains Brian. “My website is full of letters from fans declaring that the Wamphyri “kick ass” or some such, usually meaning some other Vampire author’s ass. I don’t always agree with them; that is, I think it would be a very narrow world if every writer wrote but one type of story.”
“I suppose it all depends on what you’re looking for. If you want to be seduced by a ‘romantic’ Vampire, be turned and experience the bitter thrill of undeath, then that’s your bag. You’d have to put up with the smell, of course,” laughs Brian. “Remember, you’d have a hard time with the old olfactory system standing fifteen feet away from the original Count! They live on blood, for goodness sake! But there’s no sign of romanticism in my creatures – only the stark reality that if they don’t devour you, then you’re in thrall to them for the rest of your days. Become one? Never! They’re not masters of their own destinies, but are influenced utterly by their parasite leeches. This is why they put so much emphasis on “free will” – because they have none of their own. How did I derive and develop the Wamphyri? I honestly don’t know. Like Topsy, the thing ‘just growed’.”
Brian’s horror novels contain elements that verge on the borders of science fiction and other genres. Take for example, his main antagonist in the Necroscope series, Harry Keogh, who uses a dimension that is between everything that is called the Möbius Continuum. Inside the continuum, he can travel anywhere on Earth in the blink of an eye. He conjures up a set of mathematical equations and hey presto – a door opens and in he walks. Once inside – again he uses the equations – he conjures another door and steps out into his choice of destination. Rather controversially, I think, Brian’s Möbius Continuum has influenced some other writers. The main example I can use is Freda Warrington and her Crystal Ring. Although only Vampires can use her ‘ring’ it has the same kind of usage for them as does the Möbius Continuum in that they can travel huge distances in a very short space of time.
Another phase of Brian’s genre breaking is Starside – a world where the original Vampires come from. Along one side is a vast swamp and this is the source of the Vampire ‘leeches’. Along the other side is a range of mountains where the Szgany live, this group of ‘gypsies’ are sets of nomadic tribes who also happen to be the main food source for the Wamphyri. There is also a gateway to Earth that is known as the Hell-Lands Gate. The Wamphyri have been throwing their kind through the gate for many millennia and this is the source of Vampires on Earth in Brian’s perspective. On Earth there is an exact replica of the gate under a lake in Romania and this is where the Wamphyr exit onto Earth. Many Szgany have also been thrown into the gate and this is how the legend of the Vampire was maintained on Earth, as these Szgany tribes became the Romanian countrymen that are the voice of those legends.
Brian’s Necroscope series also feature an array of ESP orientated groups and they possess many different powers such as mind reading, locating etc. They work for different Government branches and this gives the books a distinct military element. There is a definite ‘Cold-War’ element involved in his Necroscope books and combined with the Espionage elements of the Psychosphere trilogy his stories would not look out of place in the great ‘spy’ thrillers of the 20th century.
The amazing thing is that Brian doesn’t actually think that he is crossing any boundaries. He told us: “I don’t recognize genre restrictions. I have never seen it as crossing over. Story is story, and I go where the idea takes me. And anyway, the success of these books surely points up the value of cross-pollination, right? In the USA my TOR Books have sold in excess of 2,000,000 copies, and Necroscope itself is in its 11th printing – 12th with the hardback. If that’s a result of hybridized genres, so be it…” This is a particularly revolutionary thought as traditional ‘horror’ novels are subject to ‘genre-racism’ at the moment, as publishers maintain that such novels are not currently good sellers and have little public interest.
Perhaps it is due to this attitude of Brian’s that his books have been such a success. Not quite out-and-out ‘horror’ (although they are indeed horrific in nature and content), they cross-pollinate the different genres with fact and fiction and appeal to readers that wouldn’t normally read horror.
“I tried to make the books contemporary with the times,” emphasizes Brian. “And yes, I suppose my military background influenced me quite a bit. I mean, you can’t be a career soldier without becoming aware of what’s happening in the very dangerous world all around you… or how close you are to the edge in places like Berlin when the Wall was there, or Cyprus when the Greeks and Turks were fighting it out, or many another ensieged or embattled region.”
The original Necroscope book stands alone as a single novel and its success gave birth to a whole procession of sequels. We asked if it was always Brian’s intention to create a series of Vampire novels or is it as much a surprise to him (as it is to us) that he is now on book eleven of the superior Vampire saga?
“It is as much a surprise to myself, yes.” Brian recalls. “When I killed off Harry Keogh it was like Holmes at the Reichenbach Falls all over again. “Oh no!” the cry went up. “No more Necroscope!” Fact is I continued the series because of fan pressure – but that can’t be allowed to go on. (Incidentally, I’m now on book number 13.) It has to stop now before the idea becomes stale. But I’ll try not to disappoint anyone – I intend to go out with a bang!”
After emphasizing how much detail goes into every one of Brian’s fantastic books, we asked how much his books, especially his first ever novel, compared to the original drafts submitted for publication? We wanted to know if he self-censors his work heavily or does he get someone else to do it for him.
“I never do second drafts. When the story’s done it’s done. One draft, and that’s it. But I do clear up ambiguities as I go along. As for my first novels, Beneath the Moors and The Burrowers Beneath: one word was changed in BTM, and nothing, not even a comma, was changed in TBB. Very, very little of my stuff has been edited at all. I do get the occasional editorial ‘suggestion’ from my very clever editor at TOR; where they make sense I incorporate them. And Nick Austin – my long-time editor in the UK and a personal friend – has sometimes pointed out a better word or expression than the one I’ve used. But that’s about the extent of it.”
The myriad of characters in Brian’s books always seem to be traveling to foreign shores. Brian’s official website (www.brianlumley.com) even states that he lived in the US for a while himself and we know that he has traveled a great deal during his ‘stay’ in the British Army. We wanted to know why did he decide to move from the US back to the UK, when most British authors seem to move the other way. A surprised Brain told us, “What? I’ve never lived in the USA – though I do frequently visit. But I’ve seen many parts of the world, and you’d better believe me there’s no place like England.”
Brian’s books heavily feature mentions of the works of many famous scientists and philosophers (such as Mobius in the Necroscope books) and we wondered if there were any historical figures or eras that he would have like to have met or experienced?
Without hesitation Brian replied: “Albert Einstein. Relativity has to be the most fascinating concept ever. I would just like to see if I could even grasp at the sheer depth of his mind. I mean, I wouldn’t have to be able to follow it… just listening to him would be a killer.”
The UK editions of Brian’s books have some truly fantastic artwork, provided from the mind and studio of George Underwood. George clearly loves his work and spends time getting minute but intriguing little details from each book into his illustrations. The Necroscope novels for instance have a fantastically, gruesome looking set of skulls that grace each and every cover. It means that the reader can always tell when he or she is looking at a Brain Lumley novel. My main surprise is that if you visit Brain’s website there are no examples of George’s artwork in sight. What you do get however, are lots of pictures that were illustrated by Brian’s American artist, Bob Eggleton. We asked Brian how much say does he have in the cover designs for his books, which is his favourite cover and which is his favourite novel that he’s written? We also asked if any other artists influence or inspire him in his work.
“George has done some powerful work on the Necroscope books. We usually talk about what he’ll do, and then he goes to it. He has the feel of the books, I think. I can remember one jacket I wasn’t especially fond of – for one of the Lost Years titles, I think – and George obliged with a different version that was a killer. I’ve been very fortunate with my covers; in the USA Bob Eggleton has produced some beauties. His first jacket for Necroscope (the infamous Vampire skull) won the 1989 Magazine & Bookseller Best Book Cover Award. But one of my all-time favourites has to be George Underwood’s jacket for The Compleat Crow.”
“The cover that has done me the most good was certainly the Eggleton skull on what has to be my favourite book, if only because it was my breakthrough book – Necroscope,” explains Brian.
“I’ve always loved the illustrations in the horror and fantasy books and magazines. But I’m not influenced or inspired by them; I just naturally like them. Dave Carson’s b/w Lovecraftian work; Virgil Finlay in Weird Tales; Hannes Bok on the Arkham House titles; Frazetta, Boris Vallejo, all the artists from the EC era… the list goes on and on. I used to do a bit of illustrating myself for the fanzines back in the early fifties. That’s the 50s, yes. Hey, I’ve been around a while!”
Let’s go back to Brian’s writing – last year he released a book of Vampire short stories, ‘A Coven of Vampires’. This book wasn’t just another installment of the now infamous Necroscope series. There are no mentions of E-Branch, Harry Keogh or any of the other wonderful characters that Brian has written about in the last fifteen or so years. It’s a superb collection of the Vampire-related stories (thirteen in all) that preceded those books. Many were originally published in such obscure titles as Nameless Places and The Caller of the Black. These stories are extremely varied in content too. None of them are standard Vampire fare and range from Conan the Barbarian style adventures to Tales of the Unexpected chillers. My personal favourites from this collection are Back Row, Uzzi, and in particular Haggopian.
You would be forgiven for expecting a book that has stories spanning over a quarter of a century to be of varying quality but, rather surprisingly, all these stories can stand on their own merit. Even the fascinating foreword from Brian (where he briefly talks about his love of Vampires and their influence on his life) is of an undeniable quality. Anyone out there who has aspirations of being an author of short stories should use this book as the benchmark of quality. We wanted to know if it was a conscious decision to change format from novels and what he thinks the plus/minus points of each form are.
Brian replied, “Coven of Vampires was just a collection of thirteen Vampirish tales that I had written over a period of thirty years! I figured that since Vampires were ‘in’ it was a good time to put these stories together in one book. The Fedogan & Bremer hardback (USA) sold out in a six-month (and F&B won a World Fantasy Award for their efforts that same year) But, the British edition lost a couple of pages from one of the stories. This error was corrected when they reprinted…”
“A short story is basically an idea. A novel is a string of ideas with one theme or two where story lines come together at the end. I don’t go much on wasting good ideas on short stories when I could be writing novels. Also, a short story may earn an author maybe 200 pounds sterling, which means he’ll have to write twelve or thirteen in a year just to earn 50 pounds sterling a week! In the same length of time he could have written a novel and earned five to ten times as much. What’s more, publishers much prefer to publish novels.”
Huge casts of different writers have influenced Brian during his career. We asked him which were his favourites and he replied, “The authors who have most influenced me – other than HP Lovecraft – would probably be Abraham Merritt, Jack Vance (who I find simply marvelous), and H. Rider Haggard. High adventure writers all…”
Whilst speaking about his influences we asked if his family had bestowed his love of writing upon him and Brian recalled: “My mother was a great reader, likewise my brother, but there wasn’t a writer among ‘em. My father was a coal miner who once told me, ‘There’s no money in words, lad…’” It just goes to show that he couldn’t have been more wrong.
The Necroscope books have translated well into most other types of graphic media. There has been a hand-painted graphic novel (published by Malibu) and several attempts at recreating Brian’s fantastic worlds into comics form. With many graphic novels – Blade, The Crow , etc. – working well as movies, we wanted to know if film or animation is the next step for Necroscope and if Brian has ever been approached for film purposes?
“I’ve had offers for Necroscope, but not the right kind, not as yet. And I don’t need it; I’m not hard up for a few quid. So I can afford to wait. Necros (the short story, not Necroscope) was filmed for TV in the US (as part of Ridley and Tony Scott’s ‘The Hunger’ series – AD) That’s one short story that really paid its way. And I’m talking at the moment to someone in America about a project…but I’ve found that talking about these things is the kiss of death, so I don’t.”
All good authors, be they horror or otherwise, get movie offers from time to time. Brian and his Necroscope books are no exception. Brian has rightly told us that he doesn’t need the film industry as he has made enough money from his writing, but after visiting the website and reading the newsletter I have found that I agree with a couple of points. Notably that many Lumley fans have begun noticing that a great many movies have storylines that borrow heavily from some of Brian’s finest works. These films would include Event Horizon, Stargate, Stargate-SG1 (the TV show), and even The Sixth Sense – starring Bruce Willis. Each and every one of these movies has made some use of one or more of Brian’s original ideas. Whether it is the Mobius Continuum in Event Horizon or the Egyptian/Alien gods of Stargate, the influences are definitely there. The Sixth Sense, with Bruce Willis as a child psychologist trying to help a boy who claims to speak to the dead seems like a direct rip-off of the young Harry Keogh to me. I haven’t seen the film yet but it does seem like too much of a coincidence. I think some people need to step up and give credit where credit is due. Part of the problem is this: where do you draw the line between Brian’s original idea, artistic license and a blatant rip-off? We may be bordering on a libel suit here but the true Lumley fans will ultimately know the truth. You see, Brian Lumley fans love both the books and the movies. However, this is reminiscent of what Brian always says about a Necroscope movie. If they (Hollywood) fuck it up, then he can wash his hands of it and say he had nothing to do with it. But if they nail it on the head and the movie is a huge blockbuster success – well, then that’s all the better for Brian. This is because the true fans will know and the fans are all that Brian really cares about. Not the money, movie studios, producers, directors and stars – just the fans.
Keeping on the subject of film, we wondered what film genres interest Brian and what his favourite films are.
“I like good old-fashioned westerns, John Wayne especially. Some film noir. Really good SF or horror, of which there isn’t too much around. The Searchers and True Grit, Wayne. The ‘original’ Hammer Dracula with Christopher Lee; the music going “da-dada!” (Draculaaaa) as he strides the castle’s roof, with his cloak belling behind him. I also like Carpenter’s The Thing an awful lot. The first and second Alien/s. As for Species…forget it! How did Ben Kingsley get mixed up in that?”
Brian has given many interviews throughout his distinguished career. One thing that is hardly ever discussed is his writing environment. We wondered about this and asked if he needs complete silence or does he have to be at a particular desk for example? We also wanted to know what Brian does during his leisure time – when he’s not writing.
Brian told us, “I have the same desk – more a kitchen table, really – that I’ve been using for eighteen years. It carries an ancient Adler electric typewriter, word processor, keyboard and printer, with plenty of space left over for an ashtray, a drink, various pens and a heap of paper. I can’t do with silence; music is playing, my cat is wandering in and out trying to lure me to the kitchen where his plate is always empty; my telephone is to hand; minor disturbances don’t bother me at all. I relish short breaks out in the garden, and all through the summer I’m just as likely to be in my pool as at my desk. When I’m not writing I’m swimming, playing with Jasper (my cat), watching the news or the Star Trek series or spin-offs, or sleeping, on holiday (I love the Greek Islands), or just answering emails, fooling about with my American wife Barbara Ann – I call her ‘Silky’ – and doing all the things that everyone else does.”
We also wondered about music. At Bloodstone there is always some kind of music playing in the background. We find it helps get things done a lot quicker and makes for a better environment. We asked if music was an important tool when he’s creating his books?
“A day rarely goes by without I listen to something by Ray Charles. I have a very comprehensive Ray Charles collection. I got hooked on him back in 1960; heard What I’d Say on AFN (the American Forces Network) in Germany; rushed out the next morning and bought it, and been buying it ever since. They didn’t call him the Genius of Soul for nothing. He never fails to provide the right mood for me. Other music: I like a bit of everything. Pop and classical alike. If it’s good, I’ll listen to it.”
Changing tack a little, we wondered what would Brian’s advice be to aspiring writers generally, and within the horror genre in particular. “I don’t think I could advise aspiring writers any more than I could teach them. I don’t believe writing can be taught. And these How-to-write books are a sheer rip-off. That’s my personal opinion. I mean, surely if a person has the skill to write good fiction you won’t find him writing any half-baked ‘theories’ of writing! He’ll be doing it, not explaining how it’s done. Even if he is the ultimate altruist, and if he actually knows how to write, still he won’t be giving away his secrets. Can you see a card-sharper writing a manual on How-to Cheat at cards? I don’t know, maybe they have. But it’s not an equitable life, Henry…Advice to the would-be horror writer:written horror is definitely declining. It has been for at least five years now, and it doesn’t look like stopping. Most publishers won’t put horror on the spine of a book any more. On the other hand SF and Fantasy are selling like crazy. A downer, right? But if the wannabe really must write horror, I suggest he does some research starting with the old masters. Read Lovecraft and Bradbury and Bloch and Clark Ashton Smith and Edgar A. Poe… see how they did it and ignore the so-called splatterpunks. Horror isn’t just blood and shit and guts, it’s all in the mind.” Brian quickly added: “And remember: readers can imagine a lot more than you can describe, so don’t describe more than you have to…”
Brian what does the future hold for you and your family? “I never think more than a year ahead, and the next year’s going to be taken up writing Avengers, definitely the last book in the Necroscope series. I am, however, talking to an American friend who wants to edit a Brian Lumley Companion. A publisher has mentioned his more than merely passing interest. We shall see. My birthday is 2nd December (in fact I was born just nine months after Lovecraft died) so I’m planning to be a year older. And that’s about it. I suppose I’ll be watching everyone world wide going nuts on TV. That’s if it isn’t The End!”
Now for a hypothetical question, if you were stranded on a desert island, who would be your five ideal companions? They need not be real, alive or famous!
“Robinson Crusoe, so he could show us the way. My wife, for obvious reasons; Jacques Cousteau, so we could go spear-fishing together. A roulette dealer with a table, wheel, and chips, ‘cos I love the game and Harry Keogh, so that if we got pissed with the whole idea he could get us out of there via the Mobius Continuum.”
We at Bloodstone find it hard to believe that anyone who considers themselves a Vampire fan cannot have read at least one of Brian’s many books, though most have certainly read someone like Anne Rice. If you haven’t read a Brian Lumley book then you are missing a vital element in continuing Vampire history. Don’t get me wrong, Anne Rice has written some great books and so have all the other renowned Vampire authors but in my humble opinion Brian Lumley is the Granddaddy of them all. He always manages to keep you hooked with his subtle (and not so subtle) use of fact and fiction and you can honestly imagine his arrogant, devious, bloodthirsty Vampires surviving (and thriving) in today’s self-obsessed, material world. They might not be as stunningly beautiful as Rice’s Lestat or as handsome and brooding as Warrington’s Sebastian but their guile and menace make up for an awful lot and give them a certain quality that the others just don’t have. Rice, Warrington and the other ‘romantic’ authors took the menace out of the Vampire myth and turned the genre into something completely different but Brian’s ‘Wamphyri’ have restored this element to the Vampire myth where it belongs.
Brian’s work is akin to that of the late Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick managed to take what is simply pulpy, easily recognized source material, such as Stephen King’s novel The Shining and turned them into something much, much more. Brian has done the exact same thing with the Vampire myth. Everybody has their own image when the word Vampire is mentioned but Brian has successfully turned that image upside down to give his readers something that is ultimately a totally unique entity. Intertwine that entity with espionage, sex, and a lot of violence and blood-letting and you get a horrifying, hair-raising ride. He clearly thinks about what he is writing, researches the topic and enjoys putting pen to paper. He expresses emotion beautifully and be it confusion, fascination or sheer heart-stopping terror, you feel as one with his characters. Brian Lumley is the reigning Grandmaster of Horror, an honour log overdue but if I had my way I would name him Grandmaster of the Millennium, as there are no ‘horror’ writers in the world today that cover so much different and varied ground in each and every novel. No other author in the genre puts so much detail into their work. Forget King, Herbert and the others. Go out and pick up his first Vampire novel Necroscope. It has passion, energy and all-out blood-curdling terror. No-one describes a scene like Brian and I throw down the gauntlet and challenge you to not enjoy the roller-coaster ride that we (long-time readers) have almost finished (roll on Defilers and Avengers)
Before we bring this article to its conclusion, it only seems fair that we should take a small time out to thank Brian and Silky Lumley for their constant help and encouragement. It isn’t often that we get the chance to interview a true legend in our beloved Vampire-loving community and we hope you have enjoyed the ride as much as we have.
Finally, we asked Brian: “How did it feel to receive such a prestigious award and to be recognized by your peers and fellow men in this way?”
“It came as a complete surprise to me,” replied Brian. “And, since it’s an award that the entire World Horror Convention votes in, it was a terrific honour. For once in my life I was lost for words – horror itself for a horror writer – and if I could remember how I received the award or what I said in answer to it, I’m sure I must have babbled like crazy! But the awards world is a weird place. In a conversation with Tom Doherty (the boss man at TOR Books, USA) I recall we got talking about awards. I think I mentioned that I’d only ever received two or three in more than thirty years of writing. Tom told me he remembered a similar conversation with Jerry Pournelle the SF writer, when Jerry had told him: “Money gets me through periods of no awards a lot better than awards get me through periods of no money.” I think that says it all…
by Brian Duffin
Well, what can I say about Brian’s books? I know that I haven’t had time to read his 40 books, but I did make time to read his epic Necroscope series.
Brian takes you through different realms of horror and fantasy. The horror is better than that put down on paper by the likes of Clive Barker and Stephen King. I also feel (probably controversially) that his descriptions of Vampires (the evil, scheming Wamphyri) and why they may have the habits they exhibit are generally better (or suit my ideas of a Vampire) than those given in Anne Rice’s Interview.
In Necroscope, the world described by Brian is one of international cold war fought not by nuclear devices but by information gained through the use of Telemetry, Telepathy and Precognition. The East has the Chateau Bronnitsy and the West has E Branch, which is a mixture of “gadgets and supernatural”.
Within the Chateau Bronnitsy a “Necromancer”, Boris Dragosani forcefully tears the secrets from those already dead. The dead feel this but are powerless to do anything to stop him. One scene conjured up by Brian was described by a friend as “disgusting enough to make myself want to stop reading, but I couldn’t”. It is through such powerful descriptions that you are convinced that the dead do continue to feel emotions from beyond the grave. Boris, not content with becoming a small power in Russia, wants more and through incidents in his past turns to an evil, undead presence in a mausoleum hidden in the depths of dark forest on the edge of his home town.
Thibor Ferenczy, a 500 year old Vampire, wishes to use Dragosani’s greed for his own gains (namely to free himself of the tomb in which he has been imprisoned). Wordgames are used to great effect as Dragosani wishes to learn more of the Wamphyri powers and history.
Brian blends the folklore of present day Dracula with his own history of the Wamphyri so that they compliment each other and you realize that in fact Dracula was borne of the Wamphyri. Brian also offers “scientific facts” which sound plausible and a natural history of the Wamphyri unlike many authors that don’t want to convince you of the Vampire’s existence.
In the first five books of the Necroscope series (and Necroscope: The Lost Years vols. 1 and 2) the Necroscope is a person that converses with the dead willingly. At first an unassuming boy, with very few friends because of his weirdness, Harry loses him mum in what everyone believes to be a freak accident. But because Harry Keogh talks with the dead, who welcome him with open arms, his mum is able to tell him that she was murdered by his stepfather. Through his formative years Harry uses ideas, given freely by those in their graves that continue to work on what they were when they were alive. He is seen as a genius by teachers, one of which contacts a friend who unknown to him works for British E Branch. Harry comes into contact with the Russian ESPers when he reaps his revenge for his mother’s death. The book quickens ( not that it was slow before) over the last 200 pages as Boris Dragosani is double-crossed by Thibor, who is also duped by Boris. Harry is persuaded by a dead friend to make the most of his talent by talking to geniuses in the fields of maths and science. Through doing this, Harry is able to add instantaneous space and time travel to his already impressive list of talents. He uses this to great effect in his final battle against Dragosani whose lusting for power has increased exponentially as he too becomes Wamphyri!
Which leads very nicely to Necroscope II: Wamphyri! Harry is now an incorporeal being and is very much being drawn into the psyche of his son Harry Junior who has recently been born. The Necroscope can still use the Mobius Continuum, but only when his son is asleep. Whilst using the continuum he encounters a scarlet life line (belonging to a Vampire) amongst the remaining blue threads (belonging to the rest of humanity) and as he watches, he sees it veering towards the line of his son.
It is here that the helpless Harry senior, still capable of conversing with the Great Majority (the dead), investigates. But where better to investigate than some truly dead Vampires – Thibor Ferenczy and his father Faethor Ferenczy. The very fact that Harry is conversing with the Vampires shows how desperate he feels, having no body and feeling his son reeling him in. Through his conversations with Faethor he learns that Thibor, still devious despite being buried in a tomb, had managed to “infect” a foetus within the womb of a woman who fell near the tomb. The child, one Yulian Bodescu, has become a man and is realizing that he is a Vampire and has immense strength, guile and lust. However, unlike a true Vampire, he does not know how to use it and creates many problems, which draw attention to him. He has yet to learn that “anonymity breeds longevity.”
True to form, Thibor, though buried in the ground and having been destroyed by Dragosani, had one final plan to fall back on that would reinstate him. Fortunately Harry finds out and gets E Branch to deal with the problem along with some of the new Russian ESPers. However, nothing runs smoothly in the world of Vampires hunters. They come up against beautiful, sexy young women, dogs that aren’t quite dogs and all number of things in the ground. Whilst describing Yulian and his ever increasing lusts the book does show sexual tension but never really to the extent that it detracts from the story (after all, what teenage man doesn’t lust after women? With Yulian those feelings are magnified).
The great thing about this book is, in my opinion, not the story about Yulian Bodescu (although a good enough story), but the history gained about Thibor and Faethor Ferenczy, the true Wamphyri. We learn that Thibor was a great warrior before he gained the egg from Faethor that would quickly change him. Indeed he was a man easily followed by men wishing to fight in the Crusades and it was this fact that lead his Prince to set him and an elite group the difficult task of removing a reclusive hermit from his castle. The recluse was Faethor Ferenczy and immediately Thibor knew the sensation of fear and found that he had met his match.
I really don’t know where Brian gets his ideas (he makes me feel very unimaginative or normal at least!) but during some parts of the story I’m sure I could smell some of the things being described. Brain also manages to skillfully introduce characters (Zek Foener, Ken Layard, and Trevor Jordan) that are used in later books. I don’t know if this is intentional or if Brian was intent on completing Necroscope 2 only but it does work as you do tend to feel for the characters within his books (whether you despise them or love them).
Some of those characters introduced in Necroscope 2 (such as Zek Foener) are followed in Necroscope III: The Source. When you first start reading this book you would be forgiven for thinking that you had gone to the wrong section of the book shop and had picked up a spy thriller and not the next installment of this brilliant series. Brian introduces another character, spying on an installation in Perchorsk, within the Ural Mountains. His name is Michael J. Simmons or Jazz to his friends. Jazz is there as the Western world has been subjected to a huge flying creature (following a Chernobyl type accident), intent on destroying anything in its path. Are the Russians creating these creatures? Poor Harry Keogh (Necroscope), lucky enough to have gained a body for his incorporeal self, is still trying to find Harry Junior and his wife, but without any luck. E Branch have Locators on the job also but they draw a blank. Even the dead are unable to help or console Harry.
When Jazz goes missing and the locators get the same signals as they do for Harry Junior, they contact Harry, who will do anything to find his wife and son. The clues lead Harry to the Perchorsk installation. He finds a portal in the installation but it is too heavily guarded (there have been several entries), Harry finds another underground portal and uses it. “Starside” is where he arrives. A desert landscape with longer days than those on Earth and unfortunately, for its settlers and nomadic peoples, longer nights! This is the home of the Wamphyri!
Brian has given the Wamphyri individuals characters differing very much from those in the first two books. They are still devious, never to be trusted, proud, boastful, strong and lusty but they are the lords of their land and have no need to strive for anonymity. The peoples present on “Sunside” are not technologically advanced and don’t make a habit of fighting back when they are raided. The only real foes of the Wamphyri are themselves (they are fiercely territorial, greedy and plot to take over each other’s towering castles or aeries) and the stranger they call “The Dweller in his garden in the West”.
Brian describes the inhabitants of the aeries exceptionally well. There are Gas Beasts, Siphoneers, Warrior Beasts, and Flyers – all of whom used to be human or Trog (an indigenous life form). I would love to see this book, more than any other, made into a film, unfortunately like all good books, the film never lives up to the image in your head.
The story (on one hand) follows the plight of Jazz and Zek (cast into the portal) as they fight to stay alive and out of the clutches of the Wamphyri, as well as Harry, who continues his quest for his family, but (on the other) builds to an almighty fight between the Wamphyri and The Dweller (with his friends).
This book is great, full of imagination and delving into the depths of the true unbridled Wamphyri. We learn more of the Vampire life cycle and there is a believable reason for Werewolves explained also. It is because Brian has taken the reader out of this world (literally) that he can let his strange imagination run wild and this is where it should be – Brilliant!
Necroscope IV: Deadspeak, to me, is a bit of a let down following the third installment. The reader is based back on Earth and what’s more Harry Junior has removed Harry Keogh’s powers of deadspeak and has made him enumerate. This means that he is almost an ordinary man, unable to converse consciously with the dead or use the Mobius Continuum, but the dead talk with him in his dreams. He learns that if he did talk with them knowingly he is likely to collapse with the agony produced in his head.
Janos is a powerful Vampire who raises himself up with the blood of his Szgany at the beginning of the book. He is a very strong mentalist, being able to scry the future to some extent. He has a rudimentary shape changing talent, but the reason he is so dangerous is his own special form of necromancy – he is able to raise people from the grave and then uses torture to gain their secrets.
Janos decides that the Earth is that much smaller (with communication networks and present day travel) and you have to be rich to be anonymous. He doesn’t care how he gets the money so he starts trafficking cocaine. There are those in E Branch that are used to locate shipments of cocaine and it is through this that the Branch (and Harry) get involved. The ESP team follow Janos and through the help of Faethor Ferenczy Harry gets his Deadspeak powers back again – But at what cost? Following Faethor’s intervention Harry notices his powers are stronger and sets out to destroy Janos, whilst his friends (including Zek and Jazz Simmons – yes they’re married) search for and destroy the Vampires in thrall to Janos.
The good thing about this book is, again, the history surrounding Faethor Ferenczy, mentioned in detail in previous installments. We learn that the plague-bearing Vampire, Janos, is his blood son, conceived out of love? Faethor finds this idea of love as strange as does the reader. There has been no mention of love for others in previous books, just lust, greed, pride and loathing. As Janos is a blood son he is not Wamphyri and taught himself most of his talents (it is obvious that he is tainted, as Thibor (Necroscope 2) was able to change Yulian Bodescu). From this book, however, we learn that the Wamphyri are extremely devious and never do something for nothing. They should never be trusted.
In Necroscope V: Deadspawn Harry Keogh has finally met his match. He has to fight the urges to become Wamphyri, as the Vampire leech within him grows ever stronger. He has a need to gain as many new skills as possible. This is done through asking dead people to let him into their incorporeal minds “of their own free will”. Harry is using the Wamphyri’s language and even feels the need to argue for no particular reason (it is his Vampire leech gradually ascending).
Harry knows how to raise people from the dead, just as Janos did. This means that the dead begin to fear him. He uses this gift to resurrect Trevor Jordan, amongst others, who should not be dead. Part of this book is delving into the struggle between good and evil within Harry. He has always had a very determined way in which he deals with wrongdoers – an eye for an eye. With each day that his leech grows within, his emotions are exaggerated and he finds it is harder and harder to control. Harry is still very much a good man, so when he learns of a necromancer murdering young women and then using them for sick sexual gratification he sets out to put this wrong to rights.
As Harry closes in on his prey, so E Branch are closing in on him with the intention of ridding the world of possibly the most dangerous Vampire it has ever seen.
Harry is forced to return to Starside where he expects to have to fight his son. He is surprised to find that The Dweller’s leech is gaining full ascendancy, turning The Dweller into a wolf. Harry is also surprised to find that the Lady Karen’s Vampire leech was more tenacious than he gave credit. She is well and they pleasure themselves in their company for a while.
Unfortunately, Shaithis (one of the Wamphyri banished to the Iceland’s following the great battle in the Garden) has teamed up with the legendary Shaitan. Again, it is the history that I find interesting. Shaitan was the first of the Wamphyri, banished by his own kin centuries ago. There are definite similarities between Shaitan and “Satan” especially when you take into context what Mobius says throughout this book. There are also similarities between Harry Keogh and Jesus especially the way the book ends (which I will not tell).
Over the five Necroscope books, the Wamphyri have been great adversaries. They are a species that revel in blood, lust and indulgence. They make no apologies for their behaviour. They are the masters and those around them are subservient or dead! There is sufficient gore to keep horror fans happy but there is such a logical progression for Harry Keogh where he (and the reader) learns practically all there is to know about the Wamphyri.
It is only when you get to the end of the Necroscope saga that you wish it to continue. The three Vampire World Books: Blood Brothers, Blood Wars and The Last Aerie do continue the stories on Starside to great effect – but they are an entirely different breed from these original stories.
Credits: Bloodstone Magazine, Issue 5, May 2000 Thanks to Alex Duce for an excellent interview and the use of these articles; and Brian Duffin for the retrospective view of Necroscope. You can visit their website at http://www.v-evolution.com