“Necroscope,” by Brian Lumley

FM's rating:

1.      Premise 8

2.      Prose 6

3.      Plot 8

4.      Characters 7

5.      Overall 7

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

A few years ago, I read the second book in this series – this one being the first – and found it a bit confusing, as if I was missing something.  My impression is that “Necroscope” is better, but the other one may have made more sense to me if I’d read them in order.  Duh.  I can’t decide whether Lumley is going for the center of “mainstream horror” or trying to break new ground.  Like a lot of works in the horror genre, there is a campiness here, a sense that the author or director is not expecting to be taken too seriously.  But Lumley is a little inconsistent in this aspect, alternating “grade B movie” scenes with some that are more realistic.  There are mini-climaxes throughout the book where the horror element really comes through strong.  This evokes the approach of horror films which consist of several separate stories back to back, but here they are tied together in an admirably coherent overall plotline.  The prose is littered with clichés just enough to be a detractor.  One of his favorites when a character says, “Oh?” after another character makes a statement he or she disagrees with or hadn’t thought of.  Phrases like “for all intents and purposes” seem to crop up in awkward places – an attempt, perhaps, to seem chatty or familiar to the reader – and it really isn’t effective.  The characters are somewhat stereotypical, but maybe that’s expected in this type of novel.  There are just enough fine passages to make this book almost worthy of recommending; but it misses the mark, in my estimation.  Glad I read it – don’t necessarily recommend it.