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A Coven of Vampires
A Coven of Vampires is a collection of thirteen classic vampire tales that encompasses erotic vampires, bestial vampires, teenage vampires, tentacled vampires, vampiric gods, ghouls, lamias, witch's familiars and blood-suckers. Stories included in this What Dark God? Back Row The Strange Years The Kiss of the Lamia Recognition The Thief Immortal Necros The Thing From the Blasted Heath Uzzi Haggopian The Picknickers Zack Phalanx is Vlad the Impaler The House of the Temple
232 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1998
23 people are currently reading
478 people want to read
About the author
Brian Lumley
444 books1,353 followersBrian Lumley was born near Newcastle. In 22 years as a Military Policeman he served in many of the Cold War hotspots, including Berlin, as well as Cyprus in partition days. He reached the rank of Sergeant-Major before retiring to Devon to write full-time, and his work was first published in 1970. The vampire series, 'Necroscope', has been translated into ten languages and sold over a million copies worldwide.
He was awarded the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award in 2010.
He was awarded the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award in 2010.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
July 15, 2019
omg i LOVED this book! It's a collection of 13 vampire stories and let me tell you! They are all kinds of vampires here. Mr. Lumley pulls from folklore (yay!!), H.P. Lovecraft, fantasy and more. i still have 2 stories to go but i doubt those 2 will change my rating of this book. These vampires are not pretty or romantic and sometimes not even human. i would definitely read more by this author.
Joshua Saxton reads this and omg! He does such a great job. i thought there was more than 1 narrator. He does that good with all the different accents. I would listen to him read just about anything.
** I received this audio book in exchange for a honest review. This is it. Thank you so very much Mr. Saxton for the book!!**
September 17, 2022
یکی دوتا داستانش خوب بود ولی بیشترشون جذابیت چندانی نداشتن.
July 21, 2019
I’m not a huge fan of short story collections. Nor am I particularly fond of vampire stories. So why then would I pick this one up. Well…I have only read one Lumley and remember enjoying it so when I saw this audiobook up for grabs, I jumped on it.
This was a very nice collection of stories. The narration was spot on for each of the eclectic voices in the individual tales and added an extra layer of feeling and depth. Very nicely done all around and sprinkled with the appropriate amounts of blood.
I was given a free review copy audiobook of this title at my request and have voluntarily left this honest review.
This was a very nice collection of stories. The narration was spot on for each of the eclectic voices in the individual tales and added an extra layer of feeling and depth. Very nicely done all around and sprinkled with the appropriate amounts of blood.
I was given a free review copy audiobook of this title at my request and have voluntarily left this honest review.
May 13, 2011
Nibble nibble, drip drip…
I don’t get to read short stories often as I really love long books but this has a few tales that really stood out in my mind, I read this over two months ago and had proper time to digest and after all that time my favorites are still the ones that stand out the most. Two of the stories should be made into full length books, well in my imaginary heaven I guess, one is about a mysterious science loving guy who lives on a fancy little Greek island who knows more about deep fish than anyone, an eccentric millionaire with a secret though, the pouring heat from above adds a realistic layer to the story, the guy sweats non-stop and tells the reporter who was lucky enough to get to his island the story of his life, and perhaps more than he wanted to hear. The guy is a mystery, he dates and marries the most beautiful women and models who seem to die or disappear randomly while guzzling a green algae drink brought by his maid who looks extremely shriveled up, the tale is intense and so good that I was sad to see it end. The other was about a powerful man who could kill anything with his mind and gain it’s life energy and it’s time, but he realized the more he took the more he needed, the story was so intense that I had to read it twice, so original that I had to share it with a friend at work the day after I read it, I enjoyed climbing into bed every night that week and reading two or three vampire stories before I got to drift off and make my own head movies :P….
Brian Lumley is a gifted author who is passionate about his work and it shows, the stories are like jewels in a dark cave, you start each one not knowing what is going on and find a way to this dazzling tale that will make you remember it for weeks and months to come. They are strong and interesting, and each one is very different from the last one and there is over a dozen of them here for the taking, a nice book to read before bed or to keep in your bag for a tasty dose of adrenaline, and I like how each is set in a different decade, it goes from ancient to modern without missing a beat and this isn’t about some boring traditional vampires either, you won’t know what is nibbling on your neck when you read this until it’s too late and you’re totally absorbed and indifferent to the world outside of it. This is a great collection of vampire tales that are all different so this will sure please a wide array of readers and perhaps introduce a few to Lumley who has dipped his fingers into the macabre so well in the past few decades, enjoy!
- Kasia S.
I don’t get to read short stories often as I really love long books but this has a few tales that really stood out in my mind, I read this over two months ago and had proper time to digest and after all that time my favorites are still the ones that stand out the most. Two of the stories should be made into full length books, well in my imaginary heaven I guess, one is about a mysterious science loving guy who lives on a fancy little Greek island who knows more about deep fish than anyone, an eccentric millionaire with a secret though, the pouring heat from above adds a realistic layer to the story, the guy sweats non-stop and tells the reporter who was lucky enough to get to his island the story of his life, and perhaps more than he wanted to hear. The guy is a mystery, he dates and marries the most beautiful women and models who seem to die or disappear randomly while guzzling a green algae drink brought by his maid who looks extremely shriveled up, the tale is intense and so good that I was sad to see it end. The other was about a powerful man who could kill anything with his mind and gain it’s life energy and it’s time, but he realized the more he took the more he needed, the story was so intense that I had to read it twice, so original that I had to share it with a friend at work the day after I read it, I enjoyed climbing into bed every night that week and reading two or three vampire stories before I got to drift off and make my own head movies :P….
Brian Lumley is a gifted author who is passionate about his work and it shows, the stories are like jewels in a dark cave, you start each one not knowing what is going on and find a way to this dazzling tale that will make you remember it for weeks and months to come. They are strong and interesting, and each one is very different from the last one and there is over a dozen of them here for the taking, a nice book to read before bed or to keep in your bag for a tasty dose of adrenaline, and I like how each is set in a different decade, it goes from ancient to modern without missing a beat and this isn’t about some boring traditional vampires either, you won’t know what is nibbling on your neck when you read this until it’s too late and you’re totally absorbed and indifferent to the world outside of it. This is a great collection of vampire tales that are all different so this will sure please a wide array of readers and perhaps introduce a few to Lumley who has dipped his fingers into the macabre so well in the past few decades, enjoy!
- Kasia S.
October 5, 2020
Brian Lumley and Vampires go hand in hand like cereal and milk, with that said, I mean that you can enjoy a crunchy handful of cereal all the same but with milk you always like them a little more!
Lumley is one of my favourite authors and this collection, although it wasn’t something special, it was the author’s pen that made it special! Maybe it was ‘’cthulhu-heavy’’ but that is never bad (and we know how he started writing after all). Also, as a Greek, the multiple references of my country made my feel silly proud (not in the notion of ethnic pride –me not an ape, ok?- byt in the notion that the author was here multiple times and I am happy he enjoyed his stay here more than me, a local)!
WHAT DARK GOD?
A passenger on a train meets a creepy group of people and by luck (?) he survives, but his life will never be the same.
BACK ROW
An elderly gentleman has a strange encounter in the dark room of a cinema. I really loved this one.
THE STRANGE YEARS
One of Lumley’s weird fiction, that the vampire is more of a leach or a parasite. Meh.
FOREWORD
Robert Howard vibes in this one, with the orientalism and the fantasy in the foreground and the horror in subtle touches. Loved it!
RECOGNITION
Written in a classic gothic tradition, a horror story that goes sideways really fast. I liked the pen and the mood more than the story itself, to be honest.
THE THIEF IMMORTAL
One of his weird texts again, in a more scifi direction and reminiscent of Psychomech. Meh tho…
NECROS
It kinda ‘’rhymes’’ with ‘’Back Row’’. I like the femme fatale but that waz very much about it.
THE THING FROM THE BLASTED HEATH
That first paragraph iz poetry, man! The whole story waz like a blend of Derleth and Hawthorne (Beatrice). Creepy and atmospheric.
UZZI
A leach-demon again. Creepy and edgy. Liked it a lot.
HAGGOPIAN
Cthulhu mythos again bt nothing to go crazy about.
THE PICNICKERS
Gypsies and undead. The story was nothing special but the atmosphere, the point of view and the age of the protagonist and ofcourse his pen, made it a lot better.
ZACK PHALANX IS VLAD THE IMPALER
Reminded me of Kawa’s first book and of old Hollywood but I cant say I was amazed, kind bored to be honest.
THE HOUSE OF THE TEMPLE
Oh. My. God. Lovecraftian to the bone, with touches of the ‘’round tower’’ and a vibe that would make Lovecraft smirk and Derleth dance with joy. Maybe the crowing jewel of this collection. I loved every page!
Lumley is one of my favourite authors and this collection, although it wasn’t something special, it was the author’s pen that made it special! Maybe it was ‘’cthulhu-heavy’’ but that is never bad (and we know how he started writing after all). Also, as a Greek, the multiple references of my country made my feel silly proud (not in the notion of ethnic pride –me not an ape, ok?- byt in the notion that the author was here multiple times and I am happy he enjoyed his stay here more than me, a local)!
WHAT DARK GOD?
A passenger on a train meets a creepy group of people and by luck (?) he survives, but his life will never be the same.
BACK ROW
An elderly gentleman has a strange encounter in the dark room of a cinema. I really loved this one.
THE STRANGE YEARS
One of Lumley’s weird fiction, that the vampire is more of a leach or a parasite. Meh.
FOREWORD
Robert Howard vibes in this one, with the orientalism and the fantasy in the foreground and the horror in subtle touches. Loved it!
RECOGNITION
Written in a classic gothic tradition, a horror story that goes sideways really fast. I liked the pen and the mood more than the story itself, to be honest.
THE THIEF IMMORTAL
One of his weird texts again, in a more scifi direction and reminiscent of Psychomech. Meh tho…
NECROS
It kinda ‘’rhymes’’ with ‘’Back Row’’. I like the femme fatale but that waz very much about it.
THE THING FROM THE BLASTED HEATH
That first paragraph iz poetry, man! The whole story waz like a blend of Derleth and Hawthorne (Beatrice). Creepy and atmospheric.
UZZI
A leach-demon again. Creepy and edgy. Liked it a lot.
HAGGOPIAN
Cthulhu mythos again bt nothing to go crazy about.
THE PICNICKERS
Gypsies and undead. The story was nothing special but the atmosphere, the point of view and the age of the protagonist and ofcourse his pen, made it a lot better.
ZACK PHALANX IS VLAD THE IMPALER
Reminded me of Kawa’s first book and of old Hollywood but I cant say I was amazed, kind bored to be honest.
THE HOUSE OF THE TEMPLE
Oh. My. God. Lovecraftian to the bone, with touches of the ‘’round tower’’ and a vibe that would make Lovecraft smirk and Derleth dance with joy. Maybe the crowing jewel of this collection. I loved every page!
August 6, 2019
For all the stories being about vampires this is a very assorted collection. A lot of the stories made me think of much longer fleshed out versions of the scary stories to tell in the dark that I read as a kid. I loved every single one of these and am thinking about doing a binge on this author now, starting with necroscope which I have always heard was great. I received an audiobook version from audible to review and the narrator Joshua saxon was fantastic also, from all his different voices, accents, sound effects added to the different type of vampire voices, and even small bits of different languages he was truly fantastic! I looked at "other titles from this narrator" but I did t see any other horror or anything else i thought i would be interested in.
October 10, 2024
I think I need to accept that short stories aren't for me. And possibly neither is Lumley. This is a set of stories with a central theme of "vampires", though how that's defined is relatively loose. There's a large H.P. Lovecraft influence and sometimes it works and other times I just don't want Lovecraft. I struggled getting into some of the stories and unfortunately when I got bored of a story I really just wanted to put the book down. I didn't but the experience isn't particlarly pleasant. It's relatively well written, though I don't always love Lumley's prose, as it's a bit dull, but some people will definitely love this even if I didn't.
July 16, 2019
I love short stories. They are great break from reading long and drawn out tales, though I love novels as well. This was a really good collection of vampire-related short stories, but they are not all the same type of vampire and not the kind that "vant to suck your blood!" These were some creepy creatures, indeed. The tales are varied. I loved most, some were not as much to my liking. My favorite stories were more on the outside-of-the-box types of vampire tales. The Thief Immortal, The Thing From the Blasted Heath, Happopian, and Uzzi were my favorites. Uzzi reminded me of a story I read as a kid and although I can not name that story, it took me back to my childhood where I would read horror books late into the night. There is something here for everyone I think. Definitely recommend this collection.
I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
March 19, 2023
Excellent short story collection. Favorites include: The Kiss of the Lamia, Uzzi, and The Picnickers. Recommended for Brian Lumley and H.P. Lovecraft fans!
August 16, 2019
Even though I wasn't a fan of all the stories in this bundle, I'm giving this an overall 5-star rating because the majority of the stories were superb and narration was amazing!
Here's another audiobook I was interested in because I haven't listened to anything vampire-related in a good while and the cover looked interesting. Unfortunately, when I get these random books, I tend to not read the synopsis. So then I'm surprised what the story is going to be about. Well, on that note, it wasn't until I was about three hours in that I realized (after confirming) that this was multiply stories of vampires, as opposed to a single one. Yeah... I was wondering why I kept getting confused. Obviously, I'm a bit slow. LOL Anyway, the author, Mr. Lumley, used a lot of detail so it was easy to image what he imaged (or a version of it) while writing these. Overall, this was a great batch of stories. I originally assumed that the stories were going to be all vampire (dead humans with fangs) kind of stories. The synopsis says that these are classic vampire stories, so I'm obviously not up-to-date with my vampire lore as I haven't heard of several of these "vampires."
Joshua Saxon did an awesome job! Wow! He deserves an award for the variety of accents he can do and make sound natural. I had to listen to some samples of other audiobooks he's narrated to determine what his natural accent is. I was thinking American...until I got to the very end with the credits and he was back to the English accent. So, I have no clue. It doesn't really matter though because Mr. Saxon does such an amazazing job that it's like he is simply talking as opposed to reading from a script. While I'm typically not a fan of sound effects being used, whoever picked them (would this be the narrator's job?) chose ones that really added to the story. His English accent made me think of the main narrator (storyteller guy) from Neil Gaiman's book "The Graveyard." I'm not sure if that narrator actually has an English accent, but he popped into my head when I heard Mr. Saxon. It's funny because both covers have similar colors. The other wow factor with Mr. Saxon is that he can easily (at least based on what I heard) make himself sound young, middle-aged, or old. I couldn't even guess as to his real age. There were many times when I would have sworn someone else was narrating with him, just because of how realistic and different from each other the accents were. Plus (and this is huge!) he can do female voices! I'd definitely listen to him again.
What Dark God? 2/5 I didn't really like this story but the idea of not being able to move or talk while "strangeness" is going on around you sounds scary/interesting.
Back Row 5/5 Loved this one! Just thinking about what you believe is going on behind you, only to find out it's something you never would have expected.
The Strange Years 3/5 This wasn't really a story, was it? It was like more of a long description, a diary entry, or the build-up for a scene or backstory.
The Kiss of the Lamia 4/5 This was an interesting story. The description of the female dragon (forgot her name) didn't sound gross or scary looking, yet when people laid eyes on her, they seemed to be a lot more traumatized then what I would imagine happening when gazing upon a dragon. Maybe it's just me.
Recognition -/5 I just couldn't get into this story. Maybe it's because I was starving to death while listening; I don't know.
The Thief Immortal 4/5 I wish there had been more to this story, like what was going on around him. Otherwise, I liked it a lot.
Necros 5/5 This is nice and creepy. I loved it! That special voice effect that was used for the female when she met Peter in her room...noice!
The Thing From the Blasted Heath 5/5 I'm all for any kind of story that has scary plants!
Uzzi 5/5 This story is very different (at least a majority of it) because it's done in first person as though the character is talking to you, the reader, and telling his story.
Haggopian 5/5 Here is another creepy story.
The Picknickers 5/5 I wish this one would have been longer as well.
Zack Phalanx is Vlad the Impaler 5/5 I think this was the first story in which the narrator uses an American accent for the majority of the story. For some reason, after listening to him do Scottish, English, and Russian accents, the American totally blew me away. LOL It's during this story when I tried to find out what the narrators natural accent was.
The House of the Temple 3/5 I really wanted to like this one. The nephew going back home to another country to settle his late uncle's will. Staying in a large, cool-sounding house. But it just didn't catch my attention like I thought it would. One thing I noticed with this story was that the narrator didn't really change his voice when it came to the two male leads.
I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
Here's another audiobook I was interested in because I haven't listened to anything vampire-related in a good while and the cover looked interesting. Unfortunately, when I get these random books, I tend to not read the synopsis. So then I'm surprised what the story is going to be about. Well, on that note, it wasn't until I was about three hours in that I realized (after confirming) that this was multiply stories of vampires, as opposed to a single one. Yeah... I was wondering why I kept getting confused. Obviously, I'm a bit slow. LOL Anyway, the author, Mr. Lumley, used a lot of detail so it was easy to image what he imaged (or a version of it) while writing these. Overall, this was a great batch of stories. I originally assumed that the stories were going to be all vampire (dead humans with fangs) kind of stories. The synopsis says that these are classic vampire stories, so I'm obviously not up-to-date with my vampire lore as I haven't heard of several of these "vampires."
Joshua Saxon did an awesome job! Wow! He deserves an award for the variety of accents he can do and make sound natural. I had to listen to some samples of other audiobooks he's narrated to determine what his natural accent is. I was thinking American...until I got to the very end with the credits and he was back to the English accent. So, I have no clue. It doesn't really matter though because Mr. Saxon does such an amazazing job that it's like he is simply talking as opposed to reading from a script. While I'm typically not a fan of sound effects being used, whoever picked them (would this be the narrator's job?) chose ones that really added to the story. His English accent made me think of the main narrator (storyteller guy) from Neil Gaiman's book "The Graveyard." I'm not sure if that narrator actually has an English accent, but he popped into my head when I heard Mr. Saxon. It's funny because both covers have similar colors. The other wow factor with Mr. Saxon is that he can easily (at least based on what I heard) make himself sound young, middle-aged, or old. I couldn't even guess as to his real age. There were many times when I would have sworn someone else was narrating with him, just because of how realistic and different from each other the accents were. Plus (and this is huge!) he can do female voices! I'd definitely listen to him again.
What Dark God? 2/5 I didn't really like this story but the idea of not being able to move or talk while "strangeness" is going on around you sounds scary/interesting.
Back Row 5/5 Loved this one! Just thinking about what you believe is going on behind you, only to find out it's something you never would have expected.
The Strange Years 3/5 This wasn't really a story, was it? It was like more of a long description, a diary entry, or the build-up for a scene or backstory.
The Kiss of the Lamia 4/5 This was an interesting story. The description of the female dragon (forgot her name) didn't sound gross or scary looking, yet when people laid eyes on her, they seemed to be a lot more traumatized then what I would imagine happening when gazing upon a dragon. Maybe it's just me.
Recognition -/5 I just couldn't get into this story. Maybe it's because I was starving to death while listening; I don't know.
The Thief Immortal 4/5 I wish there had been more to this story, like what was going on around him. Otherwise, I liked it a lot.
Necros 5/5 This is nice and creepy. I loved it! That special voice effect that was used for the female when she met Peter in her room...noice!
The Thing From the Blasted Heath 5/5 I'm all for any kind of story that has scary plants!
Uzzi 5/5 This story is very different (at least a majority of it) because it's done in first person as though the character is talking to you, the reader, and telling his story.
Haggopian 5/5 Here is another creepy story.
The Picknickers 5/5 I wish this one would have been longer as well.
Zack Phalanx is Vlad the Impaler 5/5 I think this was the first story in which the narrator uses an American accent for the majority of the story. For some reason, after listening to him do Scottish, English, and Russian accents, the American totally blew me away. LOL It's during this story when I tried to find out what the narrators natural accent was.
The House of the Temple 3/5 I really wanted to like this one. The nephew going back home to another country to settle his late uncle's will. Staying in a large, cool-sounding house. But it just didn't catch my attention like I thought it would. One thing I noticed with this story was that the narrator didn't really change his voice when it came to the two male leads.
I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
July 14, 2019
This collection wasn't very long, but it offered tremendous variety. I wasn't sure how different the tales would be when I started, but the locations and types of Vampires were always something new a d exciting. My favorite stories didn't even have human Vampires.
**I received a free copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.
**I received a free copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.
July 5, 2019
A great mix of vampire themed fiction
The stories range from standard blood suckers to your plant and aquatic variety
Joshua is very skilled at multiple accents and his narration fit this perfectly
A creative take on a classic creature highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
The stories range from standard blood suckers to your plant and aquatic variety
Joshua is very skilled at multiple accents and his narration fit this perfectly
A creative take on a classic creature highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
May 26, 2009
The majority of Brian Lumley's fans know the author for his long-running NECROSCOPE series, but I've not read any of those novels - yet. Instead I love the author for his short stories, and this is another fine collection of his work, all with a vampire theme.
Some are fun and anecdotal. WHAT DARK GOD? tells of cultism on the British Rail network, although rush-hour travellers will already know of the horrors of this particular setting. BACK ROW is a grisly little scene in a cinema, and NECROS boasts the kind of holiday horror that'll have any reader reaching for their passport. UZZI is a tale about a psychic vampire that I didn't think much of, but THE PICNICKERS, with a boy narrator involves with gypsies and nastiness in the local churchyard, is a good 'un.
There are some Cthulhu-themed stories here too. RECOGNITION is a little gem, mixing 'old dark house' style chills with a lurking monstrosity. THE THING FROM THE BLASTED HEATH is a straight retelling of Lovecraft's THE COLOUR FROM OUTER SPACE. HAGGOPIAN is a fine pulp effort detailing undersea denizens and would go nicely with Lovecraft's THE SHADOW UNDER INNSMOUTH, and I loved the touch of the silt-laden drink. THE HOUSE OF THE TEMPLE is another straight Lovecraftian adventure concerning an old house and a lurking 'thing' living in the garden pond, and an example of Lumley at his best.
Some stories aren't even horror, despite containing vampiric creatures. THE STRANGE YEARS is a gruesome post-apocalyptic variant on Matheson's LAST MAN ON EARTH, written in the author's inimitable style. KISS OF THE LAMIA, my favourite story in the collection, is a Conan-style fantasy in which Lumley's prose equals Robert E. Howard's. THE THIEF IMMORTAL is an unusual, nay atypical sci-fi effort, and another outstanding piece of writing, and ZACK PHALANX IS VLAD THE IMPALER! is a humorous one about a film director shooting DRACULA on location in Transylvania. All in all a nice collection, ably revealing Lumley's skill at writing in a range of styles and genres.
Some are fun and anecdotal. WHAT DARK GOD? tells of cultism on the British Rail network, although rush-hour travellers will already know of the horrors of this particular setting. BACK ROW is a grisly little scene in a cinema, and NECROS boasts the kind of holiday horror that'll have any reader reaching for their passport. UZZI is a tale about a psychic vampire that I didn't think much of, but THE PICNICKERS, with a boy narrator involves with gypsies and nastiness in the local churchyard, is a good 'un.
There are some Cthulhu-themed stories here too. RECOGNITION is a little gem, mixing 'old dark house' style chills with a lurking monstrosity. THE THING FROM THE BLASTED HEATH is a straight retelling of Lovecraft's THE COLOUR FROM OUTER SPACE. HAGGOPIAN is a fine pulp effort detailing undersea denizens and would go nicely with Lovecraft's THE SHADOW UNDER INNSMOUTH, and I loved the touch of the silt-laden drink. THE HOUSE OF THE TEMPLE is another straight Lovecraftian adventure concerning an old house and a lurking 'thing' living in the garden pond, and an example of Lumley at his best.
Some stories aren't even horror, despite containing vampiric creatures. THE STRANGE YEARS is a gruesome post-apocalyptic variant on Matheson's LAST MAN ON EARTH, written in the author's inimitable style. KISS OF THE LAMIA, my favourite story in the collection, is a Conan-style fantasy in which Lumley's prose equals Robert E. Howard's. THE THIEF IMMORTAL is an unusual, nay atypical sci-fi effort, and another outstanding piece of writing, and ZACK PHALANX IS VLAD THE IMPALER! is a humorous one about a film director shooting DRACULA on location in Transylvania. All in all a nice collection, ably revealing Lumley's skill at writing in a range of styles and genres.
July 23, 2018
I have been a fan of Brian Lumley, and being a fan of vampire fiction, as well as horror anthology, I was in for a treat. This was an anthology I read years ago, enjoying the different stories portraying their concept of vampires. Some of the stories seemed Lovecraftian like The Strange Years, others seemed Robert Howard-ian like The Kiss of the Lamia, and even one reminding me of Bentley Little's The Summoning. One such story that I still remember is Thief Immortal, where the antagonist is indeed some kind of vampire in one sense of the word, that he can focus on entire groups of people from one part of the world and suck out their entire lifeforce, just so that he can sustain his own immortality.
This is not a horror anthology for vampire fans, whose concept of vampires are restricted to something like Bram Stoker's Dracula, in the narrow sense of the word. As for the stories in this book, they could easily make for a Creepshow anthology movie or an Outer Limits or Twilight Zone episode .
This is not a horror anthology for vampire fans, whose concept of vampires are restricted to something like Bram Stoker's Dracula, in the narrow sense of the word. As for the stories in this book, they could easily make for a Creepshow anthology movie or an Outer Limits or Twilight Zone episode .
August 12, 2022
Not my favorite work by Lumley, it's still a solid short story collection about various vampire-like beings. Not necessarily the traditional vampire of horror fiction, but variations on the theme of a blood-sucking entity. Some may be undead, some alien, some Mythos-related, some vegetal, you name it. One of the longer stories turned out to be the one about Tarra Khash and the Lamia Orbiquita's meeting, which I'd already read in one of the Primal Lands books, so this one proved to be shorter than expected. Still liked it, though, even if at times it felt repetitive, especially in the Lovecraftian tales because, well, those tend to always follow the "Some dude inherits/gets exposed to some weird shit and goes mad or dies" regardless of whether they were written by old H.P. himself or by one of his friends, disciples or spiritual successors.
March 26, 2021
This was such a different book. It was made up of short stories. I was expecting Vampires - as in the title of the book. However these were dark and twisted tales!!! Some were VERY dark. I wouldn't say they were vampires - nothing like the bog standard vampire!!!!! I listen to books at night, I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND LISTENING TO THIS BOOK AT NIGHT!! It is a mixture of horror, fantasy and intrigue. It was very well written. Nothing at all like I was expecting and nothing at all like any other book I have ever read! The narration on this book was superb. Joshua Saxon adapted his voice to the point I actually thought there were two or three narrators!! A terrifyingly good book!
This book was given to me for free at my request and I have provided this voluntary review.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I have provided this voluntary review.
July 24, 2020
I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I've read two of Brian Lumley's Necroscope novels, and I think he's a better short story writer than novelist. This collection of short vampire stories take on very different interpretations of the vampire myth. Some are modern twists on the classic Gothic tropes while others fall more in the Lovecraftian vein, such as those found in Lumley's Necroscope series. Overall, I enjoyed this collection quite a lot, and the audiobook narrator's performance is fantastic! Highly recommended.
I've read two of Brian Lumley's Necroscope novels, and I think he's a better short story writer than novelist. This collection of short vampire stories take on very different interpretations of the vampire myth. Some are modern twists on the classic Gothic tropes while others fall more in the Lovecraftian vein, such as those found in Lumley's Necroscope series. Overall, I enjoyed this collection quite a lot, and the audiobook narrator's performance is fantastic! Highly recommended.
October 28, 2025
This is the first Brian Lumley work I've read outside of the Necroscope series and I thought it was great. when done well the short story form really lends itself to horror, and I think here the author has exploited it to its full potential. Taking vampirism as his central theme Lumley creates a collection of stories with wildly different variations on what a bloodsucker could be. Personally I think these stories bear comparison with those of Clive Barker and Stephen King, so it's a shame Lumley's work is not more widely known.
April 12, 2024
It's been quite a while I read a Brian Lumley book so I picked up those 13 tales based on vampires. The book started very strong with three outstanding tales. Later on it was too much on the fantasy side for my liking. His writing qualities are superb, the compositions too. It simply was the genre of the stories that didn't fully convince me. If you want to have some unusual vampire stories you should definitely have a look at this one. A must read for Lumley fans anyway.
January 2, 2025
While the term “vampire” is applied rather loosely these stories are still terrifying and thought provoking.
Many of these stories were written before Lumley’s most famous series Necroscope and you can clearly see the beginnings of the Wamphyri here. Stories like What Dark God, The Picknickers, Haggopian feel the closest to what Necroscope would become.
Other stories such as The Thing from the Blasted Heath, Uzzi, and The House of the Temple feel more Lovecraftian than Stroker Esq. However, Back Row and Necros are more in line with traditional vampire tales.
Overall a fun collection and an interesting piece for Lumley fans in particular as it meshes his Cthulhu Mythos tales with the early beginnings of his Necroscope stories.
Many of these stories were written before Lumley’s most famous series Necroscope and you can clearly see the beginnings of the Wamphyri here. Stories like What Dark God, The Picknickers, Haggopian feel the closest to what Necroscope would become.
Other stories such as The Thing from the Blasted Heath, Uzzi, and The House of the Temple feel more Lovecraftian than Stroker Esq. However, Back Row and Necros are more in line with traditional vampire tales.
Overall a fun collection and an interesting piece for Lumley fans in particular as it meshes his Cthulhu Mythos tales with the early beginnings of his Necroscope stories.
November 3, 2020
This is the second short story collection I’ve read from Brian Lumley. That in of itself says a lot. I’m not a fan of short stories so if I read two of them it shows his skills. Now I need to read a novel next. Oh ps it’s all about vampires in many different styles, times and flavor. Top notch writing.
May 30, 2022
This collection is less vampire, more Lovecraftian stories, and the most Lovecraftian tend to be my favourites of the collection, especially: The Thing From Black Heath (4/5), Back Row (3.5/5), Uzzi (4/5), Haggopian (4/5).
Easily my favourite of the collection and also the most vampiric, I'd read elsewhere: Necros (5/5).
Easily my favourite of the collection and also the most vampiric, I'd read elsewhere: Necros (5/5).
October 18, 2023
This isn't full Necroscope vampires, but shorts he wrote before that. Still, it's the least dry of his works during his Cthulhu period, you can see what's coming from these stories. It was a fun read, especially for a Lumley Necroscope completist. Like I said, it isn't there yet, but you can see the groundwork being laid out in his mind. Fun read
March 1, 2020
Some of the stories were interesting and some simply didn’t draw me in. It seemed like once I got to know a character the story would end and start with another. However, it was interesting to get to see so many different types of vampire tales.
June 13, 2021
Some good ones - 'The Kiss of the Lamia', 'The Picknickers', 'Zack Phalanx is Vlad the Impaler', & especially 'The House Of The Temple'. This novel is loaded with Cthulhu mythos and has overt continuations of Lovecraft stories like 'Rats In The Walls', 'Shadow Over Innsmouth'.
August 26, 2022
Though he's better-known for the vampire-themed Necroscope series, Brian Lumley's best vampire-themed book is this collection of short stories, each showing an inventive and original take on the basic vampire concept. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/201...
May 21, 2023
13 great, creepy tales of horror with a Lovecraftian bent from Brian Lumley of Necroscope fame. That series draws on the Cthulhu mythos as well as other cycles of Lovecraft’s horrors and it’s interesting to see in his short stories the homage he pays to Lovecraft as Lovecraft did to Poe.
September 29, 2017
A Collection of short stories about vampires and other creatures that live off the body, blood and souls of men. Some very interesting viewpoints, and well worth the time and effort to read.
October 4, 2019
Loved this collection of vampire stories. A great mix of Lovecraft horror and fantasy.
April 1, 2020
A good read-narrator keeps your attention well!
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