Night Warriors

Night Warriors #1

by Graham Masterton

The original and terrifying start to a supernatural horror series from the master of horror himself, Graham Masterton.

IT CAN FIND YOU ANYWHERE... EVEN IN YOUR DREAMS.

Henry was the first to reach the girl, found sleeping on the beach, with his friends Gil and Susan. When they learn what has happened to her, they are thrown into a mystery that nightmares are made of.

The young girl has been forced to host a hideous malevolence that insinuates itself into the bodies and minds of thousands of unsuspecting people.

The only hope of saving them is to become Night Warriors, an ancient Order with the power to infiltrate the dream world, and destroy the original source. Together, they enter the unknown but one thing is certain – if they fail to find it, the beast will certainly find them...

Praise for Graham

'One of the most original and frightening storytellers of our time' Peter James
'Suspenseful and tension-filled... all the finesse of a master storyteller' Guardian
'One of Britain's finest horror writers' Daily Mail
'You are in for a hell of a ride' Grimdark Magazine

Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Horror Thriller, Mystery, Ebooks

462 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Graham Masterton was born in Edinburgh in 1946. His grandfather was Thomas Thorne Baker, the eminent scientist who invented DayGlo and was the first man to transmit news photographs by wireless. After training as a newspaper reporter, Graham went on to edit the new British men's magazine Mayfair, where he encouraged William Burroughs to develop a series of scientific and philosophical articles which eventually became Burroughs' novel The Wild Boys.

At the age of 24, Graham was appointed executive editor of both Penthouse and Penthouse Forum magazines. At this time he started to write a bestselling series of sex 'how-to' books including How To Drive Your Man Wild In Bed which has sold over 3 million copies worldwide. His latest, Wild Sex For New Lovers is published by Penguin Putnam in January, 2001. He is a regular contributor to Cosmopolitan, Men's Health, Woman, Woman's Own and other mass-market self-improvement magazines.

Graham Masterton's debut as a horror author began with The Manitou in 1976, a chilling tale of a Native American medicine man reborn in the present day to exact his revenge on the white man. It became an instant bestseller and was filmed with Tony Curtis, Susan Strasberg, Burgess Meredith, Michael Ansara, Stella Stevens and Ann Sothern.

Altogether Graham has written more than a hundred novels ranging from thrillers (The Sweetman Curve, Ikon) to disaster novels (Plague, Famine) to historical sagas (Rich and Maiden Voyage - both appeared in the New York Times bestseller list). He has published four collections of short stories, Fortnight of Fear, Flights of Fear, Faces of Fear and Feelings of Fear.

He has also written horror novels for children (House of Bones, Hair-Raiser) and has just finished the fifth volume in a very popular series for young adults, Rook, based on the adventures of an idiosyncratic remedial English teacher in a Los Angeles community college who has the facility to see ghosts.

Since then Graham has published more than 35 horror novels, including Charnel House, which was awarded a Special Edgar by Mystery Writers of America; Mirror, which was awarded a Silver Medal by West Coast Review of Books; and Family Portrait, an update of Oscar Wilde's tale, The Picture of Dorian Gray, which was the only non-French winner of the prestigious Prix Julia Verlanger in France.

He and his wife Wiescka live in a Gothic Victorian mansion high above the River Lee in Cork, Ireland.

Reviews

[Jack Tripper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another cover that's a lot cooler in person than the picture suggests. It's foil-embossed, and the eels and lettering are raised, with some sort of glitter effect on the eels. The story so far reminds me of the third Nightmare on Elm Street, as it concerns a group of people who discover they have superhero-like abilities in their dreams, in order to combat a growing evil that lives in nightmares.

[Scott Neumann · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable superhero thriller with horror elements, or is it a horror novel with superhero elements, either way it is a lot of fun.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a novel! I constantly had to think about Nightmare on Elm Street and the comic Dial H for Hero. A dead woman was found by three people on the beach. She died a terrible death. All three characters are recruited soon after by a kind of supernatural gender shifting person and turn into Night Warriors in their dreams. They are out to hunt down Yaomauitl a very old demon, better known as the devil himself. Do they succeed in their mission? What is the devils plan in impregnating all those women with his spawn? Where does the devil come from? Masterton takes you on a rollercoaster ride through reality and dreamscapes. I really liked the city of a childhood nightmare! This is a highly entertaining book you can't put down easily. A brilliant mixture of fantasy, horror and comic strip adventure. Highly entertaining and something special. The author created a classic!

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

First the plot (forgive the slight spoilers):

An earthquake breaks the prison holding an ancient demon captive. This demon has sex with women in their dreams, the women get pregnant with demon eels, and the eels chew their way out of the womb to go hide while they grow.

The initial victim of this demon is found by three unrelated people on a beach in southern California. These three people are then told by an angelic being that they are the reincarnations of the Night Warriors. Night Warriors are people with the power to travel in dreams and defeat the dream incarnations of this demon and his offspring.

At this point, the search for the demon and his offspring begins and several skirmishes ensue over the course of the novel.

My Review:

It's not one of Graham Masterton's better works. It was a quick, attention-getting read for my airplane trip, but I wouldn't recommend it to someone who's just getting into Graham Masterton unless they were a young teenager and, even then, only maybe.

One of the cooler elements of the book is how the Night Warriors change personas in their dreams and refer to each other by their super hero names while fighting the demons in dreamland.

The super hero theme becomes a bit of a problem, though, when it comes to their dialogue while fighting:

"We're in this together, Kasyx, like the Three Musketeers. One for all and all for one. If we don't take Samena with us then we don't go. We're Night Warriors, don't you understand that? Not just three people playing a game! This is us, this is real! Night Warriors!"

I wouldn't have a problem with the comic book dialogue if it were consistent, but it's not.

It's a nice idea, but the actual execution seems more like it was meant to be a cheesy 35 cent comic book rather than a novel.

Recommended for hardcore Graham Masterton fans who want to possess the ability to say that they have LITERALLY read all Mr. Masterton's books.

[Victor Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una entretenida mezcla de terror violento y pulp superheroico en la que tres personas son elegidas por un poder superior para luchar contra Yaomauitl, un demonio que viola a mujeres en sus pesadillas para traer a sus descendientes, unas espantosas anguilas satánicas, al mundo "real". Las partes de investigación y vida cotidiana de los protagonistas están resueltas un poco a lo loco y con los clásicos agujeros de trama de Masterton, pero vale la pena solamente por las locas escenas de acción oníricas.

[Donovan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Night Warriors is the first in the Night Warriors Series and was the book that kick-started my Graham Masterton collection. I could quite easily believe that the makers of the Nightmare on Elm Street were inspired by this series. Admittedly, I was young when I read this and I have not gone back to see if it has held up as a good read. The series consists of:
Night Warriors
Death Dream
Night Plague
Night Wars
The Ninth Nightmare ***Although I haven't read this one***

Brief
Normal everyday people find themselves in control of a great power that allows them to enter peoples dreams. Situations develop that force them to fight demons that reside in the dreams. It's as simple as that...or is it?

[Vicente Ribes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Otra entretenida novela de terror de Graham Masterton. En esta ocasion un profesor y tres adolescentes se convertirán en la única esperanza contra un demonio que vive en el mundo de los sueños. Los guerreros de la noche, como se conocerá a nuestro peculiar grupo de héroes, son capaces de entrar en los sueños de la gente y adquieren unas armaduras y poderes mágicos para machacar demonios y otros bichos.
El gore típico de Masterton, el olor ochentero y su peculiar humor garantizan un buen rato. La premisa de la novela me recordó a Pesadilla en Elm street 3, uno de los films de terror que más disfruté de niño.

[Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Day Warriors... aaaa-AAAA-aa!
Fighter of the Night Warriors... aaaa-AAAA-aa!
Champion of the sun...

[Fred Klein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three regular people (later joined by a fourth) are brought together when they find a dead body together, and are advised that they are descended from an ancient order that enters dreams to fight demons. I enjoyed the parts of this book where they were just regular people figuring out how the girl they found died and the implications for mankind. I was not so into the parts where they became costumed superheroes with ancient names (and there just has to be one name with lots of X's in it). Those parts seemed more appropriate to a comic book to me, but I can see why others might like them better than I did.

[Gaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second read through of this taut, exciting and well plotted horror/fantasy. The Night Warrior characters are well thought out and engaging, each displaying their individual talents in both the real and dream domain, the latter with striking results. The faith, determination and courage of each character is heavily tested in an effort to bring down a formidable foe that has two things on his mind. One is sex, the other is death. Well, essentially. Without giving too much away, the journey leads to an awesome confrontation with evil that is both thrilling and satisfying. Good read!

[Anastasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this a long time ago and I really enjoyed it. Interesting concept, well executed, and I was thrilled to learn this turned into a series!! Excellent :D

[Cindy Newton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not impressed with this. The idea is kind of intriguing, but the execution was not compelling. It really came across, to me, like a YA book. The problem with that is that it is also pretty graphic sexually, so that would take it out of the YA audience sphere. The idea of wars being fought in the dreamworld is interesting, but the method of propagation of these demons was a little ridiculous. I liked Masterton's first Katie McGuire book and plan to continue that series, but I probably won't pursue this one.

[Lance Kirby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this but before I can give a overall review I need to read the others in the series to see how the story and characters develop

[William Malmborg · Rating 4 out of 5]

People often dream of being heroes, of having a second life so to speak where they battle evil in defense of mankind. It is a common fantasy, one that is often used to brighten the dull dreary normal existence many of us are forced to deal with on a day-to-day basis. In the book Night Warriors by Graham Masterton there are four people that dream of being heroes, only not in the same sense that you and I would. See, they are heroes, but only in the world of dreams, which is where they do battle with an evil force that wants to destroy everything that is good. The proper term for these individuals is Night Warriors. Throughout time such beings have been called upon to do battle within human dreams whenever a threat looms, and now is no different. Descended from Night Warriors of high standing who did battle many ages ago, the three, which then eventually turns to four, are destined for significance as the father of all evil has once again broken free from his prison and prepares to wreak havoc. The question is, are the new young and inexperienced Night Warriors up to the task?

It all begins on the beach one quiet morning. The first three people in question, all strangers to each other, all stumble upon the body of a young woman who seems to have washed up on shore. A drowning death for sure, that is, until the police turn the body over. Feeding on the inner stomach that gave birth to them, eels unlike any known to science emerge. Caught off guard, the police first don’t know what to do as the slippery creatures flee the scene, but then one officer decides to grab a specimen so they can study it and find out if some form of dangerous eel is stalking the shores. Big mistake. The eel, which is overly aggressive, latches on to the man and won’t let go. Even worse, the attempt to free the eel by killing it only makes its jaws snap shut and sever the flesh it was holding clinging to. Realizing the threat to beach goers, the police shut the place down while attempting to seek out the rest of the eels, all of whom have burrowed themselves deep into the sand. Little does anyone know these eels are not of this world and are actually the Nightspawn: creatures born of what most would call the Devil, though only because their Christian upbringing would indentify it as such. Truth is, this evil creature was the inspiration for the religious mythology, as was another being that represents the God they worship. It is this God-like being who the Night Warriors will represent in battle. Also involved is an odd genderless being who seeks each of them out and helps them become aware of their true purpose in life.

Night Warriors was an exciting, gruesome read, especially the scenes dealing with the eels. I have to say, I hate slippery slimy things such as them, and was thoroughly grossed out each and every time they made an appearance. I also found myself growing somewhat nauseous during one scene, mostly because it talked about a poor lady that had the eels inside her and could feel the pain of them squirming around in her lower bowels. The descriptions that were used made me feel as if I might have to hurry to the toilet at some point and let loose a fiery stream of unmentionable crude into the waiting water. If so, my only hope was that whatever came out would stay in the water and not reach up to bite me -- nothing like an eel latching onto a testicle to ruin a man’s day. Gruesome aspects aside (which I loved even if they grossed me out), the story itself was a lot of fun and almost felt as if it was tapping into a younger version of myself, one that loved those old late 80s, early 90s Nintendo games where one could expect to be a character that would jump from dream to dream in an effort to fight evil. I’m not sure why I kept thinking this while reading, but in my mind I could see those 2-D worlds unfolding, each one filled with things I would have to battle with as I hurried toward the conclusion of each level. My only complaint with this book is that it somehow felt a bit rushed, though I can’t exactly say how or why. I guess I just wanted more, especially when it came to the history of the Night Warriors and their experiences throughout time. But then again, this is just book one of a series, so maybe more of that is coming. All in all this was an excellent read, one which I highly recommend to horror and adventure fans, the latter only if they can handle the horror elements. I also recommend Masterton’s other novels. Having read and enjoyed two now it is safe to say I will like the majority of them, and if that is the case for me, it probably will be for others as well. Now I just have to figure out which one to pick up next. Any suggestions?

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book!
Book 1 of 5 I can’t wait to see where the story goes from here!
I really like the main characters and how different they are yet they all get along.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Summary
This was a classic good against evil sort of book, but with unpronounceable names for the gods. According to this book, there is a male/female angel type thing (Springer), who recruits ordinary people on behalf of Ashapola (what we think of as God) to become night warriors to do battle with Yaomauitl (what we think of as the Devil) and the spawns Yaomauitl.These people are normal in the waking world, but in the dream world they are like superheroes. Yaomauitl is awakened and let loose after an earthquake broke loose his sealed box, and thus the night warriors were called upon to do their work. The night warriors task is simply to stop Yaomauitl and all his offspring from destroying the world.

Characters
The character building was fair in some regards, absolutely weak in others. It seems like of the 4 heroes, Masterton only bothered to spend time writing about two of them, Gil and Henry. So, when Susan ended up getting abducted in their first dream run, I couldn't have cared less. Then they brought on another night warrior, Lloyd, that just so conveniently lived in the area, but he really didn't have much of a personality either. Honestly there was nothing memorable about any of the characters.

Thoughts
This is one of those books I picked up at a yard sale aeons ago for 10 cents. When it comes to books like that it's hit or miss. This one was a miss, though only barely. It starts out with an interesting premise, and there is lots of action. There is a pretty good storyline, too. It falls short when I couldn't really pronounce the night warriors alternate personality names, the bad guy's name, and couldn't remember who the heroes even were after I put the book down for a day.

It was also one of those books that I could only read a paragraph or two at a time before I would inevitably find something else more interesting -- like dishes. I couldn't really place what it was that just didn't resonate with me in this book. I can tell you that I had dreams about eels (what Yaomauitl's offspring are in the waking world) trying to eat me, though, so it couldn't have been all that forgettable.

[Lainy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Out of innocence came forth unspeakable evil...

Henry was the first to reach the body, while Gil and Susan walked cautiously closer, and then stood watchinf. It was the body of a beautiful young girl, naked, like a peacefully sleeping mermaid. Never in their most traumatic nightmares could they have imagined the convulsive violence which followed.

From the first few pages you are hooked and horrified from the discovery of a young girl ripped apart by terrifying creatures and as the horror unravels more evil is revealed as is the trios destiny to fight it. Some of the scenes in this novel are really brutal and descriptive. Not only in a violent sense but also strong sexual descriptions. Definately not for the faint hearted or easily offended.

The book then takes on a battle between good and evil and these ordinary everyday people take on 'the devil' and its spawn. The battles take place in the dream world where the playing field is altered and we delve into the history of the night warriors and the beast itself.

The book goes along at a fairly decent pace with interactions and a build up of the characters and their familys aswell as the preparations for battle although I felt somethings could have been dealt with in more depth and somethings wouldn't have been missed had they been left out as it didn't have any impact on the main story.

I would definately read another of his books but this one is a 3/5 for me.

[Alexander Draganov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Преди години бях опитал да чета тази книга без успех, при втория прочит също бях на ръба да се откажа заради малко по-тромавото начало. Веднъж щом напреднах достатъчно, че героите да получат силите си, Night Warriors ми хареса. Мастертън измисля много интересна митология и магическа система, базирана на човешките сънища, а героите му са колоритни и запомнящи се – Хенри с чувството си за хумор и слабост към алкохола, Сюзан с добротата си и любимецът ми Гил със своята сърцатост… и защото му беше най-готин костюма, поне според мен ;)
Цялото ми ревю може да прочетете в Цитаделата:
https://citadelata.com/night-warriors...

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This turned out to be a pulpy dark fantasy/horror cross between A Nightmare On Elm Street and Kamen Rider. The structure of the book shouldn’t have worked what with a large chunk of the book, at least 50%, being all set up and yet I had a good time with this goofy adventure. 3.25/5

[Abe Ofarrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book. Combining fantasy and horror.

A group of individuals are chosen from around the world to become super heroes who go into people's dreams to search out and destroy demons.

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of his Dream Warriors series. Not as good as Manitou series.And in my opinion not as good as his stand alone novels. But still, it's Masterton book and as such it's a solid entertaining read.

[Dan Khan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it when I was 12/13.. Superheroes, deamons, spiritual guides, action and a good storyline ! Kept me interested but not enthralled !

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy, gruesome, and a fantastic read for horror fans!! This is book one in a series but stands alone as well.

[Carl Alves · Rating 3 out of 5]

Night Warriors features an interesting premise with three strangers (and later a fourth one) who are drawn together when they uncover unnatural, killer eels coming out of a woman’s abdomen when they find her on the shore one morning. It wasn’t a coincidence that they happened upon her, however, when they later learn through an emissary of a supreme being that they are descendants of an ancient group of warriors who have powers in the world of dreams. They are tasked with stopping a being that is the equivalent of the devil, who is impregnating women with these eel offspring to wreak havoc on the human race.

As I mentioned, I thought the concept of this novel was pretty cool, but the execution was lacking. Mostly, it was the quality of the writing that I thought was subpar. I’ve read many Graham Masterton novels, and the writing in this novel just doesn’t stack up against his later work. It seems cruder and more amateurish compared to his later writing. The characterization is solid but not great. I thought some more work could be done to develop these characters. Probably the strongest part of the novel is the world building, back story, and concept of these warriors having super powers fighting through dreams against the dark forces of the world. Although this isn’t a bad read, there are definitely better books written by Graham Masterton that you will want to check out.

Carl Alves - author of Return to Blood Street

[Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I want to change my scoring by 0.50 or more of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)

I'm finally going through my physical library owned book list, to add more older basic reviews. If I liked a book enough to keep then they are at the least a 3 star.

I'm only adding one book per author and I'm not going to re-read every book to be more accurate, not when I have 1000s of new to me authors to try (I can't say no to free books....)

First time read the author's work?: Yes

Will you be reading more?: Yes

Would you recommend?: Yes


------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)

All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked

Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)

[Paul Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Night Warriors is quite a strange brew - a blend of nasty occult impregnation (women being raped by, effectively, the Devil and giving birth to man-eating eels in an Alien-like manner) and the almost Young Adult feeling adventurous tales of three (eventually four) inhabitants of sunkissed Southern California who become empowered knights of light in people's suitably surrealistic dream environments. The two 'worlds' never quite jibe. One is quite grounded and Stephen King-like, and the scenes of the powerful and crazy-dangerous eels attacking investigators are written intensely and believably, like folk trying to contain wild animals. The powers and paraphernalia of the Night Warriors (ostentatious armour, energy bolts that need to be 'charged up') feel very videogame-like, and oddly without weight. Henry, Gill and Susan also seemed to take to their roles and their abilities a little too quickly - some Matrix-like training grounds perhaps would've been a more convincing route to take. That being said, like all Masterton horror tales, it's full of gruesome adventure.

[Nick Coughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

After mistakenly buying book #4 of this series I had to see what the original was all about. I was thinking maybe after 20 years of this odd series the author had ended up with something over the top and corny, but that's also how it started. The characters are weird and unbelievable, easily convinced of the most outlandish things to move the plot along. The premise itself is full of holes and weird bits that require the reader to suspend a lot of disbelief for the sake of the story. Masterton will describe extremely graphic and violent scenes throughout the book yet the dialog reads like a young adult action movie like Spy Kids and contains almost no profanity. However despite all of these flaws I breezed through his books and they were page turners. Masteron is extremely illustrative in his fantastical dream settings. Overall I am not sure the good outweighs the bad but I nonetheless made it through these.

[denudatio_pulpae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gil, Susan i Henry, trójka zupełnie obcych sobie ludzi, spotyka się pewnej nocy na plaży, w dość makabrycznych okolicznościach. Odnajdują oni zwłoki brutalnie okaleczonej młodej kobiety, w której brzuchu znaleziono żywe węgorze. Ich spotkanie nie jest jednak przypadkowe, każdy z nich jest potomkiem legendarnych Wojowników Nocy, a morderstwo nie jest zwykłą zbrodnią – z piekielnych czeluści wydostał się Yaomauitl, paskudny demon, który jest odpowiedzialny za śmierć tej dziewczyny. Tylko Wojownicy Nocy są w stanie go pokonać.

Gdyby nie ta ohydna erotyka, to powiedziałabym, że „Wojownicy Nocy” są książką dla młodzieży. Sam pomysł na przemianę głównych bohaterów podczas snu w wyszkolonych wojowników, którzy właśnie w snach będą walczyć ze złem – nieodparcie kojarzy mi się z młodszymi czytelnikami. Nie do końca kupuję ten pomysł, zobaczymy, jak będzie dalej.
6/10

[Mark Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Masterton’s finest and most fun books to date, Night Warriors follows the release of an ancient demon after an earthquake cracks the seals of the tomb he has been buried in.
By entering the dreams of young women, this demon seeks to impregnate them with his demon spawn, and the only people who can stop him are four people brought together by a mysterious figure who claims to be a representative of the One True God.
They are the Night Warriors...and they are our on,y hope.

This is a great book with some truly nasty scenes - especially towards the end of the book. Warning - it does contain themes of rape so if this is not your thing, avoid, but I love the concept and I love the story and this remains one of my favourites by this author.

[Richard Hesketh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This represents a real triumph in dream portrayal, reality manipulation, and plain, simple fun, from Mr Masterton.
It breaks from his tradition of (and I mean this very fondly) "Child man protagonist versus unspeakable horror" and propells the reader into tangible fantasy. We are in the worlds of Alice, Little Nemo, and Inception. Your own dreams are referenced as you read. Very real in the way Barker does reality. Fractured but redeemable. Bound to memory and feelings but surreal in the proper sense. I was utterly delighted to discover that this was the first of a series. Go on. Be impressed. He's probably the best modern pulp writer we have.