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Night Warriors #3

Night Plague

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For generations, the Night Warriors have used their awesome powers to defend humanity from evil, entering men's dreams to change the shape of waking reality. Now, five modern Night Warriors face their most terrifying enemy.

She is Isabel Gowdie, witch and mistress of Satan. Entombed for three centuries, her powers have grown stronger. Now her evil influence seeps through the earth, carrying the seeds of the Night Plague, a disease which twists men's souls into madness.

The Night Warriors can stop it if they can find Isabel Gowdie's hidden prison. But time is short. With each night's sleep more and more of humankind falls to the Plague, and two of the Night Warriors are already infected.

310 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

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About the author

Graham Masterton

423 books1,975 followers
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.

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5 stars
121 (27%)
4 stars
142 (31%)
3 stars
126 (28%)
2 stars
38 (8%)
1 star
17 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
Profile Image for Erin *Proud Book Hoarder*.
2,966 reviews1,197 followers
January 27, 2016
Graham Masterton may well be one of the only authors who can give me genuine chill jeebies. A lot of people cite King and other well-known writers for their horror ability, but to me Masterton takes the cake with creating trippy visuals and mini scenes that are eerie in cerebrally-taunting ways.

In Night Plague, the back blurb is weird and misleading. I wasn’t having my usual faith in the writer, faith I shouldn’t have lost, as it sounds so incredibly cheesy. Satan and a minion, really? I read the back blurb and thought could this be a Masterton book that is silly and riddled with shortcomings?

Thankfully it wasn’t really all that cheesy. It’s a high fantasy type of horror where the major characters are actually long lines of lineage of warriors who have been fighting for ages. The villain is disturbing and unique, but tied through with her attacks through a surreal dream world and abilities that whisper about creativity. The characters are brought together in a form of fate that works in fantasy types.

Of course there is minor cheese present, but it’s hardly noticeable, and even if the ending is depressing in the death of someone I wished would have stuck around, it was a decent wrap-up to a story that started out incredibly disturbing (not horror wise so much as psychologically twisted), and continued on a middle that held plenty of story, mystery, and merging of personalities to discover what lay ahead.

For the character side of things, you have an interesting blend of opposing personalities. Stanley is a world famous violinist who the reader rides in the mind of throughout the book. He’s more likeable at the beginning with what happens to him and his struggles in dealing with it, but later becomes a little less likeable as time goes on and the ending wraps itself up. I really love the supporting friend, Gordon, but feel Masterton could have done more with him. The girl wasn’t that interesting, and her dialogue skills got on my nerves (couldn’t understand what she was saying half the time), but understanding why her personality was added in. The Knighted Hood? More chilling than all, even worse than the ‘big bad.’ Creepy thing, especially the opening chapters.

The book isn’t terribly quick with its pacing, but there’s always enough wonder to want to keep reading and discover the turn out. There is a death I predicted, it just seemed like where the author would go, even though I hated being proven right and wish the writer didn’t go that route. It’s written through the eyes of the main, Stanley, but still is in a third person point of view with the way it’s done, a little detached, but also detailed at the same time.

There’s plenty of disgusting stuff, too, especially when Stanley spits up some of the side effects. Ew. There is a disturbing rape scene that opens the story to set all of it in motion. It isn’t a situation where there are non-stop deaths or anything, but violence certainly isn’t shied away from, making it a serious horror novel that disturbs without having to try too hard. The fireplace scene stands out as the most creepy by far. Masterton and his thing with faces! I’ve seen that with some of his other books. Many of the scenes are surreal in how they are written, especially when dealing with the dream state.

Overall it’s an interesting book that injects a unique, fantasy type tale into a disturbing story that hints of cheese but is mainly coated with a good story. The ending is the weakest segment, unfortunately, but the ride to get there is a surreal one. It’s not one of his best, but it’s still a worthy horror tale that’s hard to mentally shake away.
Profile Image for Peter Gray.
9 reviews33 followers
June 23, 2015
This was the first of the Night Warriors Books I read but as each Book in the series kinda stands on it's own two feet and doesn't necessarily require you to have read the first two books was a great find. I turned the pages so fast as I read it (so long ago I'm due for a reread when I can) the corners started to smoulder with the heat.I've since got back to where it all started. Night Warriors are a (pardon the pun) dream creation and one I'm glad I was introduced to mid-90's. Like I say though, I'm going to go back and enjoy reading the series from the start then I can get into the 8th Book in the series. Happy Days.
Profile Image for denudatio_pulpae.
1,591 reviews35 followers
July 25, 2025
Z czeluści piekielnych wypełzła paskudna choroba zwana Nocną Plagą. Przenosi się ona (jakżeby inaczej) drogą płciową. Stanley Eisner, amerykański skrzypek, został zgwałcony i zarażony tym paskudztwem, które doprowadza go powoli do szaleństwa. A przyczyną tej zarazy jest czarownica, Isabel Gowdie, z którą tym razem zmierzą się Wojownicy Nocy.

Do połowy książki było znośnie. Ale kiedy na scenę wkracza ekipa Nocnych Power Rangers, wszystko leci na łeb. Po pierwsze – dlaczego w każdej części jest to nowy zestaw (oprócz Kasyksa, on ma przechlapane za każdym razem)? Po drugie – dlaczego to są zawsze główni bohaterowie, którzy, oczywiście całkowitym przypadkiem, okazują się jakimiś tam potomkami wcześniejszych Wojowników Nocy? A na koniec dodam tylko, że tym razem poziom żenady (na który składa się w tym przypadku ohydna erotyka i obrzydliwe kreatury) wywaliło mi poza skalę. Panie Masterton, są pewne granice, nawet w horrorach.
4/10
Profile Image for Joe Geesin.
176 reviews3 followers
September 14, 2018
Part three of this (largely) wonderful series by Masterton. Ordinary people who become superheroes in dreams and fight demons whose evil crosses from dreams into the real world.
If you've read the previous two, you'll love this, my only criticisms are that some parts (where the mood changes due to the virus' effects) were a little hard to read, and that the character Springer (he / she who brings the powers and knowledge) doesn't appear until quite late in the book.
But there is a good unexpected twist at the end.
Profile Image for Alexander Draganov.
Author 30 books154 followers
May 13, 2025
Греъм Мастертън е умел разказвач, но опитите му да изгради епична митология тук не са толкова успешни, колкото в поредицата “Маниту” и на моменти изпитвах досада, докато четох за различните умения на всеки от новата група Воини на Нощта. Описанията на ужасяващите моменти обаче бяха наистина смущаващи, като за тази книга авторът целенасочено създава смес между еротика и кошмар, между болка и удоволствие, между съблазън и погнуса. Не съм убеден, че това е моята бира, но че въздейства на съзнанието е безспорно.
Цялото ми ревю може да прочетете в Цитаделата:
https://citadelata.com/night-plague-t...
Profile Image for Alf Hughes.
69 reviews12 followers
September 4, 2023
The third in the night warrior series. Not as good as the previous two entries but enjoyable nonetheless.
Profile Image for hotsake (André Troesch).
1,561 reviews18 followers
September 20, 2024
The Night Warriors series is increasingly ridiculous and preposterous while still remaining absurdly entertaining and highly readable.
Profile Image for James Parsons.
Author 2 books76 followers
May 18, 2024
This one started very unusual and did take a long while to keep my interest. I think the first half could have been edited or changed to set up and balance the fantasy adventure of the second half but as usual, a very entertaining Masterton story if slightly dated with some of the dialogue and situations.
Profile Image for Gaz.
43 reviews
April 16, 2012
The nightmare is over! I enjoyed the first fifty or so pages and found the mysterious knitted hood character quite menacing. I liked that the book was set in Britain this time, with the focal character, Stanley, given plenty of meat and adeptly brought to life. There was more attention given to Mr Mol Besa than any of those in 'Death Dream'. This is a definite positive. Stanley, for a while, was quite an interesting fellow. As were the circumstances surrounding the rather brutal and yucky rape he endures by Gowdie's Carrier. Unfortunately, Isobel Gowdie and her hidden vagina really ruined things for me. Stanley should have left the Mistress of Satan in Dover and let the Night Plague take over the world (or at least Angie's mouth). Probably would have been a more interesting book! Actually to be fair, it wasn't just the poor baddie and her ludicrous encounter with Stanley towards the end of the story that ruined it. The introduction of a cliched gay bloke and a thicko Kylie Minogue loving London las who wouldn't shut her face, really grated on my nerves. That and I found myself yawning quite a lot. I couldn't even find much enthusiasm over some 'should-have-been-awesome' boy dogs and the spewing of rats. I don't know, I guess I found the new Night Warriors a rather lackluster lot. I admit to becoming minutely excited over Kasyx third appearance, injecting some much needed oomph into a pretty depressing addition to the series, but he didn't have an awful lot to do. I remember enjoying what I read of this book as a teenager. Says it all really. I just hope the fourth and fifth are back on form...
Profile Image for Brittany.
80 reviews13 followers
June 23, 2015
Really entertaining for the first 2/3, then the plot begins to slow down and takes some weird turns. Of course, this entire book is, I think, the weirdest in the trilogy: at some point the reader suspends disbelief and accepts the potentiality of the Night Warriors, but this installment takes that concept to a different level. It's also pretty savage and explicit in some respects--not as "family friendly" as the others (if blood, guts, and demons are family friendly). I felt that the concept of this novel was so bizarre that the ending, though abrupt and rushed-feeling, fits pretty well. Overall, I recommend finishing out the trilogy and reading this novel. It's really fun and fast-paced for the most part, and gives one of those satisfyingly unsatisfying conclusions to an engaging and unique story.
Profile Image for Mark Woods.
Author 15 books26 followers
June 21, 2020
The third novel in Masterton’s epic Night Warrior series is probably the weakest entry to date.

It begins with a brutal male rape, and not long after Stanley discovers he has been infected with something called The Night Plague that confuses and blends the line between dreams and reality, and triggers spontaneous bursts of both violence and aggressive lust.

Approached by Springer, the mysterious entity from the previous books, he is recruited into the ancient army of dream warriors to tackle the source of the infection knowing that if they fail now, the rest of the world will soon follow..

This was okay, I mean it started out okay, but one of the characters speaks in a south London accent throughout which is REALLY annoying ( I have never heard ANYONE in the UK call an ambulance a nambulance), and at one point Masterton seems to forget which hand of a character is attacked as it changes from right to left - something that NO editor appears to have picked up on.

There are some cool scenes and nasty imagery very early on, but as with the other books the weakest moments are when the warriors are in dreams.

Overall I didn’t really enjoy this one, hence the low score.
269 reviews4 followers
December 4, 2022
Well this was a pretty wild ride. I don't usually start with content warnings, but this starts with a rape and has some pretty graphic sexual violence throughout. I won't say it's a clumsy AIDS allegory because the characters repeatedly point out how the plague is NOT like AIDS but... Yeah it's a bit of a focus of the book.
After a fairly grim start focussed on real-life horrors, this quickly goes to some very silly fantasy/sci-fi places: it's fun and gruesome and not to be taken seriously at all, but in my experience that's what you want from Graham Masterton.
It builds to a few big action sequences and then very abruptly wraps up.. the ending feels quite ambiguous but then this is part of a series so maybe it's just open ended to lead on to the next one.
Profile Image for Abe Ofarrell.
31 reviews3 followers
September 24, 2025
Well, I enjoyed the whole story about the protagonist and what he was going through. Problem is that although it is a Night Warriors book there is almost no NW action till the last maybe 15 or 20 percent. I could have forgiven that, but the ending of the story was just stupid. It wasn't even ended by a Night Warrior, it felt totally random. What a disappointment. Not sure I want to read the next book in the series.
Profile Image for Neil & Elaine Barton.
100 reviews
January 28, 2024
Excellent plot with lots of the unexpected.

What makes him an excellent writer, are his characters. Well rounded and complex, the reader wants to read on. My only complaint is that he often finds it difficult to revisit a character that appears in a new novel. This is disappointing and needs addressing.
346 reviews
January 31, 2020
OK, but I am not tempted to read any of the other books in the series.
Profile Image for Ewa Koziarska.
406 reviews1 follower
February 9, 2021
Ciekawa, trzymająca w napięciu i nie za gruba. Czyta się łatwo i szybko. Podobną tematykę z podobnymi postaciami odnaleźć można w książce "Śmiertelne sny".
Profile Image for David Stewart.
68 reviews3 followers
January 21, 2024
Not the best in the series, the cack-handed "dialect" of every other character was a particular irritant... As usual from this publisher riddled with typos...
78 reviews
March 17, 2024
Horror!

Part of the Night Warrior books. Did not feel it was as good as withers and found the ending weak. Once again someone should proof read it!
Profile Image for Angela.
301 reviews28 followers
January 13, 2025
I enjoyed the first half of the book but felt the second half drag. The ending was too abrupt for my liking.
2 reviews
April 22, 2025
Brilliant series of books...last one is a bit of a let down though.
Profile Image for C.
191 reviews
March 12, 2024
(Mild spoilers) I enjoyed reading the book overall. I still enjoy the Night Warriors premise of this series. However the ending felt rushed, like the story should have gone on another several chapters, but for some reason the author had to pull out a deus ex machina to wrap it up quickly. One symptom of this is that some of the powers that are introduced get underused. For example, there is a spear with a cool magical power very reminiscent of Michael Moorcock’s Elric and Corum stories. While the spear is used, the magical effect doesn’t really play much of a role, so it might as well have been a regular spear. I don’t mean to say it’s a bad book, it’s not bad, but it could have been better with a better ending the gave more payoff for some of the magical powers and weapons introduced.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
7 reviews
December 20, 2023
Night warriors

A great read


and storyline

Could not put it down its riveting story keeps you interested from beginning to the
Profile Image for Edyta D.
442 reviews3 followers
October 23, 2020
Kolejna książka o przygodach Wojowników Nocy. Tym razem jest ich pięcioro: główny bohater, skrzypek zarażony tytułową Nocną Plagą Stanley Eisner (Mol Besa - Matematyczny Grenadier/Wojownik Równania); młoda dziewczyna, zarażona przez Stanleya Nocną Plagą Angie Dunning (Effis - Świetlna Łyżwiarka), gej i psycholog Gordon Rutheford (Keldak - Walcząca Pięść); stary, poczciwy, dobrze nam znany z poprzednich części Henry Watkins (Kasyks - Strażnik Mocy); oraz 10letni syn Stanleya Leon (Zasta - Nożownik). Całą gromadą stają do walki z ulubienicą Szatana, wiedźmą o niewyobrażalnej mocy - Isabel Gowdie. To dzięki jej mocy przebudzili się Nosiciele i zaczęli siać Nocną Plagę, która rujnuje ludzkie dusze. Wojowników czeka na prawdę trudna wojna, z której niestety nie wszyscy powrócą....
Bardzo zaskakujące jest zakończenie, szczególnie postać kobiety pchającej wózek z trupami - co jakiś czas pojawia się o niej wzmianka, dlatego można było się domyśleć, że odegra jakąś rolę - ale za to jaką! Tego się nie spodziewałam!
Ciekawi mnie czy następna część będzie o tym niesamowitym, a jednocześnie przerażającym dziecku...
Polecam tą część (nadal podtrzymuję zdanie, że można te książki czytać osobno) :)
Profile Image for MadziaBum.
56 reviews
December 19, 2022
Bardzo pomysłowa, nietypowa i trochę przerażająca. Wizja gwałtu jako pomocy samemu sobie zupełnie do mnie nie przemawia. Koniec końców i tak do niego nie doszło, lecz inne epizody już tak. Ogólnie ujmując daję tej książce 7/10 w mojej osobistej skali. Minus za głównego bohatera - dupka. Kolejny minus za rozciągnięcie akcji w pierwszych rozdziałach, by eksplodowała w dwóch ostatnich rozdziałach. Trzeci minus za minimalne połączenie z poprzednią częścią.
Ogólnie polecam. :)
135 reviews
October 25, 2011
I abandoned this book about 2/3 of the way through. I really enjoyed the first 100 pages or so, but then it started to unravel. The nail in the coffin was when the son of the main character enters the story. The dialogue has such a false ring to it that it made me cringe, and question whether I wanted to continue reading. My answer was "no."
Profile Image for moonlit_di.
93 reviews
July 6, 2017
Uwielbiam Mastertona pomimo jego schematyczności. "Nocna Plaga" to przyzwoita książka, dość dobrze oddająca gatunek. Autor w odpowiednim tempie buduje napięcie, a wyprawy Wojowników Nocy są jak zwykle ciekawe i nie z tego świata.
Niestety zakończenie było bardzo rozczarowujące :(
Profile Image for Vikki.
30 reviews
July 27, 2011
Terrible book. I gave up reading at about 80 pages, could not get into it all. Very unusual for me, I very rarely give up reading a book. Not gonna be reading anymore from this writer again.
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