What do you think?
Rate this book
Vampires Overhead
'From somewhere out of space, through the stratosphere, from the unknown, dropping through a silence with bleak eyes fixed greedily towards the inhabited earth. They might have bred here unseen, unheard of, in some darkly warm unexplored tropical fastness, but where in the world is any unexplored territory? No, from some passing planet, some other world from which I like to think they had been exiled, outcast, for the beastly things they are, and from the space into which they had flown for safety, chanced upon earth. And the voyage had made them hungry!'
First published in 1935, Alan Hyder's Vampires Overhead has now achieved almost mythic status, due mainly to its scarcity. It begins innocently enough with the meeting of two old army comrades outside a London cinema, but the action quickly intensifies as earth is invaded and virtually destroyed by hordes of nightmarish vampires, which leave desolation and destruction in their wake.
In London, three lone survivors manage to flee the wastes of the city and escape to a new life in the countryside. However, the horror of the vampires soon takes a back seat to the difficulties the trio experience as human nature begins to take over, and they face terrors which come from much closer to home.
First published in 1935, Alan Hyder's Vampires Overhead has now achieved almost mythic status, due mainly to its scarcity. It begins innocently enough with the meeting of two old army comrades outside a London cinema, but the action quickly intensifies as earth is invaded and virtually destroyed by hordes of nightmarish vampires, which leave desolation and destruction in their wake.
In London, three lone survivors manage to flee the wastes of the city and escape to a new life in the countryside. However, the horror of the vampires soon takes a back seat to the difficulties the trio experience as human nature begins to take over, and they face terrors which come from much closer to home.
174 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1935
2 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 14, 2021
Vampires from space sounded to amazing to pass up but unfortunately it was a miss for me. Rather a lot of low ratings lately. It was an ok audiobook but didn't quite get on with the style, characters or plot. The narrator was ok though
February 15, 2011
I admit it- I generally loathe vampire books. Anne Rice, Twilight, etc, are all garbage in my book. To wit, the idea of a ravenous, blood thirsty semi-cannibal as a sexy creature of the night is simply a ridiculous subject for a book and generally ludicrous idea overall. This novel, however, written by a guy who's basically an unknown pulp writer from the 30's and takes vampires in an entirely different direction. The vampires in this book descend upon an unsuspecting Earth in hordes, ostensibly from space, draining every drop of moisture from people while setting everything ablaze. Vampires Overhead is really more post-apocalyptic than vampire novel as the vampires are totally alien creatures. As such, if you're looking for weak soft-core porn involving pasty faced Victorian-era Eastern Europeans, look elsewhere. If you want a great account of a fanciful apocalypse, definitely give this a read.
April 10, 2009
Vampires is told from the point-of-view of "Garry" Garrington, a former soldier in the British army who finds himself one of the last remaining humans in England. The story is set at the time of the book's writing, with plenty of British references and attempts at dialect. Not much is known about the author Alan Hyder; some people assume he was from Jamaica.
At the beginning of the novel, Garry meets up with Bingen, an old army comrade who takes him over to his place of employment for old times sake, which happens to be brewery. Needless to say, they get plenty toasted on the proceeds of the vats, reminiscing about the good old days. When the brewery owner makes an unannounced appearance, the night watchman, also a former military man, locks them in an underground tunnel until the owner leaves. They sleep-off the drunk, unaware what's happen above them.
Both men wake the next morning to find themselves still locked in the tunnel, with a bat the size of a pit bull hanging onto the outside of the gate. While they try to figure out what to do, more large bats show up, all of whom are trying to get to Garry and his friend. And the bats don't leave.
When Garry and Bingen are finally able to leave the tunnel they discover the city of London has burned to the ground. The few bodies they can find are all drained of blood. It seems the bats are vampires and humans their prey. The bats also produce fire, but they themselves are immune to flames. They may not be all that large, but they have appeared overnight all over the earth in swarms. One giant vampire bat can be a nuisance, but swarms in the thousands, if not millions, are genocide.
The first part of the book consists of Garry and Bingen scouring the remains of London, trying to find any supplies or survivors. They eventually locate an 18-year-old-woman named Janet who was shielded from the holocaust under a load of asbestos tile on a barge . Here's where the real tension begins, since Garry is concerned for her safety, whereas Bingen has something else on his mind. Soon, appearances of the vampire bats are becoming less and less common, although the three survivors constantly scan the clouds in expectation of a swarm.
The giant vampire bats are a curiosity and the drive behind the novel. Hyder didn't do a lot of research into where they came from or how they function. We're told the bats have produced the heat which burned out civilization, but never do we see their incendiary arts in operation. They function in the daytime, although bats are nocturnal. The vampire bats can only be killed by decapitation, but a silver blade isn't needed. How they came to be in our world is not explained either, but Garry thinks they might have something to do with a comet which blazes in the evening sky.
What few other survivors the trio locate when they leave London don't offer much in the way of help. Examining the ruins of a village, Garry finds a mad British office worker, complete with bowler hat, on his way to work. After settling into the remains of a remote village, they encounter a drunken tramp who proves to be an antagonist wanting Janet for himself.
Hyder's descriptions of the world in ashes proved to be a glimpse of WW2. Although the book at times reads like an HG Wells imitation , the basic plot is quite unique. And this is why it is remembered years after the initial publication.
At the beginning of the novel, Garry meets up with Bingen, an old army comrade who takes him over to his place of employment for old times sake, which happens to be brewery. Needless to say, they get plenty toasted on the proceeds of the vats, reminiscing about the good old days. When the brewery owner makes an unannounced appearance, the night watchman, also a former military man, locks them in an underground tunnel until the owner leaves. They sleep-off the drunk, unaware what's happen above them.
Both men wake the next morning to find themselves still locked in the tunnel, with a bat the size of a pit bull hanging onto the outside of the gate. While they try to figure out what to do, more large bats show up, all of whom are trying to get to Garry and his friend. And the bats don't leave.
When Garry and Bingen are finally able to leave the tunnel they discover the city of London has burned to the ground. The few bodies they can find are all drained of blood. It seems the bats are vampires and humans their prey. The bats also produce fire, but they themselves are immune to flames. They may not be all that large, but they have appeared overnight all over the earth in swarms. One giant vampire bat can be a nuisance, but swarms in the thousands, if not millions, are genocide.
The first part of the book consists of Garry and Bingen scouring the remains of London, trying to find any supplies or survivors. They eventually locate an 18-year-old-woman named Janet who was shielded from the holocaust under a load of asbestos tile on a barge . Here's where the real tension begins, since Garry is concerned for her safety, whereas Bingen has something else on his mind. Soon, appearances of the vampire bats are becoming less and less common, although the three survivors constantly scan the clouds in expectation of a swarm.
The giant vampire bats are a curiosity and the drive behind the novel. Hyder didn't do a lot of research into where they came from or how they function. We're told the bats have produced the heat which burned out civilization, but never do we see their incendiary arts in operation. They function in the daytime, although bats are nocturnal. The vampire bats can only be killed by decapitation, but a silver blade isn't needed. How they came to be in our world is not explained either, but Garry thinks they might have something to do with a comet which blazes in the evening sky.
What few other survivors the trio locate when they leave London don't offer much in the way of help. Examining the ruins of a village, Garry finds a mad British office worker, complete with bowler hat, on his way to work. After settling into the remains of a remote village, they encounter a drunken tramp who proves to be an antagonist wanting Janet for himself.
Hyder's descriptions of the world in ashes proved to be a glimpse of WW2. Although the book at times reads like an HG Wells imitation , the basic plot is quite unique. And this is why it is remembered years after the initial publication.
March 6, 2015
Pure pulp bliss that also happens to be chock full of some surprisingly clever ideas and original alien vampires. I'd been wanting to read this for years.
October 13, 2021
I am going to be generous and give this 3 stars.
Another reviewer said this book reads like HG Wells, but this book actually reminded me of a Edgar Rice Burroughs. It's very much a wish fulfillment story. The main character is a super badass who does everything right, and his companion is kind of a cowardly whiney child. The two of them find a beautiful young woman, who plays mind games with them. Then the hero and the woman fall in love.
The space vampire apocalypse is kind of just the backdrop/excuse to have these two characters fall in love.
Overall, not....terrible? But extremely dated and represents gender roles of the time which I found annoying.
Another reviewer said this book reads like HG Wells, but this book actually reminded me of a Edgar Rice Burroughs. It's very much a wish fulfillment story. The main character is a super badass who does everything right, and his companion is kind of a cowardly whiney child. The two of them find a beautiful young woman, who plays mind games with them. Then the hero and the woman fall in love.
The space vampire apocalypse is kind of just the backdrop/excuse to have these two characters fall in love.
Overall, not....terrible? But extremely dated and represents gender roles of the time which I found annoying.
May 9, 2021
"Delicious tremblin's"
Interesting with an unusually plausible apocalyptic scenario. An en masse attack without warning makes much sense. Unfortunately, the dialogue is a bit stilted, and inane, but the characters are intended to be a random selection, not Oxonians.
Interesting with an unusually plausible apocalyptic scenario. An en masse attack without warning makes much sense. Unfortunately, the dialogue is a bit stilted, and inane, but the characters are intended to be a random selection, not Oxonians.
Want to read
August 2, 2009This appears to be far beyond awesome. WANT.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews