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The Fellowship
Before the dawn of time, they came. And their unspeakable thirst lives on... — A young couple will suffer their fury. She will be trapped in a nightmare of erotic ritual and unholy murder. He will go beyond the grave to save her. — Two lovers will feel their vengeance. She has been chosen as a living sacrifice. He will plunge to the depths of hell for her eternal soul. Two brilliant scientists will defy them. One will fall victim to a slow and horrible death. The other will survive, for a final confrontation that my destroy his mind. One man will rule them all. He is older than time, the father of evil, ruled by his insatiable thirst for eternal life. Cursed with a secret that has seared his tormented soul for centuries, he prepares for the most desperate act. He is the terrifying master of... The Fellowship
384 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 7, 2024
This is B movie-style, trope-filled horror done right. While on the surface the story here may seem like your typical derivative, cliche-ridden 80s midlist vampire novel of the sort that flooded the market back in the day, this was a fast-paced adventure/mystery/horror hybrid that was just plain fun to read, which already makes it stand out from the average mid-80s Leisure title. The fact that everything about this tale is so crazy and over-the-top, blending real and fake history, is another plus. For example, in the reality of this book Sherlock Holmes is an actual historical figure -- whose brother Mycroft is pretty relevant to the present day narrative -- and Bram Stoker's Dracula was secretly based on little-known true events. Only, the vampires here don't feed on blood, but on people's lifeforce/essence, making them much harder to detect since their victims exhibit no signs of foul play.
It is a little bloated, as usual with Leisure novels of the era, but I was never bored. The plot's constantly on the move, both narrative-wise and location-wise. Even the many info-dumps were tolerable, as they usually involved the protagonist digging into ancient, arcane texts on vampire lore (I love that stuff in horror fiction*) after he discovers that his new wife's been covertly meeting up at night with a depraved cult somehow tied to these vampires. More often he simply lets a wise old professor-type who's well-versed in the subject explain it all to him in monologue form...over and over again, as our hero is a little....thick. He's the stock "you don't expect me to believe in this foolish nonsense"-type character for a good portion even when directly faced with serious shit-your-pants, worldview-altering forces. Who knows though, maybe my brain would nope the hell out and go into full-blown stupid mode as well if I'd ever encountered millennia-old demonic creatures.
Some horror fans may find it all too silly and dated for their taste, but those who are down for a heavy dose of adventure and conspiracies spanning thousands of years mixed with their scares should have a good time with The Fellowship.
4.0 Stars, though I suppose it was helped by my current mood for no-frills, pulpy occult-fiction with a little 80s cheese sprinkled in for flavor. Not an absolute must-read, but it'll more than do in a pinch.
*I will somehow never tire of the "research project" trope in horror, or the archetypal professor/archaeologist/priest etc. who, as luck would have it, happens to be an expert on the very same evil phenomenon the main character is dealing with. Something about these well-worn cliches always give me a touch of the warm and fuzzies -- some coziness amidst the terror. It's most likely nostalgia-related, and that's fine with me. But many readers of the genre may see these tropes as tired and old (even by 1984 standards), and those people would likely not care for something like this. Just FYI.
It is a little bloated, as usual with Leisure novels of the era, but I was never bored. The plot's constantly on the move, both narrative-wise and location-wise. Even the many info-dumps were tolerable, as they usually involved the protagonist digging into ancient, arcane texts on vampire lore (I love that stuff in horror fiction*) after he discovers that his new wife's been covertly meeting up at night with a depraved cult somehow tied to these vampires. More often he simply lets a wise old professor-type who's well-versed in the subject explain it all to him in monologue form...over and over again, as our hero is a little....thick. He's the stock "you don't expect me to believe in this foolish nonsense"-type character for a good portion even when directly faced with serious shit-your-pants, worldview-altering forces. Who knows though, maybe my brain would nope the hell out and go into full-blown stupid mode as well if I'd ever encountered millennia-old demonic creatures.
Some horror fans may find it all too silly and dated for their taste, but those who are down for a heavy dose of adventure and conspiracies spanning thousands of years mixed with their scares should have a good time with The Fellowship.
4.0 Stars, though I suppose it was helped by my current mood for no-frills, pulpy occult-fiction with a little 80s cheese sprinkled in for flavor. Not an absolute must-read, but it'll more than do in a pinch.
*I will somehow never tire of the "research project" trope in horror, or the archetypal professor/archaeologist/priest etc. who, as luck would have it, happens to be an expert on the very same evil phenomenon the main character is dealing with. Something about these well-worn cliches always give me a touch of the warm and fuzzies -- some coziness amidst the terror. It's most likely nostalgia-related, and that's fine with me. But many readers of the genre may see these tropes as tired and old (even by 1984 standards), and those people would likely not care for something like this. Just FYI.
February 4, 2026
This book is totally OTT bonkers! The authors toss in just about every horror trope known and then some. It quickly became apparent that the authors really know horror literature, both classics and contemporary (at least when this was published in 1984) and I read this more of a homage than anything else. The actually story possesses few actual scares (beyond b-movie like surprises of various monsters) but very entertaining for all that. Yet, if you do not dig the horror genre, you will probably be disappointed.
The story centers on a handful of main characters and the authors switch POVs in the different parts of the novel. First, we have Ken, who recently married Karen. They live around L.A. and seem to be the perfect SoCal types, but Ken swiftly realizes something is 'off' with Karen; she never eats anything except diet drinks and she seems to disappear each night for hours. He finally goes to her boss, one Anton Marek, who calms him down, but things quickly hit the fan... The second POV, Chris, involves his partner Elizabeth. Chris, a writer, travels with Elizabeth to an island off Mexico to redesign some rich assholes mansion. Finally, we have many 'interludes' where the story comes from Anton Marek's POV. How do they all tie together?
The plot is full on gonzo and gloriously over the top. Not giving much away to say that Anton is a vampire, albeit not the Hollywood type (jeez, did the authors have fun with this!). No, Anton feasts on the life energy of his victims, and has been doing so since Atlantis. Some fellow travelers of his, other vampires and such, constitute the titular Fellowship, and they want to unleash their god from his prison so he can exterminate humanity. Eons ago, apparently, some cosmic clash resulted in Seti being 'in chains', but once enough 'soul energy' gets collected, an with the return of Haley's comet, Seti may be set free. Oh, there is an old duffer who inherited the notes of Sherlock Holmes brother (yes, he really existed here) who knows the score and created a network of rich folks to stop Seti's return. The old duffer, with a Ph.D., from Miskatonic University, actually went on some odd trip to Antarctica in 1930 (can you say Lovecraft?).
So, in short, not a scare fest by any means, but it had me laughing at the references littered throughout the text and the reality presented (Atlantis, Miskatonic, Holmes, etc.). Not sure if I would recommend this, but worth a read if you dig the horror genre.
The story centers on a handful of main characters and the authors switch POVs in the different parts of the novel. First, we have Ken, who recently married Karen. They live around L.A. and seem to be the perfect SoCal types, but Ken swiftly realizes something is 'off' with Karen; she never eats anything except diet drinks and she seems to disappear each night for hours. He finally goes to her boss, one Anton Marek, who calms him down, but things quickly hit the fan... The second POV, Chris, involves his partner Elizabeth. Chris, a writer, travels with Elizabeth to an island off Mexico to redesign some rich assholes mansion. Finally, we have many 'interludes' where the story comes from Anton Marek's POV. How do they all tie together?
The plot is full on gonzo and gloriously over the top. Not giving much away to say that Anton is a vampire, albeit not the Hollywood type (jeez, did the authors have fun with this!). No, Anton feasts on the life energy of his victims, and has been doing so since Atlantis. Some fellow travelers of his, other vampires and such, constitute the titular Fellowship, and they want to unleash their god from his prison so he can exterminate humanity. Eons ago, apparently, some cosmic clash resulted in Seti being 'in chains', but once enough 'soul energy' gets collected, an with the return of Haley's comet, Seti may be set free. Oh, there is an old duffer who inherited the notes of Sherlock Holmes brother (yes, he really existed here) who knows the score and created a network of rich folks to stop Seti's return. The old duffer, with a Ph.D., from Miskatonic University, actually went on some odd trip to Antarctica in 1930 (can you say Lovecraft?).
So, in short, not a scare fest by any means, but it had me laughing at the references littered throughout the text and the reality presented (Atlantis, Miskatonic, Holmes, etc.). Not sure if I would recommend this, but worth a read if you dig the horror genre.
August 26, 2012
The authors are obviously well read, but the writing lacked something. And if I had to hear about his haunted, poet's face one more time...
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews