Necroscope: The Lost Years Volume I (Necroscope, #9) by Brian Lumley

Necroscope: The Lost Years Volume I (Necroscope, #9) Reviews

• 
  Julian

  Hidden within this long tome is a brilliant novel. Greatly enjoyed this one, but a 1/3 of the manuscript should have been trimmed. I've never read a novel where the characters spent so much time sitting around thinking! Lots of thinking in this novel, and less actual doing.
  
  That aside, I loved the book. I've read this book just after reading book 3 (The Source). I'm blown away by the history and new vampire characters Lumley has introduced into the story. He almost has an unlimited number of books he's capable of writing.
  
  Really enjoyed seeing Harry in the opening chapters stopping the terrorist in London. And all of Radu Lycan's history before/after Sunside/Starside was enjoyable. The chapter toward the end of the book that outlined the lineage of all the vampire families will be a helpful reference moving forward.
  
  I did think Harry was incredibly naive surrounding everything with Bonnie Jean. I think Harry would have seen through her tricks. I think Lumley dumbed down Harry in this book.
  
  Also, we were introduced to the Chinese version of "E-branch" and the final Dracul vampire. And of course the Ferenczy's aren't dead yet. So Faethor had a brother he didn't even know about, who's son carried out his execution with the German bombing. Wow.
  
  Can't wait to see what happens next!
• 
  Γιώργος Μπελαούρης

  A weird book!
  It could have been necroscope 2,5 but instead iz 9, but it makes more sense like that. Not as a continuation but as all the blanks on the mythology are filled, we have better understanding of the lore, to see this case.
  Iz kinda a slow book in the first and third part. The search for the ‘’werewolf’’ waz kinda of a slow-burn and reminiscent of part1 of necroscope 5. Also the Shaitan mythos waz a retelling that could be trimmed somehow from this book. Radus backstory waz very interesting in Earth but in starside it reminded me a lot the tale of Wratha and the vampire world trilogy (the twins, the betrayal, the gypsies and everything kinda rhymed). Also, the part where Harry is intoxicated by a wine and hypnotized by BJ reminded me Titus’s ‘’lord of worms’’.
  Also, the fact that his wife and son are disappeared didn’t seem to bother him all that much and it waz infuriating to me (no matter the explanation)!
  But from the heist, the descent to Radu’s pit and on… you couldn’t let it go!
  
• 
  Carl Bluesy

  I am addicted to this series! Every time I start a new section I’m worried that it won’t hold up the parts before. ( harry keogh first section, the vampire land trilogy) but every time I’m wrong and I love it!
  
  This once get further away from all the craziness the vampire land brought and binges the story back to how it was closer to the start of the series. Both in style and in the time frame the majority of the story tacks place. It still very much a sequel though, witch makes for a very interesting way to about things.
  
  It’s a little slower at the start and there could have been about one hundred or so pages cut. But that parity standers for this series. It thought it would be wired having harry keogh come back after being gone for so long. But this really is his story and it’s grate to have him back! Alongside some new and old friends.
• 
  hotsake (André Troesch)

  This was a lot of fun and Lumley could've made a series just out of the Lost Years spin-off. 3.75/5
• 
  Michelle Nakagawa

  This book tells the story of Harry Keogh and the adventures he has during the years after leaving Ebranch and before eventually going to Starside/Sunside to fight the Wamphyri.
  I found it very interesting, though at first it took me a little while to really get into the stories of vampires I had not previously heard of in this series. Once I did, though, it was smooth sailing ahead to get back into the groove.
  Radu is by far my fave as I can relate to his wanting to get revenge over what happened to his family and the blood feud that endured over the next centuries made for exciting reading.
  
• 
  Coy

  I found this book at a Barnes and Noble, a place I despise, when I was trying to kill some time between job interviews in DC. The book filled the void of not reading about Harry Keogh for YEARS! The book itself is quite interesting and leaves you hanging hardcore. No choice but to buy Volume II.
• 
  Gilliam

  I don't know what would be worse: living in thrall to one of Lumley's Wamphryi Lords or being trapped in a white padded cell with nothing but reams of the author's excruciating expository filler as one's only escape from looming madness.
  
  The Lost Years, Volume 1 is a bore.
• 
  Daniel

  Another great book by, Lumley. So far every book in the series has gotten better! Worth checking out if you haven't yet.
• 
  Geoff Battle

  The Lost Years (book one) seems very familiar, with an age-old wamphyri on the return with its oh-so-slow build-up as the vampiric influence builds throughout the book. The new factor here is the addition of a werewolf conflict, all tied in to the same mythos. Although all the key players are in effect from the Necroscope series, this volume seems to be more of a rehash of the early books and is to verbose to hold interest for long. The best chapter for tension and intrigue is the epilogue! The book is a decent set-up for what is to follow however as a standalone entry it could have been so much better.
• 
  Dennis Cooper

  I may change my rating after I've read volume 2. It's a entertaining read on its own but it was definitely written with the two volumes in mind. You may find it a little confusing if you're not familiar with the Necroscope's other adventures but don't worry it's all explained in the text so it's not essential to know. Now waiting for volume two to arrive.
• 
  Piojo

  It has been a masterclass about how to make a short story long. And that's all. Some interesting facts, some interesting characters but a bit forced. Not the standard I'm used to with Mr. Lumley's books. It makes me feel so lazy to start the next part...
• 
  Philip Chaston

  An enjoyable romp
• 
  SHUiZMZ

  At this point, im just trying to finish the entire series. I've invested so much time & some parts are better than others.
• 
  Ron

  This was a little repetitive in the story telling. The story wasn’t as interesting as previous books. The Lost Years left me lost.
• 
  Donovan

  The Necroscope Lost Years series fills in some of the gaps over 2 books. Simply titled Necroscope: The Losy Years (I & II). Not much of a read and a bit boring for my liking. I bought them purely for the collection. You wont miss anything important if you don't read them.
  
  Plot ***Spoilers***
  Book I
  Between Wamphyri! and The Source, earlier novels in Brian Lumley's internationally best-selling series of the millenia-long struggle of humanity against the most horrific plague of vampires ever spawned, the Necroscope harry Keogh searched for his lost wife and child for several years. Now the enthralling story of what the Necroscope believes happened during that time - and of what did happen - can be told.
  
  It is a story that goes back to the earliest days of the vampire infestation of Sunside/Starside, a parallel world on the 'other' side of space time. Punished by Shaitan the Unborn for taking sides against him in the first bloodwars, several great Lords of the Wamphyri were banished through the 'Gate' on Starside - to Earth! Among these expelled Lords was the dog-Lord Radu Lykan, whose vampire leech was inherited from a wolf. So Radu is not only Wamphyri: he's also a werewolf. And it is he who, after centuries of suspended animation, is now on a collision course with none other than Harry Keogh...
  
  
  Book II
  They came between Wamphyri! and The Source, earlier novels in Brian Lumley's internationally best-selling series of embattled humanity's struggle against the most horrific plague of vampires ever spawned. From the Necroscope Harry Keogh's point of view, the missing years were empty, dead - or perhaps undead? Under mental restrictions imposed by E-Branch, beguiled by Bonnie Jean Mirlu, a fledgling Lady of the Wamphyri, Harry is a man of two minds, a split personality. But more than this - as a man revitalized in another man's body - he is the classic schizophrenic.
  
  On the other hand, Radu Lykan is a man - or a monster - of two worlds. An original Lord of the Wamphyri, from Starside in an alien vampire world, Radu has lain preserved in resin in a state of suspended animation in his high Cairngorms lair for six-hundred years! Now the time of his return is at hand. Except -
  
  - The dog-Lord has dreamed of a 'Man With Two faces' who will be there in the hour of his resurgence. Harry Keogh is that man, in whom Radu will rise up again, resurrected! Problem enough for the Necroscope, without that other vampire survivors - the last Drakul, and the Ferenczys - are also after his blood...
  
  
• 
  Andy Strutt

  Necroscope Series by Brian Lumley
  Review by Andy Strutt author of “The Afflicted”
  
  I first discovered this series by receiving “Necroscope III : The Source” as a Christmas present. I had never heard of Brian Lumley but I was instantly infatuated with his work as soon as I had read the first few pages. Obviously, the first thing I did was go out and find the rest of the Necroscope series.
  Harry Keogh is a very strange character with morbid supernatural powers that allow him to speak to the dead. That is enough to make you want to read the series on its own but it is only the start. The Necroscope is the first in the series of a totally unique and fantastical vampire mythology, and definitely my favourite out of all of them. His writing his dark and exciting and is not for the faint hearted. These are books for true fans of horror and I challenge any new reader to predict what is going to happen next. I pride myself on being able to predict the storyline and I was pleasantly surprised, there was no way I could have guessed where the story would lead. For me it is impossible to review a single novel in isolation (or necessary) because I feel that anyone who reads the first will very quickly read the other 14 novels eagerly.
  Highly recommended and I guarantee these books deserve horror classic status. The writing and characterisations are timeless and will be enjoyed by true horror fans for centuries to come.
  
• 
  S.J.A. Turney

  Having been a fan of the original 5 book Necroscope series, I was truly disappointed with this. It felt like a cash-in. Basically padding that could easily have been parts of the original series that were left on the cutting room floor.
  
  I'd recommend against buying this, and direct you to the Vampire World series instead if you've reached the end of the original 5 Necroscope books and are looking for somewhere to go next.
• 
  Becky

  A decent read that fills in the time period between books two and three of the original Necroscope series and ties up a few loose ends. I gave it a high rating because I always find Brian Lumley enjoyable, however this doesn't quite have the oomph of previous volumes and definitely feels like it's going over old ground. Worth a look if you read and loved the Necroscope and Vampire World series but I'd say this one is probably for fans only.
• 
  Stephen

  I picked this one up as kind of a goodbye to the horror/ColdWar novels I read in my misspent youth. And of course it was by Brian Lumley, so that meant it was good enough to make me want to rekindle my connection to this series. But then I had to ask myself if I really wanted to read the whole 20 or so books in this series, and I had to decline and read something else.
• 
  Lynn Orser

  I love Brian Lumley's books but this one nearly drove me mad. too much rehashing of past books and very slow to get to the real story. then I find out after struggling to read the Lost Years the it is volume 1 and the story continues in volume 2. God grief!
• 
  Amanda and tony schmidt

  Tony
• 
  Nick Wallace

  Not bad, but not great either. The main high point is having two vampires named Egon and Vlad.
• 
  Kurt Vosper

  Fills in holes in the original series. Harry is looking for his wife and son who have disappeared.
• 
  Dollie

  This book and the next cover the years of when Harry was looking for Brenda and Baby Harry. I liked reading about Harry's character again.
• 
  Marcus

  Interesting addition to the series but I agree with previous reviews that it lacks some cohesion and does tend to drag a bit compared to previous books. Still enjoyable for fans of the series.
• 
  Stacy Croushorn

  Excellent book. Really like the addition of the werewolf.
• 
  Ike

  One word = cliffhanger