Bloodwars

Necroscope, Book 8

By: Brian Lumley

Narrated by: Joshua Saxon

Length: 29 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's Summary

The twin sons of Harry Keogh, the Necroscope, have taken very different paths. Nathan as his father's powers - to talk to the dead, to travel instantly through space. Like Harry, this new Necroscope fights evil wherever he finds it.

His twin, Nestor, has become the most horrifying evil imaginable: a shape-shifting, blood sucking Wamphyi Lord! Devoid of human feeling, Nestor and his companion, the beautiful, malevolent Wratha the Risen, hunt without mercy.

The battle between the brothers mirrors the war between vampires and humans. On mankind's side: terrible weapons brought from Earth by Nathan's allies. But the vampires are numerous and powerful, and neither side has a clear advantage...until Nathan and his legions of the dead discover a way to destroy the vampires forever.

In the midst of a titanic battle, Nathan makes a desperate move that forever changes millions of lives and two worlds: the vampire world...and Earth.

©1995 Brian Lumley (P)2020 David N. Wilson

Nice conclusion. Don't go further.

Saxon did a splendid, splendid job reading. The story dragged like hell and Lumley needs a thesaurus so he doesn't have overuse the same word ad nauseum.

the best book I have ever listened to so far

a superb heart-wrenching storyline wonderful narrator and a mad genius of an author
to anybody that has a taste in literature this is a wonderful addition to your collection

Fantastic

A really great listen. Brian Lumley is a superb writer and Mr. Saxon a gifted storyteller.

always a great series

i have enjoyed the series since i was introduced to it. i am so grateful it has been audiobooks converted just such a great series

A work of Art on so many levels.

This 3rd book in the Vampire World trilogy (8th book in the overall NECROSCOPE series) is Brian Lumley at his very best story telling.
Im grateful beyond words that Lumley's work is finally being masterfully produced, and performed in audio format. Ive waited so long for this dream to come true, and thanks to CROSSROADS PRESS, and the fantastic narrations of John Langton, Michael Throughton, and Joshua Saxon...im blessed that even MORE of Brian's incredible stories are in my near future.

Great continuation of the Necroscope stories.

I loved it overall the narration was good except the Keogh characters voice changed throughout the reading. This left me confused at times as to who was speaking. Except for this I would have given a solid 4 stars.

A Triumphant Finale

The most truly Epic of the Necroscope series, Bloodwars is a climactic showdown between multiple factions in a high fantasy but well grounded setting. There are giant monsters, a final war for dominance between distinct and memorable vampire characters, brother pitted against brother, romance, family legacy, betrayal, portals in time and space and a psychically endowed british spy group. There is memorable horror and gore aplenty but there is a lot more here.

Brian Lumley is on peak form and has a total grasp of his style, his world, it's lore and what he wants to do. It's an enormous story with almost 4 decades of plot behind it at this point, but it's never unwieldy or rambling. No space is wasted, Lumley just patiently lays out these incredible events and walks you through them.

I've heard Lumley do something similar in the conclusion to his Titus Crow series. An epic battle with multiple supernatural armies and a huge ensemble cast. But for my money this is where Lumley sounds more like himself and less like an imitation of writers who's style he clearly loves. There is a real sense of a master genre writer in full command of his craft flexing his own unique authorial voice.

Add to that the fact that it's all delivered to you by the velvet tones of Joshua Saxon? And what you have is an extremely satisfying experience.

I work at home and spend long hours staring at screens doing repetetive tasks so during lockdown in particular Audiobooks have been a godsend for me. And the one thing that can make or break my ability to get immersed is the narrator. A bad narrator can kill a good book. A great narrator can perform a bad book well. But give a great novel to a great narrator and it's something truly special.

I've made no secret that I'm a huge fan of Saxon. He has the quality you normally only get from a narrator who is also a trained theatre actor: a sense that performing the characters is as important as simply relaying the events without ever overplaying his hand or intruding upon the experience. Since he took over reading the Necroscope series my enjoyment of is has increased %200 and I'll be following him onto whatever he lends his voice to next.

All in all this is a 10 out of 10 for me. Heartily recommend to fans of the series.

A Masterful Epic Fantasy Horror Superbly Told

Bloodwars is the final book in Brian Lumley's epic Vampire World trilogy. Following on from the excellent Necroscope books, this series uses the characters and concepts previously established and takes them to a whole new level of imagination.
I'm a big fan of Lumley and I believe that this trilogy is his crowning achievement. Each book is excellent.
Joshua Saxon once again provides a faultless narration. It's beyond doubt that he's a natural storyteller, and his performance here is further proof that he has quickly become the definitive Lumley narrator. Though his work is consistently excellent no matter the author, there is something truly special about his collaborations with Lumley.
Another absolute essential from Crossroad Press.
Recommended without hesitation.