Beneath the Moors and Darker Places » (~)

Brian Lumley is the author of the bestselling Necroscope series of vampire novels. The first Necroscope, Harry Keogh, also appears in a collection of Lumley's short fiction, Harry Keogh and Other Weird Heroes, along Titus Crow and Henri Laurent de Marigny, from Titus Crow, Volumes One, Two, and Three, and David Hero and Eldin the Wanderer, from the Dreamlands series.

An acknowledged master of Lovecraft-style horror, Brian Lumley has won the British Fantasy Award and been named a Grand Master of Horror. His works have been published in more than a dozen countries and have inspired comic books, role-playing games, and sculpture, and been adapted for television.

When not writing, Lumley can often be found spear-fishing in the Greek islands, gambling in Las Vegas, or attending a convention somewhere in the US. Lumley and his wife live in England.

In addition to his stellar Necroscope series, Brian Lumley is highly regarded for his short fiction, for which he has won the British Fantasy Award. Beneath the Moors and Darker Places, a companion to The Whisperer and Other Voices, collects nine of Lumley's best long short works, many of them unavailable for decades in any form.

The Cthulhu Mythos of the immortal H. P. Lovecraft provides inspiration for much of Lumley's work, including "Dagon's Bell" and "Big C," both included here. The explosive creation of a new volcanic island off Iceland in 1967 led to "Rising with Surtsey," an homage not just to Lovecraft but to the great August Derleth. "David's Worm"-which takes an interesting view of "you are what you eat"-was published in a Year's Best Horror Stories and later adapted for radio in Europe.

The collection also includes the macabre "The Second Wish," published here for the first time with the author's original, intended ending, and "The Fairground Horror," first published in The Disciples of Cthulhu twenty-five years ago and not seen since save for a small press edition.

The title tale, Beneath the Moors, a complete short novel, has been unavailable in the US since its first publication by Arkham House in the early 1970s. It is considered to be one of Lumley's strongest short works; Tor is proud to restore this and the other pieces in this volume to Lumley's growing readership.

Publishers Weekly

This volume of workmanlike shorter fiction from Lumley collects nine early, largely Lovecraft-inspired pieces by the British author of the popular Necroscope series (Necroscope IV: Deadspeak, Forecasts, Oct. 29, etc.). Such homages to H.P.L. as "Dagon's Bell," "Rising with Surtsey" and a long-out-of-print short novel, Beneath the Moors, reflect the master's narrative technique and subject matter, though in style they owe more to the plodding pastiches of August Derleth, Arkham House's founding editor and Cthulhu Mythos promoter. Yet one should note that the author is not fixated on the Mythos or purple prose, as witness "The Sun, the Sea, and the Silent Scream," which uses the same Greek islands setting as "There Are No Sharks in the Mediterranean," a tale that appears in a companion story collection, The Whisperer and Other Voices (2001). "The Fairground Horror" is a classic juxtaposition of something grisly with a cozy environment, while "A Thing About Cars" draws on the author's experience as a British army military policeman. If like his mentor Lovecraft, Lumley has only a modest gift for characterization, he also, like the Providence gentleman, exhibits a real, often compelling sense of place. Some of the stories have been available only in versions edited to the point of mutilation, and it's good to see them restored to their proper form. Although this is a distinctly mixed bag, it's definitely worthwhile for its intended portion of the horror audience. (Feb. 15 Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.