Harry and the Pirates: And Other Tales from the Lost Years (Necroscope Series) » (First Edition)

BRIAN LUMLEY is the author of the Necroscope series—more than a dozen volumes strong—as well as the Titus Crow series, the Hero of Dreams series, and many other books of horror and dark fantasy.  He lives in England with his wife. 

Harry Keogh, the first Necroscope, is arguably Brian Lumley’s greatest creation.  In the Necroscope series, readers saw Harry learn to use his powers to talk with the dead and travel instantaneously to any point in space and time.  They saw him take arms against the evil, twisted, alien vampires who sought to feed off humans and enslave mankind.  They saw him suffer a great personal loss and later recover his humanity through a new love.  And they saw Harry wage the grimmest battle of his life—against the vampire he himself was becoming!

Even after Harry’s story was done, Brian Lumley continued to write books about Harry’s legacy—the other Necroscopes who inherited his weird talents.  But Harry himself would not go quietly into that darkness that lies beyond an author’s imagination . . . and now Brian Lumley has written three new long short stories about Harry and his supernatural adventures.

VOYA

Taking the Necroscope series beyond its conclusion, Lumley offers fans three more Harry Keogh stories, comprising two longer narratives and a final vignette. The first follows Harry Keogh as he becomes entwined in the mystery of a long-missing girl and the haunted woods of Hazeldene, his childhood home. The second is a story of a pirate whose troubled soul seeks Harry's insight. Lumley concludes with a three-page piece from the perspective of Death as he encounters the Necroscope. From an ancient and deadly tree-thing to long dead Viking pirates and Death himself, Lumley's distinctive style will delight series fans who will enjoy the further tales of Harry Keogh and the wild creatures and characters he meets. New readers, however, will find the book disjointed and a bit unfulfilling as it assumes that readers are already acquainted with the rules of the Necroscope. The high fantasy of Lumley's series, specifically this entry, has limited YA appeal, but Lumley's series is not broad enough to capture the typical teen vampire fan. Reviewer: Jennifer Miskec