Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic. You won't want to put it down
Review: An excellent book. Runs seemlessly from it's prequel "Necroscope." Once again, Lumley has written a book that is near-impossible to put down. I found myself even dragging it to work with me to read when I had even a few spare moments. For anyone who likes sci-fi/horror, this is a must-read. I recommend reading Necroscope before reading this one, though, as they are meant to be read in order.
Rating: 
Summary: A lot of potential, good writing, but flaws
Review: I hope this review is not flame-bait, because unlike others this was my favorite of the Nescoscope series. On the other hand, it also pointed out to me the major flaw with the series: the Nescroscope himself!First the strengths of the book: I think Lumley himself is a decent writer, better than King who is a bit too William Goldman-esque. The things I appreciated the most in the book were the progressive degradation of the family (umm, it is a horror book), the genuine terror surrounding Tibor's conversion to vampirism, and the feeling of reaching back 500 years into the past (this from the parallel stories in past and present). This is great stuff when you're dealing with an ancient evil. I pegged what I didn't like when two major characters were killed off, and promptly "came back" when the Necroscope started communing with them. This smacks of Marvel Comics penchant for killing off a villain and then bringing them back a couple of issues later; it completely deflates the horror of death. I think Lumley was on to something with his conception of Wamphyri. Vampires have been domesticated to the point of ... objects in modern literature (See Kim Barker for a great take on this, and Anne Rice for the most current and routine manifestation of this). Lumley's vampires are genuinely horrific, nothing ... about them, and Lumley is capable of writing some horrific scenarios. But they'd be better off without the Nescroscope providing its own domestication of death itself.
Rating:
Summary: A lot of potential, good writing, but flaws
Review: I hope this review is not flame-bait, because unlike others this was my favorite of the Nescoscope series. On the other hand, it also pointed out to me the major flaw with the series: the Nescroscope himself! First the strengths of the book: I think Lumley himself is a decent writer, better than King who is a bit too William Goldman-esque. The things I appreciated the most in the book were the progressive degradation of the family (umm, it is a horror book), the genuine terror surrounding Tibor's conversion to vampirism, and the feeling of reaching back 500 years into the past (this from the parallel stories in past and present). This is great stuff when you're dealing with an ancient evil. I pegged what I didn't like when two major characters were killed off, and promptly "came back" when the Necroscope started communing with them. This smacks of Marvel Comics penchant for killing off a villain and then bringing them back a couple of issues later; it completely deflates the horror of death. I think Lumley was on to something with his conception of Wamphyri. Vampires have been domesticated to the point of ... objects in modern literature (See Kim Barker for a great take on this, and Anne Rice for the most current and routine manifestation of this). Lumley's vampires are genuinely horrific, nothing ... about them, and Lumley is capable of writing some horrific scenarios. But they'd be better off without the Nescroscope providing its own domestication of death itself.
Rating:
Summary: Vamphyrhi
Review: I think the book was great. The protaganist in the book, which was Harry Keogh helps a lot of people such as telling story about Thibor and Ferenczy's time and how he said he really talked to Thibor personally. I think the book was the greatest scary story fiction book ever and i liked it personally. it was like the movie "The Ring" except in a book. It was really bloody and lot of deaths involved. it was diabolical and satanic, a little bit.
Rating:
Summary: Read the first one and you will want to read them all!
Review: Is it HORROR or is it sci/fi? It makes no difference because it's all good. A splendid follow-up to the original that will leave you gasping for more, and there is more. Brain Lumley's fresh take on vampires just keeps going, with every installment adding new twists and turns. Parallel worlds, vampiric leaches, necroscopes, necromancers, an amazing alternate universe that just gets richer with each new book. My thanks to Dianne Kennedy for turning me on to one of the best series I've ever had the pleasure to read
Rating:
Summary: Necroscope II: Vamphyri
Review: It's been a long time since I have been this excited about a series of books. I finished book 2 this morning and I have begun looking for book 3! A movie cannot do the first two books justice, only an epic mini series in the tradition of Shogun could come close. The characters have been complex and grow while the stories develop. I wish I had discovered this series earlier.
Rating:
Summary: Necroscope II: Vamphyri
Review: It's been a long time since I have been this excited about a series of books. I finished book 2 this morning and I have begun looking for book 3! A movie cannot do the first two books justice, only an epic mini series in the tradition of Shogun could come close. The characters have been complex and grow while the stories develop. I wish I had discovered this series earlier.
Rating: 
Summary: Not my favorite
Review: Its my least favorite book of the series, I did like the back story of "the thing in the ground" who will become quite a major character in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Not my favorite
Review: Its my least favorite book of the series, I did like the back story of "the thing in the ground" who will become quite a major character in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Say "Bite Me" to Wamphyrii
Review: Lumley takes the Necroscope saga (which ends at 13 volumes, a triskadecology, with Necroscope: Avengers - just released at the time of this review). In this second volume some of the real trouble to come begins to take shape. Britain's ESPionage unit, E-Branch, begins to come into its own as a secret service. (One worthy of standing with James Bond's M and Q, or the X-Files Division, or any of the other mythical or fictional government agencies that actually seem to get something done.) Meanwhile our protagonist, Harry Keogh, has this slight problem of being dead himself. Then there is the Old Thing In The Ground, a true Wamphyri who begins to show that Lumley's vampires are not Euro-chic slicks in opera capes, but something quite horrid indeed. The beauty of Brian Lumley is that he writes in such a way as the reader can easily choose to read the Necroscope series as techno-thrillers, horror novels, romances, mysteries or even psychological explorations. Or some blend of the above. Lumley can get rather gross at times, but does not linger over gory detail. Rather he moves the plot or character development ahead. If there is one flaw in his writing technique, it is the need (forced by the way we publish and distribute books) to repeat himself at times and offer frequent recaps and summaries to the action. This is difficult and annoying to do, for an author. In a way it is a necessary exercise, but if I might offer anyone (especially me) some advice; it would be to balance exposition with additional dialogue. Lumley writes dialogue quite well, but overall it seems there could be more of it, the characters actually discussing the facts of the situation to round them out further. The unique factor in the Necroscope series is that if a character does not survive one action, s/he is not counted out of the war. With the living, the dead and the Un-dead all playing active roles, Lumley makes it possible to include an array of characters (such as Auguste Ferdinand Moebius himself) without further stretching the willing suspension of disbelief. Lumley has created worlds of balanced dynamics and rules that is internally consistent, the critical factor in any genre of fiction. If you're interest, by all means start at the beginning and work your way through the series.
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