Necroscope
1986 • 512 pages

Ratings19

Average rating3.7

15

2/3(+) of the book is great! ~1/3 is terrible.

The “horror” elements can be a little in your face but the writing style is just the right amount of depth and speed. I was eager to find out the author's version of vampires, which are akin to eldritch horrors. And then suddenly on page 160/500ish one of the two main characters has a flashback to when he was 13, having to stay over at his “weird aunt”'s place. She'd been recently widowed and is exploring her sexuality again. Then suddenly there's an orgy with her, a “beastly” man, and of course her two 14, 15 year old daughters who are described on four pages how much they're “having fun” with the beastly man and then are ordered to get the MC to join in. The scene felt completely out of place, was supposedly there to “explain” his sexual hangups as an adult, where he refuses to be seduced by a farmer's daughter, who simply must have him. I don't know if I'm a prude but I don't get how did certain authors get away with these things. Have not seen a mention of this on other Goodreads review so felt obliged to note it here. I felt angry at the author, since I was thoroughly enjoying the book so far, and I refused to pick it up again, leading to a way longer reading time than expected.

The last part of the book was... full of interesting choices in a different way. The protagonist turns into a Jesus-figure with superpowers, while the antagonist's ultimate fate doesn't really make sense when you think about it.

Overall, not sure what to think, I think the book could've gone through another round of editing

June 13, 2021Report this review