BRIAN LUMLEY'S 'NECROSCOPE' BOOK SERIES - UPDATED

I bought the first book at Safeway in like 1987 and would draw that skull all the time.

Only just now have I discovered it was the first in a series of books!

There's actually 18 books in the series!
But the above are the ones that stuck with that cover art theme.

1. Necroscope 1986 Necroscope
2. Necroscope II: Wamphyri 1988
3. Necroscope III: The Source 1989
4. Necroscope IV: Deadspeak 1990
5. Necroscope V: Deadspawn 1991
6. Blood Brothers 1992 Vampire World
7. The Last Aerie 1993
8. Bloodwars 1994
9. Necroscope: The Lost Years (Volume I) 1995 The Lost Years
10. Necroscope: Resurgence, The Lost Years (Volume II) 1996
11. Necroscope: Invaders 1999 E-Branch
12. Necroscope: Defilers 2000
13. Necroscope: Avengers 2001
14. Harry Keogh: Necroscope and Other Weird Heroes 2003 Supplemental
15. Necroscope: The Touch 2006 New Adventures of the Necroscope
16. Necroscope: Harry and the Pirates 2009 Supplemental
17. Necroscope: The Plague-Bearer 2010 The Lost Years
18. Necroscope: The Möbius Murders 2013

from wikipedia:

The term necroscope, as defined in the series, describes someone who can communicate with the dead (coined Deadspeak later in the series). Unlike necromancers, who here extract the knowledge they seek by brutal eviscerations of corpses, a necroscope can communicate with them as equals: peacefully and without any physical interference. The abilities of a necroscope are defined as a type of ESP.

Shlam16 writes on Reddit:

The Necroscope Saga by Brian Lumley most certainly has a cult following, but overall it is far too unknown amongst horror fans in general. Especially considering it represents the absolute pinnacle of all vampire fiction across all forms of media. Bold statement, but one I will forever stand by. These are the best vampires stories in existence, with the best vampires in existence. Not until recently has anything even come close.

I can understand people being reticent to begin such a long series, but the great thing about Necroscope is that it never started life with intention of being a huge series. It was a completely standalone book, meaning it's perfectly safe for anybody to try it out and see if they like it, with full knowledge that you'll get a satisfying conclusion to the story. The second book was a standalone sequel, as were all of the first five books. Not until book 6 did major story arcs begin to span multiple volumes.

Below is a visual timeline I created which shows all of the books in the series. Above the line are the core novels. Below are novellas and short stories which are largely side stories and less related to the core plot.

Additionally, it highlights two ways to read the series. Publication order (a must for first timers) and chronological order (excellent for re-reads).

you can also view here

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Two days after publishing this post, I found this issue of Malibu Sun from the 90s in a dollar bin at my local comic shop:



What are the odds?!!