A Coven of Vampires [Hardcover]

Brian Lumley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1998

A collection of 13 classic vampire tales. It encompasses erotic vampires, bestial vampires, teenage vampires, tentacled vampires, vampiric gods, ghouls, lamias, witch's familiars and blood-suckers.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

If you like the kind of things that inspired the teenaged Lumley--he mentions EC Comics, the famous pulp magazine Weird Tales, English monster-movie actor Christopher Lee, and sf-horror writer Richard Matheson--you will warm or agreeably chill to these 13 creepy little yarns. (Another acknowledged and very obvious influence is H. P. Lovecraft; several of Lumley's efforts contribute to the Cthulhu Mythos cycle of stories that Lovecraft started.) Lumley defines vampire broadly, so that it applies to, among others, a faux Arabic version of the ancient Greek Lamia, a lovely and curvaceous member of the Riviera beach elite, a railway-traveling band of seeming devil worshipers, a Cousteau-like marine scientist, a simple young German signpainter, and the revenant Vlad Tepes Dracul himself. It isn't only blood these fiends are after, and still, getting what they want always kills those who have it. This stuff may not be art, but it sure is fun. Ray Olson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 228 pages
• Publisher: Fedogan & Bremer (June 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1878252380
• ISBN-13: 978-1878252388
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,474,698 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brian Lumley is the author of the bestselling Necroscope series of vampire novels. 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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book, but buy it from Subterranean Press direct, June 28, 2007

By 

pfloyd24 "pfloyd24" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Coven of Vampires (Hardcover)

This is a fanatastic collection of vampire fiction from the esteemed Mr. Lumley and another beautiful production from Subterranean Press. It is a must buy for fans of great vampire fiction.

My only suggestion is to pay a few dollars more and order it direct from Subterranean Press in order to get the bonus chapbook with MORE Lumley vampire fiction. It's one of the highest quality chapbooks I've ever seen.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nibble nibble, drip drip..., May 7, 2011

By 

- Kasia S. (New York City) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Coven of Vampires (Mass Market Paperback)

I don't get to read short stories often as I really love long books but this has a few tales that really stood out in my mind, I read this over two months ago and had proper time to digest and after all that time my favorites are still the ones that stand out the most. Two of the stories should be made into full length books, well in my imaginary heaven I guess, one is about a mysterious science loving guy who lives on a fancy little Greek island who knows more about deep fish than anyone, an eccentric millionaire with a secret though, the pouring heat from above adds a realistic layer to the story, the guy sweats non-stop and tells the reporter who was lucky enough to get to his island the story of his life, and perhaps more than he wanted to hear. The guy is a mystery, he dates and marries the most beautiful women and models who seem to die or disappear randomly while guzzling a green algae drink brought by his maid who looks extremely shriveled up, the tale is intense and so good that I was sad to see it end. The other was about a powerful man who could kill anything with his mind and gain it's life energy and it's time, but he realized the more he took the more he needed, the story was so intense that I had to read it twice, so original that I had to share it with a friend at work the day after I read it, I enjoyed climbing into bed every night that week and reading two or three vampire stories before I got to drift off and make my own head movies :P....

Brian Lumley is a gifted author who is passionate about his work and it shows, the stories are like jewels in a dark cave, you start each one not knowing what is going on and find a way to this dazzling tale that will make you remember it for weeks and months to come. They are strong and interesting, and each one is very different from the last one and there is over a dozen of them here for the taking, a nice book to read before bed or to keep in your bag for a tasty dose of adrenaline, and I like how each is set in a different decade, it goes from ancient to modern without missing a beat and this isn't about some boring traditional vampires either, you won't know what is nibbling on your neck when you read this until it's too late and you're totally absorbed and indifferent to the world outside of it. This is a great collection of vampire tales that are all different so this will sure please a wide array of readers and perhaps introduce a few to Lumley who has dipped his fingers into the macabre so well in the past few decades, enjoy!

- Kasia S.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed !!, July 12, 2007

By 

Ann W. Lane "Ann W Lane" (Garden Grove, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Coven of Vampires (Hardcover)

I purchase every one of Lumleys books and have for years - this was very disappointing. The stories are left hanging and not up to his quality of work. But I am sure I will continue to purchase his books, I think he is usually a excellent writer. AWL