Necropolis [Paperback]

Tim Waggoner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2004

From author Tim Waggoner comes a novel featuring a home for all of those creatures that go bump in the night . . .

Centuries ago, when Earth's Darkfolk -- vampires, werewolves, witches and other creatures -- were threatened by humanity, they departed our planet's dimension and journeyed to a shadowy realm, where they built the great city of Necropolis. Matthew Adrion is an Earth cop who came through a portal to Necropolis on a case, died, and was resurrected as a zombie. Unable to return home, he works as a private investigator on the very mean streets of this shadowy, dark city.

Tim Waggoner lives in Ohio. (20021201)

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

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In Waggoner's genre-bending blend of mystery, horror, and dark fantasy, all the bogeymen have moved to the dimensional boondocks and set up their own little city, Necropolis. Along with vampires, ghouls, and demons, Necropolis is home to Matthew Adrion, a zombie private eye who must determine what is going wrong with the city before he literally falls apart. The novel is written in traditional hard-boiled style, complete with first-person narrations and wisecracks aplenty, but the setting may be the strangest environment in which a PI ever had to work. Evil forces are at work to wreck the uneasy balance of power shared among the Lords of Necropolis. To make it worse, Adrion, running out of magical restorative spells to hold himself together, must resort to stuffing the bits and pieces of himself that fall off into his pockets. It's hard to say if this singular novel, which boasts a wicked sense of humor to round off the horror, should be eligible for an Edgar Award or a Bram Stoker or both. Elliott Swanson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"From a darkly humorous tale of the power of words (Death and the Librarian) to a never-before-published response to events of September 11 (Ilion), Friesner's 12 stories illustrate the author's acutely sensitive vision of wonder in the everyday world... Known primarily for his 'Star Wars' novels... Zahn's short stories also deliver strong plots and memorable characters... Zebrowski's many novels (e.g. Macrolife) mark him as a visionary as well as a master of hard sf. The ten short stories collected in In the Distance provide a benchmark of his creativity... the author expands his concept of the human condition to embrace the stars. Part of Five Star's continuing commitment to showcasing the short fiction of the genre's most prominent author's, these three volumes belong in most libraries where short sf is popular."
-- Library Journal (December 2002) (Library Journal 20020615)

"...Part of Five Star's continuing commitment to showcasing the short fiction of the genre's most prominent authors, these three volumes (Death and the Librarian and Other Stories/ Star Song and Other Stories/ In the Distance, and Ahead in Time) belong in most libraries where short sf is popular."
-- Library Journal (December 2002) (Library Journal )

"Four more titles in Five Star's new series (God Is an Iron and Other Stories/ Generation Gap and Other Stories/ The Lady Vanishes and Other Oddities of Nature/ Suppose They Gave a Peace and Other Stories) of short fiction by noteworthy sf authors offer a variety of tales that illustrate the depth and staying power of the genre...Most of the stories in these volumes have only appeared in periodicals. Libraries wishing to augment their sf or short fiction collections should consider any of them."
-- Library Journal (June 2002) (Library Journal )

"Have you ever been grabbed by the throat? Read this book and you will be."
-- Dennis L. McKiernan, author of Once Upon a Winter's Night --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Five Star Trade (October 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1410402150
• ISBN-13: 978-1410402158
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,284,221 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I write fantasy and horror for both adults and young readers. I also teach creative writing at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun romp through shadow :D, March 29, 2005

By 

C. Reaves "Klawzie" (South-Eastern USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Necropolis (Paperback)

Unlike the previous reviewer, I have never read Cook's works, so I can make no comparisons. Free of the need to make comparisons, I can give this five stars with pleasure.

Necropolis was one of those impulse buys bookworms (like myself) tend to make when they see something that will appeal to a friend as much as themselves (so, y'know, if we don't like it as much as we'd hoped, we could probably send it to a friend saying, "You might enjoy this"). Well, all I could do was recommend this book to my friend because I want to keep my copy!

This piece of escapism has a nice mixture of parody/humor, detective/mystery, horror, adventure, and fantasy. The characters are all interesting and many of them extremely likeable. This is a book Hollywood would probably like to get their hot little hands on, because I think it'd make a killer-fun movie.

If you like your zombies, vampires, weres/lycanthropes and demons with a touch of humor, you can't go wrong with this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A lot of fun with a unique voice, December 20, 2005

By 

David Niall Wilson - Author of DEEP BLUE "boo... (Hertford, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Necropolis (Paperback)

Necropolis is not your average city, and Matthew Adrion, once Earth Police officer, now zombie private investigator, is not your average protagonist. Tim Waggoner has created a city of night, populated it with werewolves, vampires, witches, and every other imaginable denizen of the night. He has also populated it with character.

Centuries ago, when Earth became too difficult a place to inhabit, the denizens of the night found the encroachment of humankind too much of a threat, the journey was made through dimensional portals to a land of perpetual shadows and night, and there the city of Necropolis was founded. Since that time, a thriving civilization has sprung up with culture and problems all its own. Solving those problems is Matt Adrion's job, and it isn`t an easy one.

What begins as a pretty wild premise develops into a page-turning adventure with ease and grace. The world of Necropolis is filled with intrigue, scheming villains, and heroes. Every city needs a hero, even if he is paid for his services.

Someone has stolen the Dawn Stone, and intends to put an end to the eternal night that is key to the very world that makes Necropolis possible. With this stone, sunlight can be unleashed, and it's up to Adrion, along with the attractive half vampire, half human woman, Devon, who has hired him, to fight their way through the murky underworld and save the city.

This is a very entertaining romp of a novel with slight leanings toward cyberpunk, and a nod to the universes of role playing games, while maintaining an integrity and mystery all it's own. The humor is spot-on, and the antics and banter of the characters draw the reader from adventure to adventure at breakneck speed. Waggoner's prose is smooth and infallibly entertaining. Highly recommended.

3.0 out of 5 stars A bright trip through a world of shadow, October 29, 2010

By 

Steven Warfield (Scotia, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Five Star Science Fiction/Fantasy - Necropolis (Hardcover)

I'm not a super big fan of noir-ish detective stories, but I am a sucker for genre mashes. I enjoyed the heck of of 'Sword-Edged Blonde' - which was a mash of detective and sword-n-sorcery styles - and having enjoyed a Waggoner story from elsewhere figured that 'Necropolis' might be a good time.

The story does move along at a pretty brisk pace, but unfortunately that is at the expense of some of the supporting character development (and even description, to some extent). Some of the glibness of the main character's seemed forced at times, and the way that things wrapped up at the end seemed a little too much like, "Well, he did save the city and all but the powers that be wouldn't POSSIBLY cut him a little slack and permanently fix some of his issues; how else will he get in future messes?"

I believe that this story has been rewritten and morphed into the 'Nekropolis' series of books (probably along the train of thought that it can somewhat coast on the tail of the Dresden Files books) but as a standalone work it's fairly entertaining; just don't expect too much from the story and you won't be disappointed.