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The chronology of the Necroscope Saga

I recently finished a re-read of the entire saga, though this time I decided I wanted to read it chronologically in-universe rather than the order the books released. This is actually a complicated process, so I'm making this post to simplify it for people in future.

I highly recommend reading the saga in this order, but only if you have already read it once before. For instance books 9-10 (read 3rd/4th) just assume you already know all about Starside and its history, so if its your first read-through then it'll come out of nowhere. But for anyone who has read it before you'll already know about these concepts and it works really well.

#1. Necroscope I

  • 1971-1977

#2. Necroscope II: Wamphyri!

  • 1977

#3. The Lost Years I

  • 1977-1979

#4. The Lost Years: Harry and the Pirates

  • Set at some time during #3. No real way to tell when.

#5. The Lost Years: Old Man with a Blade

  • Same as above. Some indeterminate time during #3.

#6. The Lost Years: The Plague Bearer

  • Set towards the end of #3. Easiest to just read it here even though by the end of LY1 you're a little past where it takes place.

#7. The Lost Years II: Resurgence

  • 1979-1981

#8. The Lost Years: Dinosaur Dreams

  • Set some time shortly after #7.

#9. The Lost Years: For the Dead Travel Slowly

  • Set some time shortly after #7.

#10. The Lost Years: Dead Eddy

  • Set some time shortly after #7.

#11. The Lost Years: The Mobius Murders

  • Timeline is broken here. It explicitly says it takes place after #10, but then characters/plot from #3 are still around. It's an inconsistency from Lumley.

#12. Necroscope III: The Source

  • 1985

#13. Necroscope IV: Deadspeak

  • 1989

#14. Necroscope V: Deadspawn

  • 1989-1990

#15. The Lost Years: Resurrection Dreams

  • Set towards the end of #14.

#16. The Touch

  • 1990

#17. Vampire World I: Blood Brothers

  • 2004-2006

#18. Vampire World II: The Last Aerie

  • 2006

#19. Vampire World III: Bloodwar

  • 2006

#20. E-Branch I: Invaders

  • 2011

#21. E-Branch II: Defilers

  • 2011

#22. E-Branch III: Avengers

  • 2011

One important note for people who want to read in this order: There's a chapter towards the start of #3 where Harry has a premonition dream. If you read the book when it was written (book 9) then this serves to give a big recap of everything gone before. But since you're reading it 3rd it gives massive spoilers for books 3-5 of the Necroscope Saga. My advice is to simply skip it. It adds nothing.

Edit: Also - the novellas can be a bit of a grind. There is nothing of the Wamphyri in them so for me at least I found myself struggling a little in the middle there, knowing they were delaying The Source which is one of the best books. If/when I read the saga again in another decade or so then I'm going to exclude them.

Posted Jun 5, 2019, 8:00 AM UTC · edited

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