Brian Lumley Spotlight: Maze of Worlds (House of Doors # 2)

I am a huge fan of British horror and sci-fi author Brian Lumley. I've read all his books and love how the writer is able to craft unique worlds where the reader can quickly fall in love with when visiting. My first introduction to Brian came when I bought his Titus Crow collection, which then opened doors to the Necroscope series and so on.

Brian's work is amazingly detailed and frightening all at the same time because he blends horror and sci-fi elements in a satisfying way.

Here's a quick summary (Courtesy of Goodreads)

Brian Lumley was born near Newcastle. In 22 years as a Military Policeman he served in many of the Cold War hotspots, including Berlin, as well as Cyprus in partition days. He reached the rank of Sergeant-Major before retiring to Devon to write full-time, and his work was first published in 1970. The vampire series, 'Necroscope', has been translated into ten languages and sold over a million copies worldwide.

He was awarded the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award in 2010.

I was thinking of ways to create a quick art project that honours Brian's work in genre fiction. Although he is more known for the Crow and Necroscope books, there was another series he wrote called the House of Doors and the subsequent novel Maze of Worlds (House of Doors 2). I know there are readers who feel the second book is just a retread of the first novel, however I feel the second book has a broaden view of the concept.

Maze is set four years after the original events found in the first book. The aliens have returned; only this time these are renegade aliens (known as Throne) in the original who bring several House of Doors to the planet in order to alter the landscape by way of utilizing strange seaweed for colonization.

The original protagonist, Spencer Gill introduced in House of Doors returns to do battle with the renegade aliens. We found out that Spencer had unique cognitive abilities and was able to challenge the Throne on their level when entering the House of Doors to face numerous situations. The doors are simply a test mechanism to force you to rely on intelligence and wit if you intend to survive the ordeal. If anyone is able to survive and make it through unscathed, the aliens will leave the planet untouched.

Spencer won out in House of Doors, thus forcing the Throne off the planet. But now he's forced back into duty to face off against the renegades once more. Much of the story is a sci-fi adventure with hints of horror thrown in, but it's a fun read overall.

With all this being said, Spidergun Productions is the place to bring some of these concepts to life in a three-dimensional space. This is my homage to the house of doors and all I can say is enter if you dare!

Kenneth Gallant, HMS

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