While most horror authors shy away from series fiction, Masterton embraces it with both arms. He's got the Manitou series, which almost entirely matches his Harry Erskine series (Erskine got a reprieve from dealing with the ancient Amerind spirits in The Djinn.) He also has his Rook series. And, of course, the Night Warriors.
Night Warriors comprises, to date, five novels and according to rumor an in-development role playing game. It is Masterton's first attempt to bridge heroic fantasy and horror, and the titles are generally successful on both levels.
Each book contains a group of heroes who band together to defeat demonic, otherworldly entities of incredible power. They are dressed in armor which is a mixture of ancient design and futuristic technology and which augments their natural abilities to superhuman levels. These superheroes, however, only exist in dreams. Just as the demons draw attention to themselves by exerting enough influence to break through into reality, certain people have the latent ability to become Night Warriors in their dreams and fight the creatures on their own ground.
Despite the fantastic element, these books are firmly in the domain of horror. Major characters die in literally nightmarish ways. Nothing is safe, and even if humanity is going to be saved by the end of the book there will be a terrible cost. After taking a decade and a half away from the series, Masterton has returned in recent years, with the latest book released in 2011.
Books in the series: Night Warriors, Death Dream, Night Plague, Night Wars and The Ninth Nightmare
Visit Graham Masterton's Official Website here: http://www.grahammasterton.co.uk/
--Bill Lindblad
