From my bookshelf: ‘They Thirst’ – Robert McCammon.

Because this is the best time of year to ‘talk up’ a book that I find genuinely creepy every time I pick it up...

Years ago, at college, a friend suggested to me that seeing as I liked Stephen King so much I might want to give this book by Robert McCammon a go. Seeing as the alternative was reading up on Russian Formalism I figured that I didn’t have much to lose... ‘They Thirst’ kept me up all night but more about that later. It was years before I could finally find a copy of ‘They Thirst’ to call my own. According to the FAQ Section, on the official website, McCammon ‘retired’ his first four books because...

"I always hear about writers who've written four books that end up in a drawer, and their fifth book is the one that gets published. The first book I ever wrote was published, flaws and all. For better or worse, I was allowed to learn to write in public. I think those books are simply early efforts. You have to take them as they are. I don't think they're very deep or anything; I think they're okay, but they simply represent where I was at that particular time."

Thanks to the wonder of the internet I finally managed to track down a copy of ‘They Thirst’ a couple of years ago. I took it home, read it and got scared all over again...
Here’s some of the blurb,

Evil as old as the centuries has descended upon the City of Angels---it comes as a kiss from the terrifying but seductive immortals. Slowly at first, then by the legions, the ravenous undead choke Los Angeles with bloodthirsty determination---and the hordes of monstrous victims steadily mount each night.
High above glitter city a deadly contest begins. In the decaying castle of a long-dead screen idol, the few remaining human survivors prepare to face the Prince of Evil and his satanic disciples. Whilst the very forces of nature are called into play, isolating the city from the rest of the world and leaving it at the mercy of the blood-hungry vultures of the night....

Vampires take over LA! While McCammon’s early work can be seen as open to charges of plagiarism (‘Swansong’ = ‘The Stand’? ‘They Thirst’=’Salem’s Lot’?) McCammon has taken a well worn concept and ramped it up to a point where it’s all his own. There’s also a vicious and nasty energy driving the plot that marks him out as a horror author riding the crest of a wave in this book.



‘They Thirst’ is the tale of an already tarnished city being marked and tarnished by the forces of darkness. Life in LA is already brutal enough as it is, now things are about to get a lot worse. McCammon builds up tension and expectations through a series of ‘otherworldly incidents’ (the ransacking of a cemetery and mass disappearances amongst others) and it’s anyone’s guess as to whether something will happen or if the anticipation will be agonisingly dragged out just that little bit more.

When the hammer does fall it falls hard. LA gangs are taken out by their vampire counterparts, a doctor finds herself alone on a ward full of the undead and if that wasn’t enough there’s a serial killer on the streets who is aspiring to ‘vampirehood’ himself. All of that is just the precursor to a finale that reeks of evil yet is also a testament to the nicer bits of humanity at the same time.
Talking of which, McCammon also does a good job of showing that LA is a hotbed of evil before the vampires even show up. I’ve already mentioned the serial killer but keep an eye out for the Hell’s Angels as well... At the same time McCammon does well to show how delicate hope can be but also how it can thrive in the darkest hour...

I may just have to get my copy of ‘They Thirst’ off the shelf and have a read tonight as its ideal Halloween reading. It may be difficult to track down these days but it’s worth it.