(1976), Colin Wilson’s thirteenth novel, marks his return to science fiction, the genre he used in
The Mind Parasites(1967) and
The Philosopher’s Stone(1969) to dramatize and explore ideas about human potential. This time, however, he mixes science fiction with the vampire tale and the crime story to create an absorbing narrative that uses vampirism as a metaphor for the ways in which life-energy (or life-force) can be transferred, drained or enhanced. The novel suggests that “all people are energy vampires to some extent” (80).
Vampires is a third-person narrative told largely from the viewpoint of its protagonist, 45-year-old Commander Olof Carlsen, the captain of the spaceship Hermes. In deep space, in mid-October 2075 by the terrestrial calendar, he and his
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Citation: Tredell, Nicolas. "The Space Vampires (aka Lifeforce)". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 November 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=23955, accessed 27 November 2024.]