The Great Villains: An Omnibus of Evil

by Christopher Lee, Michel Parry (Editor)

The idea behind Omnibus Of Evil was to pick examples of each of the archetypal monsters and villains Lee has either played or confronted during his acting career.

Contents (view Concise Listing)
Professor Moriarty • non-genre • [Sherlock Holmes] • (1978) • short fiction by Arthur Conan Doyle [as by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]
Jack the Ripper • (1978) • short fiction by T. Benson
Mister Hyde • [Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde excerpts] • (1978) • short fiction by Robert Louis Stevenson
Sagittarius • (1962) • novella by Ray Russell
Doctor Fu Manchu • (1978) • short fiction by Sax Rohmer
Carmilla • [Martin Hesselius] • (1907) • novella by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu [as by J. S. Le Fanu]
Count Dracula • (1978) • short fiction by Bram Stoker
At Last, the True Story of Frankenstein • (1965) • short story by Harry Harrison
Sawney Bean • (1978) • short fiction by Harry Harrison
The Skull of the Marquis de Sade • (1945) • short story by Robert Bloch
The Demon King • (1931) • short story by J. B. Priestley

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Science Fiction Fantasy

255 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ was an English actor and musician who first became famous for his roles in Hammer Horror films and, latterly, for his roles as Saruman in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movie trilogies, and Count Dooku in the Star Wars film franchise.

Reviews

[Shawn]

PLACEHOLDER REVIEW

In "The Demon King" by J.B. Priestley, a pantomime actor, notable for playing Mephistopheles, has one weakness - he indulges in drink a bit too much. And in this instance, that calls for the appearance of an "understudy" no one expected... and who seems to be REALLY enjoying himself. A delightful little piece of low-key comedic dark fantasy.

[Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of Michel Parry's last-edited anthologies, this one's notable thanks to its foreword and story introductions by none other than Christopher Lee – who, of course, talks a little about his linked film roles. There's also a brief photo section of the actor's appropriate movie appearances.

One of my pet anthology hates are excerpts. I usually refuse to read them, as I'd rather just read the whole book myself somewhere else. Unfortunately, the stories by Conan Doyle, Stevenson, Rohmer and Stoker are all excerpts from their best-known works, so I skipped them entirely. Plus, I'd already read and enjoyed both CARMILLA and THE DEMON KING elsewhere; I can vouch for them but had no desire to re-read them at this moment in time.

The resulting new-to-me stories were thus few and far between. Theodora Benson's IN THE FOURTH WARD, retitled simply JACK THE RIPPER, is a sequel to the true story and sees Saucy Jack now residing in New York (where else?). It's brief, descriptive and unmemorable. Ray Russell's SAGITTARIUS is, in turn, a follow-up to Jekyll and Hyde, but much better. The sights and sounds of early 20th century Parisian life are spot on, and the atmosphere of the Grand Guignol theatre is delicious. The author brings a wealth of erudition to this novella-length story, and it pays off admirably.

AT LAST, THE TRUE STORY OF FRANKENSTEIN is a brief little jokey story by Harry Harrison, best known today for his STAINLESS STEEL RAT space sagas. This one's pretty obvious, but it'll do. The anonymous SAWNEY BEAN is a journalistic-type account of the notorious Scottish cannibal clan, and certainly bloodthirsty with it. The best tale is saved for last; Robert Bloch's THE SKULL OF THE MARQUIS DE SADE was filmed by Amicus in 1965 but packs even more of a grisly punch on the page, particularly in the last terrifying pages...