Necroscope: Invaders [Mass Market Paperback]

Brian Lumley (Author)

Book Description

Series: Necroscope | Publication Date: May 15, 2000

Three great vampires--two Lords and a Lady--arrive on an unsuspecting Earth that teems with defenseless humans, easy prey for the marauding vampires. But humanity has defenders. Though the necroscope is gone, the psychically gifted men and women of E-Branch move swiftly against the vampire infestation.

Jake Cutter is running for his life through the streets of Turin when he vanishes, appearing moments later inside the triply locked "Harry's room" in E-Branch's London HQ. Jake's dreams are very strange, filled with the voices of the dead--the Great majority, the Necroscope, Harry Keogh, even a dead vampire. He hears them all, but he doesn't truly understand.

If Jake is the new Necroscope, he has to learn--fast!--how to control his powers and speak to the dead. E-Branch, with the reluctant Jake along for the ride, is about to go head-to-head with Malinari the Mind, a vampire Lord who psychic abilities are second to none.

But the dead don't trust Jake, not like they trusted Harry. Jake's got personal revenge on his mind, and he's spending too much time talking that dead vampire. He's got to start thinking about the future--or he won't have one!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Vast in scope and overripe with extraordinary characters and incidents, Lumleys proliferating Necroscope saga almost mandates a book-length reference companion. This new novel, the 11th in the series (after Resurgence, 1996) and the first in an offshoot trilogy, carries on the tradition in fine form, but also shows the problems inherent in keeping the increasingly byzantine intrigues of these horror/espionage hybrids accessible to new readers. During an explosive start, in which psychic agents of the hard-working E- (short for ESP) Branch smoke out a nest of vampires in the Australian desert, the novel introduces Jake Cutter, another of Lumleys gutsy populist heroes. Jake has been delivered to the paranormal intelligence unit by the ghost of Harry Keogh, the original Necroscope, who foresees a future clash between Jake and a vampire trio wreaking havoc on Earth. Harrys discorporate consciousness takes up residence in Jakes mind, but Jake is totally ignorant of the vampire invaders from the alternate universe of Sunside/Starside and the long-running war that left Harry (and, by proxy, Jake) infected with their taint. This necessitates a lengthy and tedious history of events from the preceding novels, recounted to Jake by both mortals and monsters in multiple chapters of straight exposition. Granted, Lumleys characters are a lively bunch, but none tell the story as excitingly as he does, and the result is not unlike sitting down at the dinner table with a hearty appetite and hearing about a sumptuous banquet someone else attended. A climactic encounter with the vampire Nephran Malinari in his aerie in the Australian mountains gets the action roaring again by the storys finale, and with luck heralds the end of the laborious updates.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Lumley continues his popular series of vampire thrillers with the first book in a prospective trilogy. Jake Cutter is in line to succeed the late Harry Keogh as the Necroscope, or leading finder-hunter of vampires. Jake has his own agenda, however, and a troubled personal history, which make E-Branch more than a trifle uncertain about taking him on, until it becomes clear that the most powerful of three Wamphyri newly loose on Earth has set up business in Australia and needs to be stopped--yesterday! Lumley has firmly staked out the territory of the vampire thriller, much as Anne Rice has that of vampire erotica, and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro that of the vampire historical romance. This book is a good place to start Lumley's Necroscope saga. Oh, some of its most gripping sequences (e.g., the invasion of the three Wamphyri lords and the enslavement of Korath Mindthrall) are told indirectly, which somewhat diminishes their emotional impact, but the action climax is a corker. Roland Green --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (May 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812575520
• ISBN-13: 978-0812575521
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #750,390 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brian Lumley is the author of the bestselling Necroscope series of vampire novels. An acknowledged master of Lovecraft-style horror, Brian Lumley has won the British Fantasy Award and been named a Grand Master of Horror. His works have been published in more than a dozen countries and have inspired comic books, role-playing games, and sculpture, and been adapted for television. When not writing, Lumley can often be found spear-fishing in the Greek islands, gambling in Las Vegas, or attending a convention somewhere in the US. Lumley and his wife live in England.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better Than Good, February 3, 2000

By 

"cd201" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Necroscope: Invaders (Necroscope: E-Branch Trilogy) (Hardcover)

Before l start l would please ask people to stop comparing Anne Rice and Brian Lumely, the only thing these books have in common with each other is the idea of Vampires and even then there ideas differ greatly. If you take the romantic view of vampires then stick with Anne Rice, however if you want blood, guts and the pure evil which is the Wamphyri then Brian is the man for you. In Invaders Brian Lumley does it again, l loved all of the Necroscope Series and was happy to see that his flair for taking you into the book so that you feel part of the story has not left him. I had to say l was curious as to how he would bring back the necroscope and was surprised not to see Nathan make an apperance but someone completly new. This new Necroscope is good but has nothing on Harry or Nathan.....yet. Jake is a bit to weak a character for me, he does not have that cold indiference that l have come to expect from the Necroscope, l hope this changes in the next two books. Again, like in many of Lumleys other books the star's of the show are the Vampires themseleves, however we have only had an appereance from one of them so far, can not wait to see what Lumley does with the other two. The highlight of this book for me is E-Branch themselves. Many of the characters we already know well and is good to read about how they are doing and how far E-Branch have come. This is a very well written book and is a must read for all who are of a morbid frame of mind. Brilliant!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lumley Return's To Excite The Great Majority!, July 17, 2000

By 

CaptHowdy (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Necroscope: Invaders (Necroscope: E-Branch Trilogy) (Hardcover)

Brian Lumley has brought us a new Necroscope for a New Century!

Fans of his all know about Harry Keogh and the amazing, but terrible powers he had. Not to mention how exciting his adventures were.

Now Lumley is revisiting the Wamphyri threat with both new and old characters. Invaders is book one in his new three book trilogy.

The novel has some excellent action in it and the standard amazing Lumley creations. The only problem I saw in it is that it felt very incomplete (obviously since this is a trilogy I suppose), but it would have been nice if this could have stood more on it own other than it did. I came away with a feeling that I had only read a 'set-up' novel for the books to come.

Still, it's Lumley! It's Necroscope! It's here!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hurrah! Another Necroscope book!, August 15, 2000

By 

Dragonstar (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Necroscope: Invaders (Necroscope: E-Branch Trilogy) (Hardcover)

I was delighted to read Lumley's newest addition to the fantasy/horror Necroscope world started with Harry Keogh! I was initially suspicious of a Necroscope book without Harry but Jake and both the new and old characters were intriguing. Having read all of Lumley's books, I always liked the original Necroscope books for their depth and detail. . .something I found lacking somewhat in Necroscope: Invaders. . .like not fully fleshed out (no pun intended). However, I did just order the next in the series because no true Necroscope Lumley fan can ever resist that next book!