Necroscope: The Touch (Hardcover)

by Brian Lumley (Author) "3:33Again!..." (more)
Key Phrases: Schloss Zonigen, Mordri Three, Simon Salcombe (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
British author Lumley's first Necroscope novel since Necroscope IV: Deadspeak (2001) introduces a new hero, Scott St. John, who, like his late predecessor, Harry Keough, is able to talk to the dead and travel anywhere via Moebius strip. Scott becomes a spy in the E-Branch of the British Secret Service, joining, among others, a future-foretelling precog, a mind-reading telepath and a spotter who can detect persons with ESP. When a government official suffers "evagination" (in effect, he's turned inside out like a glove), Scott and crew wind up on a mission to prevent a psychically gifted race, the Shing't, from destroying the Earth. The spirit of Scott's recently deceased wife permits him to dally with an extraterrestrial beauty, Shania, as well as, however implausibly, a shaggy female wolf. Billed as horror, this unpretentious SF adventure provides plenty of fun in the classic pulp tradition. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Lumley returns to the Necroscope saga for the first time in five years and skillfully extends it. Scott is a gentleman mourning his wife's death when he is struck by golden lightning, a manifestation of the old Necroscope, Harry Keogh, that makes Scott the new one. Thereafter, a beautiful woman of the race of the Shing't appears and vanishes and eventually reveals a plot by some of her colleagues to make God reveal himself by threatening the world with destruction. Add to those developments intimations that Scott's wife isn't as dead as he'd thought; indeed, she can manifest herself to share the dangers presented by a truly monstrous trio of Shing't. Lumley's stuff retains a strong Lovecraftian flavor, but his powers of characterization and concepts of evil have notably improved over the course of nearly two generations of Necroscopy. The audience that has faithfully sustained that long run will rededicate itself if, as seems likely, this book begins a new Necroscope story arc. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (June 13, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765316099
• ISBN-13: 978-0765316097
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #468,089 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Touch of Mediocracy..., July 17, 2006

By	Michael & Angela (Florida) - See all my reviews

I have been a huge fan of Brian Lumley's Necroscope series for over 10 years. So, when he wrote the supposed last trilogy, ending the vampire threat on the awesome set of Sunside/Starside - the alternate world apart from Earth - it was really kinda sad.

And after all these years, Lumley comes out with an all-new Necroscope that takes place between the first 5 novels and the first trilogy, beginning with Blood Brothers - one of my all-time favorite books.

And, as much as I totally hate to say this, The Touch was way too laboriously slow and kinda dull, as compared to all the other novels. Without vampire lords, and the awesome Harry Keogh, or the very likeable replacement in the last trilogy, Jake Cutter, the newest replacement, Scott St.John, is just not as effective or colorful a character for me. He isn't badly written, just didn't have that 'umph' that Harry and Jake had.

The story is overall not a bad one. The group of E-branch, led by the cool Ben Trask, just didn't shine here as in past novels. They plod and trudge thru too much rambling before they finally get up and start dusting off alien invaders, called the 3. Even though the past vampire lords were alien-enduced with pearls, the new baddies are just plain aliens who kill or heal with a touch. Thus the title.

But they fail to grasp and keep my attention as fully as the world of the vampire lords. I truly missed them.

Brian Lumley is a gifted writer. Necroscope: The Touch is a decent enough story. But after all the awesome and greatness of the past 13 novels, The Touch came off laboriously slow to read. In the great scheme of the Necroscope series, unfortunately, The Touch is the weakest of the bunch. For brand-new readers, it would be a solid starting point, however.

But for long-time diehard fans of the series, it will be a bit of a disappointment.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Can't sink my teeth as deep into this one..., November 12, 2006

By	H. Bala "Me Too Can Read" (Carson - hey, we have an IKEA store! - CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

So NECROSCOPE: THE TOUCH tells the story of average bloke Scott St. John, who carries on the legacy of the Necroscope. Scott, for three months, three weeks, and three days now, has been immersed in grieving for his recently dead wife, Kelly. Of late, he's been inexplicably waking up at 3:33am. Strange things are happening. He hears voices in his head, is having odd intuitions, dreams of darts of golden light, and is kidnapped and held for questioning by a weird, covert government agency. To make matters worse, Scott, in due course, begins to question the manner of his wife's passing. Further nosing around leads him to suspect a reclusive healer of actually murdering Kelly. Along the way, he meets an enigmatic woman who calls herself Shania the Shing't and a telepathic Wolf, both of whom inform Scott that he's the third member of their trio; he is, in fact, the One.

Eventually, Scott learns of and prepares to face off the Mordri Three, three murderously insane alien beings who have annihilated their own world and then several others in an attempt to call out and destroy God. The Mordri Three are not only armed with advanced technology but are also equipped with the inherent power to morph flesh and bone; this power was erstwhile designed to heal but, in the hands of these three, is now being used to punish, torture, and murder people, sometimes by cruelly turning them outside in. But, Scott is not without his own resources. The gifted Shania and Wolf are more than eager to help him gain vengeance on his wife's killer. And, somewhere, lurking in the periphery, the E-Branch, the governmental arm consisting of extrasensory talented personnel, is waiting to lend a hand.

But Scott's greatest asset is that dart of golden light which had struck him, a gift from the deceased Harry Keogh, the original Necroscope. Scott is naturally hesitant to use the abilities granted him (the Moebius Continuum is just too mathematically profound - and who really wants to talk to the dead?). But Scott realizes that, to save the world and get his revenge on against the Mordri Three, he must utilize all his advantages, even if it means coming in contact with the shambling, rotting Great Majority...

NECROSCOPE: THE TOUCH chronologically falls somewhere in between NECROSCOPE: DEADSPAWN (where Harry Keogh dies) and BLOOD BROTHERS (first in the Vampire World trilogy, starring Harry's twin sons). To be honest, this book is just okay for me, a fair-to-middling page-turner. It doesn't contain the same excitement and intensity found in the previous Necroscope and E-Branch books. The sense of personal jeopardy just wasn't there. And, yes, a lot of what's missing has to do with the absence of the Wamphyri, who are great, great villains and exquisitely get under your skin, and also with the lack of an adequately intriguing protagonist whom the reader can get behind. Scott St. John is a realistic character caught in unusual circumstances and comes to the table with a normal guy's sensibilities, which was somewhat interesting. But Scott pales in comparison to Harry Keogh and the more take charge Jake Cutter. For most of the book's length, Scott fumbles his way thru, wallowing in uncertainty, and spends much of his time lamenting and agonizing. Understandable, given how much he loved his wife Kelly but I, as the reader, quickly got bored with that routine. Another minus to me is the uninteresting villains. Sorry, but the Mordri Three just do not do it for me, I don't care how lethal or psychotic they are. Bring back the vampires. Mind you, Shania the Shing't and Wolf are great characters and you can't ever go wrong with the reliable folks up at E-Branch. And it's also nice touching base with Zek and Wolf Sr. But I'm glad this is a stand alone novel because I don't know if I would've been able to last a full trilogy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the usual Lumley, May 12, 2007

By	A. Huffman "love to read" (Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I guess it was a bit of a comedown from the previous Necroscope books. Not enough Harry Keough and too much fluff. Rather boring and easy to put down and do something else. You can do much better, Brian. Try again.