Necroscope: E-Branch Invaders

As an evil pair of vampire lords and a deadly lady invade Earth, Hary Keogh, the Necroscope, is dead, and a new, untried Necroscope must overcome conflicting loyalties to lead E-Branch against the vampires. 35,000 first printing.

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.

The amazingly prolific Lumley (1998's Maze of Worlds and over 40 doorstopper volumes) kicks off a new branch of his Necroscope series now that the original Necroscope (or vampire killer), Harry Keogh, is dead. The new novel stands alone, although it's clear that the team from Britain's E-Branch (ESP) knows at the end that many invaders still live and are breeding, and that Lord Nephran Molinari may be running but can never hide from E-Branch. At the start, Lord Molinari has taken over Xanadu, a glass-domed pleasure palace in the Australian outback, had all glass painted black inside and out (to keep out the sun's rays), and filled caves measureless to man with his minions. New vampire slayers to arrive at Xanadu are budding telepath Liz Merrick, who can receive but not send, and Jake Cutter, whose secret abilities will not be revealed here. Soon, Liz and Jake are drawn into the vampire mines, where, with silver bullets and flamethrowers, they work their way out of endless cliffhangers brought about by attacking Wamphyri. Did the invaders have anything to do with the firestorm from hell, the huge fireball that traveled a hundred miles an hour and burned up the entire Australian town of Dirranbandi in one blazing swoop? Jake proves to be the new Necroscope, especially when in a dream, using Deadspeak, he contacts the late Harry Keogh and is trained in sidereal mathematics, numbers that will help him slay Wamphyri. Necroscope fans will find themselves reading as fast as Lumley can type, and new readers may apply as well with this inaugural Jake Cutter entry. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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