Necroscope: Defilers

E-Branch #2

by Brian Lumley

Welcome to Brian Lumley's wild world of vampires, slayers, spies, and psychics, created in his breakthrough 1986 book Necroscope, which introduced Harry Keogh, a man who could commune with dead people. Harry was such a skilled linguist of "deadspeak" that the British Secret Service recruited him into E-Branch, its ace paranormal unit. Harry waged a war against vampires--until the tables turned and he became another bloodsucking statistic. No longer a Necroscope (top vampire hunter), now he's a kind of advisor who beams helpful thoughts from the afterlife.

E-Branch's vampire woes intensify in Necroscope Defilers, the 12th installment of Lumley's series. A trio of seriously nasty critters are spreading their spawn on earth, but E-Branch is in crisis. Jake Cutter, the new Necroscope, is preoccupied with a personal vendetta--he's hunting down the Sicilian mobsters who killed his girlfriend. Jake also faces another minor distraction--a dead vampire named Korath is stuck inside his head, whispering evil nothings into his ear all day long. As the unholy monsters descend upon the Greek island of Krassos, it seems all hell will break loose--literally. Will Jake return to E-Branch and help annihilate this unholy scum, or is mankind doomed?

Although Necroscope Defilers is a little light on original plot twists, Lumley's curious country is still a land worth visiting, halfway between science fiction and dark fantasy. --Naomi Gesinger

Genres: Horror, Vampires, Fiction, Fantasy, Horror Thriller, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal

644 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 19, 2000

About the author

Brian Lumley was born near Newcastle. In 22 years as a Military Policeman he served in many of the Cold War hotspots, including Berlin, as well as Cyprus in partition days. He reached the rank of Sergeant-Major before retiring to Devon to write full-time, and his work was first published in 1970. The vampire series, 'Necroscope', has been translated into ten languages and sold over a million copies worldwide.

He was awarded the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award in 2010.

Reviews

[Carl Bluesy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book suffered middle book syndrome, where it is trapped between resolving the events at the end of the last book in setting up the events of the next book.

I found the villain to be the strongest part of this one. They really drive the story forward and we’re the ones that really provide all those great creepy and horrific moments.

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5. This book is the epitome of a middle book and has all the minuses that that entails. The book feels like 90% set up and then has the audacity to end in a cliffhanger midscene no less. All that being said, I enjoyed the hell out of this book. I love the world and its lore, I love Lumley's prose and style, I enjoy most of the characters good and evil even though there is a big Harry-sized hole in the cast. There are only two more books in this Necroscope world that I haven't read (Necroscope: Avengers, Necroscope: The Touch) as I've already read all the short stories and novellas as well as the rest of the novels.

[Chris Healey · Rating 3 out of 5]

More fun than the first of this trilogy within the saga but still not quite up to the standard of the lost years. The best thing about this story arc is the settings.. the subterranean lair under London was particularly interesting with the Lovecraftian allusions. Nyarlathotep is often stalking around in the shadows of Lumley’s writing. I’m not keen on Jake, but by the end of this instalment it became clear why Harry chose him. The setting in terms of time is pretty interesting too. The near future from when the book was written which is almost now. Some of Lumley’s speculations on world events are interesting. Not the best in the series but not the worst by far.

[Γιώργος Μπελαούρης · Rating 5 out of 5]

νταξ!
waaaay better than invaders
more action packed, more intriguing, one of my faves of the necroscope books!

[Laura Ruetz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe because I haven't read the other books, but I just had a hard time getting into this story

[Michelle Nakagawa · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's so hard not to love these horrific vampire tales. As I near the end of the series i am enjoying every new situation that comes up and fear every new Wamphyri that's involved. There are 3 new ones in this book and they are awesomely frightening and damn interesting.
As E-Branch continues to hunt down and try to destroy these beings from another world, they use new friends and old to reach their objective, sometimes successfully.
What a great, spooky adventure.

[Dollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a new Necroscope at E-Branch!

[Vicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only 2 books to go.

[SOTERO RIVERA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good addition to the Necroscope books.

I did like this book but I found myself struggling to finish it. Mr Lumley has a way of pushing his readers forward to finish his books, but this one took some effort on my part. All in all, I enjoyed it. Jake Cutter is turning out to be a good replacement for Harry Keogh. Looking forward to the next book.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual....one hell of a ride. These books are just full of....well...gadgets and ghosts (E-Branch term).

This is the 12th book in the Necroscope series and 2nd in the E-branch trilogy portion. This trilogy is WAY better than the vampire world trilogy and pretty much feels like a direct continuation of The Original 5 book Necroscope series.

Jake Cutter , while initially I didn't like him, is finally coming into his own. For 95% of the book he is still off doing his own personal "mission" but we come to find out...its probably in E-Branches best interest anyway. We find out Castellano has some nice history and is not just a mafioso thug...Ferenzcy?

We get some cool descriptions on Vampire Nuns in a Greek monastery that was overrun by Vavarra. We see some more of Malinari and Scwarz. Really good story.

Jake vs Korath...Jake learning more of the Necroscope lore and skills
Trask and Milly?
Liz and Jake
Car chases
Monastery explosions
London sewers
Vampire Spores

4-4.5 Stars. Need to buy part 13 now.

[michelle o'flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am reading the entire collection (some of which are re-reads) from start to the end. I've only read one other book in the interim so I have all the details fresh in my memory.
I fully appreciate the need to repeat certain details for those who read a stand-alone book, but in this and also with "Invaders", the repetition is driving me to skip through those passages.
I truly love the series but at times I have also felt that ghost writers have been involved in these latest editions

[Stacy Croushorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointed in this book. I really like the Necroscope series, but parts of this book were terribly boring. This new Necroscope, Jake, is not a likable character. Frequently found myself scanning huge sections and wanting to finish it as quickly as possible. There were some interesting and nail biting moments, but too few to justify 600+ pages.

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this part of the book even more than the first. The hardest thing about reading this series is taking breaks from normal life. S. is addicting! Even considering that the main action takes place in the last couple of chapters, all the previous ones are read in one breath.
I will continue reading this trilogy, and will try to collect the entire Necroscope series in paper!

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the key to reading these books at least for me is to space them out quite a bit. This felt like the previous books plot wise and character wise. It's been nearly a year since reading the last one and it was nice to jump back into the universe. That being said I'm someone who doesn't mind a formula and these books certainly have that.

[Philip Chaston · Rating 3 out of 5]

As always, Lumley could do with a strong editorial hand. The book is padded out with flashbacks and tangents. If all was as tightly plotted as the climax, it would prove itself. Too may words about wamphyri suck!

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Building to a big conclusion in the final book of the trilogy.

[Jabes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of cliffhanger.

[Dave Higgins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Copy of my Launchpad review from 2001:
Again, Lumley returns to the universe of the Necroscope and the Whampiri. If you loved the great many sequels that came after Necroscope I then you will probably love these three. However, despite liking the story immensely I noticed two problems: firstly, not having red every previous Lumley book in this universe, some characters and references were a mystery, spoiling the story in places; secondly, it suffers from defeating-evil-at-the-end-syndrome (a nasty practice of having nigh indestructible great evils from before time defeated by unfeasible means).

[bluetyson]

isbn,original

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reviewed this already, but seems to be gone; oh, well. Great series and great book this one started off slow but by the end was a frantic paced story. Overall it was really enjoyable.

[Amanda and tony schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tony

[Ronnie Wimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book! Great locations throughout the Mediterranean! Can't wait to get to the next one!

[Ike · Rating 4 out of 5]

One word = building

[Lukáš Konečný]

Jakeu Cutterovi, novému nekroskopovi, se v mysli usadil mrtvý upír jménem Korat. A protože Korat má v ruce klíč k Möbiovým rovnicím, Jake ho nemůže jednoduše - jako by to samo o sobě bylo jednoduché - vystrnadit. Také má problémy se supertajnou organizací, která se mimo jiné zabývá štvanicemi na upíry, pobočkou E.
Pro nezávislého, popudlivého Jakea, jsou ESPeři pobočky E suší a nudní, s výjimkou Liz, o které by se Jake rád dozvěděl něco více - jak po fyzické, tak i psychické stránce. Jenomže Liz je telepatka, takže pokud si Jake nebude dávat pozor, odhalí v jeho mysli přítomnost Korata, a to by byl se vší pravděpodobností absolutní konec! Pobočka E pronásleduje trio velkých upírů - Vampýrů, kteří jsou odhodláni změnit naši Zem v jedno obrovské loviště. Jedním z nich je nechutně krásná žena, Vavara, která se usadila v jednom klášteře na nádherném řeckém ostrově a tamní jeptišky přeměnila v příšerná stvoření s hrůzostrašnými choutkami, jež nutně potřebují pomoc nekroskopa. Nicméně Jake má ve své hlavě jiné věci. Pohání jej palčivá touha po pomstě - po pomstě proti mafiánům, kteří zneuctili a zabili ženu, již miloval. Jejich pevnost v Itálii skýtá nejedno překvapení, a aby je Jake dokázal porazit, musí použít všechny své zbraně, kterými jako nekroskop disponuje, včetně schopnosti přivolat bdělé mrtvé z jejich tlejících hrobů...