by Martha Wells, Carlos Gardini
4.5 stars. The first Ile-Rien book was fine, an entertaining fantasy story, but this one is on another level of sophistication. Compelling characters, the right amount of tension, lavish descriptions, complex relationships, clever world-building, mature romance just hinted at, top-notch storytelling...
The Death of the Necromancer is the second of the Ile-Rien books by Martha Wells (I read The Element of Fire for the first time recently). I had actually read Necromancer before, back when I was first discovering Wells and lots of people were saying how wonderful it was. I agree, BUT I think that th...
Abandoned
I started the later Ile-Rien books and didn't quite love them; I want to try again because I loved this one and think with the additional backstory my reaction will be better. Anyway, this was a great mix of gaslight fantasy, plus a mystery and con artists and revenge.
Delightful. The Lies of Locke Lamora co-ops The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.The book blurb doesn’t have it quite right: “Nicholas Valiarde is a passionate, embittered nobleman with an enigmatic past. Consumed by thoughts of vengeance, he is consoled only by thoughts of the beautiful, dangerous Mad...
On an intellectual level, this novel is engaging and unusual for a fantasy. The plot unravels not in a somewhat-medieval world, as is almost a staple of the genre, but in a place and time that resonate heavily with Victorian London of Sherlock Holmes, although the geographic names are all imaginary....
Disappointing. The characters were lame at best (I did like the opium-addict magician), and the main character’s angst-ridden past and romance were boring and stiffly written. Even the plot didn’t hold my interest. Read her other books instead. This is a precursor to a trilogy, set in the same world...
Entertaining reading, reasonably imaginative. Writing is just competent, however.
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