Ward Against Death was an amazing story. Ward de'Ath (yes ha ha he's heard that joke before) is a necromancer - a fairly good one from what I could gather. But his true passion is to be a surgeon - something is most definitely illegal in this time and place. Running from the law in several provinces, he finds himself in the mother of all trouble when he performs a wake for Celia Carlyle.

Now, there are parts of this world that may have needed a tad bit more explanation at the beginning. There were a handful of times I wondered what the heck they were talking about - almost like this was a spin off series of some sort. But I still loved every minute of it! 

Celia and Ward are the most unlikely partners you could find, but somehow they manage to make it work. There are some trust issues scattered about - easy to understand since one is a criminal and one was a recently dead person. They still manage to solve a mystery and save the day - sort of?

An amazing start to a very interesting world. I'm looking forward to starting Ward Against Darkness soon.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

Picking up just a short time after the very exciting ending of Ward Against Death, Ward and Celia are running for their lives. The book jumps you right into the action as their enemies catch up to them. But what they think is deliverance turns out to be even more danger than when they first began.

The mansion they discover seems like a safe sanctuary to begin with, but once Ward realizes who (and what) lives there, he is totally freaked out. But he has a moral obligation to take care of some things before they can run for their lives. This was were the story got a little fuzzy for me. There were sooo many characters that sort of had a connection to either Ward or Celia, but not really, that they all got a little confused at first. Eventually their very unique personalities pull the apart into their correct places, but the odd connections still felt a little off. Maybe they have some more importance in the next book that I don't know of yet.

Tons of excitement again. Ward is learning new things with his magic - but they are things that he's not completely sure he wants to know. They are dangerous things that almost get him killed on several occasions. Celia doesn't do much better, but at least her skills give her the ability to handle some of it.

I really enjoyed the history of necromancy and learning more about how it worked. It definitely helped to add a very good layer to the world building. Still a great series, but there were some things that just didn't seem to fit in this one.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

This was originally posted on Love in the Margins.

 

I was swayed to give this fantasy trilogy a try when I learned that one of the books would have a trans woman pov character. The numerous characters of colour, including several pov characters, were an added bonus. The books are written in third person limited voice.

 

The one character who ties the three books together, is a pale northern spy, Isyllt Iskaldur, who in The Drowning City travels south to Symir to incite a rebellion. It's a scheme to direct the Assari emperor's attention elsewhere to and protect her home Selafai. With her travels two mercenaries: Adam who isn't quite a human, and Xinai Lin who is returning home after having escaped the massacre of her family. Because of restless ghosts, Xinai, the second narrator, finds herself tangled with one of the rebelling groups. The third narrator, Zhirin Laii, helps Isyllt to connect with another faction.

 

I really liked the first book of the trilogy because of its tight pacing and the focus on plot. Also actual, lasting consequences, I liked those. There were some awkward parts, which reeked of infodumping, but they were quickly bypassed. There was just enough worldbuilding to make me curious and leave me wanting for more. After all, I had two more books to look forward to for further character building and expansion of the world.

 

In The Bone Palace Isyllt has returned home and is stuck in her day job as an investigator for the crown. She starts to enquire into a murder of a prostitute's, and is pulled into a conspiracy against King Mathiros. Isyllt is made to choose between her oaths to the throne and her old mentor-slash-lover.

 

The three narrators of the second book are Isyllt and Kiril, the pupil and master, and Savedra Severos of kinky hair, who escaped her fate as a prostitute—because what else is a transgender character to do in a thinly veiled real world—due to her family connections and by becoming crown prince Nikos' lover. She is also, a very dear friend of Nikos' wife, princess Ashlin.

 

This is where it all falls apart and moves firmly into the theory good, practice not territory. Instead of continuing with her strength as a plotter, Downum writes a story that relies on strong characterisations, which then are notably absent. Character continuity is sacrificed for a beautiful turn of a phrase and those very word choices make me doubt the author's ability to portray a trans character. It felt like I was always outside looking in and seeing Savedra's male body rather than being inside her head hearing a woman's thoughts. And I don't think Downum's version of a first person voice would have helped.

 

In The Kingdoms of Dust Isyllt travels to meet an old friend from book one. Their journey takes them south to possibly save the very empire they tried to undermine only a few years earlier.

 

Apart from the bisexuality default—makes reading easier if that's what you assume for every character—established in the second book, there wasn't much I liked about the final book. In a word, it's a mess. There are too many pov characters and once again actual character development and worldbuilding are ignored. There isn't even a hint of the strong plotting I was hoping would make a comeback. It got so bad that I didn't even care about the characters I'd loved in the first book.

 

It made me angry to see all the elements for a strong plot heavy story wasted in an aimless character study that didn't have actual character development. It also became impossible to ignore the Mary Sue'ness of the main character as once again another man succumbed to her charm. The ending could have saved a lot, but it didn't.

 

Final Assessment: Read The Drowning City as a standalone book (sans HEA) and skip the rest. It got a B from me whereas The Bone Palace and The Kingdoms of Dust get a D and an F respectively.

 

Source: Bought.

 

Series: The Necromancer Chronicles

"I don't like girls."

...

"Neither do I. But I like you."

This is either really sweet or offensive and I'm not sure I trust the author enough for it to be sweet.

 

Having listened to a few of Gail Z Martin's Ghost in the Machine podcasts I decided to try reading her. Then on Saturday Morning, as I was waking up,I thought about reading a few chapters. 637 pages later I was able to drag myself away from the book and properly get something done. Prince Martris was happy being the second brother, his elder brother was, however, not patient and not someone you could readily trust. Martris can see and interact with ghosts, he's trying hard to be himself as much as he can without attracting too much attention, particularly fo his brother's creepy friend, the court mage Foor Arontala, whose plans become obvious when the royal family are wiped out bar Martris and his brother. Martris has to escape and his conscience insists he has to do something. Yes, the villans are paper thin, and the good guys lack much flaws, but they dragged me in and made me care about them. Prince Martris Drayke is interesting, I can see him having to make some decisions he isn't going to like, and Kiara was fun, it's an interesting twist to have him the mage and her the competent swordsworman, though the relationship was obvious from the moment she was introduced. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.