by Randy Henderson

This book has one of the strangest beginnings I've ever read, even in a fantasy novel. In some ways the situation reminds me of Corwin of Amber, in that Finn has memory loss, but his is caused by being exiled out of body for 25 years. Apparently people who commit, or are falsely accused of committing, certain magical offences spend a period of years discarnate feeding the fey while a changeling looks after their body. Luckily the rules are tight and they have to look after it well.

It gets weirder as it goes along, but in a good way. I got thoroughly drawn into this story and really enjoyed the stretches of imagination involved. There were also some hilarious comments and brilliant weird ideas. The bit about Dunkin Donuts and lentils alone was worth the time reading. You have to read it in context.

At times it straddles the line between YA and Fantasy written for adults. Sex is mentioned but with no actual sexual situations, at least as far as I was able to read. Unfortunately Netgalley provided only an excerpt of the story for review, so I don't know whether it has a satisfying ending or whether more adult situations come into it later.

What I did read was well written and enjoyable though and may well be worthy of four stars rather than the three I've given it, but endings are worth a full star to me so I've had to withhold one as the full story wasn't provided for review.

I've got reviewers block.  I just finished this book, and had a lot of fun with it, but can't come up with a thing to say about it.  I loved that Sasquatch were major characters and I liked the vernacular the author gave them; somehow, it worked really well and I wasn't stuck with Harry and the Henderson's in my head while I read this.  I like Dawn, Finn's romantic interest, but the whole romance thing got on my nerves.  There's supportive and then there's after-school-special.  I liked that this book wasn't dependent on what it obviously going to be a series-arc-evil-nemesis; this was a self-contained plot (although the book does give massive spoilers for book 1).  

Mostly, it's well-written and entertaining.

A different kind of urban fantasy for me, but I liked it.

Finn was framed for dark magic when he was 15 and exiled to the Fae world, where they fed off his memories for 25 years.  When he's finally released, an attack during the 'exchange' (a changing was using his body during his sentence) left him with his body back but without the usual memory transfer, leaving him with no idea what's happened in the world for the last 25 years.

This allows the story to occasionally wallow in cheesy 80's references, and his fellow exile Zeke to look like what sounds like a Nordic Mr. T.  If you're a child of the 80's or a fan of pop culture, it definitely makes the story chuckle-worthy.  

The plot revolves around Finn trying to clear his name and figure out who didn't want him released from exile.  The answer was both transparently obvious from the start and a surprise; I missed enough clues along the way that I didn't see the twist coming. 

I must be getting old, because I found myself skimming a lot of the action scenes, but I did thoroughly enjoy the book.  It's funny and well written and I cared about what was going to happen to the characters.

It's the start of a series, and I'll happily read book #2, but I'm not champing at the bit to rush out to buy it.  I'll come across it eventually and snap it up when I do.

(I was a bit worried at first that this book wasn't going to have ghosts beyond the first couple of chapters, but they end up playing a significant part in the plot, even though it isn't strictly a 'ghost' story.)

So, where to begin with this crazy whirlwind of a book? If you're looking at the cover, and hoping that the story inside matches the complete random feeling of the outside, please know that you can breathe easy. This book is so weird. Finn Fancy Necromancy is a family drama, but also it's not. A dramedy? A comera? Ha. Point being, this book takes a long look at a very weird, rather lovable family, without one iota of seriousness thrown in. Are you looking for something utterly random, and yet engrossing at the same time? Congratulations. You've found your book.

In an unprecedented turn of events, I'm going to talk about the writing first. Normally I love to dish all about characters from the get go. This time around, the writing deserves some love. I promise you that "random" is the best word to describe this book. However, it's completely addictive because of how well written it is. Some sort of sorcery is afoot when a debut author swaps from the topics of necromancy and Fae, to describing a character that sounds suspiciously like Mr T., right on to 90's pop culture and a guerrilla sasquatch team, and the reader doesn't even bat an eye. Sure, this book is absolute madness most times. But it's funny, and it's easy to read. 

Now, we can get to the characters! Who, despite their rather... erm... unique personalities, grow on you after a while. The fact that Finn is experiencing the current world after essentially being stuck as a 15 year old boy for 25 years, is priceless. His lack of knowledge about technology and jargon just add to the overall insanity of this story line. He's likable, as is the rest of his family after a while. While you might not always love where things are going, I'm betting to guess you won't be able to resist the quirkiness of these characters.

Finn Fancy Necromancy gets three "What in the everloving HELL?" fueled stars from this reader. With its solid writing, hilarious events, and lovable characters, it was a pretty fun ride. I'm just hoping there is more around the bend and, I can't stress this enough, it doesn't take me so long to settle in to.