S. J. Madill

NOTICE! I am reviewing the old version of the book with the oddball cover that reminds a lot of people of a 70's B-rated flick!!!

I had this book on my diehard want to read list for well over a year ever since it caught my attention during the early review stage of the annual SPFBO 2017 contest. It was a semifinalist from its blog and I can certainly see why the blogger had a really hard time choosing a different book to advance to the finals.

This book deserves a lot of accolades and I'm glad that my intincts were right in wanting to read it so badly.

The book curiously enough focuses on three separate storylines that eventually all have one thing in common: an affluent coastal city known as Whiteport.
1) Katryn, a recently deceased young woman who teams up with her goth necromancer friend (most likely also lover) named Donna with one mission in mind: get used to her magically revived body, locate the house of the mayor of Whiteport that assasinated herself and her family for unknown reasons and enact her long awaited revenge.
2) Anson, a middle aged female knight and loyal bodyguard to the mentally unstable but magically very powerful Lord Jaminus who is capable of entering the minds and memories of millions of people at the same time (hence the reason why the man is pretty much insane half of the time during the book). Jaminus has to reach Whiteport immediately, but the voices creeping into his head are taking a huge toll on him. It is up to Anson and a reliable knight apprentice named Hobb to help their master accomplish his mysterious mission.
3) Nick (not his real name!) is trying to live up to the shadow of his recently deceased mother, the best thief of the western hemisphere. The thing is, he depends too much on his array of magical items and for some unexplained reason, his invisibility ring just failed on him right at the worst moment and he's stuck in Whiteport dungeon. Looks like he's going to end up hanged soon, but a woman wearing rare dragon leather named Cass is going to liberate him in exchange for his expertise in a suicide espionage mission...

Quite frankly, my favorite story is the one starring Jaminus. Anson has a double job: mentoring Hobb who has never seen his Lord acting so belligerent before and soothing Jaminus's tempered and fickle mind as he walks towards Whiteport. The man is deeply troubled, but his heart is in the right place, even though the vision of the future he sees might not always have a happy ending. Anson is proud of her life calling, but she wonders if Hobb has the same enthusiasm after seeing their Lord's childish temper tantrums.

One thing that stroke me both odd and fascinating about this book is how it portrays a necromancer in such a positive light. You seldom see a necromancer as a good guy, and while we aren't fully sure why Donna took the annoyance of saving a complete stranger from death and accompanies her during her insane path for revenge, the two young women make an interesting team and it was very well written.

Nick's story seems to be the least developed of the three, but as the comic relief character of the book, his constant stumbles drives the plot forward to its really surprising finale.

While the true identity of Lord Jaminus seemed like a bit of a plot hole because pretty much nobody seemed to recognize him wherever he went, the book was simply a real thrill to read. Well worth your time!… (more)