Not your average love story

Not much about this book can be described as ‘typical’. To start, it’s told in the first and second person - one character tells the story to the other. The introduction to the story is told from the point of view of a dead forest, and has a beautifully eerie tone. The narrative voice of the character telling the story is engaging, with a bit of humor that makes him quite likeable. We follow these two characters on a rather bloody and brutal race through a warzone to steal a treasure from a palace, and yet there’s a surprising amount of sweetness to the story; the narrator’s affection for his target audience member is on clear display. Between sections of action, our narrator tells some of the stories of their past: how they met, what they did, and eventually how they planned their great theft. It’s not your average love story, and yet it is lovely and strangely endearing.

The world in which Necromantica takes place is vibrant. There are elves, dwarves, orcs, and humans, dryads, ogres, and dragons. Though we get only small pieces of the world in the narrative, the visuals of the locales, people, and battles are rich.

Lama, our narrator, is a thief, assassin, general “bad guy” with a colorful and unfortunate past. He addresses the story to Mornia, whom he loves and has sworn his life to. His narrative voice is charming and fun to read.

Mornia is an elf necromancer who should have been a healer. Her home and people were taken from her, and she is now on a mission to restore those things, or at least gain revenge for their loss.

If you’re looking for something with a really unique style and you’re not put off by being told a story in the second person, I would highly suggest you check this out.

5/5, The style of the story, pace, and characters all really worked for me, and I think it’s well worth a read. ( )