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geekwayne's review against another edition
4.0
'Finn Fancy Necromancer' by Randy Henderson is a fun book. At least the part I got to read. My review copy was only the first 99 pages
Finn Gramaraye is from a family of wizards that live in Port Townsend, Washington. He was framed for a crime he didn't commit and put into stasis back in the 1980s, but his body is free to continue aging and collecting memories until he can reclaim it upon his release. The book opens with him getting out of wizard prison and going to collect his body. The only problem is that his memories are lost, and there is the small matter of a dead body to deal with. His homelife is dysfunctional, and his best friend doesn't know what happened to him, just that he disappeared with no word. Can he solve the murder to keep himself from getting locked up again, fix his broken family and friendship, and stop making pop-culture references from the 1980s?
I hope not the latter. My review copy ended with Finn trying to evade some sasquatches, but I feel certain that it was on track to be a good read. I liked the characters and their quirkiness. I liked the Pacific NW setting (after all, I live there), and I liked the out of joint 1980s references to things. Finn is a likeable character, and at some point, I'd like to find a complete copy and find out what happens.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
Finn Gramaraye is from a family of wizards that live in Port Townsend, Washington. He was framed for a crime he didn't commit and put into stasis back in the 1980s, but his body is free to continue aging and collecting memories until he can reclaim it upon his release. The book opens with him getting out of wizard prison and going to collect his body. The only problem is that his memories are lost, and there is the small matter of a dead body to deal with. His homelife is dysfunctional, and his best friend doesn't know what happened to him, just that he disappeared with no word. Can he solve the murder to keep himself from getting locked up again, fix his broken family and friendship, and stop making pop-culture references from the 1980s?
I hope not the latter. My review copy ended with Finn trying to evade some sasquatches, but I feel certain that it was on track to be a good read. I liked the characters and their quirkiness. I liked the Pacific NW setting (after all, I live there), and I liked the out of joint 1980s references to things. Finn is a likeable character, and at some point, I'd like to find a complete copy and find out what happens.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
cosmith2015's review against another edition
3.0
This fulfills my "read a book published this year" book for BookRiots read harder challenge.
Overall:
The description of the book along with the name and cover is what caught my eye. Necromancy combined with a interesting family (which includes a mad scientist) and there's a mystery to solve? Sounds awesome. This book had many good things about it, but what made me give it a three star rather than a four was the writing.
Good:
Randy Henderson takes a /classic fairytale/fantasy creatures and gives them a lovely spin. Instead of the classic "I'm a white mage or a dark mage" or " I work with elements" he does five types of magic: sorcery, necromancy, wizardry, thaumaturge (wrong spelling..), and alchemy. I really like how the gnomes were the black market runners and how they communicated. I also appreciated how feybloods feed off of memories while in the Other Realm.
The characters were decent, each definitely had their own personality and depth to them. I don't think I really had a favorite. None of them didn't particularly draw me to them.
Bad:
The one thing that made this book a three star was how the characters spoke. Most of them didn't sound like real people. Zeke constantly saying fool. Heather and Dawn really annoyed me as well. Especially the way Dawn treated Finn when he got back... Just randomly kissing him. I just feel like a lot of the interactions between Finn and these two ladies was fake.
Once again the plot was rushed..Three days for all of this to happen? Maybe give him a week.. Wait awhile before he finds Felicity's body.. I also felt like it was tugged a lot in different directions and it was hard to determine where the characters were going next and who the "bad guys" were.
Overall:
The description of the book along with the name and cover is what caught my eye. Necromancy combined with a interesting family (which includes a mad scientist) and there's a mystery to solve? Sounds awesome. This book had many good things about it, but what made me give it a three star rather than a four was the writing.
Good:
Randy Henderson takes a /classic fairytale/fantasy creatures and gives them a lovely spin. Instead of the classic "I'm a white mage or a dark mage" or " I work with elements" he does five types of magic: sorcery, necromancy, wizardry, thaumaturge (wrong spelling..), and alchemy. I really like how the gnomes were the black market runners and how they communicated. I also appreciated how feybloods feed off of memories while in the Other Realm.
The characters were decent, each definitely had their own personality and depth to them. I don't think I really had a favorite. None of them didn't particularly draw me to them.
Bad:
The one thing that made this book a three star was how the characters spoke. Most of them didn't sound like real people. Zeke constantly saying fool. Heather and Dawn really annoyed me as well. Especially the way Dawn treated Finn when he got back... Just randomly kissing him. I just feel like a lot of the interactions between Finn and these two ladies was fake.
Once again the plot was rushed..Three days for all of this to happen? Maybe give him a week.. Wait awhile before he finds Felicity's body.. I also felt like it was tugged a lot in different directions and it was hard to determine where the characters were going next and who the "bad guys" were.
natashia8911's review against another edition
3.0
It was a nice and easy read with lots of humor. The storyline was easy to follow and a bit predictable. Not something I would read again, but it was good for a quick read.
melodious16's review
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
xhikari's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Quite a light and fun read with very good lore/world building. Fairly fast paced with no drags and that's a very good thing.
blodeuedd's review against another edition
3.0
Poor Finn, at 15 he was exiled for 25 years. 25 years of being nothing and getting sucked dry of memories by the Fey. 25 years for a murder he did not commit.
But now he is back. Something went wrong and he has no idea how the world has changed. He still wonders who framed him and now someone is after him.
This was a urban fantasy that felt..dunno, just different. Finn comes home to his strange necromancy family. His sister without powers, his brother who thinks he is a were (though there are weres). His other brother who has taken over and does not seem happy to see Finn back. Yay, that family had issues.
Poor Finn, the world certainly did change in 25 years and he is so clueless. But I liked him, sure he is clueless but he does well adjusting. He really does not have a choice since things go boom at once he is back.
I liked his family too, strange as they were. The whole mystery of who framed him was well done, I sure did not figure it out, but then I never do.
The world was interesting. Normal people do not know that there is magic (we never do ;). And I'd like to explore the world more.
But now he is back. Something went wrong and he has no idea how the world has changed. He still wonders who framed him and now someone is after him.
This was a urban fantasy that felt..dunno, just different. Finn comes home to his strange necromancy family. His sister without powers, his brother who thinks he is a were (though there are weres). His other brother who has taken over and does not seem happy to see Finn back. Yay, that family had issues.
Poor Finn, the world certainly did change in 25 years and he is so clueless. But I liked him, sure he is clueless but he does well adjusting. He really does not have a choice since things go boom at once he is back.
I liked his family too, strange as they were. The whole mystery of who framed him was well done, I sure did not figure it out, but then I never do.
The world was interesting. Normal people do not know that there is magic (we never do ;). And I'd like to explore the world more.
redknightrabbit's review against another edition
3.0
The world is fun and engaging, with creatures and monsters that are as interesting as they are magical. It was a fun, lighthearted read, for the most part, but does touch on some hard subjects like loss and abuse and PTSD, but never in a way that feels as if it is thrown in to pad out the novel. If anything, I would love to see more of the character's PTSD explored in further novels.
I felt, personally, that the main character was a little bit of a Mary Stu- predictable, every day dude with Magic Powers that make him Special- but that in itself is never, for me, a knock against a novel. Who doesn't want to see parts of themselves in a Hero? It makes him relatable, in a way.
What did set this character apart for me, is that he is someone who was incarcerated from the age of 15. He was a child when he left the world and is now being thrown back in decades later. The plot of the novel did not leave much time to explore the fallout of lack of life experience that most of us have the benefit of, but I would love to see that explored in further novels as well.
Overall, a decent novel. Quirky characters, cool world building, fun monsters!
I felt, personally, that the main character was a little bit of a Mary Stu- predictable, every day dude with Magic Powers that make him Special- but that in itself is never, for me, a knock against a novel. Who doesn't want to see parts of themselves in a Hero? It makes him relatable, in a way.
What did set this character apart for me, is that he is someone who was incarcerated from the age of 15. He was a child when he left the world and is now being thrown back in decades later. The plot of the novel did not leave much time to explore the fallout of lack of life experience that most of us have the benefit of, but I would love to see that explored in further novels as well.
Overall, a decent novel. Quirky characters, cool world building, fun monsters!
bbabyok's review against another edition
4.0
What a fun read. It's an urban fantasy filled with interesting and unique characters and as a bonus, 80's references. If this even remotely sounds like your thing, pick this book up, you won't be disappointed.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
3.0
Dumb title. And kind of dumb book. But at least a little bit funny. And readable. Yes having someone who has been gone for 25 years is convenient - though I sold my Commodore 64 in 1987 - I suppose this could have take place in 2010. But that way the author can get in a whole lot of nostalgic shoutouts - though [b:Ready Player One|9969571|Ready Player One|Ernest Cline|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406383612s/9969571.jpg|14863741] does it better. I really didn't believe the characters, though I kind of liked Mattie - and Sammy had potential. But interesting setup of a fantasy world, and definitely something original. 3.5 of 5.
diddlydoo333's review
Too many stupid pop culture references that nobody could ever care about+it’s literally like reading something written by a 12 year old boy, and i get the guys 15 or whatever sort of age he is at this point but it’s so annoying ALSO I SKIMMED PAST A PART WHERE HE LITERALLY HAS WEIRDLY COERCIVE SEX SO FUCK THAT
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual content