A review by emmavonb
The Necromancer's House by Christopher Buehlman

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

This was not my favorite of Buehlman's novels. The concept of modern magic was fascinating (i.e. film necromancy, cyber magic) and was something I never even considered before this novel. But the formatting and pacing were so slow and jumbled that it made it hard to fully immerse myself in the story. Much like all of his other novels, his characters are complex and easy to love and the world he creates is equal parts beautiful and utterly horrifying; the horror elements of this book are unmatched. But the timeline switches, perspective changes in the middle of chapters (sometimes the middle of sentences) and the general mystery of what was even happening made it very difficult to enjoy this book. As with everything I read, I always think that maybe I just don't get it. Maybe there is a hidden meaning or a literary device that I'm just not seeing that would make everything click into place. Regardless of that, however, I think I rate this at about 2.75 stars; excellent idea but not so excellent execution.