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A review by xeni
Penny for Your Soul by K.A. Ashcomb
4.0
Thank you to the author for providing this novel in exchange for an honest review!
I originally picked this one up to read during the month of October and fulfill my 'Necromancer POV' slot of my 2020-21 book bingo. This book ended up being so much more than that, though!
I really enjoyed the premise: a city-state-(island?) that exists as the only place where the dead continue to exist after death, and have extensive influence over the politics, economics and general to-do of daily life. Necropolis reminds me of a mix between Victorian England and Bas-Lag (of China Mieville fame): lots of poverty, economic turmoil, strict class structure, a budding police force with little actual power, and also many odd species (ghouls, ghosts, necromancers, zombies, and werewolves just to name a few) merge in a dark and gloomy city-scape. In a way Necropolis is as much a character of this world as any of the on-page folk. I was sad it didn't get more page time - I live for long and windy descriptions of places and how they work.
However this story doesn't revolve around the place as much as the cast. The highlight for me is easily Petula Upwood. She is a necromancer who's stated goal is to return back to her home country the following day on a boat she must not under any circumstances miss. Thus cue the whole plot attempting to thwart that. At first by a necessary emergency resurrection of the untimely dead head banker - Ira Waitworth. His necromancer ended up being murdered and no one seems to care too much. This is certainly a place where death is treated with callous disregard but also an extension of life (with all the capitalistic rights that go with it). Petula is dragged into Ira's conspiracy to throw Necropolis into economic turmoil for his own benefit, which the Mayor and the other political parties are all interested in wrangling to their own benefit. Petula shines in this book. I wish she had more page time since I love her and all her quirks: she prefers to read rather than get caught up in the politics; she even enjoys reading needlework books (anyone who doesn't just doesn't understand the true majesty found in Jacobean Crewelwork!)
I realized fairly quickly that I was out of my depth when it came to the economic turmoil and political upheaval plot line. I needed to put this book aside and go study fiances, economics, politics and all that pile of manure. I read a few books and watched a few documentaries and returned 6 months later to finally finish this work. I'm really glad I took the time off, since when I came back I actually understood what was going on in the city. And I'm really glad that the author decided not to dive too heavily into the world of derivatives, CDO's, leverage, etc. You can probably enjoy this book without understanding the basics of economics and how banks work, but it ended up being a richer experience for me when I did.
At some point I felt there were too many plot threads going on and I wasn't sure if they'd ever wrap up to anything satisfying. I can say that K A Ashcomb did a great job bringing everything together and in a manner that left me satisfied. I'm still not quite sure how such a late-stage-capitalism type city is at all enjoyable to live in for anyone who isn't at the top of the hierarchy. I have hopes that the place will move to a different direction after the events of this book.
Lastly, I want to address the writing style: it's at times over the top, with a lot of redundancies (e.g. a sentence as "It didn't take long for Mrs. Maybury to recover from the initial shock of being caught with her pants down, or at least caught with her guard down, which was the same thing for the woman." is common), a lot of puns, and overall a humorous tone. It didn't always work for me while I was reading, but when I was in the right mood I thoroughly enjoyed it. There were a few times I wasn't sure what was happening (), though as I worked my way into the wacky world and the odd characters it all cleared up for me.
I wonder how much the "first" book of this series influences the amount of information you have going into this world. K A Ashcomb said they are their own contained stories within the same world, however it might be that more of the world is explained in the other book. I am keen on reading the other book, if only because it's set in Leporidae Lop and Petula's constant vague references to her homeland are driving me a little bit crazy.
I originally picked this one up to read during the month of October and fulfill my 'Necromancer POV' slot of my 2020-21 book bingo. This book ended up being so much more than that, though!
I really enjoyed the premise: a city-state-(island?) that exists as the only place where the dead continue to exist after death, and have extensive influence over the politics, economics and general to-do of daily life. Necropolis reminds me of a mix between Victorian England and Bas-Lag (of China Mieville fame): lots of poverty, economic turmoil, strict class structure, a budding police force with little actual power, and also many odd species (ghouls, ghosts, necromancers, zombies, and werewolves just to name a few) merge in a dark and gloomy city-scape. In a way Necropolis is as much a character of this world as any of the on-page folk. I was sad it didn't get more page time - I live for long and windy descriptions of places and how they work.
However this story doesn't revolve around the place as much as the cast. The highlight for me is easily Petula Upwood. She is a necromancer who's stated goal is to return back to her home country the following day on a boat she must not under any circumstances miss. Thus cue the whole plot attempting to thwart that. At first by a necessary emergency resurrection of the untimely dead head banker - Ira Waitworth. His necromancer ended up being murdered and no one seems to care too much. This is certainly a place where death is treated with callous disregard but also an extension of life (with all the capitalistic rights that go with it). Petula is dragged into Ira's conspiracy to throw Necropolis into economic turmoil for his own benefit, which the Mayor and the other political parties are all interested in wrangling to their own benefit. Petula shines in this book. I wish she had more page time since I love her and all her quirks: she prefers to read rather than get caught up in the politics; she even enjoys reading needlework books (anyone who doesn't just doesn't understand the true majesty found in Jacobean Crewelwork!)
I realized fairly quickly that I was out of my depth when it came to the economic turmoil and political upheaval plot line. I needed to put this book aside and go study fiances, economics, politics and all that pile of manure. I read a few books and watched a few documentaries and returned 6 months later to finally finish this work. I'm really glad I took the time off, since when I came back I actually understood what was going on in the city. And I'm really glad that the author decided not to dive too heavily into the world of derivatives, CDO's, leverage, etc. You can probably enjoy this book without understanding the basics of economics and how banks work, but it ended up being a richer experience for me when I did.
At some point I felt there were too many plot threads going on and I wasn't sure if they'd ever wrap up to anything satisfying. I can say that K A Ashcomb did a great job bringing everything together and in a manner that left me satisfied. I'm still not quite sure how such a late-stage-capitalism type city is at all enjoyable to live in for anyone who isn't at the top of the hierarchy. I have hopes that the place will move to a different direction after the events of this book.
Lastly, I want to address the writing style: it's at times over the top, with a lot of redundancies (e.g. a sentence as "It didn't take long for Mrs. Maybury to recover from the initial shock of being caught with her pants down, or at least caught with her guard down, which was the same thing for the woman." is common), a lot of puns, and overall a humorous tone. It didn't always work for me while I was reading, but when I was in the right mood I thoroughly enjoyed it. There were a few times I wasn't sure what was happening (
Spoiler
like when Mrs. Maybury's fingers were bitten off all of a sudden - it came out of left field and didn't fit flow-wise into the story, but in retrospect I can see why it was done that wayI wonder how much the "first" book of this series influences the amount of information you have going into this world. K A Ashcomb said they are their own contained stories within the same world, however it might be that more of the world is explained in the other book. I am keen on reading the other book, if only because it's set in Leporidae Lop and Petula's constant vague references to her homeland are driving me a little bit crazy.