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A review by kavreb
The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells
4.0
While it may start with another heist just like its predecessor, The Death of the Necromancer hasn't just changed the characters and dates but in parts the genre itself.
While it stays similarly close to fantasy, and much of the novel is concerned with mysteries and thrills (and some of them are truly splendid, the high point the hunt in the prison maze, but pretty much everything keeping one on the edge of one’s seat once the story got going proper), the scope is quite a bit smaller than in The Elements of Fire, with the previous novel’s concerns of the royals replaced with a gang of thieves (though some of them quite wealthy and close to people close to royals). And while much of The Elements of Fire was spent in an impressive struggle between large forces, The Death of the Necromancer follows its appealing characters down alleyways and backhalls of suburban manors as they work to figure out why the hell any of this is happening. Their opponent is appropriately powerful, but the feeling is different, especially once you find out Ile-Rien has, amongst other things, upgraded from oil to gas and one-shooters to six-shooters. The Elements of Fire was also a far darker book, with few characters surviving until the end, while here only a few do not (the deadliness which I think added to the first book's specific tone, but is not missed here).
I enjoyed the previous novel more than seems to be right by the apparent consensus, and I was quickly made nostalgic for its characters and court intrigue and its emphasis on action with weapons with limited power; but this book didn't take long to find its appeal, and it have a few things over the previous one, like a bit tighter plotting and side-characters that have more personality than what you can sum up in a shallow paragraph (and, seeing the way this series is going, it's too bad we'll never meet any of them again).
The casual queerness of a few characters and no damsels in distress this time around was also more than appealing.
However, the book does unravel a bit by the end as Wells attempts to satisfactorily tidy up all the threads while keeping up the thrills, but it's difficult to be that thrilled when so much breath is spent on turning potentiality into certainty and the characters are just half-going through the motions of a grand finale. Even the final chapter seems to mimic the one in the previous book (though again showing the difference in genre - while it was an exciting action scene that took care of the pesky lingering problem in the previous book, it's intrigue and sly subterfuge that deals a finishing blow in this one).
And Wells does start relying more than is fair share on magic to solve problems (the eternal problem in books dealing in magic), though again to her credit the way she limits the power of her most powerful sorcerer throughout the book is a stroke of genius.
But never minding the complaints about the culmination, on the strength of most of the book alone this is a fine reading and Martha Wells a writer that I regret I almost never made the acquaintance with. Thank you again, Murderbot, and I'm sure to keep thanking you as I keep working my way through the delightful backlog of your impressive creator.
While it stays similarly close to fantasy, and much of the novel is concerned with mysteries and thrills (and some of them are truly splendid, the high point the hunt in the prison maze, but pretty much everything keeping one on the edge of one’s seat once the story got going proper), the scope is quite a bit smaller than in The Elements of Fire, with the previous novel’s concerns of the royals replaced with a gang of thieves (though some of them quite wealthy and close to people close to royals). And while much of The Elements of Fire was spent in an impressive struggle between large forces, The Death of the Necromancer follows its appealing characters down alleyways and backhalls of suburban manors as they work to figure out why the hell any of this is happening. Their opponent is appropriately powerful, but the feeling is different, especially once you find out Ile-Rien has, amongst other things, upgraded from oil to gas and one-shooters to six-shooters. The Elements of Fire was also a far darker book, with few characters surviving until the end, while here only a few do not (the deadliness which I think added to the first book's specific tone, but is not missed here).
I enjoyed the previous novel more than seems to be right by the apparent consensus, and I was quickly made nostalgic for its characters and court intrigue and its emphasis on action with weapons with limited power; but this book didn't take long to find its appeal, and it have a few things over the previous one, like a bit tighter plotting and side-characters that have more personality than what you can sum up in a shallow paragraph (and, seeing the way this series is going, it's too bad we'll never meet any of them again).
The casual queerness of a few characters and no damsels in distress this time around was also more than appealing.
However, the book does unravel a bit by the end as Wells attempts to satisfactorily tidy up all the threads while keeping up the thrills, but it's difficult to be that thrilled when so much breath is spent on turning potentiality into certainty and the characters are just half-going through the motions of a grand finale. Even the final chapter seems to mimic the one in the previous book (though again showing the difference in genre - while it was an exciting action scene that took care of the pesky lingering problem in the previous book, it's intrigue and sly subterfuge that deals a finishing blow in this one).
And Wells does start relying more than is fair share on magic to solve problems (the eternal problem in books dealing in magic), though again to her credit the way she limits the power of her most powerful sorcerer throughout the book is a stroke of genius.
But never minding the complaints about the culmination, on the strength of most of the book alone this is a fine reading and Martha Wells a writer that I regret I almost never made the acquaintance with. Thank you again, Murderbot, and I'm sure to keep thanking you as I keep working my way through the delightful backlog of your impressive creator.