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A review by bunnieslikediamonds
The Necromancer's House by Christopher Buehlman
5.0
There are many lovely and bisarre characters in this novel: a seasoned warlock with awfully unpleasant enemies, his lovable wooden manservant who used to be his lovable dog, an undead but fetching mermaid with an aversion to littering. Strange and upsetting things happen to them, proving that revenge is a dish best served with a side of advanced magic. I was so pleased to find that the story was surprising and original, and not just weird for weird's sake.
So there I was, happily humming along, chuckling at the funny bits, clutching my pearls at the shocking bits, but all in all feeling quite comfortable with the unpredictability of it all, when these little fellas showed up:
Oh? Not familiar with Gena and Cheburaska, you say? Perfectly understandable. I imagine these darling Russian puppets never reached international fame, but for some reason they were imported to Sweden in the seventies and made some very unsettling television appearances. All I remember is my older sister being terrified of Gena, the crocodile, and me gleefully mocking her for it. Running into these long buried childhood memories while reading a fantasy novel late at night was most unexpected, and a little disorienting. Which, when you think about it, is what one wants when reading. Anyway, it's a blink-and-miss thing, just one of many wonderful details in this terrific novel.
I loved pretty much everything about it: the characters, the plot, the magic and the excellent ending. It's one of those books where you really wish for a sequel, not because of unresolved issues but simply because you want to spend more time with characters.
So there I was, happily humming along, chuckling at the funny bits, clutching my pearls at the shocking bits, but all in all feeling quite comfortable with the unpredictability of it all, when these little fellas showed up:
Oh? Not familiar with Gena and Cheburaska, you say? Perfectly understandable. I imagine these darling Russian puppets never reached international fame, but for some reason they were imported to Sweden in the seventies and made some very unsettling television appearances. All I remember is my older sister being terrified of Gena, the crocodile, and me gleefully mocking her for it. Running into these long buried childhood memories while reading a fantasy novel late at night was most unexpected, and a little disorienting. Which, when you think about it, is what one wants when reading. Anyway, it's a blink-and-miss thing, just one of many wonderful details in this terrific novel.
I loved pretty much everything about it: the characters, the plot, the magic and the excellent ending. It's one of those books where you really wish for a sequel, not because of unresolved issues but simply because you want to spend more time with characters.