A review by wardenred
Necropolis by Jordan L. Hawk

adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This is an unforgiving land, old chap. Those who fail to tread cautiously soon cease to tread at all.

We are once again leaving Widdershins, this time to go across the globe, and I’m beginning to sense a pattern here: one book in the city, one book on an adventure elsewhere. I’m curious to see if it’s going to be upheld throughout the series. The change of scenery this time was pretty fun, reminding me of that Relic Hunter tv show I used to love as a kid, except make it lovecraftian. I admit I have some doubts about the level of research that went into the setting, but there are some fun details, and it’s internally consistent, and hey, we’re here on an adventure.

Whyborne continues to grow on me; I think it’s a combination of his character development and my getting used to certain peculiarities of his thinking. It’s been amusing to notice how off his perceptions are sometimes not just about what other people around him may be thinking and feeling, but about what’s going on in his own head, too. “This spell hasn’t been working out, but today I am feeling very calm and certain I can nail it. DAMN IT, HOW COULD CHRISTINE EXPECT THIS OF ME. I am feeling very calm and focused.” Lol, right.

Speaking of Christine, I really loved how much she got to shine in this book, and the overall shape of her arc so far. She steadfastly remembers my very favorite character, and I love how she never feels like a third wheel alongside the main couple. In fact, sometimes I get the feeling that in the long run, she’s the glue that is keeping this little found family together, because like… where would Whyborne be without someone to talk sense into him now and then? Or Griffin without someone to call him out at certain occasions? It’s also nice to be seeing her getting a dose of her own personal happiness—I hope it works out!

What I didn’t really love about this book was the villain. Or rather, I liked how parts of the deal were handled—I largely called what was happening super early on, but then let the author lull me into a false sense of security and was genuinely surprised by the reveal. But honestly,
Daphne
was done so dirty by the story.
I appreciate that there were some attempts at compassion re: the abuse she suffered and the situation it drove her into, but they were rather weak and unconvincing for me. She deserved better, and this whole topic deserve much better, and I wish half the care that this series channels into empathizing with the male character’s suffering went into this plotline.
This is really a big grip I have with this book.

Outside of that, though, all the adventuring and mystery-solving was fun, I liked that Whyborne got to geek out properly about languages, I love his friendship with Christine, and I wonder what’s going to happen to his arc, the plot, and his relationship with Griffin now that he’s made a certain decision at the end of the story. Also, there was that hint about a potential secret concerning him that is just so intriguing??? I immediately developed a theory once it was dropped, and then was like, “Hang on, if I turn out to be correct, I really wish this would’ve been foreshadowed since book 1,” and then I realized that the theory I’m having has in fact been foreshadowed since book 1, so now I can’t wait to know if I’m right or wrong!
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