Reviews

The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells

saoki's review against another edition

4.0

This book hits all the right buttons for me. It's a secondary world fantasy with a light steampunk flavour, heavy on the magic but considering the implications of said magic in the world, an urban story filled with criminals and also a mystery with a Sherlock-ish detective.
The resulting mix is pure bliss.

ergative's review against another edition

3.75

This felt like two books in one. There was an enormously complicated backstory, all about Edouard Villet's trial and his foster son Nicholas's response to his wrongful execution, which led him to vow revenge upon Count Montesq, creating in the process the persona of the thief Donatien, which put him in direct conflict with the Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson of Ile-Rien (called Sebastien Ronsard and Dr Hall here), such that they develop a years-long rivalry, each trying to outwit the other as both pursue Montesq for their own purposes. That's a book in itself right there! But then we build on top of that a mysterious necromancer who gets in the way of Nicholas's plot to overthrow Montesq, and then there are housefuls of dead bodies and impertinent golems and stone gargoyles coming to life and the whole situation is interfering in Nicholas's schemes most inconveniently--and then Ronsard turns out to be interested in things, and then there are sewers and catacombs and all sorts of hijinks ensue, which turn out to be related to Edouard's wrongful death in quite complex and rather elegant ways. 

Martha Wells is very good at keeping this massive, stuffed beast of a plot ticking along smoothly, but I must confess that I found it dragged at times. There was so much plot that the overall trajectory of events just moved slowly. As much as I enjoy charades and confidence games and house-breaking and sneaking and disguises, I did eventually start losing the thread a bit. 

There's also a token girl. But just the one.

holtopia's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

booksthatburn's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful mysterious 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

5.0

This is like if the crew from Leverage were trying to stop magical murders instead of corporate greed.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Torture, Death, Violence, Dementia, Blood, Gore, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Murder, Cursing, Homophobia, Suicide, and Child death

hasseltkoffie's review against another edition

4.0

A remarkably charming and delightful read for cold and stormy nights. A nice blend of semi-steampunk fantasy and murder mystery.

bluebirdsongs's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

catya's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

4.75

I wish there were more in this ile rien timeline!

wandering_not_lost's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

2.0

This book barely made it to "it was ok" stars with me.  I love heists, and I love criminal masterminds, so I though that this was going to be my cup of tea.  But in the end I just couldn't connect with the characters, and the last entire half was finished by determination alone.  Though the characters have sometimes interesting backstories, their interactions seemed stilted and unemotional, even when the characters are supposed to be :checks notes: in love? (the main character and Madeline were supposed to be main emotional stays for each other, but whenever they talked they seemed to snipe and be frustrated at each other so much that I was left wondering what they actually saw in each other.)  It was like we were TOLD the emotional ties were there, but we weren't SHOWN that.  Some of the characterization also seemed odd:  obsessed characters would allow themselves to be distracted from that obsession too easily, it seemed.  And without ties to and between the characters, what were supposed to be emotional moments sometimes fell incredibly flat.  Plotwise I also just felt like this book was too long (in multiple places, chase and search scenes just go on and on....)  Then, in the end, things are wrapped up suspiciously neatly  (

Spoiler

sorcerors that had been blocked [again, in suspiciously unmurderous ways!] from helping halfway through coming back to help just in the nick of time, people wandering aimlessly through an area they don't know but managing to split up and find each other again, etc.

).  

It just wasn't satisfying, and oddly in some of the same ways as Witch King wasn't satisfying to me.  I'm beginning to think that Wells is just going to be a one-series writer for me, and I should stick to Murderbot.  

ostrava's review against another edition

4.0

Somebody has already beaten me to it (shocker, me sharing unoriginal ideas) but the novel is a triumph of execution over concept, really. And with the exception of some pacing issues, it happens to be a highly enjoyable ride from start to finish.

This book is all of what I look for in a good reading. Immersion, great characters... what else could you ask for? It's escapist fantasy turned into excellence effortlessly.

zozoisgolden's review against another edition

4.0

My first foray into Martha Wells and I was not disappointed.

Perhaps I'll give the Murderbot Diaries a read now.

Detailed review to come. If I feel like it