M. Rhys Bail's Necromancer will be published by Stupid Stupid Games Ltd in December 2016.
Information about Necromancer:
For Joe Cooper, Hell's only professional necromancer on earth, business is about to get even worse. When his dead father calls him long-distance and warns him of the coming storm, he knows he is facing trouble of the worst kind. And then his employer comes knocking...
Necromancer is the first novel set in the Agents of Armageddon RPG universe, created by Stupid Stupid Games.
It is also the firstborn of M. Rhys Bail, who began a steady diet of speculative fiction when he demanded to see The Dark Crystal as a preschooler. He’s had a voracious appetite for the genre ever since.
A REVIEW OF M. RHYS BAIL'S NECROMANCER
M. Rhys Bail's Necromancer is a standalone prequel to the PC-game Johnny Graves - The Unchosen One. It's the first novel set in the Agents of Armageddon RPG universe, which has been created by Stupid Stupid Games.
I don't normally read this kind of fiction, because I tend to avoid reading media tie-in novels and stories due to the fact that most of them are quality-wise inferior to other novels and stories. Necromancer, however, is one of the few exceptions that roused my interest enough for me to take a look at it. I was positively surprised by it, because it turned out to be surprisingly good entertainment.
Here's a bit of information about the story:
A necromancer called Joe Cooper is surprised to get a call from his father who has been dead for five years. His father tells him that awful things are brewing and he can't move on because of them. He warns Joe of forthcoming trouble and says that he needs Joe's help. A bit later Joe gets a call from his employer, the Cabal, because they need something done at St. Mary's. He is asked to resurrect a man's body that holds a body of a young girl in his dead arms...
This is the beginning of an entertaining and interesting story that will please fans of urban fantasy fiction and also those who enjoy reading dark fantasy fiction, because it has a few dark fantasy elements.
M. Rhys Bail writes fluently about how Joe feels about his employment, because he is not happy with what is going on. Joe feels trapped and helpless, because the Cabal has imprisoned a drop of his blood within a crystal vial so that they can use it to find him and make him work for them. They've assigned Arthur Gibson to be his minder.
It's nice that the author writes about the relationship between Joe and his father, because it brings depth to the story. Joe feels guilty about his father's fate, because he had avoided his father and hadn't been there when he died. I also enjoyed reading about the relationship between Joe and Arthur, because Joe is not pleased with his employment.
Because I enjoy reading about dark happenings involving necromancy, I was intrigued by the author's way of writing about how Joe did his job. The scene in which Joe was asked to resurrect a body in the cave below the crypts was interesting, because it set things in motion and had a huge effect on Joe's life.
I want go into details about the ending, but I'll mention that it was slightly bittersweet, but also strangely happy in a bit unexpected way. It was a satisfying and fitting conclusion to the story.
M. Rhys Bail's writing style is fluent and his prose is easy to read. There was something effortless about his writing style that I found likeable.
M. Rhys Bail's Necromancer is a relatively short, but interesting piece of urban fantasy fiction. If you're a fan of urban fantasy and are looking for something new to read, you should consider taking a look at Necromancer, because it's a good and fast-paced story with a focus on entertainment values.
Good urban fantasy entertainment!