Melanie Card

Ward and Celia got the hell out of town, only to be pursued by assassins and guards until they took shelter at a peculiar mansion, one owned by an evil necromancer. Mistaken for that necromancer's potential apprentice, Ward intends to stay only one night. That is, until a guard from his past and a very dangerous book encourage him to stay.

This book was different than the first in the series. While the first careened from incident to incident, this book, while not slower, was slightly more cerebral in its horror. There's quite a bit of sadness here, not only from the mansion's inhabitants, but from Ward and Celia, also.

The mystery was solid, in that I didn't figure out who was plotting what, and it set up for an excellent third book.

(Provided by publisher)… (mehr)

You've got to feel for Ward De'Ath. He's a necromancer with one simple job to do: use a common spell to wake a dead noblewoman for fifteen minutes so her family can speak with her. Only the dead woman isn't cooperative and instead of listening to Ward as she should, she runs off, taking him with her. That's only the beginning of his troubles. Celia, the dead woman, was murdered, and she's out to find out who murdered her and why. She'll use her assassin skills and underworld connections to do this. Oh, and a temporary spell Ward cast on her seems to have gone wrong and brought her, if not back to life, to something very close to it.

Meanwhile, Ward is coerced into performing illegal surgery on a law enforcement officer. If the surgery fails, the officer's partner might kill him. And even if it succeeds, he could still be put to death for performing it.

Together, Ward and Celia uncover ancient secrets, frightening enemies, and a little bit of affection for each other.… (mehr)

This is perhaps the darkest book in The Chronicles of A Reluctant Necromancer, and it's a very fast read.



Ward and Celia take off exactly where they left off in the previous book - on the run from Ward's grandfather. There are a few threads and players but what it boils down to is: the crew passes through a village which got besieged by an evil necromancer - Innocroesti, who is trying to open the gates to hell.



Of course, despite Celia's need to run, Ward is determined to help. The Seer pushes him to help the villagers, who are getting sacrificed left, right and centre. Celia wants them to keep running, and The Quaestri tracker is tired of all the games and agrees with Celia.


There is lots of fighting, healing and magicking. You will also be glad to know that Celia's and Ward's torturous love for each other finally finds its way to express itself. The balance of power is totally messed up, and Ward is the one who has to fight against the tide of darkness which threatens to swallow him whole, while Celia loses some of her unshakable determination.



Melanie Card's style is very straightforward and will work well with a fantasy novice. She gives you what you need to know when you need to know and doesn't infodump anything on an unsuspecting reader. Both Celia and Ward are dynamic, charismatic characters, and while their feelings and thoughts might lack complexity, they are compelling and you admire their strength and sense of camaraderie.


I enjoyed it. Recommended.


… (mehr)

I remember really enjoying the first book in this smashing fantasy series, and after a long wait I've been able to read the second one!

Imagine Celaena from Throne of Glass? Well, Celia was written way before her and is just as deadly. Only first time, Ward met her? She is dead, and he is performing her wake so she can say goodbye to her loved ones. The wake goes awry and Celia gets resurrected instead by a shocky and horrified necromancer.

After the couple's adventures in the previous book they are on the run from the bounty hunters, both injured and exhausted when they stumble out of the forest to a forgotten Goddess sanctuary (or so they think).

Before they know it, Ward assumes a mistaken identity and jumps from the frying pan to a fire, as he is now an apprentice-hopeful to a very powerful Innocroesti (Dark Necromancer). Add to it a Seer's servant approaching him for a task he can not refuse and the price for his failure a gruesome death, and poor Ward doesn't know where to turn and has to hope that his and Celia's mad scheme to disable Innocroesti somehow will work.

Melanie Card writes a proper dark fantasy, nothing is glossed over or washed out. I don't quite know why Entangled felt it necessary to call this series Teen or New Adult fiction, but no matter the label this is good, peeps. Recommended for the fans of Throne of Glass and Graceling.
… (mehr)