Martha Wells

The Death of the Necromancer

I first encountered Martha Wells when the beautiful cover of City of Bones caught my eye. I read City of Bones and enjoyed it alot; the story was excellent and creative, a rarity in this age of color-by-numbers epic fantasy. In The Death of the Necromancer Wells has taken another step forward.

The Death of the Necromancer is set in an 1880's type milieu rather than the usual medieval setting. Magic coexists with basic firearms and Wells makes the tension work, creating a world with excellent atmosphere and interesting characters. Wells has, of course, already given herself one advantage: a necromancer makes a wonderful antagonist. A friend of mine once wrote a short story about a necromancer and at the time I wondered why I couldn't think of other writers who had taken advantage of the inherent creepiness of a magician whose power derives from death. Wells has taken a step towards filling this void with a well-written, creepy and captivating story. Check it out.