Yzabel / August 22, 2012

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride

My rating: [rating=4]

Summary:

Sam leads a pretty normal life. He may not have the most exciting job in the world, but he’s doing all right—until a fast food prank brings him to the attention of Douglas, a creepy guy with an intense violent streak.

Turns out Douglas is a necromancer who raises the dead for cash and sees potential in Sam. Then Sam discovers he’s a necromancer too, but with strangely latent powers. And his worst nightmare wants to join forces… or else.

With only a week to figure things out, Sam needs all the help he can get. Luckily he lives in Seattle, which has nearly as many paranormal types as it does coffee places. But even with newfound friends, will Sam be able to save his skin?

Review:

This book was exactly the kind of humorous light urban fantasy read I tend to enjoy. Probably because it’s funny, full of snark and retorts, and deals with the supernatural world in a way that feels both adequate and over-the-top, if only because there are, indeed, just as many supernaturals in Seattle than there are coffee places. (At this point, I have to mention that I like over-the-top stories. I know some people dislike those, so if it’s the case for you, well, you’ve been warned.)

So, this book. What’s in it?

* Necromancers. It’s a form of magic I’ve always been fascinated with, especially these past two or three years. The way it was put to use here was freaky in some ways, yet actually hilarious *and* logical in others: I know few stories where a big bad Necromancer gets paid to reanimate a dead panda in a zoo in order to avoid a diplomatic incident with China. However, it does make sense.

* Sam. Inconspicuous, gentle, nice-boy Sam, who tries to do his best considering the crap he’s in, lost with his friends amidst so many paranormal types. I found him very human, balancing between his negative feelings and the awareness that he can’t just pile up reproaches on other people, because it would hurt them and not solve anything anyway. He’s just so adorable.

* Nice and funny group dynamics, especially when it comes to the four fast-food workers. I liked their way of dealing with all the crap that befall them, often by being snarky and taking things in an (apparently) not so serious way. It’s part of the humour permeating the story, and it works for me, perhaps because I have a similar take in my own, real life (not that I happen to meet Necromancers or get thrown in a cage every other day, but you get my drift). I suppose it might come as off-key, in that maybe the characters shouldn’t react in such a ‘light-hearted’ way. On the other hand, I also suppose that their reactions are understandable, if you consider that past a certain hefty dose of problems, either you throw a pity-party and collapse, or you just shut the brain off and go on snark mode in order to preserve the little sanity you’ve got left. And having a talking head land in your living-room is definitely part of the hefty dose of problems.

* Also, creepy Douglas is creepy. I could feel his real intentions coming from the start, and the way he acted, smiling but cold, hitting people without warning, befitted his persona. It makes it all the more funny when he has serious dialogue and attitude going on, but the situation and co-speakers are somewhat wacky, sidekicks included.

* Twisted song titles in lieu of chapter titles. This is a really biased opinion, and I’m not even going to be ashamed of saying it: I love such puns. Period.

* A mostly fast-paced plot, except for a few flashbacks, but those didn’t disrupt my reading, so they were alright. It was easy enough for me to follow, while not being too simplistic; things fell together nicely in the end; the final fight was definitely impressive; and the story was complete (thanks goodness, no cliffhanger), yet still with openings for a next book. It could just as well be a stand-alone novel… or be given a follow-up. Both would be alright in my opinion.

For what it’s worth, though, I would’ve liked to see more of Sam’s powers a little earlier in the story—and more of Brid actually, well, acting, because she’s got potential (granted, the situation she was in really didn’t help). And I’m not too satisfied about the shift in points-of-view. I can easily follow 5 or 6, that’s not a problem, but (and I’ve noticed this in several books already), why have one first-person narrator, while the others are all in third-person? Third-person all the way would’ve worked better here.

Those minor gripes set aside, I really enjoyed this book.