Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: The Necromancer’s Dance
SERIES: The Beacon Hill Sorcerer #1
AUTHOR: SJ Himes
NARRATOR: Joel Leslie
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2017
LENGTH: 8 hours, 14 minutes
BLURB:
In a world where magic is real and evil walks amongst humanity, a young sorcerer is beset by enemies, both old and new.
Angelus Salvatore is the only necromancer in all of Boston, and his name is whispered warily by the undead and fellow sorcerers alike. He and his brother Isaac are the lone survivors of an attack by an army of the undead, in which Angel used a spell so powerful it forever marked his place in history. Now, years later, Angel struggles to balance his career as a teacher of the higher magical arts, his role as big brother, and a tenuous relationship with an Elder vampire from the local clan. When his brother’s boyfriend is used as a pawn in a mysterious plot to draw Angel out, Angel is once again drawn back into the old hostilities that fueled the Blood Wars and led to his family’s death.
Leaning on others for help is something Angel cannot do, and while he searches for clues as to who may be targeting him and his brother, Angel finds his heart steadily growing occupied with Simeon, Elder and vampire. Dealing with death magic and vampires on a daily basis may leave Angel jaded when it comes to life and staying that way, but the more time he spends fending off the ancient vampire’s attention and affections, the more he realizes he wants to give in.
Can Angel find out who wants him dead, and keep his heart safe in the process? How can he fall for a vampire, when his whole family was torn apart by an army of the undead? Death stalks the streets of Boston’s historic Beacon Hill…and there is no one more suited to battle against death than a necromancer.
REVIEW:
This year I’ve been trying to read (listen to) more books by new to me authors, narrators or genres. I’ve founds some real gems and a (surprisingly) few not so shiny books. This book appealed to me for two reasons; I’ve never read an SJ Himes before, and the necromancer aspect was new and fascinating to me. On the other hand there were vampires – and had a character named Angel/Angelus (not the vamp).
Now I don’t know about you, but that gives me some serious Buffy the Vampire Slayer flashbacks. Like many, I grew up with that series and I just feel like that name is already taken… yes I know it’s just a name and a minor detail in the scheme of things. I just have this thing with names at times – more than once I’ve passed on potentially great books where the name of the main character/s are so off putting to me that I just can’t; like God/Good or Priest or something along those lines. Anyway I digress… what I was getting at, more than once while listening to this book my mind went to the TV-series instead. It was a bit distracting.
Anyway, the Angel in this story is a pretty powerful necromancer, the only one of his kind in Boston. And one night, many years ago, he used a spell that forever changed his and his brother’s fate, it also saved their lives. He stopped an army of undead that were sent to attack his family. Present day he’s living his life the best he can. He’s responsible for his younger rebelling brother. A brother that has turned his back on the craft, something he knows can be very dangerous. His relationship with an Elder vampire causes much tension among many, but the more time they spend together the more he realizes that the feelings they share are much deeper than he ever intended. And to make things worse, someone is conspiring against him, drawing him back into the Blood Wars that was the cause of his family’s demise.
For many, I think I want to say most here, books you feel like the story begins with page 1. You are there from the beginning, watches it all unfold. I don’t necessarily mean timeline-wise, just story-wise. The reader knows the world, know the rules and the players, alliances. You are never left to question how two people know each other, their shared history – heck what they had for breakfast the day before. It’s all explained and told to you, sometimes in excruciating detail. That’s not the case here.
There is a lot of history the reader haven’t been a part of; past feuds and disputes that effect the actions of the characters now. Lives have been lived that we haven’t been part of. We are part of the here and now – and I like it. Sure I questioned and wondered about a few things, but the great part was that I had to find all that out for myself. There were no info-dumps or quick answers – or easing into the story. You were thrown into deep end and into cold water. I loved the world Himes created, it was interesting and fascinating – just like the characters. The plot was intricate with many twists and turns and I was enjoying the story from the get go.
I’ve listened to countless of books narrated by Joel Leslie and I have to say I didn’t quite recognise his performance in this book, or rather lack of one. He’s usually more present and engaging. There’s usually more oomph. The Necromancer’s Dance was not so much as a performance as it was a reading of the book. I’m not saying it’s bad, just it’s not what Leslie usually delivers – at least not for the books I’ve listened to.
RATING: 
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