The Queen's Necromancer
Community Rating
Description
Idris lost his name when he was twelve years old. His title, his ancestral home and his freedoms were stripped from him in a freak accident that changed everything. Since then, he has worked tirelessly at the side of his best friend, Queen Cressida Naga, to become a worthy courtier for her kingdom - except the title of Court Necromancer has always brought stares and whispers.
After a brutal war breaks down the barriers of the kingdom, Idris finds himself entangled in a spate of break-ins and thefts that he would rather do without. But a trip to the kingdom's edge proves to him that nothing happening in Veridia is accidental - and someone else might be harbouring similar powers to his. With his attendant Lila, Idris has to cross the country to clear his name and find out the truth behind the dark magic that threatens his home, before he becomes powerless to stop it.
Information
- Status
- Hiatus
- Year
- 2023
- Author
- ECWrites
Royal Road Stats
- Rating
- 4.9/ 5.0
- Followers
- 75
- Views
- 23,265
Chapters(32 total)
Reviews
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Community Reviews(3)
- Carolus99Royal Road★★★★★ 5.0I've been fortunate enough to have read the entire story before being posted here.
If you have enjoyed Sabriel or other stories that give thoughtful takes on how magic should work you're in the right place!
This setting could be the basis of a pretty interesting role-playing game campaign. - bananatronRoyal Road★★★★★ 5.0Had to look up if blue flowers do, in fact, exist.
A captivating blend of dynamic characters, vivid world-building, and engaging dialogue. Expertly balanced humor with underlying tension and intrigue. Its strengths lie in its nuanced character dynamics and richly detailed setting; an immersive read for those seeking well-crafted narratives. - RhymeAndReasonRoyal Road★★★★★ 4.5The Queen's Necromancer is an actual book. It has a clear plot and, more importantly, an ending. It feels like you're reading something you picked out of a bookshelf in a library somewhere.
The plot is straightforward, followed without too much meandering. The characters have very distinct voices and personalities and their decisions are mostly sensible. We don't get a lot of world building, but it's a solid bog standard fantasy. The magic system is interesting, and the story doesn't indulge too much in explaining how it works.
I have a couple of complaints, though. First, I think Kurellan's antipathy towards Idris is a bit too much. It was justified in the story as prejudice, but I think a man as reasonable as him wouldn't let it get that bad. Mercifully, that ended soon enough, which is also a problem for me. The 180° in Kurellan's treatment of Idris is also too much.
Another thing is that Idris is a bit too wimpy. The author decided to make a "less tradicionally masculine" character, and that's fine. It allowed showing him vulnerable and needing the support of his friends. But I think the way he reacted to the events of the story made him come across as someone who was coddled and babied all his life, rather than someone who learned to fight his disability and even faced some traumatizing events before.
A minor complaint is the romantic interest. She came literally out of nowhere ("Hey, what's up? Mind if I tag along?") and I called it the moment she showed up. It was a bit obvious, maybe because the author made clear that Idris' relationships with the other two significant female characters is that of a friend/sibiling. It's something that other writers often fail to to, to have characters of each sex being simply friends, without any romantic tension. Personally, I think Lila's care for Idris and his reliance on her would have been a more solid foundation for a romance.
Overall, this is a solid story with a competent execution and so, head and shoulders above m