A Romping and Mindful Adventure
The start of this book reminded me of the opening credits to the 1980’s animated series Dungeons and Dragons in that Nicolas Murray is sucked through a vortex from our world and deposited into a world of sword and sorcery. It’s on this world that Nicolas learns of his destiny, learns that he is the son of the powerful Archmage Kagan and that he was kidnapped at the formation of the Great Barrier by the Prime Warlock Mujahid Lord Mukhtaar. After 40 years away, though, Nicolas is only 21 years old. He is untrained as a necromancer. The powers he possesses threaten to overwhelm him until Mujahid finds him and begins his training, training that would later resume under the tutelage of Siek Lamil Jiskossa, a fish-like humanoid that lives in a massive civilization under a lake. The parallels between the training of Luke Skywalker as a Jedi and Nicolas Murray as a necromancer are many in this book. Despite this cliché aspect of this origin story, the author keeps it fresh. The training is in-depth where the practice and philosophies of necromancy are concerned, and they aren’t as dark as one might expect. Nate Russo has effectively twisted reader expectations by flipping typical expectations. The necromancers are the good guys who help guide and purify the souls of their undead penitents, while the life magi who use vitapotency invariably destroy souls as well as the living world via the devastating effects on the environment as a result of the Great Barrier. What isn’t such a twist on expectations is that the Archmage is a megalomaniac, similar to some of the most notorious popes in our own history. At many points in this book, it feels like Nate Russo is exploring the concept of religion and the often negative effects it has on the societies in which it dominates. He also ties in a lot of archaeological observations, as that was the degree Nicolas had just earned in college before being whisked away to Erindor. If none of that is of interest to you, don’t worry. The book is packed with vivid action scenes. Scenes involving surreal imagery and magic can be tricky to write in a way that doesn’t lose the reader. Nate Russo demonstrates a mastery over just such scenes, as each was easy to visualize. Combined with Tristan Morris’s stellar narration complete with richly diverse character voicing, this audiobook is hours of fun and adventure.