Review: Believable and Witty Magical Noir Underworld
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 3, 2013
This story contains adult language, references, and situations. I purchased a copy of this book.The Necromancer’s Gambit by Nicolas Wilson is a fun mixture of private detective, magical shenanigans, and adult innuendoes. The crimes and gun battles are harsh--whether mundane or magically violent--yet the heroes manage to keep their humanity. What is a gambit? They are a small sanctioned group of debauched champions for a city’s supernatural residents. This tough Portland gambit uses chess names for aliases, and the team is wickedly funny.The story centers around Knight, a talented mage private detective, who investigates a dreadful magical murder. Colorful cohorts swirl around Knight in a cloud of gritty spells, vampires, strip clubs, and skeptical non-magical police officers. No spoilers here--the plot had plenty of twists, and the bad guy was a surprise.Knight is a pragmatic PI, but not totally hardened by this dark world. Rook is an inexperienced newbie. Bishop is a no-nonsense magical professor. Pawn is a violence-loving loyalist. The gambit’s Queen is my favorite character, who is unforgettable like a sparkly, yapping puppy with stiletto fangs.The story had a few trivial blemishes. I found some simultaneous goings-on (“A bell on the door jingles as I walk through it...”) that could be improved by describing happenings one at a time. I saw a couple typos in the last third of the story. A few times, a character’s explanation went on too long and bogged down the pace, but none of these nits were enough to pull me out of the story.The Necromancer’s Gambit is a delicious change from reading angst-ridden YA. Instead, be ready to plunge into a bleak fantasy stuffed with adult nuances. The profanity and sexual references made sense for this seedy city. The story had me laughing out loud at the repartee. Wilson has done an excellent job creating a believable and witty magical noir underworld.