Dead Things by Stephen Blackmoore

Dead Things by Stephen Blackmoore

Available now

I’m pretty sure I heard of this series on one of the gazillion bookish podcasts I listen to but I can’t remember which one.  What really caught my attention about this backlist series was the premise- a necromancer who hates his job. So many fantasy/urban fantasy/paranormal series focus on the supernatural characters who are true to their species/creature/mythological figure and just go about their business doing what their nature dictates.  To find a series focused on a character who is really sick and tired of constantly running for his life, dealing with ghosts, and needing to use his own blood in rituals and spells-count me in!

Eric Carter is a necromancer.  After leaving town after his parent’s death from a fire elemental, Carter has spent his days putting evil spirits to rest-for a price.  When his sister is brutally murdered, Carter is forced to return home and face everything he has been running from. Gangsters with a grudge, friends he left behind, broken hearts, and the guilt of leaving his sister behind threaten to overwhelm Carter and divide his focus from the real threat.  Carter has gained the attention of Santa Muerte and she wants to hire Carter to kill an enemy of hers-and an enemy of his. But the job turns out to be more complicated than Carter could imagine and in the end, he loses far more than he gains after agreeing to take on the job.

I really loved this story.  The world building is fantastic and all of the spell work and magic was really well done.  Carter has immense power-and doesn’t realize he has it-and his ability to jump to the land of the dead was really interesting. There’s some really interesting characters that show up-goddesses, the Loa, different spirits and ghosts-and all of them felt very well developed.  Carter also possess the scariest magical device I have ever read about-a watch that can do some seriously scary shit. I’ll let you discover that one for yourself.

The book had a bit of a Supernatural  feel to it-in a good way.  Carter has a special attachment to his car, plenty of seedy motels, and magic that requires complicated rituals and a body covered in protective tattoos.  

I thought this was a great start to a series.  I already have the next books on order and I can’t wait to find out what happens to Carter next.  

If this sounds like a book you need to get your hands on, you can grab one here: