The Necromancer's Gambit

The Necromancer's Gambit #1

by Nicolas Wilson

Knight, the sheriff of a local magical government known as "the Gambit," is called to recover a mutilated body, tainted with magic and dumped at a popular haunt. When the corpse is identified as a close associate of the Gambit, it threatens the safety of the community he protects, and those he cares about most. As the fragile peace amongst the city's magic-wielding factions disintegrates, Knight must track down a cadre of murderers before his friends are picked off, one by one - with each death used to strengthen the spells cast against the Gambit.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Mystery

388 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 3, 2013

About the author

Nicolas Wilson is a published journalist, graphic novelist, and novelist. He lives in the rainy wastes of Portland, Oregon with his wife, four cats and a dog.

Nic has written several short story collections and novels.Nic's work spans a variety of genres, from political thriller to science fiction and urban fantasy.

For information on Nic's books, and behind-the-scenes looks at his writing, visit nicolaswilson.com.
You can also subscribe to his mailing list, for information on new releases, as they become available. Mailing list subscribers also receive a copy of Dogs of War, an unpublished novella.

Reviews

[Satinder · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book to review for Read it and Reap.

Crime thrillers are generally the one genre I steer away from- unless there is magic involved. The Necromancer's Gambit reminded me of The Dresden Files or S.M Reine's Witch Hunt, which I both enjoyed.

It was a shame that I couldn't get into this book, even though it contains some witty dialogue as well as a magic system that feels real because of the terminology and well-explained techniques. To add to the dangerous atmosphere of the murders, even some of the magic feels dangerous because of what it costs the user to cast. I particularly liked the example of the hair and skin singeing that happens when someone portals.

But there was WAY too much talking going on. I like dialogue but there has to be a balance. My reading experience felt rushed because I was constantly trying to keep up with who was saying what. Some breathing space without dialogue would have been good. That being said, the author would make a good script writer!

Overall, some great ideas but it never really gripped me I'm afraid.

[Erin Farwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is so much in this book that I loved - the characters, the plot, the originality where others would trod the same path. What made me crazy, though, was how many times I had to reread sentences to understand them or to figure out who was speaking or that time had passed. It was clear that some times the problem was due to formatting issues ( scene breaks or paragraph indentations lost in translation) but a lot of it was problems with sentence structure that required further effort. I read to enjoy and escape. While I don't mind rereading a sentence now or then in a book, it shouldn't happen too often and in this situation it made a good read a trying one. Still - I liked it which should tell you how great the author did in creating his world.

[Shana Festa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wilson has exhaustively constructed a world where there are dozens, if not hundreds, of different types of magic being used by all the characters. All of the characters have different talents and different levels to their talent. Our main character, Knight, isn’t an especially gifted mage but he knows enough to be good at his job. The young witch that he is training, Rook, comes from a coven that put an emphasis on a more nature-oriented magic. Her background leaves her ill-prepared for the job that she is learning, namely to be a castle, and she feels out of her depth.

Wilson does an excellent job of world-building in describing the different types of magic at play and creates several scenarios where we see it all in action via several violent (and exciting) encounters. However, he does fall short in world-building outside the magical arena. We never learn what anyone looks like. I would have liked to be able to see the characters through the eyes of the author.

Wilson tells his story in first-person narratives but from different points of view. This did become confusing in a few instances when a point of view changed at the beginning of a new chapter. Each chapter is named but not after the person whose POV it is. It does take a few moments of reading to establish which character we are now listening to. Usually, there is some sort of reference in the dialogue which allows one to get their bearings. However, there is one whole chapter later in the book titled “Predators” where there is no reference to who is speaking to us. It became a process of elimination to deduce who was speaking and it was never conspicuously stated. I assumed that it was the POV of Knight but this sequence of events immediately follows him being badly injured and there is no reference to this injury so I was unsure.

The changing POV’s really brought a fun element to the story and allowed the reader to be in the heads of different characters during key parts of the story. Another fun aspect of The Necromancer’s Gambit is the humor involved. It should be stated that a lot of this humor is crude. Quite crude. And there are a lot of penis references. Like, a lot. The characters run the gamut of every conceivable penis joke possible and I laughed out loud more than once. There is definitely an adult-oriented edginess to the story which you don’t see often. That being said, if you don’t like crude, adult humor then this book may not be for you as it is ubiquitous.

The locker room humor is tempered by a violent, and sometimes very dark, story. Without giving away too much of the story I will just say that there will be times when you squirm. The author holds no punches with his descriptions of brutality and with his wicked sense of humor. He does tie it all together in an engaging and interesting plot.

Visit www.bookie-monster.com to read the entire review. Reviewed by Tamara Martin, member of The Bookie Monster review team.

[Lita Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Michael Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Necromancer's Gambit is the second novel I’ve read by Nicolas Wilson. I enjoyed it much more than the first title. The original fusion of genres pushed my happy button. TNG is a mix of detective noir, urban fantasy and horror, delivered in Nic Wilson’s distinctive style. It’s a magical whodunnit game of chess with a very dark edge and some vampires for good measure.

I thought hard about commenting on style, and part of me wants to be reasonably critical of this book in that respect. It’s dialogue heavy in places, much like the first of Wilson’s novels I read. The characters (for the most part) have the same voice, the same sense of humour, and you can sometimes lose track of who is speaking where the speaker descriptor hasn’t been used enough.

And yet I also have a lot of respect for these very same points. Wilson’s characters always seem to find a way to engage each other in adolescent sexual banter, regardless of the situation. Often, it is very funny, delivering an absurdist counterpoint to the tension of the scene. Regardless of how the characters make you feel as the book unfolds, whether they engender sympathy or not, credit must be given to Wilson’s unique style, which he owns without compromise. At no point does he attempt to crowbar his characters into an accepted norm.

I did have some difficulty with the first person narrative in places. Most of the book unfolds from Knight’s point of view, but it changes to other characters and the reader is left to work who has taken over telling the story. I think a lot of those problems could have been solved if the story had been written in the third person.

Overall though, easily my favourite of the two I’ve read by Wilson. You can never say his novels lack originality.

I received a free copy for an honest non-reciprocal review.

[Amie's Book Reviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

THE NECROMANCER'S GAMBIT - I was provided with a free eBook version of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

In truth I am struggling with what rating to give this book. The storyline was imaginative and interesting, but the excessive sexual references and crudity pretty much ruined the experience for me.

I felt like this book was written by a Frat Boy who enjoys his potty humor way too much. I am not a prude and am not against some potty humor, but in this case it was excessive. And honestly, a few of the references actually grossed me out.

I feel that if that element was removed from THE NECROMANCER'S GAMBIT, this book would have rated 4 or even 5 stars. However, due to the crude jokes and unnecessary (and constant) instances of potty mouth, I have to rate this book as only a 2 out of 5.

However, that said, if you are a Frat House dweller or a teenage boy, you might actually enjoy it.

I apologize for this review, I hate to give any author a bad review, but I was asked for honesty.

2 out of 5 stars.

[A.J. Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure if The Necromancer's Gambit is a noir mystery with urban fantasy overtones or a fantasy with a hint of mystery, but either way it is an interesting and adventurous read. I like dark mysteries, so that side of it was up my alley, whereas I almost never read magic/fantasy/vampire stuff, so that was different. I the end I enjoyed it, although I found the first person narrative changing between the characters somewhat difficult - it meant that I was pulled out of the story quite regularly in the beginning (less so towards the end) and had to re-engage with the story once I figured out who was talking. But I found the premise of magical good guys and bad guys living alongside regular Portland folk to be a really interesting.
I received a free review copy of this book.

[Cora Tea Party Princess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review to come

[A.L. · Rating 1 out of 5]

the most insufferable book I've read since the fountainhead. reads like something Guy in your MFA would write.

[Yzabel Ginsberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

(I got a free copy of this book through ARR #1665 in the Making Connections group, in exchange for an honest review.)

The Necromancer's Gambit is one of those conundrum books I don't exactly know how to rate, because it had strong good sides, but also strong points that disagreed with me. Part of me liked it, while another part didn't really want to go through with it.

Mostly I was really interested in the background it developed, with mages organised in groups ("gambits") aiming at settling disputes, protecting their cities, and so on. Each gambit has a defined set of members, named after chess pieces, with defined roles: Kings and Queens on the political scene, Rooks as guardians, Knights acting as sheriffs, and so on. These members are also well-versed in different kinds of magic, from tracking spells to necromancy to devising bombs and traps. There are definitely lots of possibilities and combinations here, especially considering the presence of other supernaturals such as vampires in town, and I don't doubt the series—since this is book #1—aims at exploiting them more later.

There's also mystery, a noir flavour, murder attempts, murders performed through the use of gruesome magic, necromancy (I'm such a weakling for necromancy)... It's certainly not a kind world. And the novel plays on enough different aspects, between action and investigation, that a reader will likely find something to his/her taste in it.

However, I found it hard to focus on the story, and it came down to two problems for me. The first was editing. Some sentences had a weird structure, making them hard to follow (punctuation included). Sometimes, it was also difficult to follow who was talking, and who was the POV character for a given chapter (mostly Knight, with forays into Rook's and Pawn's sides of the adventure). Also, I think some bits of dialogue should've been omitted, as they made scenes a little too long. This ties into the second problem: a serious overload of sexual jokes and innuendos? Now, this is coming from someone whose degree of well-being is measured by her friends by the amount of dirty jokes she makes (I'm worse in that regard than most men I know). Such jokes normally don't bother me... but there were just too many of them, in situations where they fell flat and disrupted the narrative flow. Almost every character would sooner or later talk about his junk—or someone else's; more than once I found myself thinking "why aren't they getting to the point instead of mentioning X's dick or Y's boobs or whatever? It's been going on for ten chapters." As a consequence of those two issues, I tended to lose track too often, and I bet it prevented me from seeing some of the more subtle sides of the story. (A shame, since betrayal's involved.)

I'm definitely liking the world those characters evolve in, and I wouldn't mind discovering more about it. As it was, though, I'd have appreciated it much more without all the asides.

[Jennifer Hines · Rating 3 out of 5]

**I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review**

This is a Dark Urban Fantasy with many twists and turns that kept me turning the page to see what else was going to happen. However, as the words 'the end' appeared on my page it was then and only then that I remembered this was a series, and had the urge to yell at Knight for not seeing through a certain co-worker, even if it was just an assumption, before the end.

There is a lot of crude humor. I for one, like crude, so the constant comical throws between characters kept me interested even though they didn't seem to really have any impact on the storyline.

I want to say this is a good story, but there are a couple of downsides. For one, I hate feeling confused while reading something I was interested in. There are many fast-paced conversations, sometimes which include more than two people, and I would lose track of who was supposed to be talking. This book also shifts between several characters' POV without any indication (except a new chapter heading). It would sometimes take a few sentences to figure out whose head I was inside, so it wasn't too bad, but there was one chapter that I had no clue through the entire chapter who the "I" was, not until a chapter or two later. And that was incredibly frustrating, which I'm sorry to say has a lot to do with my rating.

Two, and I'm only noting this because some people get overly frustrated by this - me, usually being one of them, though not this time because I was too busy trying to figure out the twists - is that the grammar and punctuation aren't always perfect.

If you want to read something with conspiracies, betrayals, villains who can do crazy freaky things, along with some disturbing use of magic then this is the book for you.

My Favorite Character: Hands down I'd have to say Rook. There's something about her innocence mixed with her determination not to die than made me love her.

My Favorite Quotes: Yes, I usually only have one, but these were both so funny I just could decide which one I loved more. "He booby-trapped his spunk" and "Did you know there's something past pins and needles, where those go away, and there's an eerie kind of stillness? Well I have that. In my ass. This is ass-death. I'm experiencing ass-death."

[Loukie Adlem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclosure: I received an ARC on Goodreads.

The short version:

I liked the concept of the story. The Gambit uses chess piece names to define their jobs, with the main narrator being the Knight, who is the sheriff of the group. There is the King, the Queen, who is a brilliant character, the Bishop, who is the smartest and nicest of the lot, and so on. The Pawn is also fascinating, because he is so unabashedly messed up. I liked the funny repartee between the characters, and the plot and denouement was gripping enough to keep me reading.

In urban fantasy the sense of place, the vibe of the city where it plays out, is important. It should figure almost as a character. I got almost nothing of that in this book, unfortunately.

In conclusion I'd say I enjoyed it enough to look out for the next in the series.

The longer version contains spoilers:

What threw me out of the story every now and then was that new characters were introduced without much info, you sort of have to figure it out after a few paragraphs, but by then I'd already stuttered in my reading, paging back to figure out who the heck is this now. As if they were introduced in an earlier installment, but as I understand it this is the first of the Gambit stories.

Also the POV changes to Rook or Pawn sometimes but with no indication, so you read for three paragraphs before you realize who is speaking. This isn't a problem per se, it's just when Knight is the POV for six chapters in a row and then suddenly it's Rook, it throws the reader out of the story.

The pace was also not perfect, it dragged in some places, slowed because the characters engage in long sessions of repartee (admittedly funny), but they do this while they are in the midst of a dangerous situation. Then the action sequences would be described too superficially--maybe I just prefer more action and atmosphere and less mouthing off to each other.

As a South African I was personally very amused that one of the big bad guys was from South Africa, a mercenary, racist, homophobic, misogynist sorcerer practicing very bad African juju. I wondered if the author knew any South Africans of if he just randomly picked a country far away for an exotic flavor.

[Sahara Foley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The governing bodies of the Gambit are referred to by chess pieces, King, Queen, Castle, Bishop, Knight, Rook and Pawn. They each bring different aspects of magic to the game. Now they are being challenged by a shadow gambit and one of their own is viciously murdered. It’s Knights duty to find the murderer and stop the takeover of their gambit.
There are several plot twists at the end. One involves Bishop’s father. Who is he? And who actually betrays the gambit? I liked the theme of the story and the intricate use of magic. Wilson does a decent job at outlining some of the different characters in the story. I liked Knights’ character, but sometimes I couldn’t tell from the dialogue how he was supposed to be feeling until it gets explained later when he’s thinking to himself. I definitely knew Pawn’s personality, riding around in a teenage boy smelling red jeep, not sure if he’s gay or not. And there’s Queen. Definitely one of a kind.
Wilson jumps the POV from Knight, to Pawn and Rook several times throughout the book. The change only happens at the beginning of a chapter, but you really have to read who the POV is talking to or referring to in that chapter to follow who is really the POV character. Their dialogue all sounds the same. Rook is female, but she still sounds like the men. So that part was pretty confusing. Hate having to go back a few pages to figure out who is actually talking as that does change the context of the storyline.
Wilson uses a different writing voice with hyphens everywhere. It took awhile to get into the story because of them. And the plot gets somewhat swallowed up with all the male genitalia references and jokes. I don’t know any men who would talk that way to other men or women. And I don’t see a girl telling another female she just met that she has a girl-stiffy. Too high schooly writing for me.
For the plot itself, it’s a good read. If you’re homophobic, you may want to think twice before reading. No sex acts, but a lot of reference to gay sex. Because of the confusing POV and the myriad of proofreading errors, I have to give 3 feathers.

[Lex Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The opening episode in “The Gambit” series introduces an entire world of magic residing side by side and deep within the “real” world. “The Gambit” is a government, loosely organized as chess pieces; i.e., there’s a King and a Queen, Castles (Rooks), Bishops and Pawns. There are also Knights who are the sheriffs, the detectives within the Gambit. This is detective fiction, slash noir slash fantasy slash horror whereby the character Knight discovers the charred body of a Gambit member (Castle). Along with Pawn, Rook (a Castle from a friendly Gambit) and Bishop, he begins his investigation amongst a deadly environment in search of the killer(s).

This was my first read of a Nicolas Wilson novel and I will tell you that he is one helluva good writer; albeit his target audience is at least one generation later than mine. While I loved the character naming conventions, I was unable to “get close” to any of the characters themselves. Mr. Wilson uses extensive, sometimes long and didactic dialogues to build his actors and to tell the bulk of the story. To be completely honest, these were often monologues that went right over my head. I sometimes complain about too much narrative detail that drags the pace of the story down. For me, this story had too much dialogue. It was too – too; too witty, too long, too much innuendo and too much information that was familiar to the individual characters, but left me…the reader, in the cold.

As mentioned at the beginning of the review, Mr. Wilson is obviously a very talented writer. His imagination knows no bounds. His word-smith abilities, scene setting and transitions, story plotting and consistency in developing this fantasy world are truly admirable. I would highly recommend this novel to all fantasy/magic/detective/noir readers, over the age of eighteen and younger than say…forty-five or so.

[T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I were to rate this book solely on the originality, complexity, and layers of the excellent plot-- this would have easily been a five star rating; unfortunately, there are issues which, in my opinion, dropped it to a 3.5 reading experience (rounded to a 4, as the plot is really well layered).

Due to the above mentioned complexity of the story, the writer's neglect to inform the reader of PoV (Point of view) shifts each chapter takes the reader completely out of the story each time. Eventually, the reader figures out who's speaking, but there is a few moments of disassociation which screws with the flow. There were many times I was three or four paragraphs into the new chapter, assuming it's the same PoV as the prior chapter, then BOOM! It's someone else, so I have to re--read and re-start. This may have been a deliberate strategy, but it's a huge fail because the details and deep plot have the ability to completely absorb the reader. When the brakes are slammed on because it's not the person speaking the reader had assumed, the reader loses their place in the story. Fixing this issue with PoV name included with each chapter, would bump the rating to a 5 ( overlooking the grammar/spelling issues, which are probably more evident because I'm pulled out of the story each chapter).

There is a lot of sophomoric humor-- such as jokes about body waste, genitals, and more genitals, which got tiresome after awhile. The grammar, spelling, and dash-vs-en dash-vs-em dash issues can't be attributed to US/UK English differences, but I probably would have read right over them if I wasn't stopping and starting each chapter.

Such an excellent plot-- fresh and well-constructed, but be prepared for a frustrating read and an abundance of disgusting humor.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Necromancer's Gambit is about a group of individuals, the Gambit, who protect their community. However, there is a whole lot of magic involved. The individuals in the Gambit all have chess pieces as code names, each chess piece referring to their position in the Gambit.
The characters in the story are all well developed and well written. I love Knight wants to do the right thing, he tries to do the right thing. Queen is another one of my favorites, the words that come out of his mouth. We are supposed to be able to connect with Rook the most. When the book opens, Knight is meeting Rook for the first time. As far as quid-pro-quo and who's who, the reader and Rook are on the same level. However, magic is not new to Rook, which means the reader is still a bit at a disadvantage. If you don't love Bishop, then something is wrong with you. Bishop is the Gambit's magical ME. She is just all around awesome, kick-ass, super smart and I just picture her as adorable.
The novel is full of magic, action, murder, death, and so much more. The story is well thought out and the characters are brilliantly written. I love that the distinction between the characters is so well done that whenever I started a new chapter I didn't need to wait to be told whose point-or-view it was from, I could just tell from their thoughts and descriptions.
The on thing I am on the fence about. I enjoy pop cloture references galore; however, I feel like for some of the ones used in this story, taking into account there were a bit and they all ranged, I felt like some of it was forced. That was just me.
All-in-all, I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone who likes magic and action/adventure. It's nitty gritty, which makes it all the more awesome. Go read it!

[Nathan Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There was a lot to like about this book. This was a dark noirish urban fantasy. The main character Knight (no real name given, because names have power) is the law enforcement of the local Gambit. The Gambit is a chess style governmental unit that oversees magic in Portland (there are ones in other cities as well). The main premise is Knight discovering that a fellow member of the Gambit has been murdered, which leads to an investigation showing that the Gambit itself is under attack from a rival.

Although there is a definitive lack of back story for most of them, the characters are interesting and interact well, and the dialogue was, for the most part, entertaining. I also found the magical elements unusual and compelling. It kept an interesting mystery feel up until the end where there were a couple of surprises.

The only major drawback I found was that the sexual innuendo and language got to be a bit too much. I like a good sex joke just as much as the next guy, and some of the ones here were quite funny. But others felt forced like they were expected and it began to disrupt the flow of a good story in places.

That said, although I would prefer if the jokes were toned down a bit in the next book, I am still looking forward to it, and hopefully learning a bit more about the characters' pasts.

[Joanne McDonnell) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story by Nic Wilson introduces an interesting world where magic and vampire cultures co-exist with, but without the knowledge of the modern human world. Using chess as a model for the mage government was an unusual concept that opened a number of opportunities for the story.
Nicolas chose to write this in the first person and his technique worked; however, he then transposed the first person to several of his characters, and this, in my opinion, did not work. I felt that this was a severe case of ‘head-hopping’ and undermined the concept of Knight telling his story. It would have sat more comfortably with me if Knight had been the only person narrating the story; I was left wondering if the writer actually had the skills to move out of that mode.

I liked the steady pace at which the plot unfolded, there was a steady increase in pace and intensity and the story had sound continuity. The characters and relationships worked well and it was, simply put, a good story.

Unfortunately, this book was completely undone by the constant, crude and pointless language and dialogue. There was a constant diatribe of filthy smut that constantly interfered with what should have been a good story written by a skillful writer.

I would like to see Nicolas apply his obvious broad knowledge, imagination and writing skills without the constant distraction of twisted sexual dialog.

[Melody Up All Night Novels · Rating 5 out of 5]

If a paranormal film noir was turned into a Dungeons and Dragons style RPG, it would read something like this... Wickedly awesome!

A secret society of Mages, operating under the mast of The Gambit. Like chess pieces, King, Queen, Castle, Knight, Rook and Pawn, are charged with policing the magic wielding community and maintaining the treaties with the vampire society. When mutilated and magically booby trapped "Black Dahlia" corpses start turning up, everyone becomes a suspect. Meanwhile, a rival group makes a very public play to overthrow the gambit.

Strip joints, booze, and raunchy sexual humor. This isn't for the 'straight and narrow' or easily offended crowd. The jokes are often of the inside nature, you know it's funny, but you aren't quite sure why... and in the hands of a less talented author, probably wouldn't have worked. In this case, it was harmonious as Nic Wilson, whether intentionally or not, has empathetically placed us in the shoes of Rook, the new kid on the block, while she struggles to learn the ropes within the Gambit.

With the body count rising, mercenaries with a thirst for extreme violence on your tail and time running out, whom do you trust? And if you survive, how far would you go in the name of justice?

[Walter Danley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Necromancer’s Gambit by Nicolas Wilson

BOOK REVIEW by Walter Danley

My first impression of this novel was Film Noir meets the printed page. Wilson’s novel starts with a bang and builds. The author sheds no secrets, leaving the reader to figure out the characters and plotline of the novel novel.

I love his dialog – shades of Bogart - with characters named for chess pieces; Bishop, Rook, Castle, Pawn, operating in a specialized law enforcement unit who depend on Vampire colony as confidential informers and employ witches coven members as colleagues. These operating units utilize witch craft, magic and special potions to achieve the goals to Protect and Serve. His dialog is only surpassed by the marvelous narrative portions of the manuscript. Both hold onto you and makes this novel the “ultimate page turner.”

The sense of humor the author embeds is akin to Dashiell Hammett’s Nick and Nora Charles banter in The Thin Man series – lovely and kind, with a cutting edge. I don’t normally read Sci-Fi and Fantasy pieces, but Mr. Wilson may have changed my reading habits. I recommend this novel to all and, from my perspective, it is a 5 star plus book.

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like the Dresden Files, I'll love the urban fantasy, the Necromancer's Gambit. It's an exciting and very original story of mage who calls himself, Knight, which also happens to be his role in a gambit, sort a protection racket for magical people. The roles in the gambit are based on the names of chess pieces: King, Queen, Bishop, Rook, Knight, and Pawn, something I thought was quite creative.

The Good
Overall, the story is well told fast-paced. The characters and the story line kept me intrigued. The use of magic is based on a set of rules and limited. The characters are just as likely to use a gun as they are to cast a spell.

The Bad
I did run into a few problems with typos. The dialogue for the most part was very well written. However, there were some places where it felt disjointed. The characters banter a lot, which was clever at first. But for me, the author over did it, and it got old after a while.

The Ugly
If you have a problem with potty-mouthed characters and frequent use of the word, f-ck, this book is not for you. As far as the yuck factor goes, the author has thought of ways to be violent that had never occurred to me.

[Jada Ryker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dust in the Wind

Necromancer’s Gambit, by Nic Wilson, is a magical detective story. When Knight is called to investigate a murder, he’s shocked when he discovers the identity of the victim. As the plot unfolds, things go downhill and he’s in for more surprises.

The book is an excellent read. The clean, concise writing style reminded me of Lawrence Block, especially Hit Man. Knight is rather like Keller, with his wry inner dialogue and street-smart savvy. With his magical abilities, Knight is different than Keller, although I can imagine Keller would dig the magic. Puns and pop culture references keep the book entertaining. With a great story and compelling characters, the reader is drawn in from the first paragraph and on through the book.

I’ll echo Mr. Wilson’s thoughts at the back of the book … “I really love this story.”

[Donna Fernstrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Wilson's style. A non-stop barrage of rather vulgar sarcasm kept me smiling, while this story's nastier moments pulled no punches. Definitely not for the weak of stomach. Mages squabble over territory in this tale that seems to be one part detective story, one part gang warfare. The good guys aren't really all that 'good,' but you manage to become attached to them anyhow; and they certainly seemed better than the alternative. It was clear a lot of thought went into the background worldbuilding, and I'd really love to see more in this book universe.

Very well-designed, interesting characters. The book was not without flaws - it was difficult to determine which character's eyes you were seeing through at first, in some segments. The skillful way different elements of the story were interwoven earned this book its five stars, however.

[Brandon Collier · Rating 3 out of 5]

A witty, adventure filled story about Knight, who investigates a mutilated body while managing to protect the King and Queen of the local magical government. Rook is there to assist him and Pawn is a tough but not so smart help. The book was fun and easy to follow, and I enjoyed the premise. It was a mixture of the tv show Angel, mixed with Law and Order, mixed with Harry Potter.
I thought the wit could have been toned down as there were too many characters who were razor tongued, even though they had different personalities. Some of the humor didn't fly over or was a bit typical. I also felt there could have been more description of places and events.
However, this was a solid read and enjoyable.

[Laurie: Almost Faemous · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received the Necromancer's Gambit in exchange for a fair an honest review.

Ok this was a rare DNF for me, I read about a third of the book and it took days for me to do it and I still couldn't get into it. The whole book is a ton of chess reference, incidentally I don't play chess so that quickly got on my last blonde nerve.

All of the characters were named after chess pieces so I had no idea who was who nor what they did. It just made the reading frustrating for me and when it became too much effort to keep track of the characters all interest was gone.

Technically speaking the book was well written it was just not to my tastes I guess. Give it a try it might work better for you. Needless to say I won't read the second book in the series.

[Christoph Fischer · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Necromancer's Gambit" by Nicolas Wilson is a surprisingly solid thriller with a utopic, fantasy / magical twist. Most of the characters have names taken from Chess figures and that is just one of the many witty and clever aspects of this story that follows a magic detective investigating mutilated bodies on behalf of an odd new government, called the Gambit.
With its many references to other works the book is a firework of post modern allusions.
The book is quirky, ironic, funny, entertaining and written with great prose which makes this an easy and very pleasant read. Connoisseurs of the detective, fantasy and humour genres should all have a field day with this original piece of work.

[Brittany Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Necromancer's Gambit is one of the best books I've read in quite a while. If you like watching Noir, then you will definitely love reading this. It has magic, mystery, danger, and humor. I found myself laughing out loud quite a few times. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep one guessing and I found Wilson's explanations well thought out. You should definitely give this one a try!

[James Hein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes it the rare five stars.

This is the first book I have read using Kindle on my phone

The five star rating breaks down as follows: interesting story with an unusual basis; it had magic in it; I laughed out loud in a few places; there were some great one liners and finally it was written in a completely non-PC irreverent style that I enjoyed immensely.

[Daisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can say about this book is awesome! Filled with magic and wonderful plots. Fast paced and exciting. All the characters were named like the chess pieces. Very creative. It's a must read for everyone.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a lot of magic and like chess has people like king, queen, rook etc. it is a secret type society of mages. I love the witty humor. The book is one of the best I have read in a while.