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DARK PLACES: NECROMANCER/ASSISTING HANDS: Book 1
After a sorority massacre, the final girl standing has to come to grips with the guilt.
134 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 27, 2026
About the author
ARTISAN X
8 books2 followersHello my name is Artisan! My books are intricate, horrific, and made with love :). I'm an obsessed horror author with a deep love of esoteric knowledge and Ghūlz. I release often and spend hundreds of hours researching, planning, writing and staring directly into the void. I take nothing for granted because death can come any day.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 3, 2026
The author was kind enough to send me a free digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
Freshman pledges for the sorority Alpha Theta Chi are being systematically murdered. With one survivor left, we uncover how deep the corruption within this town goes and what future lies in wait for our sole survivor.
I had a lot of conflicting thoughts with this story. On the one hand, I think the fast-paced action is definitely it's strong point. There's plenty of violence and gore to keep the reader entertained. However, I also felt like the chaotic energy got overwhelming and confusing at times. We were provided some background on certain characters to explain their motives, but they still lacked enough real complexity to feel fully engaged with them.
My personal preference would be fewer POVs overall and more focus on the action having real ramifications in the story. There were too many "fake" deaths that made me feel disconnected when characters were in supposed danger.
That being said, there is a lot to build off of here. The author is clearly bursting with ideas, but may need to hone them in a bit to allow them to have more impact.
Freshman pledges for the sorority Alpha Theta Chi are being systematically murdered. With one survivor left, we uncover how deep the corruption within this town goes and what future lies in wait for our sole survivor.
I had a lot of conflicting thoughts with this story. On the one hand, I think the fast-paced action is definitely it's strong point. There's plenty of violence and gore to keep the reader entertained. However, I also felt like the chaotic energy got overwhelming and confusing at times. We were provided some background on certain characters to explain their motives, but they still lacked enough real complexity to feel fully engaged with them.
My personal preference would be fewer POVs overall and more focus on the action having real ramifications in the story. There were too many "fake" deaths that made me feel disconnected when characters were in supposed danger.
That being said, there is a lot to build off of here. The author is clearly bursting with ideas, but may need to hone them in a bit to allow them to have more impact.
May 30, 2026
Book Title: Dark Places Necromancer (Assisting Hands)
Author: ARTISAN
Note: Although I read this from an omnibus of the first four books in the series (Dark Places Origins Arc), I feel each story deserves a review of its own and am proceeding accordingly.
Synopsis: This novella is the origin story of a female vigilante with the power to command ghosts.
Thoughts: While Necromancer’s two halves happen sequentially and both detail the protagonist’s rise, they’re basically separate stories in the same book.
Without going into spoilers, I’d call the novella’s first half a murder mystery/slasher thriller. It’s super violent, gory, and (personally) a bit confusing as each chapter shifts perspectives between characters and timelines. The perspective character names and times given at the start of each chapter help with this last point, however. Once the story’s focus (and its number of characters) narrows to the main heroine, it becomes an especially fun read.
The second half features the main heroine (now battle hardened with burgeoning supernatural powers) discovering that she isn’t the only person with magical abilities (and these other people are often quite evil). While violence and gore are still present in this half, the tone shifts more towards superhero action than slasher. Character perspectives still switch between chapters, but they now flow along a single timeline and this part of the story was much easier for me to follow. I enjoyed reading this half even more than I did the first.
Interestingly, both halves of the book present dialogue like a movie or TV script. I don’t know if this is just a stylistic choice or foreshadowing ambitions for a cinematic adaptation. Regardless, it’s a feature I’ve never seen in a story before.
All in all, I had a lot of fun reading Necromancer. If this novella’s any indication, there’s still a great deal to learn about its heroine and her world. I’m looking forward to seeing what future tales might have in store for her.
Reader Advisory: A number of people are brutally killed in this book (especially in the first half).
Recommendations: Reading this gave me vibes of Dexter, Battle Royal, The Hunger Games, John Wick, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellblazer, Justice League Dark, Aborseen, and Supernatural. If you’re fond of these franchises, you’ll probably find something to like here.
Author: ARTISAN
Note: Although I read this from an omnibus of the first four books in the series (Dark Places Origins Arc), I feel each story deserves a review of its own and am proceeding accordingly.
Synopsis: This novella is the origin story of a female vigilante with the power to command ghosts.
Thoughts: While Necromancer’s two halves happen sequentially and both detail the protagonist’s rise, they’re basically separate stories in the same book.
Without going into spoilers, I’d call the novella’s first half a murder mystery/slasher thriller. It’s super violent, gory, and (personally) a bit confusing as each chapter shifts perspectives between characters and timelines. The perspective character names and times given at the start of each chapter help with this last point, however. Once the story’s focus (and its number of characters) narrows to the main heroine, it becomes an especially fun read.
The second half features the main heroine (now battle hardened with burgeoning supernatural powers) discovering that she isn’t the only person with magical abilities (and these other people are often quite evil). While violence and gore are still present in this half, the tone shifts more towards superhero action than slasher. Character perspectives still switch between chapters, but they now flow along a single timeline and this part of the story was much easier for me to follow. I enjoyed reading this half even more than I did the first.
Interestingly, both halves of the book present dialogue like a movie or TV script. I don’t know if this is just a stylistic choice or foreshadowing ambitions for a cinematic adaptation. Regardless, it’s a feature I’ve never seen in a story before.
All in all, I had a lot of fun reading Necromancer. If this novella’s any indication, there’s still a great deal to learn about its heroine and her world. I’m looking forward to seeing what future tales might have in store for her.
Reader Advisory: A number of people are brutally killed in this book (especially in the first half).
Recommendations: Reading this gave me vibes of Dexter, Battle Royal, The Hunger Games, John Wick, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellblazer, Justice League Dark, Aborseen, and Supernatural. If you’re fond of these franchises, you’ll probably find something to like here.
August 8, 2026
This book and its ups and down, but most importantly, it set the stage for a world and series that is filled with nothing but promise.
Artisan weaves narative prose like a finessed weapon, bring you (the target) in with performance, and striking at the precise moment he needs to. Mixed with a script take on dialogue, which surprisingly adds rather than distracts, and the voice that guides the story does its job with little flaw.
The nonlinear nature of Rush Week was a fun ride, causing the reader to pay attention and adding a whodunit style narration layered atop slasher. The segue into Druids is jarring, but once you're in it, it doesn't let up, expanding an intrigue both in and beyond the story.
This is a banger opening to what is gearing up to be one hell of a series.
Artisan weaves narative prose like a finessed weapon, bring you (the target) in with performance, and striking at the precise moment he needs to. Mixed with a script take on dialogue, which surprisingly adds rather than distracts, and the voice that guides the story does its job with little flaw.
The nonlinear nature of Rush Week was a fun ride, causing the reader to pay attention and adding a whodunit style narration layered atop slasher. The segue into Druids is jarring, but once you're in it, it doesn't let up, expanding an intrigue both in and beyond the story.
This is a banger opening to what is gearing up to be one hell of a series.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews