Cry of Decay

Necromancer Saga #2

by Paul Barrett

“You are the only Necromancer left.”
Erick Darvaul has gone through fire, betrayal, and death to reach Broken Mountain. Now he intends to gather with other necromancers to once again destroy Eligos, the Master of Shadows that threatened the world a thousand years ago and had returned to threaten all life once more. But the others who practice his often maligned form of magic have either fallen or been seduced by the darkness of Eligos, and Erick is now on his own.
But all is not lost, and hope blooms from despair. On the ancient battleground at Broken Mountain, Erick learns from his distant ancestors that there is another who may be willing to aid him in his fight: a witch woman known as Alais, who lives in the distant swamps, alone and powerful.
Now Erick and his stalwart companions must begin another trek to strange places, dogged every step by enemies. For the power of Eligos is growing, and more are coming to his cause. And two former Necromancers, now in league with the dark one, have learned a new, dreadful magic, a hellish power that they hope will ensure Eligos rises victorious while the world burns.

434 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 23, 2020

About the author

I started writing at the age of 8. My first story was a 3 page short about Ziggy (the comic character) and the Spiders from Mars (of David Bowie fame). Yes, my first story was a mashup.

Since then, I've written a bunch, but have only recently started publishing. I look forward to this publishing trend continuing.

I've also produced a couple of low budget films, and I'd like to do more of that, too.

Reviews

[AllieMT · Rating 4 out of 5]

. The first book was a little slower pace as it introduced many of the characters, this one was more plot driven. One of my favorite things about how Paul Barrett writes is he also writes from the development of the villain. We can see where Elligos' plan is set into motion as Erick and his friends go to stop him. And to be honest I enjoyed that most about the book.

This one had much more gore in it than the first one, to be expected when one is reading a book about necromancy. And Barrett does use a lot of descriptiveness to really put the imagery in your head. While I myself enjoy all things horror, I can see where that can leave others uneasy so I add this as a warning.

Overall the book has been added to my list of favorites as it is hard to find enjoyable epic fantasy's that don't seem to get lost in their own lore, adding several plot holes or making it hard to keep up. I very much look forward to the next book in the saga which will hopefully seal the series as I hate being left in suspense.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's just cliffhanger after cliffhanger, huh? Still a little slow paced, but at least this one had lore building and delved into character backgrounds to help the pages pass.

Also, I was honestly not expecting gay characters and found that to be a pleasant bonus.

[a]

This book could have been half it's size, so may useless parts, so slow... Maybe I'm glad there isn't a third book lol