The Pale City

Rites of Resurrection #1

by Marshall J. Moore

Only the dead can save the living.
In Albastine, the dead are made into mindless servants known as Attendants, incapable of harming the living unless commanded to by the soldier-necromancer Legates.

Forced into an early retirement, Legate Gaius Cassius Calvus struggles to find purpose in his civilian life—until he is called upon to examine the apparent suicide of one of Albastine’s senators. Cassius’s necromantic powers reveal that the man was murdered—and the weapon used to kill him was an Attendant.

Knowing that only another Legate could command an Attendant to kill, Cassius sets out to discover the truth behind the assassination. His investigation leads him through the foggy streets and brooding towers of Albastine as he slowly uncovers a conspiracy that threatens to shake the Pale City to its very foundations. Should he fail, the Republic he has sworn his life—and death—to serve falls with him.

The Pale City combines the rich worldbuilding of Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn novels with the first-person narration and magical mystery of Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files, flavored through with the necromantic horror of Tamsyn Muir’s The Locked Tomb series.

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Magic, Fiction

326 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 11, 2022

About the author

Marshall J. Moore is a writer, filmmaker, and martial artist who was born and raised on Kwajalein, a tiny Pacific island. He has trained a professional mercenary in unarmed combat, once sold a thousand dollars' worth of teapots to Jackie Chan, and on one occasion was tracked down by a bounty hunter for owing $300 in overdue fees to the Los Angeles Public Library.

He lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife Megan and their two cats.

Reviews

[Sue Miz · Rating 4 out of 5]

If the movie I Robot was set in a fantasy world of magic, politics and culture, then it would be this book

first, let me say how refreshing it was to read a fantasy book that has a Male protagonist as the lead and from his sole POV.
not only that, but all the Female leads supporting him were as strong

add to that Cassius was not your typical six foot plus, white, broad shouldered hero. He is described as having dark skin, short height with a somewhat fit body.

The Albastians have used the Ayu'li's Rite of Rising to resurrect, somehow, their dead and change them into Attendants, a zombi-like servents who do not feel or think just serve. So when a murder of a senate shock the Republic because it was done by an Attendant, all eyes goes to the Legates who control them.
In his search for the truth, Cassius reveals a conspiracy that is befalling and could bring the downfall of the Republic

The book is filled with different cultural refrences of ancient Egypt, the Exodus, slavery and West-East conflict.
You also notice that there are many allusions to Shakespeareane names and stories
our Hero is called Gaius Cassius - who happens to be the one recording the muder of Julius Ceasar - investigating the murder of the Senate called Julius

One other thing I liked about the book was the subtle world building. It is not heavy as in other fantasy books that leaves you confused or takes the majority of the book
as a matter of fact it draws a lot from our world

However, I had some minor issues while reading
1- you never get to know the ages of the characters. they are certainly not teens.
2- because of certain scenes of sexual implications and violence, I do not know if it is supposed to be YA. maybe highr YA? Like suitable from ages 16 and above?
3- There are many indications and words used in our world that would suggest that this world is Earth at some point. for example, they drink coffee, their money is denarii (like Dinar) , have phoenix stautes, and use phrases such as "son of a bitch"
but it is not clear in the book

Finally, the book is part of a trilogy but you can read it as a standalone as it ends without a cliffhanger
also, although there are elements of romance here and there, this should not be read as a romance fantasy.

[ms.pilesofpaper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gaius Cassius Calvus is a Legate - the special force of the Albastine's military that can use the dead (Attendants) as weapons by commanding them through ancient rites. Forced into early retirement through a received injury, and dealing with survivor's guilt, Gaius struggles as a civilian. Until he is called upon to examine the death of one of Albastine's senators. Quickly, it is revealed that it wasn't suicide like everyone thought but murder and the weapon was an Attendant. Gaius sets out to investigate who killed the senator and discovers a conspiracy that could threaten the entire city if successful. Sworn to defend the Republic and its People with his life, Gaius is quickly drawn into the conspiracy and it might truly cost him his life.


Let's start with the world-building: the book's description compares it/mentions Sanderson's Mistborn novels and oh dear ... The Pale City fell rather flat. The overall world-building is basically "Ancient Rome and Ancient Egypt as one state in a fantasy setting and with necromancy", which would have been cool because you can do a lot with necromancy. It just fell flat for me because a) the world-building is info dumping through Gaius' inner monologue, which I hate as a tool to introduce your reader into your world, and b) it feels incomplete. I always got the feeling that something is missing in the world-building. It feels very superficial at times and partly contradicting. The contradictions might be done on purpose to create plot points in the following two books. Given the fact that the story itself is a murder mystery/detective story that spans around 30 hours, it might explain why parts felt so superficial because the story is very fast-paced. I can understand why there's an urgency to the murder mystery due to the conspiracy but I wish the author would have used 50 pages more to be in-depth with chapters. Also: the use of Ancient Roman and Ancient Egypt as a base ends up with points like: coffee, fireworks, denarii, phoenix statues, ... -- which raises the question if the story plays on Earth/an alternative version.

Concerning the characters: Gaius is black, short and built like a boxer (though he lacks physical prowess as it wasn't part of his education), which is very different from the average white 6", dark-haired male lead who's built like a bodybuilder with chiselled muscles and a jawline to cut through butter. It's a nice change and I wished I could continue with positive aspects about him but the man is stupid. Yes, he's described as intelligent and gets offered multiple times a job in the government but technically, he's stupid. He charges into everything (including the questioning of the murder suspects) and isn't even subtle about it. It got rather quickly on my nerves. Thankfully, he only survives because a) he's clearly favoured by luck and b) his enemies are just as stupid (and by far too arrogant). Unfortunately, the side characters are just flat and underdeveloped. There are a total of five named female characters (three major side characters and two minor side characters); the rest are men. The three major side characters are the villain, the ex-wife, and the potential love interest and their importance is pretty much in this order. The ex-wife and the potential love interest only appear if they can help the hero in a way, which I found icky as they don't really have an agenda otherwise. The potential love interest gets a bit more story at the end but it's still rather superficial then. A general issue of all characters: their ages. Aside from two old characters, the author never mentions the characters' ages. They feel very adult but Amazon categories the book as 15 - 18 (aka YA), so it's rather confusing.

The writing style feels a bit stilted as well and I think it might be a side effect of getting the plot into a specific amount of pages. My university essays can suffer from a similar effect if I have to shorten them to be within a word limit.

[Bell Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Pale City by Marshall J. Moore is a great Action/Adventure fantasy story about our main character who can control the dead. The city he lives in uses their dead as "Attendants" to help as domestic help, laborers and soldiers. He was wounded in battle and has been discharged as a leader of the army into civilian life to rest and recover. Until, he uncovers some unsavory information about those in power and works with his network of friends and contacts to investigate.

The pacing of this book is perfect. It's fast-paced without feeling rushed. The writing is exquisite. I paused many times to read passages out loud to my wife. 10/10 on the writing and prose. There are many phenomenal elements, from supernatural/fantastical powers, diverse cast (main character is dark-skinned), queerness is accepted (if not expected), action and government intrigue/conspiracies. The only reason this book did not receive a 5 star from me is that is was missing just that certain je ne sais quois that I reserve for 5 stars.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fantastic world created by Marshall Moore.

All the characters are so likable and I enjoyed the Male protagonist POV while having the female characters be powerful and not sidelined.

“iRobot meets fantasy” is one description I heard of this series and I agree. There are some sci-fi and fantasy elements throughout!

I stayed up late finished book 1 and now am on to book 2.

I highly recommend this so far!!

[Lola-Leo]

dnf, cause it said the B-word.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Setting:
This book takes place in a secondary world, specifically in a city which takes very plain influence from the old Roman empire. The people there call themselves a republic, they are governed by a collection of senators who have large-scale debates, the main character himself was a legate in the army. So yeah, plainly Roman inspired.

The one important fantasy aspect to understand is the concept of attendants. When anyone in the republic dies, they are magically reanimated into an undead servant called an attendant. Attendants are given robes and masks to render them anonymous to anyone who might have known them in life and then tasked with doing the majority of the work the republic needs done. They clean, deliver mail, farm, and make up the majority of the army along with no doubt countless other jobs.

Character:
Cassius: Cassius is a former high ranking soldier forced into retirement by a combination of a nasty wound that renders one of his arms, and thus his magic, unuseable and the questionable light in which his last battle, the one that gave him that wound, is viewed. Cassius is burdened with guilt over the death of the friend he failed to protect in that battle and is left feeling largely pointless now as the country he has devoted his life to has little use for him and the magic he used to employ so frequently is now largely unavailable.

Plot:
Cassius is understandably feeling sorry for himself when his deceased friend’s sister comes knocking. She wants him to use one of the few magic abilities he has left to view the final moments of a recently deceased man’s life. The official story is a suicide but the sister isn’t convinced. Cassius finds out that the man was murdered. Furthermore he was murdered by an undead attendant; something which isn’t supposed to be able to happen and which has very dangerous ramifications for the country Cassius loves.

My Thoughts:
Ultimately we wind up with a story that is roughly two parts murder mystery, three parts political intrigue, and one part action.

Let’s start with that murder mystery aspect. Murder mysteries, or really mysteries of any kind, are an interesting thing in a fantasy novel. Typically with a mystery the sort of golden rule is that the reader should be able to figure it out before the reveal happens and when the reveal does happen the reader either gets the satisfaction of being right or they get the ohh moment where all the little hints and clues the writer put in suddenly make sense. That’s a lot harder to do in a fantasy novel because the reader is very likely to not have critical pieces of information like exactly what things magic can and can’t do or some societal thing that doesn’t exist in our world but winds up being intensely relevant to the case. I spent the entirety of the murder mystery part of the novel absolutely convinced I had uncovered the twist before it happened.

Upon seeing the deceased was killed by someone in an attendant outfit, Cassius assumes it was an attendant despite his own repeated assertions that it ought to be next to impossible for that to have happened. I promptly thought, okay it didn’t happen. It was a living person in an attendant outfit. What could possibly be a better disguise to commit a murder in than an outfit intentionally designed to hide the wearer and that is worn by a supposedly docile group of servants that frequently go anywhere and everywhere.

I’m not going to spoil who the killer is but I will say that, at least up until the reveal, not a single person even mentions the possibility it was a living assailant.

I can’t say too much about the political intrigue parts without going into spoilers but given that the victim was a senator it’s no surprise that the person who decided they’d be more useful dead may have had political motives for that. The political parts of the novel are not overly complicated or particularly inventive but they are handled deftly.

My only real complaint with this story, and it is a fairly minor one, is that during the dramatic conclusion Cassius does get a bit unbelievably superhuman. I can’t say too much because of spoilers but Cassius goes through a lot of punishment near the end of the novel. Cassius suffers several things that would make normal people fall over and not get back up for quite some time but Cassius’ plot armor keeps him moving even logic says he shouldn’t be.

That minor gripe aside this is a good story and if the premise sounds interesting, I do encourage you to pick it up and give it a try.

[Evan Kelling · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was debating between 3 and 4 stars for this one. So we’ll call it a 3.5. The Pale City is a book with an interesting premise and a world with potential. But something just felt off about it for me. The characters certainly didn’t click, besides our main character, Gaius Cassius Calvus. His status as a wounded war veteran made for an interesting dynamic. He was constantly at a disadvantage so I was always rooting for him.
When I was reading this book, I’d fly through chapters. Where I struggled was picking it up in the first place. I think the story needed a little more room to breathe and create intrigue. Characters needed way more development than this 300-page novel had room for.
But I am still curious enough to put the second book on my TBR.

[Matthew Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Pale City achieves what so many other books fail to do; it's world building on a scale that is difficult to achieve. Taking parts of Roman culture, sprinkled with magic and a large dash of Dungeons and Dragons, Marshall Moore has built a wonderful setting for his first book. The story follows a magic man who has lost his way, his only skill in life is controlling the undead, but his livelihood has been ripped away after a failed military campaign. A murder mystery shrouded with conspiracy, I'm excited to read book 2.

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are spoilers in this review so be warned. Albastine was a city of the dead, these were re-animated through Ayu’li ancient dance rituals to serve the citizens of the city as attendants. A city which was a republic based on democracy and the will of the people. Legate Gaius Cassius Calvus had served all his life to protect the tenets he believed in, and had been retired now that he had been crippled in his arm during one of the worst battles fought and could no longer serve. However a crime had been committed, a senator had been killed and because Calvus was an Ayu’li he possessed gravesight, so he could see through the dead man’s eyes the one who killed him. Calvus went in search of evidence and what he discovered made him livid, seems there was more at stake than just one murder, a conspiracy to bring down the democratic rule of law was being planned, and by none other than the triarchs, the highest orders in the senate. Calvus would not let this happen so he went beyond his line of duty, and with the aid of his ex-wife, Belhanni, the Ayu’li priestess and his dear friend Horatia, a magistrate, he risked his life time and time again as the criminals were onto him and wanted to stop his interference no matter what. I love that Calvus was such a staunch believer in a state which had brought his people and his faith so low, he still fought for his beliefs as he was first and foremost an Albastine and could never allow democracy to be replaced by tyranny. I loved also that the two women proved to be such powerful warriors who stood by him till the end. The idea of the attendants is original even if creepy as hell, no wonder people were terrified when these were turned against them.

[Chase Trautwein · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Pale City due to several factors: the setting, the characters, the fast-moving plot filled with intrigue and twists. I won't say much about the premise, because you can read that for yourself.

The first thing I want to comment on is the world-building. The title of this book refers to the city of Albastine, where most of our story takes place. Albastine could be seen as a character itself: its founding and history, its people, their customs, beliefs, traditions, and society are rich and intricate. This is a city that feels very lived in. The author describes how history's course has gotten us to this point, but does so in a concise way that does not sacrifice the details nor the pace of the story.

Speaking of the story's pace, it moves quickly and I kept reading because I wanted to know what happened next, but also didn't want the story to end - I hear there's another book coming out, though! The plot moves because our narrator, Cassius, is in almost constant motion. As he explains, he thinks best when he's on the move and he has a lot to figure out in this whodunnit. Even when we're in exposition, Cassius' conversations and interactions with other characters are entertaining to read. Without giving anything away, this is because he has history with a certain few and it's fun to see how these relationships play out.

If one were to try and classify The Pale City, you could say it has characteristics of the following: whodunnit noir, fantasy, murder mystery, political intrigue thriller, all genres that I love, so to put them all together... yeah, it's a winner, and I am very much looking forward to the sequel, The Ashen City! Well done!

[Andy Peloquin · Rating 5 out of 5]

TL;DR Review: Lightning-fast plot, richly colorful world, and heart-pounding action. Roman/Greek Republic colored with African-inspired culture and magic.

Full Review:
The living dead are everywhere—and I do mean that literally!
In the city of Albastine, corpses magically turned into “Attendants” do everything from cooking to cleaning, sweeping streets to scrubbing toilets, and, of course, fighting in the city’s wars.
Our main character, Gaius Cassius Calvus, has dedicated his life to controlling these Attendants and marching them into battle against Albastine’s enemies. That service has cost him his best friend, his relationships, and the use of his left arm.
In the beginning, we see Calvus trying in vain to regain control of his magical control over the Attendants, but between the guilt and the pain of his injuries, even the smallest exertion of his will is a struggle. But he has known nothing but service and is driven by a deep desire to make the Republic a better place. So when he gets asked by an old friend, and current Magistrate, to help him investigate a murder, he agrees.
Little does he know, he’s going to get swept up into one hell of a conspiracy!
The Pale City begins with a slow, steady pace, taking its time to introduce you to the characters, the magic of the world, and the history of both the Extorani (in my mind, Roman/Greek-flavored) and the Ayu’li (African-inspired) peoples who merged their cultures to found the Republic.
Bit by bit, we’re lured into the mystery behind who assassinated a Senator, but once all the pieces are in place, the story rockets off to a crazy fast pace with all the action I could ask for (and a whole lot more). Never once is character development left by the wayside, though; every time Calvus is faced with a choice, he shows us who he is, digs deeper into his convictions and resolve to stand firm in the face of impossible odds.
The characters around Calvus are equally colorful and complex. His dead best friend’s sister who drags him into the mystery. The Ayu’li High Priestess with whom he shares a complicated past. The Triarchs who head up the republic and the Senators who help them steer. The Imperator who is determined to prove that Calvus is behind the assassination. The cruel former teacher who made young Calvus’ life miserable during his years of training.
Every single one of them gets a chance to shine, and they bring so much depth and humanity to every page.
By the end, we’ve seen the specter of danger looming on the Republic’s horizon, but through everything he’s weathered, we have hope Calvus will be the right one to face it. A spectacular and surprisingly upbeat ending to a story that’s not afraid to go dark at times.
The Pale City surprised me in so many ways, and impressed me with its lightning-fast plot, richly colorful world, and heart-pounding action. I’ve already dived into the next Rites of Resurrection book because I have to find out what lies ahead!

[Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

i found this author through a tiktok he made at my local barnes and noble, and was pleased to see he has heavy interest in sci-fi and fantasy. i almost immediately ordered this debut fantasy novel because i was so excited!!!

that being said, i really did enjoy this book. i was skeptical at first because sometimes fantasy can be unoriginal and boring, but this was the opposite. i quickly grew to love all of the characters, and easily felt the frustration Cassius dealt with throughout the story.

i also LOVED the world building. so much imagery and appeal to the senses. like i said, it can be hard for me to enjoy fantasy since it can lack originality, but based off my current library this has by far had some of the best world building.

my only complaints are some minor details i was confused about. for example, Venaria had originally drawn blood on Cassius’ knee, but then every time after that, it was his cheek. another thing was the colors of the ghostfire and the Attendants’ eyes. it’s described as blue but the cover shows it as green, so it feels a little inconsistent! (to be clear: i could be completely wrong about these things and just misread them, especially since they are so insignificant to the plot that i shouldn’t even be hung up on it!! i also am an aspiring editor so things like this tend to stick out more to me lol). another thing that bothered me were all the breaks. i felt like there were a lot of unnecessary ones, especially on chapter 28, with a break almost immediately.

of course, these things cannot/will not be changed as the book is already published and complete. nonetheless, i prefer to be honest in my reviews even if they hold low relevance to the story itself, because i believe it can be helpful to the author as well as future readers.

regardless, this is a fantastic debut novel and i look forward to the rest of the series!!! the author seems like a fun and kind person (based off his tiktok—FOLLOW HIM!!!) and i’m excited to watch his journey as an author.

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had been in a bit of a reading slump lately, so after having followed Marshall J. Moore, for quite some time, I finally decided I had to read his work, and that was one of the best decisions I could have made. From the first chapter, I was fully invested in the world he created. I loved the dynamics of morality, spirituality, and loyalty seen throughout the book, and I felt like I could truly immerse myself in the clearly well researched and developed world of the book. Everything about this book felt intentional and offered a unique perspective on what it means to live and die and to protect and serve the ideals an individual upholds. Cassius was such a refreshing main character, making it easy to follow along with him narratively and root for him against the impossible odds and challenges he faced. I found myself not only in love with Cassius as a main character but with the entirety of the cast. The villains were believable, and the conflict was gripping. The pacing of the story was perfect, in my opinion, and I loved the direction the narrative went. I loved the personal conflicts Cassius faced just as much as the main conflict and found myself questioning what I would do in his situation. The magic system was so well done, and I think the representation it brought to the story was extremely refreshing and done expertly. Any expectations I had going into the book were shattered in the best way possible, and I am more than ecstatic to continue on with the other books in the trilogy. I just know that when I finish them, I'll be so distraught, I already love these characters so much, and I know I'll miss them immensely. Please, if you are able, pick up this book. It really solidified my love of epic fantasy, and I couldn't recommend it enough.

[Kenneth Geary (KagedBooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Two dead men stood awaiting my command."

That is a really solid opening line! I really enjoyed this debut novel by Marshall J Moore.

The premise of this story is that the Roman-esque world uses their dead as "Attendants" that serve in the role of servants and soldiers. Only certain highly trained people (Legates) have the ability to control the attendants...

Enter our Main Character Legate Gaius Cassius Calvus, who is was injured in battle limiting his ability to control the attendants, this forces him into an early retirement; Soon after he returns to the capital he finds himself entwined in a new world of political intrigue as he investigates a crime that shouldn't be possible, a murder committed by an attendant.

I really enjoyed the blending of fantasy with a detective story. One of my favorite things is when an author finds a way to use necromancy useful by people other than the bad guys.

I found the pacing and worldbuilding to be enjoyable. I had some minor gripes regarding how the MC handled his investigation in ways which I do not think an accomplished general would \, but nothing that took me far outside of the story.

I will definitely be reading the sequel, The Ashen City, in the near future.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The premise of the story is pretty unique from other fantasy books I've read. You have a secondary world Roman empire esque governement with Albastine being the main city the story takes place. Moore, does a great job in visuals, knowing what your seeing by reading. I like the unique take on the undead as well, being that they are servants to the people not only in basic labor but used in combat as well. That's another element Moore does a good job in, and that is describing the combat as it's happening. Each strike and blow, Moore uses these actions to describe how the character is feeling physically and emotionally. You feel for the main protagonist as he tries to unravel this assassination, and as he gets deeper into the case, he starts seeing that there are much larger schemes at play. The story is pretty tight but not too much that we do not see our characters develop in the narrative. There are a minor loose end or two in the plot that I didn't get a clear explanation, but overall a great read. A murder mystery in a fantasy setting worth your time!

[Brian Gadzinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, this book was an enjoyable read. The world building was unique in that it pulled from familiar and easy to visualize concepts like ancient Roman civilization and architecture, but with added fantasy elements and twists that made it unique. The vibe and setting was actually reminiscent of Elantris by Brandon Sanderson for me. The prose was wonderful, but there were times where there seemed to be too much exposition and repetition. The pacing was well done and I did not want to put the book down. The biggest flaw that I have with the story is the seemingly invincible protagonists who can take multiple near death beatings and near fatal wounds and still keep fighting successfully against opponents they should be outmatched by easily. Still, even though it did not end on a cliffhanger, I’d love to find out what comes next and spend some more time with these characters, so I will definitely be reading the next book!

[Roberto Flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

First thing first, I did not enjoy this book.

This is a very intriguing idea put in a very Roman setting. This mean duty and honor versus politics and corruption. I have never cared for the setting, I find it usually embodies hypocrisy and blind devotion. But that is a personal opinion about content, and though I will not continue with the series, it did not factor into the rating. The setting and story idea are great. The plot progression is a bit fast and loose, but still fun. The MC, well there's the rub. The MC shows no ability to think of plan. He reels from one desperate action to another, always just reacting without thought. He becomes more unbelievable as the book progresses. This is a five star idea with a two star MC.

[Nicole Aldrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall this was a very good read. Personally it started a little slow but once the plot started moving it was very good and I had a hard time putting it down. The author did an amazing job at world building and building character relationships. I enjoyed how he didn't fall into common tropes and how the "bad guys" weren't just bad but he showed their feelings and perspective which made them more human. The concept is also different than a lot of fantasy books I've read which is why I picked it up in the first place. If you like fantasy or mysteries (or both!) I definitely would suggest this book.

[SetsunaNara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robust World-Building

A vast majority of the story will take place in one location, permitting the author to build a robust world through integration of Greek and Roman culture, as well as the nomadic gypsy inspired roots of necromancy. Throughout the book, we get to witness the synergy for the main character as they reroot themselves in their past. As a reader in its' infancy stages, I can say Marshall J. Moore has firmly established himself as one of Shadow Alley Presses' promising new additions.

[Ben Huffstetler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Pale City is a fun and fast paced fantasy book that combines mystery, action, and political intrigue without neglecting any aspect of the story. Marshall J. Moore manages to craft a fully fleshed out world within the first few chapters of the story. The twists and turns make it almost impossible to put down, and the pacing makes the 300 page book read like a novella. The fight scenes are particularly well written, combining brutal combat with especially interesting tactical insights into the actions of the fighters.

I have no real complaints with The Pale City, but part of me was still wanting a little something more from this book. That being said, I am quite invested in this story and this author, and I am excited to continue the series.

[Tobius · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing! The story is really good and it has so many twists that I did NOT see coming!

I almost gave this book a 4.5 stars because there were some plot points revealed in the middle of the book that I thought was a little weak. However, towards the end when some crazy stuff went down with a crazy twist that shocked me, it absolutely revived it for me to where I could happily give it a 5 stars. I cannot wait to read the next book. In fact, I'm about to start reading the second one as soon as I finish this review... which is right now!

[Liz Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I-Robot meets Julius Caesar, but with zombies, in the best way possible. Let me explain.
The Pale City follows recently retired military commander Gaius Cassius Calvus, who is called upon to investigate the murder of a senator only to discover that he is one of three possible suspects. In short, we have a noir detective vibes in an Ancient Rome fantasy setting, with necromancer-legionaries. The characters are compelling and complex, and there are noteworthy parallels to current events like war-for-profit and social/racial inequality.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Takes a little bit to set the stage, but once it’s set, it’s SET. I haven’t read a book this quickly in a very long time. It was all gas for about 260 pages with one of the absolute coolest build ups to a finale ever (think weaponized necromancy and buckle up).

Very unique setting and world ideas but still grounded in modern functions so it’s all extremely digestible. It’s a great conspiracy story that keeps you engaged from start to finish. Will continue the series!

[Kurt Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marshall Moore's writing here reminds me a bit of Jim Butcher and the way he writes the Dresden Files. The action never stops for long, and Cassius has a whit to him similar to Harry Dresden. A few interesting twists and turns in the plot. Looking forward to the next book for sure.

[Alex Wilkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was scrolling on Tik Tok when I came across Marshall Moore discussing this book and I thought that I would give it a go. I’m so glad that I did as I really enjoyed it and finished it all in two days!! Looking forward to starting the second one and see how the story continues to unfold!

[Alistair · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a well written concept which beautifully blends ancient rome, african cultures, religion, citizenship, and most importantly - necromancy.

It was a highly enjoyable read which I strongly recommend.

[Robby Hendrix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this on Tik-Tok of all places and loved every second of it! Can’t wait for book 2!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very very good book: excellent world building, very well define characters, a very good story. Looking forward to read the sequel. Deserve 4.5 stars.

[Elizabeth Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

thrilling read

This book kept me on the edge of my seat. I was sucked into this new world. I cannot wait to read the next one.

[Leah *fantasy fanatic* · Rating 3 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed the first half of this book but was bored with the last half. I just thought it was predictable