What do you think?
Rate this book
The Necromancer's House
“You think you got away with something, don’t you? But your time has run out. We know where you are. And we are coming.”
The man on the screen says this in Russian.
“Who are you?”
The man smiles, but it’s not a pleasant smile.
The image freezes.
The celluloid burns exactly where his mouth is, burns in the nearly flat U of his smile. His eyes burn, too.
The man fades, leaving the burning smiley face smoldering on the screen.
“Oh Christ,” Andrew says.
The television catches fire.
Andrew Ranulf Blankenship is a handsome, stylish nonconformist with wry wit, a classic Mustang, and a massive library. He is also a recovering alcoholic and a practicing warlock, able to speak with the dead through film. His house is a maze of sorcerous booby traps and escape tunnels, as yours might be if you were sitting on a treasury of Russian magic stolen from the Soviet Union thirty years ago. Andrew has long known that magic was a brutal game requiring blood sacrifice and a willingness to confront death, but his many years of peace and comfort have left him soft, more concerned with maintaining false youth than with seeing to his own defense. Now a monster straight from the pages of Russian folklore is coming for him, and frost and death are coming with her.
"A Russian man’s drowning launches this rambunctious magical melee. Buehlman (Those Across the River) pits Andrew Blankenship and Anneke Zautke, companions in witchcraft and Alcoholics Anonymous, against Russian ogress Baba Yaga, whose son, Misha, falls prey to mischievous water sprite Nadia, a friend (of sorts) of Andrew’s. Contrasting with exotic magical escapades, real-world losses haunt both Anneke and Andrew. As the threat from Baba Yaga mounts and bad things happen to Andrew’s sidekicks, the eponymous house no longer provides a certain refuge. The logic of the plot is eclipsed by the eruption of characters who evoke Dickensian whimsy and range from the merely unusual to the bizarrely imaginative. Within this magical universe, rivalries, revenge, and self-seeking contend with the willingness to sacrifice. The final confrontation, evolving in part from Andrew’s prior service to Baba Yaga and her daughter Marina’s defiance, wreaks an ambiguous ending in an explosion of enthralling fantasy..."
–Publisher's Weekly
(Starred Review)
"A scary, funny, fast-paced urban fantasy novel with a rich voice and likable characters...one of the most well-crafted and exciting books I have read in a while."
–Fantasy Literature
The man on the screen says this in Russian.
“Who are you?”
The man smiles, but it’s not a pleasant smile.
The image freezes.
The celluloid burns exactly where his mouth is, burns in the nearly flat U of his smile. His eyes burn, too.
The man fades, leaving the burning smiley face smoldering on the screen.
“Oh Christ,” Andrew says.
The television catches fire.
Andrew Ranulf Blankenship is a handsome, stylish nonconformist with wry wit, a classic Mustang, and a massive library. He is also a recovering alcoholic and a practicing warlock, able to speak with the dead through film. His house is a maze of sorcerous booby traps and escape tunnels, as yours might be if you were sitting on a treasury of Russian magic stolen from the Soviet Union thirty years ago. Andrew has long known that magic was a brutal game requiring blood sacrifice and a willingness to confront death, but his many years of peace and comfort have left him soft, more concerned with maintaining false youth than with seeing to his own defense. Now a monster straight from the pages of Russian folklore is coming for him, and frost and death are coming with her.
"A Russian man’s drowning launches this rambunctious magical melee. Buehlman (Those Across the River) pits Andrew Blankenship and Anneke Zautke, companions in witchcraft and Alcoholics Anonymous, against Russian ogress Baba Yaga, whose son, Misha, falls prey to mischievous water sprite Nadia, a friend (of sorts) of Andrew’s. Contrasting with exotic magical escapades, real-world losses haunt both Anneke and Andrew. As the threat from Baba Yaga mounts and bad things happen to Andrew’s sidekicks, the eponymous house no longer provides a certain refuge. The logic of the plot is eclipsed by the eruption of characters who evoke Dickensian whimsy and range from the merely unusual to the bizarrely imaginative. Within this magical universe, rivalries, revenge, and self-seeking contend with the willingness to sacrifice. The final confrontation, evolving in part from Andrew’s prior service to Baba Yaga and her daughter Marina’s defiance, wreaks an ambiguous ending in an explosion of enthralling fantasy..."
–Publisher's Weekly
(Starred Review)
"A scary, funny, fast-paced urban fantasy novel with a rich voice and likable characters...one of the most well-crafted and exciting books I have read in a while."
–Fantasy Literature
392 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2013
497 people are currently reading
8850 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 605 reviews
July 17, 2017
This book is totally INSANE!!
I thought Between Two Fires was crazy, but The Necromancer's House has that one beat. By a mile!
Magic is inherent but also can be taught. There are all kinds of spells that may be weaved. There are all kinds of creatures of myth and folklore. There's a meteor! There's a crazy-ass dog... creation. There is the dead founder of AA having conversations through the television. There's a house, filled with many booby traps and spells, and what dark fiction reader doesn't love that? There's also much, much more.
I can't even begin to explain this book, nor would I want to try. But what I can say is that I love and respect an imagination that can come up with something this maniacal and satisfying! It was entertaining, but also had parts where the pain was visceral. The characters were well drawn even if many of them were just downright nasty. I have to admit that a few of the characters that I disliked at first became my favorites by the end. I love when that happens.
I started with Those Across the River , then read Between Two Fires, and now this one. I'm not sure which of Christopher Buehlman's books I'll read next, but I am definitely going to be reading all of them!
I highly recommend this one to lovers of dark fiction, with some magic and myths woven into the narrative fabric. I guarantee you haven't read anything like it!
I thought Between Two Fires was crazy, but The Necromancer's House has that one beat. By a mile!
Magic is inherent but also can be taught. There are all kinds of spells that may be weaved. There are all kinds of creatures of myth and folklore. There's a meteor! There's a crazy-ass dog... creation. There is the dead founder of AA having conversations through the television. There's a house, filled with many booby traps and spells, and what dark fiction reader doesn't love that? There's also much, much more.
I can't even begin to explain this book, nor would I want to try. But what I can say is that I love and respect an imagination that can come up with something this maniacal and satisfying! It was entertaining, but also had parts where the pain was visceral. The characters were well drawn even if many of them were just downright nasty. I have to admit that a few of the characters that I disliked at first became my favorites by the end. I love when that happens.
I started with Those Across the River , then read Between Two Fires, and now this one. I'm not sure which of Christopher Buehlman's books I'll read next, but I am definitely going to be reading all of them!
I highly recommend this one to lovers of dark fiction, with some magic and myths woven into the narrative fabric. I guarantee you haven't read anything like it!
April 19, 2021
page turner, page turner! I read this in bits & pieces, then life got in the way and so a long pause, and finally I blasted through it all in a rush, one long night. normally this is a book I'd like to finish over one weekend, because these pages practically turned themselves.
synopsis: a rather sweet but also rather disaffected necromancer has problems. because of his negligence, a man has been murdered and some russians want payback. and by "some russians" I mean Baba Yaga, the deadly old baby-snatching witch of ancient lore, complete with her chicken-legged hut. fortunately, this particular necromancer has some accomplished friends and happens to live in a horrifying death-trap of a house.
with its breezy tone and sometimes snarky dialogue, its nonchalant description of various magic powers, a range of supernatural characters including a rusalka and a demon, and the feel of a normal world blissfully unaware of the secret magical history that impacts everything around them, this felt like an Urban Fantasy novel transported to the woods and a small town. that said - and I'm no expert in that subgenre - Buehlman's story also feels darker, deeper. there is a melancholy to this tale, one that respects the ongoing sadness that comes with loneliness, addiction, injustice, and especially loss. and when this book gets dark, it also gets very strange, nightmarish. the author can definitely pull off bleak and disturbing. and so the moments of lightness, the displays of tolerance and kindness, the goal the author has in empathizing with pretty much all of his characters, are thrown in bold relief. I liked the darkness and I liked even better the empathy and the feeling that Buehlman is trying to be fair to everyone in his story. especially the dog! we all should be fair to dogs.
the book is full of exciting set pieces where magical powers are front and center. one of my favorites was a flashback to a bizarre and bloody assault on the protag by what appears to be russian peasants having a lark in a pleasantly rustic setting. another was a creepy attack by a muderous young witch who begins climbing through a computer screen, Ring-style, to destroy a rival - and she's one of our heroes.
bonus points for embracing diversity without giving me an annoyed feeling that the author is checking off boxes on an identity checklist. the diversity here is respectful, organic to the plot, and felt genuinely American.
synopsis: a rather sweet but also rather disaffected necromancer has problems. because of his negligence, a man has been murdered and some russians want payback. and by "some russians" I mean Baba Yaga, the deadly old baby-snatching witch of ancient lore, complete with her chicken-legged hut. fortunately, this particular necromancer has some accomplished friends and happens to live in a horrifying death-trap of a house.
with its breezy tone and sometimes snarky dialogue, its nonchalant description of various magic powers, a range of supernatural characters including a rusalka and a demon, and the feel of a normal world blissfully unaware of the secret magical history that impacts everything around them, this felt like an Urban Fantasy novel transported to the woods and a small town. that said - and I'm no expert in that subgenre - Buehlman's story also feels darker, deeper. there is a melancholy to this tale, one that respects the ongoing sadness that comes with loneliness, addiction, injustice, and especially loss. and when this book gets dark, it also gets very strange, nightmarish. the author can definitely pull off bleak and disturbing. and so the moments of lightness, the displays of tolerance and kindness, the goal the author has in empathizing with pretty much all of his characters, are thrown in bold relief. I liked the darkness and I liked even better the empathy and the feeling that Buehlman is trying to be fair to everyone in his story. especially the dog! we all should be fair to dogs.
the book is full of exciting set pieces where magical powers are front and center. one of my favorites was a flashback to a bizarre and bloody assault on the protag by what appears to be russian peasants having a lark in a pleasantly rustic setting. another was a creepy attack by a muderous young witch who begins climbing through a computer screen, Ring-style, to destroy a rival - and she's one of our heroes.
bonus points for embracing diversity without giving me an annoyed feeling that the author is checking off boxes on an identity checklist. the diversity here is respectful, organic to the plot, and felt genuinely American.
December 11, 2018
🥝 The Kiwi Made Us Do It Buddy Read with Mr Kiwi Man Himself, My Nefarious Daughter, My Dearest of Wives, Not-So-Slowpoke-Anymore and The Shameless DNFer 🥝
Actual rating: 4.84576987523 stars. And a half.
So. This book has a 3.7 average star rating.
You really are a hilarious-then-again-maybe-not bunch, Tiny Decapods Mine. Will you ever stop reading books terribly wrong, I wonder? Hahahahahaha again. I think not. A good thing I read this along with some Wondrous People of Impeccable Book Taste (WPoIBT™) and that our joined efforts helped raise the book’s average rating from 3.67 to 3.7 stars. Go us and stuff.
So. As you might have grasped from my rating-that-doesn’t-suck-too-much, I liked this book a little. I would even go so far as to say this is a Slightly Very Good Book (SVGB™). I kid you not. Anyway, I guess the logical thing for me to do now would be to try and explain what the story is about. Yes, it would be most logical indeed. Except that:
1) I suck at recapping plots. Nah, just kidding. I obviously excel at recapping plots (as in all things) but it just so happens that I’m feeling as lazy as a lethargic barnacle suffering from African trypanosomiasis today.
2) The book is crazy as fish, so I wouldn’t know where to begin.
3) Lee the Kiwi™ tried to explain just one chapter to someone the other day, and hasn’t been heard of since. Also, he was last seen wearing this very trendy (and most becoming) piece of garment:
Which makes me think his explanation didn’t go quite as smoothly as planned and stuff. I can’t say I’m overwhelmingly surprised, to be honest. I mean, the part of the story he was trying to recount involves suspiciously generous Jehovah’s witnesses, a mirror, self-planting, evil potatoes , my girlfriend Baba Yaga and her awesome house on gallinaceous legs, a dog-turned-wicker man automaton called Salvador Dalí , super handy zip-on zip-off animal skins, a super hot rusalka who unfortunately smells like fish, and formerly vegetalized, zombified doppelgangers (don’t ask). So I’m sure you understand why Lee the Kiwi™’s acquaintance reacted like this:
…and then proceeded to very kindly gift him with the above mentioned very trendy (and most becoming) piece of garment. Ergo, recap this story for you I shall not. A fashion victim I might be, but suicidal I am not.
So. What do you need to know about this Slightly Very Good Book™, really? This:
① I don’t get spooked easily (which seems fairly obvious since I’m usually the one doing the spooking) but this book creeped the living fish out of me. It was a most delicious, refreshing experience, really. I thank thee kindly for that, Mr Buelhman.
② I rated this book nearly almost 5 stars even though it is written in the Present Tense of Doom (PToD™). This, for those Clueless Barnacles who don’t know, is usually one of the fastest ways for authors to have their stories end up in my DNF Graveyard™. But. Mr B. here did the impossible and managed to join the ranks of Wondrous Mr Kadrey (my #1 boyfriend’s beloved daddy) in Who the Bloody Shrimp Cares What Tense This Is Written In Territory (WtBSCWTTIWiT™). Quite a feat indeed this is.
③ Buehlman’s prose is different, original and Super Extra Creative (SEC™). There are super extra short chapters, then long chapters, then moderately short chapters, then not-so-short moderately short chapters…and it makes the book Extremely Very Addictive (EVA™) and nearly impossible to put down. Then there are the repeated POV changes. Within the same paragraph.
Sounds pretty deadly, huh? Well believe it or not, it isn’t. It’s done so masterfully you barely even notice it. Quite another feat indeed this is. Ha.
④ Russian and Slavic folklore/mythology = YUM². QED and stuff.
⑤ Communicating with the dead via VHS. Now that’s just plain genius, if you ask me. (I just dug my VCR out of storage in the hope of having a little chat with one my spiritual guides, so if anyone happens to have VHS footage of either Machiavelli or Lady Macbeth, please contact me via PM. Thank you.)
⑥ Ever-so-slightly modified vacuum cleaners with chimpanzee’s arms. Need I say more? Didn’t think so.
⑦ Fantastically fantastic ending. Nicely done, Mr B. Very nicely done. Oh, and by the way, pregnant skunks FTW!
➽ And the moral of this This Book Is Obviously A Must Read For All Historical Romance Fans Crappy Non Review (TBIOAMRFAHRFCNR™) is: potatoes have now been officially banned from my underwater abode. Also, I think there’s a slight chance that Christopher Buehlman’s books might possibly maybe have just gotten themselves a new nefarious stalker. Perhaps.
[Pre-review nonsense]
This book is sorta kinda like high octane Harry Dresden. On acid. Lots of acid.
This books is Slightly Very Good (SVG™), too. And possibly one of the most deliciously creeptastic stories I have ever read in the entirety of my entire life.
Yes, absolutely. Only that there are no friendly skeletons in this story. Only spooky as fish mythological Russians. Who might or might not have somewhat evil intentions. There's the best dog-non-dog ever in this book, too. And Super Extra Cool Magic (SECM™). And all sorts of beautifully weird stuff I could tell you about right now but won't because I'm cruel like that so you'll just have to wait until I write my full crappy non-review to find out more about it and stuff and now you can resume breathing if you are so inclined you're welcome.
Return I shall. Posthaste. Hopefully.
Actual rating: 4.84576987523 stars. And a half.
So. This book has a 3.7 average star rating.
You really are a hilarious-then-again-maybe-not bunch, Tiny Decapods Mine. Will you ever stop reading books terribly wrong, I wonder? Hahahahahaha again. I think not. A good thing I read this along with some Wondrous People of Impeccable Book Taste (WPoIBT™) and that our joined efforts helped raise the book’s average rating from 3.67 to 3.7 stars. Go us and stuff.
So. As you might have grasped from my rating-that-doesn’t-suck-too-much, I liked this book a little. I would even go so far as to say this is a Slightly Very Good Book (SVGB™). I kid you not. Anyway, I guess the logical thing for me to do now would be to try and explain what the story is about. Yes, it would be most logical indeed. Except that:
1) I suck at recapping plots. Nah, just kidding. I obviously excel at recapping plots (as in all things) but it just so happens that I’m feeling as lazy as a lethargic barnacle suffering from African trypanosomiasis today.
2) The book is crazy as fish, so I wouldn’t know where to begin.
3) Lee the Kiwi™ tried to explain just one chapter to someone the other day, and hasn’t been heard of since. Also, he was last seen wearing this very trendy (and most becoming) piece of garment:
Which makes me think his explanation didn’t go quite as smoothly as planned and stuff. I can’t say I’m overwhelmingly surprised, to be honest. I mean, the part of the story he was trying to recount involves suspiciously generous Jehovah’s witnesses, a mirror, self-planting, evil potatoes , my girlfriend Baba Yaga and her awesome house on gallinaceous legs, a dog-turned-wicker man automaton called Salvador Dalí , super handy zip-on zip-off animal skins, a super hot rusalka who unfortunately smells like fish, and formerly vegetalized, zombified doppelgangers (don’t ask). So I’m sure you understand why Lee the Kiwi™’s acquaintance reacted like this:
…and then proceeded to very kindly gift him with the above mentioned very trendy (and most becoming) piece of garment. Ergo, recap this story for you I shall not. A fashion victim I might be, but suicidal I am not.
So. What do you need to know about this Slightly Very Good Book™, really? This:
① I don’t get spooked easily (which seems fairly obvious since I’m usually the one doing the spooking) but this book creeped the living fish out of me. It was a most delicious, refreshing experience, really. I thank thee kindly for that, Mr Buelhman.
② I rated this book nearly almost 5 stars even though it is written in the Present Tense of Doom (PToD™). This, for those Clueless Barnacles who don’t know, is usually one of the fastest ways for authors to have their stories end up in my DNF Graveyard™. But. Mr B. here did the impossible and managed to join the ranks of Wondrous Mr Kadrey (my #1 boyfriend’s beloved daddy) in Who the Bloody Shrimp Cares What Tense This Is Written In Territory (WtBSCWTTIWiT™). Quite a feat indeed this is.
③ Buehlman’s prose is different, original and Super Extra Creative (SEC™). There are super extra short chapters, then long chapters, then moderately short chapters, then not-so-short moderately short chapters…and it makes the book Extremely Very Addictive (EVA™) and nearly impossible to put down. Then there are the repeated POV changes. Within the same paragraph.
Sounds pretty deadly, huh? Well believe it or not, it isn’t. It’s done so masterfully you barely even notice it. Quite another feat indeed this is. Ha.
④ Russian and Slavic folklore/mythology = YUM². QED and stuff.
⑤ Communicating with the dead via VHS. Now that’s just plain genius, if you ask me. (I just dug my VCR out of storage in the hope of having a little chat with one my spiritual guides, so if anyone happens to have VHS footage of either Machiavelli or Lady Macbeth, please contact me via PM. Thank you.)
⑥ Ever-so-slightly modified vacuum cleaners with chimpanzee’s arms. Need I say more? Didn’t think so.
⑦ Fantastically fantastic ending. Nicely done, Mr B. Very nicely done. Oh, and by the way, pregnant skunks FTW!
➽ And the moral of this This Book Is Obviously A Must Read For All Historical Romance Fans Crappy Non Review (TBIOAMRFAHRFCNR™) is: potatoes have now been officially banned from my underwater abode. Also, I think there’s a slight chance that Christopher Buehlman’s books might possibly maybe have just gotten themselves a new nefarious stalker. Perhaps.
[Pre-review nonsense]
This book is sorta kinda like high octane Harry Dresden. On acid. Lots of acid.
This books is Slightly Very Good (SVG™), too. And possibly one of the most deliciously creeptastic stories I have ever read in the entirety of my entire life.
Yes, absolutely. Only that there are no friendly skeletons in this story. Only spooky as fish mythological Russians. Who might or might not have somewhat evil intentions. There's the best dog-non-dog ever in this book, too. And Super Extra Cool Magic (SECM™). And all sorts of beautifully weird stuff I could tell you about right now but won't because I'm cruel like that so you'll just have to wait until I write my full crappy non-review to find out more about it and stuff and now you can resume breathing if you are so inclined you're welcome.
Return I shall. Posthaste. Hopefully.
November 15, 2018
Yeah, Harry Dresden? You're a big fucking girls blouse. You want to play with the big boys? Huh? Well let me introduce you to Andrew Blankenship and the shit he has to to deal with. None of this prissy pussy footing around Chicago in a fancy fucking magic raincoat on the back of a dinosaur with fairies looking out for you. Shit no! My Blankenship has to watch out for freaking psycho Slavic witches and horny russian mermaids. All he has to help him is his dead dog, now converted into a wicker mannequin with a Salvador Dali face and a etch-a-sketch for communication, an alcoholic somewhat magic friend and a greasy Mexican mechanic. You seriously can't make this shit up.
In this book you are taking on a magical ride of horror, fantasy, magic humour and a great delve into Russian folklore and mythology. We explore New Orleans dark magic culture and look at Blankenships ability to talk to the dead via VHS video... I kid you not.
It is rough and gritty. It can be crude and the language hits the bottom of the can, but you know what?
"But there's that lady. From the lake. The dead mermaid."
"She's not precisely a mermaid."
"You said she had a tail."
"In the water."
"Not a mermaid."
"Not like the kind you're thinking of."
"but she is dead."
"She died."
"But not really."
"She came back with a tail."
"I've seen her here, you know."
"Are you sure?"
"Am I sure? She smells like fish cunt."
"One gets used to it."
Anneke gives him a raised eyebrow that says, Oh really? So you're actually fucking that?
I really enjoyed this story. Now, those that know me, know that I use expletives very rarely. For effect, you know! This deserves the effects. Kudos to the narrator, he did an outstanding job with all of the accents and characters.
This story makes Harry Dresden look like he should be pissing up the Faraway Tree with Mr Saucepan. There is something the way the author writes that immerses you into the story, you can probably see form above about the dialogue goes. I think that it forces you to absorb it or feel it, rather than just read it. I dunno, all I will say, is that I was completely surprised by this read and am definitely loading this one up to read again.
Great read, if you like edgy, dark folklore, mythology, eastern European magic with some deep south voodoo shit then you'll enjoy this. Basically if you Angel Heart is a movie you enjoyed, buy or listen to this book.
NOV 2018:
RE-READ with favorite buddies. Certainly won't be removing any stars. Loved the second time round and think given the pace and the writing style, reading is better than audio. Sometimes you just need to be able to put the book down and freak out quietly in a corner. If most of you are like me and listen to audio whilst driving, then freaking out in a corner isn't a great option.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
In this book you are taking on a magical ride of horror, fantasy, magic humour and a great delve into Russian folklore and mythology. We explore New Orleans dark magic culture and look at Blankenships ability to talk to the dead via VHS video... I kid you not.
It is rough and gritty. It can be crude and the language hits the bottom of the can, but you know what?
"But there's that lady. From the lake. The dead mermaid."
"She's not precisely a mermaid."
"You said she had a tail."
"In the water."
"Not a mermaid."
"Not like the kind you're thinking of."
"but she is dead."
"She died."
"But not really."
"She came back with a tail."
"I've seen her here, you know."
"Are you sure?"
"Am I sure? She smells like fish cunt."
"One gets used to it."
Anneke gives him a raised eyebrow that says, Oh really? So you're actually fucking that?
I really enjoyed this story. Now, those that know me, know that I use expletives very rarely. For effect, you know! This deserves the effects. Kudos to the narrator, he did an outstanding job with all of the accents and characters.
This story makes Harry Dresden look like he should be pissing up the Faraway Tree with Mr Saucepan. There is something the way the author writes that immerses you into the story, you can probably see form above about the dialogue goes. I think that it forces you to absorb it or feel it, rather than just read it. I dunno, all I will say, is that I was completely surprised by this read and am definitely loading this one up to read again.
Great read, if you like edgy, dark folklore, mythology, eastern European magic with some deep south voodoo shit then you'll enjoy this. Basically if you Angel Heart is a movie you enjoyed, buy or listen to this book.
NOV 2018:
RE-READ with favorite buddies. Certainly won't be removing any stars. Loved the second time round and think given the pace and the writing style, reading is better than audio. Sometimes you just need to be able to put the book down and freak out quietly in a corner. If most of you are like me and listen to audio whilst driving, then freaking out in a corner isn't a great option.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
November 12, 2018
*** 4.75 ***
And I used to think Baba Yaga was scary before! This book reawakened a lot of my childhood fears.... Now I have to watch something cheesy in order to be able to go to sleep... Very well written in an off beat way and very disturbing at times, which was obviously what the author want to achieve, and achieve he did!😈
And I used to think Baba Yaga was scary before! This book reawakened a lot of my childhood fears.... Now I have to watch something cheesy in order to be able to go to sleep... Very well written in an off beat way and very disturbing at times, which was obviously what the author want to achieve, and achieve he did!😈
February 25, 2014
This is a somewhat challenging book to review. For a good deal of the book I was thinking 3 stars at most. Other times it would "obviously" rate the full 5 stars. So up front let me say this is an excellent book in many ways and I would recommend you give it a try. I say that up front because after this I intend to give a few details and that is going require some talk of pluses and minuses.
So first a controversial statement, if you're interested in only a "plot" that is "a story" you could probably skip half to two thirds of this book. The trick is, there's no way to know up front which half. The novel is about "the life" of a wizard...except he hates that word. There is some discussion of what word would appeal to him more... You have to read the book to find out what.
Anyway...our "not-wizard" (Andrew Blankenship) is a person who could have profited from reading about Spiderman . He's studying and teaching magic. This is a world where magic exists along side the non-magical world (as you may have seen before) but it works in a way kind of unique to this work. (Though not totally). Andrew has a "sort of" apprentice with whom he has a rather convoluted relationship (I won't spill that here as it is sort of intricate to parts of the plot). He faces the consequences of decisions and actions that have taken place before we join the story (or just as we join the story) that will be shattering and deadly.
The book itself has a somewhat dreamlike quality as it's told in present time, flash-back, dream and vision cascading in on one another so that you dare not let your mind wander. The story takes it's time building up and laying out the situation and leading up to the extended climax that we reach much like a crucible slowly heating up only to have the molten metal within suddenly burst into a frantic boil.
If you know a bit about folklore that's going to be a big plus here for you. You can read the story without that but if you (like many of us here) have read esoteric books on said folklore you'll get a big kick. The folk legend used here is played very close the traditional "facts" of said legend.
I'm dancing around here trying to tell a little about the book without giving any spoilers. This is the second book I've read by this author. I think I like the first a bit better, but I like them both. This is an excellent book and at least close to unique if not totally so.
Recommended.
So first a controversial statement, if you're interested in only a "plot" that is "a story" you could probably skip half to two thirds of this book. The trick is, there's no way to know up front which half. The novel is about "the life" of a wizard...except he hates that word. There is some discussion of what word would appeal to him more... You have to read the book to find out what.
Anyway...our "not-wizard" (Andrew Blankenship) is a person who could have profited from reading about Spiderman . He's studying and teaching magic. This is a world where magic exists along side the non-magical world (as you may have seen before) but it works in a way kind of unique to this work. (Though not totally). Andrew has a "sort of" apprentice with whom he has a rather convoluted relationship (I won't spill that here as it is sort of intricate to parts of the plot). He faces the consequences of decisions and actions that have taken place before we join the story (or just as we join the story) that will be shattering and deadly.
The book itself has a somewhat dreamlike quality as it's told in present time, flash-back, dream and vision cascading in on one another so that you dare not let your mind wander. The story takes it's time building up and laying out the situation and leading up to the extended climax that we reach much like a crucible slowly heating up only to have the molten metal within suddenly burst into a frantic boil.
If you know a bit about folklore that's going to be a big plus here for you. You can read the story without that but if you (like many of us here) have read esoteric books on said folklore you'll get a big kick. The folk legend used here is played very close the traditional "facts" of said legend.
I'm dancing around here trying to tell a little about the book without giving any spoilers. This is the second book I've read by this author. I think I like the first a bit better, but I like them both. This is an excellent book and at least close to unique if not totally so.
Recommended.
October 17, 2013
I got hold of an advance reading copy of this, so was lucky enough to read it before it was officially released. Well, actually my husband got the ARC and I had to wait until he was done with it before I could get my greedy little hands on it. Longest two weeks of my life.
Given that the author's previous two books were "period pieces" -- although from wildly different periods -- I wasn't sure what to expect with this one, a very contemporary story complete with classic cars, AA, chat rooms, and the interwebz. Happily, I was not disappointed. The main character, Andrew, is a complicated man with a strong sense of integrity but, one quickly suspects, certain secrets in his past that are coming back to haunt him. This turns out to be true, but in more ways than are at first obvious.
I do love non-obvious.
There was quite a bit of non-obvious in this book which meant that I was frequently surprised -- and for somebody who reads as much as I do, that's not easy to do. The surprises were not so much in the broad arc of the story, which is a classic (and I mean that in a good way) tale of redemption, as in the details and the execution, and in what one might call the inflections of the ending, the way it’s shaped and carried out.
Two things I particularly liked about the book's treatment of magic. First, magic isn't free. One doesn't simply shout some garbled Latin and wave a wand -- this magic takes some serious effort, both mental and physical, to learn, to control, to use (safely), in some cases simply to understand. And there's no question that magic is potentially very dangerous stuff in this world; it can blow up in your face if you're not careful. Second, the story didn't get bogged down in the mechanics of the magic -- recipes, spells, how you do it, how it works. There's just the right amount of detail, and nicely modernized (Andrew’s particular skill is with cars and film footage, for example, while chicagohoney85’s are with computers), that the flavor permeates the story without overwhelming it.
Which is good because, despite the fact that magic is wound thoroughly about this tale, in the end it’s all about the people. And I like these people, Andrew and Anneke (and Chancho and Michael and even chicagohoney85), enough that I want to know more about all of them. (Here’s where I admit that I’m hoping for a sequel, or maybe Michael’s backstory...shhhhh...) They aren’t perfect, but like most of us they’re good people doing their best to muddle through, and deal with their past mistakes in a stand-up way without compromising what they believe.
Oh, and he made my cry over Salvador. Thanks, buddy.
Buehlman’s novels have all been billed as horror, but clearly they aren’t horror for horror’s sake. It’s not about a high body count or creative methods of killing people off (although he’s good at that, and Between Two Fires had a lot of them!). It's about applying horror to characters -- putting them in horrifying situations -- to see how they respond, the way an engineer applies heat or pressure to a substance to see if it will break. "Test to destruction" is how you learn what something is really made of, and this seems to be a recurrent theme, first with Frank Nichols in Those Across the River, then Thomas in Between Two Fires, and now Andrew and Anneke.
I'm looking forward to his next test.
Given that the author's previous two books were "period pieces" -- although from wildly different periods -- I wasn't sure what to expect with this one, a very contemporary story complete with classic cars, AA, chat rooms, and the interwebz. Happily, I was not disappointed. The main character, Andrew, is a complicated man with a strong sense of integrity but, one quickly suspects, certain secrets in his past that are coming back to haunt him. This turns out to be true, but in more ways than are at first obvious.
I do love non-obvious.
There was quite a bit of non-obvious in this book which meant that I was frequently surprised -- and for somebody who reads as much as I do, that's not easy to do. The surprises were not so much in the broad arc of the story, which is a classic (and I mean that in a good way) tale of redemption, as in the details and the execution, and in what one might call the inflections of the ending, the way it’s shaped and carried out.
Two things I particularly liked about the book's treatment of magic. First, magic isn't free. One doesn't simply shout some garbled Latin and wave a wand -- this magic takes some serious effort, both mental and physical, to learn, to control, to use (safely), in some cases simply to understand. And there's no question that magic is potentially very dangerous stuff in this world; it can blow up in your face if you're not careful. Second, the story didn't get bogged down in the mechanics of the magic -- recipes, spells, how you do it, how it works. There's just the right amount of detail, and nicely modernized (Andrew’s particular skill is with cars and film footage, for example, while chicagohoney85’s are with computers), that the flavor permeates the story without overwhelming it.
Which is good because, despite the fact that magic is wound thoroughly about this tale, in the end it’s all about the people. And I like these people, Andrew and Anneke (and Chancho and Michael and even chicagohoney85), enough that I want to know more about all of them. (Here’s where I admit that I’m hoping for a sequel, or maybe Michael’s backstory...shhhhh...) They aren’t perfect, but like most of us they’re good people doing their best to muddle through, and deal with their past mistakes in a stand-up way without compromising what they believe.
Oh, and he made my cry over Salvador. Thanks, buddy.
Buehlman’s novels have all been billed as horror, but clearly they aren’t horror for horror’s sake. It’s not about a high body count or creative methods of killing people off (although he’s good at that, and Between Two Fires had a lot of them!). It's about applying horror to characters -- putting them in horrifying situations -- to see how they respond, the way an engineer applies heat or pressure to a substance to see if it will break. "Test to destruction" is how you learn what something is really made of, and this seems to be a recurrent theme, first with Frank Nichols in Those Across the River, then Thomas in Between Two Fires, and now Andrew and Anneke.
I'm looking forward to his next test.
April 8, 2014
I think there is simply no one putting out better fiction than Buehlman. He is the one author I have to buy the moment he puts something out. I guess you can call these horror, but it's impossible to categorize his first three books into one little genre like that.
This one is all about a modern day 'wizard'. From there you really can't expect anything. There are so many moving parts in a book by Christopher that you will WANT to read it again. Not HAVE to.
His voice is so unique and so new I can't help but just gobble up everything he puts out. What I like best about him, and a book like this, is that he doesn't dumb down anything. You just have to trust him if you don't get something that it isn't a plot hole, it will either be revealed in time or you missed it.
The character development in NH is amazing. So much taken from lore and legend and twisted to fit this urban fantasy.
So worth the journey and if you are reading this review and haven't read his first two books, go get them now!
This one is all about a modern day 'wizard'. From there you really can't expect anything. There are so many moving parts in a book by Christopher that you will WANT to read it again. Not HAVE to.
His voice is so unique and so new I can't help but just gobble up everything he puts out. What I like best about him, and a book like this, is that he doesn't dumb down anything. You just have to trust him if you don't get something that it isn't a plot hole, it will either be revealed in time or you missed it.
The character development in NH is amazing. So much taken from lore and legend and twisted to fit this urban fantasy.
So worth the journey and if you are reading this review and haven't read his first two books, go get them now!
September 29, 2013
Consider that the cosmos has a small percentage of individuals who are luminous. That is to say, users of magic. Call them witches or warlocks, or magi, they are scattered all over the universe. Most of them are aware of the other users, their strengths and their weaknesses. Enter the magical world of necromancer Andrew Blankenship. In his house, you can step into the Room of Skins, dive into a bath tub like no other, and be served by a wicker man, a dry man with a dog's heart and a framed portrait of the face of Salvador Dali for a head.
Just think of it. Want your house to be invisible to others? No problem. Retain your youthful looks and vitality for years on end? Consider it done. Charm a vintage automobile so that it will never break down? Piece of cake.
After reading this dark tale, I am convinced that no villain, no monster, no demon comes even close to the pure evil of Baba Yaga, the Arch-Crone of Russian myth. She lives in a hut perched atop giant chicken legs that whirls and twirls through the air. She steals children, takes your eyes if you look at her, takes your teeth if you should be so foolish as to smile at her, and she does much, much worse in this book. Prepare yourself for the most horrifying sack of potatoes you will ever encounter.
Good characters, excellent story. Christopher Buehlman's other books have been added to my want-to-read list. This was a first-reads giveaway, thanks for a fantastic read!
Just think of it. Want your house to be invisible to others? No problem. Retain your youthful looks and vitality for years on end? Consider it done. Charm a vintage automobile so that it will never break down? Piece of cake.
After reading this dark tale, I am convinced that no villain, no monster, no demon comes even close to the pure evil of Baba Yaga, the Arch-Crone of Russian myth. She lives in a hut perched atop giant chicken legs that whirls and twirls through the air. She steals children, takes your eyes if you look at her, takes your teeth if you should be so foolish as to smile at her, and she does much, much worse in this book. Prepare yourself for the most horrifying sack of potatoes you will ever encounter.
Good characters, excellent story. Christopher Buehlman's other books have been added to my want-to-read list. This was a first-reads giveaway, thanks for a fantastic read!
August 3, 2016
Magic has consequences, and the use of powerful magic has powerful consequences. That would be the theme of this well-written modern/urban fantasy. That, or perhaps instead of the title _The Necromancer’s House_ (though the title does fit), it might be called _Magical Blowback_.
The chief protagonist is one wizard (though he does not like being called a wizard) by the name of Andrew Ranulf Blankenship. Living near present day Oswego, (upstate) New York, on the shores of Lake Ontario, he has a rather eccentric life. His house is a magical booby-trapped laden maze (for those not welcome), filled with lethal and non-lethal traps for the unwary (and occasionally surprising even the owner), a house one cannot see unless one already knows it is there. A very important rule is that one must always – always – leave the house the same way you entered (though these entrances might be as something as exotic as diving through the sink and shower drains…more on that in the book). His live in companion is a wooden, sentient, non-speaking automaton, sort of a resurrection of a beloved canine pet, though he can talk via Etch-a-Sketch. His best friend, sort of lover, is a woman by the name of Anneke Zautke, just out of prison and struggling with alcoholism. There is Ichabod, a nearby, very powerful demon of sorts, lairing in a cave, that sort of responds to Andrew’s commands, not that Andrew wants him around (or that he is really able to be rid of him). Oh, and he has…relations…with Nadia, the local rusalka, a Russian water spirit, one that Andrew is in large part responsible for being there. Though Andrew likes her she does occasionally drown local men.
Nadia’s…hobby, passion, drowning local men for her own pleasure, that starts a chain reaction of consequences that dominate the central plotline of the book. One day (well very early in the book), Nadia drowns the wrong man, a man who is connected. Though he is connected in the mob sense of the word, that doesn’t trouble Andrew overly much. His magical connections though are quite troublesome, as his death is not the least bit pleasing to a powerful female wizard/witch in the past, both from Andrew’s own past (glimpsed from time to time) and from the deepest, darkest places of Russian folklore and mythology (something Andrew inadvertently spent some time exploring). If you know anything about Russian folk tales you probably know who I am referring to. If not, if you read the book you will soon learn. This person is powerful indeed, and when she comes after Andrew he has to use every single resource at his disposal, including other wizards across the country.
I found the descriptions vivid, the characters interesting and well drawn, and none of the main characters in any way typical to the genre or sub-genre. I enjoyed the author’s magical rules in the setting and the creatures that inhabited his fictional universe. I thought he handled how magic might exist side by side with modern technology, even using modern technology, all while the vast majority of people have no idea magic or monsters exist, quite well. The huge, epic battle at the end was entertaining, almost cinematic, each wizard pulling out more and more offenses and defense from their proverbial bags of tricks. Andrew’s world, though very magical, felt very grounded in reality as well, including his love of old muscle cars, the vivid, earthy, hands on details of Anneke’s sculpting business, Anneke and Andrew coming to terms with her father’s terminal illness, and the details and background of one of Andrew’s local, non-magician friends in town.
I really had very few problems with the book. One of the villain’s lackeys could have been a bit better fleshed out, not really a huge problem. Sometimes the hints of Andrew’s past – his time in Russia, involvement with Nadia being in upstate New York, and summoning Ichabod could have been delved into a little more (especially his time in Russia) but by and large the author included enough back story to intrigue, provide detail to current events, and give a sense of history to Andrew and the others in the book.
The chief protagonist is one wizard (though he does not like being called a wizard) by the name of Andrew Ranulf Blankenship. Living near present day Oswego, (upstate) New York, on the shores of Lake Ontario, he has a rather eccentric life. His house is a magical booby-trapped laden maze (for those not welcome), filled with lethal and non-lethal traps for the unwary (and occasionally surprising even the owner), a house one cannot see unless one already knows it is there. A very important rule is that one must always – always – leave the house the same way you entered (though these entrances might be as something as exotic as diving through the sink and shower drains…more on that in the book). His live in companion is a wooden, sentient, non-speaking automaton, sort of a resurrection of a beloved canine pet, though he can talk via Etch-a-Sketch. His best friend, sort of lover, is a woman by the name of Anneke Zautke, just out of prison and struggling with alcoholism. There is Ichabod, a nearby, very powerful demon of sorts, lairing in a cave, that sort of responds to Andrew’s commands, not that Andrew wants him around (or that he is really able to be rid of him). Oh, and he has…relations…with Nadia, the local rusalka, a Russian water spirit, one that Andrew is in large part responsible for being there. Though Andrew likes her she does occasionally drown local men.
Nadia’s…hobby, passion, drowning local men for her own pleasure, that starts a chain reaction of consequences that dominate the central plotline of the book. One day (well very early in the book), Nadia drowns the wrong man, a man who is connected. Though he is connected in the mob sense of the word, that doesn’t trouble Andrew overly much. His magical connections though are quite troublesome, as his death is not the least bit pleasing to a powerful female wizard/witch in the past, both from Andrew’s own past (glimpsed from time to time) and from the deepest, darkest places of Russian folklore and mythology (something Andrew inadvertently spent some time exploring). If you know anything about Russian folk tales you probably know who I am referring to. If not, if you read the book you will soon learn. This person is powerful indeed, and when she comes after Andrew he has to use every single resource at his disposal, including other wizards across the country.
I found the descriptions vivid, the characters interesting and well drawn, and none of the main characters in any way typical to the genre or sub-genre. I enjoyed the author’s magical rules in the setting and the creatures that inhabited his fictional universe. I thought he handled how magic might exist side by side with modern technology, even using modern technology, all while the vast majority of people have no idea magic or monsters exist, quite well. The huge, epic battle at the end was entertaining, almost cinematic, each wizard pulling out more and more offenses and defense from their proverbial bags of tricks. Andrew’s world, though very magical, felt very grounded in reality as well, including his love of old muscle cars, the vivid, earthy, hands on details of Anneke’s sculpting business, Anneke and Andrew coming to terms with her father’s terminal illness, and the details and background of one of Andrew’s local, non-magician friends in town.
I really had very few problems with the book. One of the villain’s lackeys could have been a bit better fleshed out, not really a huge problem. Sometimes the hints of Andrew’s past – his time in Russia, involvement with Nadia being in upstate New York, and summoning Ichabod could have been delved into a little more (especially his time in Russia) but by and large the author included enough back story to intrigue, provide detail to current events, and give a sense of history to Andrew and the others in the book.
January 28, 2022
I walked into this expecting something usual along the horror lines. A detailed look at a necromancer, for example. What I got was something much bigger, more varied, and frankly more magical (if also disturbing and creative). I got a lot more than I expected.
This wasn't some morality play. It was a look at a bunch of normal-seeming people in normal houses, whether early or late in their magical careers, performing all kinds of interesting magic all over the world. Some magics are inherent, others taught, and there is a wide range of styles and practices. And then, some get themselves into massive trouble with a certain witch who travels in a house with a certain chicken leg, murderous fish-children, and a freaking meteor. But I recommend reading the book to see just how crazy it can get. :)
It honestly defied my expectations and did it well. Very enjoyable.
This wasn't some morality play. It was a look at a bunch of normal-seeming people in normal houses, whether early or late in their magical careers, performing all kinds of interesting magic all over the world. Some magics are inherent, others taught, and there is a wide range of styles and practices. And then, some get themselves into massive trouble with a certain witch who travels in a house with a certain chicken leg, murderous fish-children, and a freaking meteor. But I recommend reading the book to see just how crazy it can get. :)
It honestly defied my expectations and did it well. Very enjoyable.
December 16, 2013
Christopher Buehlman's writing is very much an acquired taste, one I simply can't seem to acquire and not for the lack of trying either. I found his first book to be average and his second one to be tedious, but this one just had such an interesting premise, great title, one more try was in order. Turns out this was just the third strike. No matter how fascinating the concept or the backstory, there is just that weirdly overly stylized writing with its one sentence paragraphs that just renders the book unreadable. Although that might not be the correct word, it's readable, in fact due to its structure it's a very quick read, 3 hours for 410 pages, it's just not enjoyable. Which sucks, because there are glimpses here and there (particularly at the end) and much infrequent, but still glimpses, of how good this could have been. Buehlman seems to be the the sort of writer you'll either love or hate and also, now after three books, not for me, definitely.
May 11, 2021
Another lovely novel by Buehlman! Before describing a this, let me say that Buehlman writes really nice prose; he is also a poet and it really shows! The main protagonist of the story is Andrew Blankenship, a modern wizard/warlock, living in upstate New York. A somewhat eccentric, loner type, he is also a recovering alcoholic and leads an AA meeting in town. Like any good author worth his or her spit, he manages to suspend your disbelief in the magic and just roll with the flow; in fact, that would be my advice with the novel-- just go with it!
Wizards can be made in two ways-- 'naturals' who sense magic and can be trained, and 'plodders' who achieve magical abilities via lots of hard study. We encounter a range of wizards here, all with various specializations. Andrew, for example, excels in 'car magic' and 'trapdoors' to access the dead via watching old VHS tapes. He, for example, has a tape of the founder of AA and can 'talk' with him and get advice, vent, or whatever. Another few wizards in the story work with computers, designing spells that can mediate electronic pathways like the ultimate hacker; yet another can work with stone, turning life forms into stone and vice versa. In other words, the magic here is very complex and not really systemic.
Anyway, there is a woman, Anneke, who also joins the AA meetings with Andrew, and as fellow smokers, they hang out there. Andrew senses her 'natural' ability and takes her under his wing as a tutor-- the 'normal' way to train novices. I found it really neat how Buehlman depicts the economy of the wizards; most of them know each other and today communicate via Skype. What Buehlman describes is really a 'gift' economy, one based upon reciprocity-- e.g., favor for favor. This plays an important role in the tale.
I really do not want to go too much into the plot here, as really, this book unfolds so nicely that I do not want to hurt the experience with spoilers. I will say, however, that the preface of the story is key-- one of Andrew's friends, a Russian mermaid ensconced in Lake Ontario (long story) really gets off by drowning people and placing them in an old wreck in the lake. When she kills an old Russian in a cabin by the lake, his relatives desire revenge, and oh what relatives he has!
TNH is a fast, fun read as well. Buehlman excels as producing carefully crafted plot lines that he always seems to tie up in a bow at the end; good editor or just great writing, or maybe a bit of both. In any case, Buehlman is a master of POV changes while keeping up the flow of the novel, and this one just builds and builds. You know there will be a terrible denouement at the end, but how it will unfold is really up in the air until you get there. Lots of fun! 4.5 rounding down. Why down,
Wizards can be made in two ways-- 'naturals' who sense magic and can be trained, and 'plodders' who achieve magical abilities via lots of hard study. We encounter a range of wizards here, all with various specializations. Andrew, for example, excels in 'car magic' and 'trapdoors' to access the dead via watching old VHS tapes. He, for example, has a tape of the founder of AA and can 'talk' with him and get advice, vent, or whatever. Another few wizards in the story work with computers, designing spells that can mediate electronic pathways like the ultimate hacker; yet another can work with stone, turning life forms into stone and vice versa. In other words, the magic here is very complex and not really systemic.
Anyway, there is a woman, Anneke, who also joins the AA meetings with Andrew, and as fellow smokers, they hang out there. Andrew senses her 'natural' ability and takes her under his wing as a tutor-- the 'normal' way to train novices. I found it really neat how Buehlman depicts the economy of the wizards; most of them know each other and today communicate via Skype. What Buehlman describes is really a 'gift' economy, one based upon reciprocity-- e.g., favor for favor. This plays an important role in the tale.
I really do not want to go too much into the plot here, as really, this book unfolds so nicely that I do not want to hurt the experience with spoilers. I will say, however, that the preface of the story is key-- one of Andrew's friends, a Russian mermaid ensconced in Lake Ontario (long story) really gets off by drowning people and placing them in an old wreck in the lake. When she kills an old Russian in a cabin by the lake, his relatives desire revenge, and oh what relatives he has!
TNH is a fast, fun read as well. Buehlman excels as producing carefully crafted plot lines that he always seems to tie up in a bow at the end; good editor or just great writing, or maybe a bit of both. In any case, Buehlman is a master of POV changes while keeping up the flow of the novel, and this one just builds and builds. You know there will be a terrible denouement at the end, but how it will unfold is really up in the air until you get there. Lots of fun! 4.5 rounding down. Why down,
February 6, 2017
That's it. I want to go grab a beer with Mr. Buehlman and pick his brains (you are invited, Erika!), because every time I pick up one of his books, I end up loving his writing even more than I did before. Classifying him as a horror writer is too easy, it doesn't accurately describe what he does. He takes what can seem like classic horror tropes and then he goes "this is boring: let's make it fun again!" and twists them up into something unexpected and addictive.
A few pages into "The Neuromancer's House" and I was hooked: the gritty setting, the world-building that will makes you believe that what's happening on the page could be true, the Russian mermaid! Never mind that the opening scene is on the shores of Lake Ontario, where my in-laws have a cottage. I'll never be able to hang out by that water after sunset now, Christopher! But more than just an eerily familiar setting, this book also has a dark and intelligent sense of humor and almost lyrical descriptions I have found in all of Buehlman's work. You read this and it feels like it's a friend telling you a weird, sick story.
Andrew Blankenship is a wizard, but he prefers the term "magus"; his house in Western New York is carefully booby trapped because when he was in Russia, he got his hands on a few things he should have probably left alone. And now that his lady friend the mermaid killed a Russian expat who happened to have very old and very powerful connections, he's in more trouble than he ever imagined he would be in.
I don't want to say more about the plot because the carefully assembled clockwork of narration and pacing that Buehlman put together deserves to be read by everyone: horror fans, occult mystery fans and good books fans. The way he makes classic genre ideas new and fresh is simply astonishing, and the quality of the writing will keep you hooked until the very last page.
I do want to say that I love how smart his stories are, that I love that he wrote about tough magic that has a high spiritual and physical costs to its users, that this magic doesn't solve all the problems; in fact, it only creates more when the so-called magicians are not especially stable or healthy. I love his characters, always a bit fucked up, dealing with pasts they would rather forget but can't quite get rid of. Also, this book's cover couldn't be more perfect for the story.
Just go read this book, already!
A few pages into "The Neuromancer's House" and I was hooked: the gritty setting, the world-building that will makes you believe that what's happening on the page could be true, the Russian mermaid! Never mind that the opening scene is on the shores of Lake Ontario, where my in-laws have a cottage. I'll never be able to hang out by that water after sunset now, Christopher! But more than just an eerily familiar setting, this book also has a dark and intelligent sense of humor and almost lyrical descriptions I have found in all of Buehlman's work. You read this and it feels like it's a friend telling you a weird, sick story.
Andrew Blankenship is a wizard, but he prefers the term "magus"; his house in Western New York is carefully booby trapped because when he was in Russia, he got his hands on a few things he should have probably left alone. And now that his lady friend the mermaid killed a Russian expat who happened to have very old and very powerful connections, he's in more trouble than he ever imagined he would be in.
I don't want to say more about the plot because the carefully assembled clockwork of narration and pacing that Buehlman put together deserves to be read by everyone: horror fans, occult mystery fans and good books fans. The way he makes classic genre ideas new and fresh is simply astonishing, and the quality of the writing will keep you hooked until the very last page.
I do want to say that I love how smart his stories are, that I love that he wrote about tough magic that has a high spiritual and physical costs to its users, that this magic doesn't solve all the problems; in fact, it only creates more when the so-called magicians are not especially stable or healthy. I love his characters, always a bit fucked up, dealing with pasts they would rather forget but can't quite get rid of. Also, this book's cover couldn't be more perfect for the story.
Just go read this book, already!
January 16, 2019
Wow . Just wow . Buehlman has an incredible imagination and he can write . Easily a 5 star book . It should be on your want to read shelf . Really it should be in your hand . Apparently I loved it since I'm gushing over it .
January 6, 2024
I truly had no idea what to expect and what I got was an insanely good and unique ride. 👏👏👏
July 8, 2021
I don’t write reviews.
I have strong opinions on this book. You probably won’t enjoy reading about them. That’s ok, I’m used to it.
These characters were awful. They felt evil things when someone they supposedly loved was about to die. Selfish strange shit. They thought of other people than the ones they were having sex with at the time. Disgusting. Now, yes yes… people feel they need to tell me that characters in books aren’t always good people and I need to realize it’s only fiction. My answer to that is: get bent. The consistent lack of character development in a longish book (plenty of time to create the personalities), which seems to delight in bad people doing bad things is BAD is not redeemable.
That leads to me to the pushing of crappy agendas. Cuckoldry. Yeah it’s in here as a “no problem” thing. “Lesbian” and straight guy having love affair??!! Huh? So we are jumping the LGBTQIAXYZ train and then driving it off the track? Turning the main dude into a chick so he can be with the lesbian lady is stupid. He’s still a guy. But as this agenda proves, outward appearances are EVERYTHING. If you’re gonna write these characters, maybe they shouldn’t have a romantic relationship.
And the “magic.” Dude runs hundreds of high energy spells constantly. Finally he stops using anti-aging glamour because he needs the extra energy. Yeah I’m sure THAT ONE was the tipping point. And his chick friend could just make a new person using magic after a couple weeks of training in basic elemental magic. Ok. Plus the magicians are self-serving hacks with no connection to any kind of higher power.
Add to that, no real plot, poorly written action scenes and characters I wouldn’t have mind to see fail utterly, and you have this.
I have strong opinions on this book. You probably won’t enjoy reading about them. That’s ok, I’m used to it.
These characters were awful. They felt evil things when someone they supposedly loved was about to die. Selfish strange shit. They thought of other people than the ones they were having sex with at the time. Disgusting. Now, yes yes… people feel they need to tell me that characters in books aren’t always good people and I need to realize it’s only fiction. My answer to that is: get bent. The consistent lack of character development in a longish book (plenty of time to create the personalities), which seems to delight in bad people doing bad things is BAD is not redeemable.
That leads to me to the pushing of crappy agendas. Cuckoldry. Yeah it’s in here as a “no problem” thing. “Lesbian” and straight guy having love affair??!! Huh? So we are jumping the LGBTQIAXYZ train and then driving it off the track? Turning the main dude into a chick so he can be with the lesbian lady is stupid. He’s still a guy. But as this agenda proves, outward appearances are EVERYTHING. If you’re gonna write these characters, maybe they shouldn’t have a romantic relationship.
And the “magic.” Dude runs hundreds of high energy spells constantly. Finally he stops using anti-aging glamour because he needs the extra energy. Yeah I’m sure THAT ONE was the tipping point. And his chick friend could just make a new person using magic after a couple weeks of training in basic elemental magic. Ok. Plus the magicians are self-serving hacks with no connection to any kind of higher power.
Add to that, no real plot, poorly written action scenes and characters I wouldn’t have mind to see fail utterly, and you have this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 15, 2014
Chris Buehlman has one of the most unique voices in modern fiction today. His first two published novels; Those Across the River and, Between Two Fires, are both fantastic and the Necromancer's House continues this tradition of excellence. His research is extensive, his prose is layered, and his characters are continuously flawed and fascinating.
This is his first book set in contemporary times, and has a more playful feel than the other two. It has more of Buehlman's sly sense of humor and at times is laugh out loud hilarious, between the very real rising tension and moments of sheer horror. The story of Andrew Blankenship, a charming wizard and recovering alcoholic, who is about to face the music for mistakes he made in his past, is both fast moving and surprising. Although there is some surface similarity to Jim Butcher's the Dresden Files, this is a different animal. Buehlman sets up the rules of his universe cleverly and sticks to them. For those who are fans of the urban wizard archetype, with a real literary flare and a great sense of humor, this gets my highest recommendation.
This is his first book set in contemporary times, and has a more playful feel than the other two. It has more of Buehlman's sly sense of humor and at times is laugh out loud hilarious, between the very real rising tension and moments of sheer horror. The story of Andrew Blankenship, a charming wizard and recovering alcoholic, who is about to face the music for mistakes he made in his past, is both fast moving and surprising. Although there is some surface similarity to Jim Butcher's the Dresden Files, this is a different animal. Buehlman sets up the rules of his universe cleverly and sticks to them. For those who are fans of the urban wizard archetype, with a real literary flare and a great sense of humor, this gets my highest recommendation.
May 3, 2019
Everything that I have read by Buehlman has been amazing.
This particular novel, as you can tell from the title, is a supernatural thriller full of magic and wizards and I loved it. And I don’t like stories about magic and wizards. Unless they are by this guy. And they have really bad-assed witches. Why are witches scarier than wizards? I don’t know, ask Freud I guess. Characters seemed instantly real and compelling. Pacing was perfect. Full of humor and wit. Did I mention it was scary as hell?
I have also read Those Across the River and The Lesser Dead. Each of these books is completely different than the others and every single one of them is incredible. I have a couple more to read (Suicide Motor Club is next….) and I have no idea what to expect except that they will be great.
This guy is fantastic. If you are making a list of great authors that explore supernatural themes (because Buehlman is at his core a great author) he is up there with anyone you’d care to name (King, McCammon, etc.). He is a great writer who just happens to write stories that are scary as hell.
And I am having so much fun reading them.
Check this guy out if you haven’t already. Start anywhere; everything he writes is great. Buehlman is the guy all my horror friends are falling over themselves spreading the word about.
This particular novel, as you can tell from the title, is a supernatural thriller full of magic and wizards and I loved it. And I don’t like stories about magic and wizards. Unless they are by this guy. And they have really bad-assed witches. Why are witches scarier than wizards? I don’t know, ask Freud I guess. Characters seemed instantly real and compelling. Pacing was perfect. Full of humor and wit. Did I mention it was scary as hell?
I have also read Those Across the River and The Lesser Dead. Each of these books is completely different than the others and every single one of them is incredible. I have a couple more to read (Suicide Motor Club is next….) and I have no idea what to expect except that they will be great.
This guy is fantastic. If you are making a list of great authors that explore supernatural themes (because Buehlman is at his core a great author) he is up there with anyone you’d care to name (King, McCammon, etc.). He is a great writer who just happens to write stories that are scary as hell.
And I am having so much fun reading them.
Check this guy out if you haven’t already. Start anywhere; everything he writes is great. Buehlman is the guy all my horror friends are falling over themselves spreading the word about.
November 16, 2015
My favorite book by this author. It had been Between Two Fires but the imagination, originality and strait up fun-ness of this one made me reconsider. All of his books are different, all of them are great. I'm mad this one wasn't longer.
January 8, 2014
For the past few days, I have been reading The Necromancer’s House by Christopher Buehlman. I can honestly say, I have not read such an entertaining novel in long time!
The story revolves around a wizard and his lesbian friend, whom he meets at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. It seems the wizard, Andrew, has another friend, a Russian Mermaid that enjoys drowning men. Unfortunately, the little mermaid drowns an old Russian man with ties to a very powerful family of witches.
The story is fast paced. There were never any lull moments. More importantly, even though it is a fantasy novel, the author made the the story believable. Mr. Buehlman’s writing shows that he is a true craftsman at his trade.
He takes just enough time to sketch out the scene and physical appearances of his characters. He allows his readers to fill in the blanks on the minor, and trivial, details. I also loved the way Mr. Buehlman reveled his characters through their actions and dialogue. His readers are treated like intelligent human beings, able to read between the lines of a character’s statement to get a feel for their true motives and views. His technique of making a character seem like a real person is superb.
Mr. Buhlman’s characters play by their own rules in this novel. He shows this freedom as a two sided coin, filled with immense pleasure and unfathomable pain. Addiction, whether it be to alcohol or power, has a price.
The story is filled with the excitement, love, horror, regret, and humor that can only be made tangible by the human psyche. My copy has little slips of paper marking the many pages with quotable and thought provoking passages.
The Necromancer’s House is a excellent book that I highly recommend. I rate this book 5 out of 5.
The story revolves around a wizard and his lesbian friend, whom he meets at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. It seems the wizard, Andrew, has another friend, a Russian Mermaid that enjoys drowning men. Unfortunately, the little mermaid drowns an old Russian man with ties to a very powerful family of witches.
The story is fast paced. There were never any lull moments. More importantly, even though it is a fantasy novel, the author made the the story believable. Mr. Buehlman’s writing shows that he is a true craftsman at his trade.
He takes just enough time to sketch out the scene and physical appearances of his characters. He allows his readers to fill in the blanks on the minor, and trivial, details. I also loved the way Mr. Buehlman reveled his characters through their actions and dialogue. His readers are treated like intelligent human beings, able to read between the lines of a character’s statement to get a feel for their true motives and views. His technique of making a character seem like a real person is superb.
Mr. Buhlman’s characters play by their own rules in this novel. He shows this freedom as a two sided coin, filled with immense pleasure and unfathomable pain. Addiction, whether it be to alcohol or power, has a price.
The story is filled with the excitement, love, horror, regret, and humor that can only be made tangible by the human psyche. My copy has little slips of paper marking the many pages with quotable and thought provoking passages.
The Necromancer’s House is a excellent book that I highly recommend. I rate this book 5 out of 5.
October 19, 2020
Holy shit, I loved this book. The plot was a perfect level of complexity, with multiple threads woven together tightly, and no fluff. The progression of the story, and the character arcs were not obvious. The characters themselves were fascinating with many shades of gray, and their interactions were thoroughly believable given the world they inhabit. Buehlman has no qualms about killing off characters, both ones I liked and ones I hated, but never in a cheap way. The way he worked both Baba Yaga and the rusalka into the story was brilliant, and the weird relationship between the rusalka and Andrew was creepy and disgusting, but somehow made sense in context. The Dali on a wicker-man with a dog's heart as a servant was such a great idea, and the back story on Salvador's creation was touching. The final battle scene was amazing, and the way Andrew used his prepared spells was unexpected at every turn. I became emotionally invested in several of the characters, and in particular, when Radha died, I was upset to the point of protesting verbally. Her death was so gruesome and unfair, and I wanted her to live, yet it made perfect sense in the narrative.
April 27, 2019
My favorite Buehlman to date.
Dark urban fantasy with shades of American Gods, only Russian and wretched.
Magic, sex, books, vengeance, folklore, love, despair, and alcoholics.
A witch is a terrifying thing in the hands of Christopher Buehlman.
*audible note: the narrator was not worthy of the book. I stopped at 30% and started over on kindle.
May 3, 2013
WOW. It's not every day I find a book with this quality of writing, with characters and magic and settings that are just made for the screen, that scared the crap out of me and made me cry like a little girl. More later...
September 29, 2014
Andrew Blankenship is a warlock able to communicate with the dead through VHS (he hasn't quite figured out digital yet). He also has a past that involves having stolen books filled with Russian magic from the old crone, Baba Yaga, while in the former Soviet Union. Too bad for him, Baba Yaga is coming...
There were aspects of this book that I loved. The characters were vividly portrayed, each with his or her own strengths, flaws, and quirks. There were bits of the unexpected, like Andrew's house servant, a wicker man with the salted heart of a dog and a head made of a framed Salvador Dali painting. The spells that the characters used throughout the book were unique; one of my favorites includes a very good reason to leave the house the same way you came in. I also liked the idea that while some people were "luminous," it wasn't necessary to be able to do magic; determined, yet non-luminous, individuals could also learn magic.
However, it took me a while to get into this one. While the characters were well-developed, the storyline itself didn't really seem to go anywhere for a good portion of the book. Everything felt a bit disjointed. We were given little bits and pieces, jumping around in both time period and location, in very short chapters (usually 1-4 pages), which kept the story from really flowing. I enjoyed the individual chapters as they were written, but as a whole, they did very little to build suspense. It eventually came together, but that was well over halfway through. The ending was terrific, though.
I borrowed this from a Goodreads buddy who won it in a giveaway. I'd definitely be willing to give the author's other books a go.
There were aspects of this book that I loved. The characters were vividly portrayed, each with his or her own strengths, flaws, and quirks. There were bits of the unexpected, like Andrew's house servant, a wicker man with the salted heart of a dog and a head made of a framed Salvador Dali painting. The spells that the characters used throughout the book were unique; one of my favorites includes a very good reason to leave the house the same way you came in. I also liked the idea that while some people were "luminous," it wasn't necessary to be able to do magic; determined, yet non-luminous, individuals could also learn magic.
However, it took me a while to get into this one. While the characters were well-developed, the storyline itself didn't really seem to go anywhere for a good portion of the book. Everything felt a bit disjointed. We were given little bits and pieces, jumping around in both time period and location, in very short chapters (usually 1-4 pages), which kept the story from really flowing. I enjoyed the individual chapters as they were written, but as a whole, they did very little to build suspense. It eventually came together, but that was well over halfway through. The ending was terrific, though.
I borrowed this from a Goodreads buddy who won it in a giveaway. I'd definitely be willing to give the author's other books a go.
November 15, 2013
This book is brilliant. I've been eagerly anticipating it for over a year and it did not disappoint.
First, Buehlman's versatility as a writer is astonishing. Even though all three of his books are inventive and engrossing, I never would have realized that all three are by the same author if his name wasn't on the cover. His settings pervade every story, and the language of each book reflects the setting in an immersive way.
My favorite aspect of his writing is his use of language and metaphor. Even though this is a long book (which I burned through in less than a week), each scene moves at the taut pace of a spy novel. I would kill to have his descriptive ability -- he gives you clear pictures of every person and setting but each metaphor advances the story or character. The result is a rich, textured, well-nuanced feast.
I loved the way he integrated the story of Baba Yaga into such a modern tale. The protagonist was complex, interestingly flawed but sympathetic, and his choices made sense. The magic and spell components were clever as hell. The other characters were believable and fascinating. The story, subplot, and reveals are deftly interwoven.
I swear, reading this book was like having a huge crush on a rock star who picked me out of the crowd and took me out on the town. I frequently wanted to jump up and down and say to my friends, "OH MY GOD, DO YOU GUYS SEE THIS?!?!" My only complaint is that I need more of my friends to hurry up read it!
First, Buehlman's versatility as a writer is astonishing. Even though all three of his books are inventive and engrossing, I never would have realized that all three are by the same author if his name wasn't on the cover. His settings pervade every story, and the language of each book reflects the setting in an immersive way.
My favorite aspect of his writing is his use of language and metaphor. Even though this is a long book (which I burned through in less than a week), each scene moves at the taut pace of a spy novel. I would kill to have his descriptive ability -- he gives you clear pictures of every person and setting but each metaphor advances the story or character. The result is a rich, textured, well-nuanced feast.
I loved the way he integrated the story of Baba Yaga into such a modern tale. The protagonist was complex, interestingly flawed but sympathetic, and his choices made sense. The magic and spell components were clever as hell. The other characters were believable and fascinating. The story, subplot, and reveals are deftly interwoven.
I swear, reading this book was like having a huge crush on a rock star who picked me out of the crowd and took me out on the town. I frequently wanted to jump up and down and say to my friends, "OH MY GOD, DO YOU GUYS SEE THIS?!?!" My only complaint is that I need more of my friends to hurry up read it!
January 18, 2014
Buehlman never fails to delight and surprise, which is one of the reasons I love this author. Once again he has blindsided me with something I didn’t expect. The Necromancer’s House is a tale of modern magic. The protagonist in this piece is a recovering alcoholic wizard, who while in his cups, has made a small errors in some of his castings and conjured up unwanted daemons that just complicate his to the death, or not, fight with an ancient witch.
I love the voice the author has given this unlikely hero and I appreciate his understanding of how true magic works in the contemporary world. Even though ancient Shadow Books and incantations are still valued and coveted by modern witches...the spells have not quite the same effect as they once had.
I look forward to the next offering...I will follow this author to the grave.
December 29, 2020
Awesome. Just awesome. A hell of a ride with rich characters that feel fully realized and lived in, taking place in a setting that balances the every day with the arcane. Slice of life chapters that pull us into a false sense of security before ripping our guts out. Christopher Buehlman is revving all his creative cylinders here. Personally, I consider this the best of the 21st-century magic tales, combining the modern troubles with old-world fairytales to create a potent witch's brew.
I'll read anything this guy writes.
I'll read anything this guy writes.
January 1, 2019
Buddy Read with the Glen Cook Cult/Roger Zelazny Regulars
I'm not sure how to summarize this, and it doesn't help that I'm trying to write a review over a month after finishing it. It's a dark, intense, hard-to-classify book: is it urban fantasy? Literary fantasy? Literary horror? (A couple of us settled on "Literary Modern Fantasy That Creeps You Out A Little.")
Warlock Andrew, originally from southwest Ohio, has settled on the shore of Lake Ontario in upstate New York, where he runs an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, keeps getting visited by Jehovah's Witnesses, teaches magic to a couple other natural "luminous" types (one of whom insists on staying a lesbian despite his desire that she go for him), and hangs out with a rusalka. Oh, and he's carrying out a long-distance vendetta against Baba Yaga, who is not amused.
It's impossible to describe the plot. But all the elements were fascinating, and the entire book just pulled me along with its brilliant weirdness. It was almost too literary for me, but had enough grounding in genre to feel satisfying and well thought out. I believed in this world and everything that went along with it.
I'd give it 5 stars except for the annoying third person-present tense writing style, which I will never be a fan of.
Check out my BR's reviews:
Lee (who suggested the book)
Choko
Rusalka Sarah plus all her Crustaceans
Elena who 5-starred it
Evgeny of the Unpopular Opinion
I'm not sure how to summarize this, and it doesn't help that I'm trying to write a review over a month after finishing it. It's a dark, intense, hard-to-classify book: is it urban fantasy? Literary fantasy? Literary horror? (A couple of us settled on "Literary Modern Fantasy That Creeps You Out A Little.")
Warlock Andrew, originally from southwest Ohio, has settled on the shore of Lake Ontario in upstate New York, where he runs an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, keeps getting visited by Jehovah's Witnesses, teaches magic to a couple other natural "luminous" types (one of whom insists on staying a lesbian despite his desire that she go for him), and hangs out with a rusalka. Oh, and he's carrying out a long-distance vendetta against Baba Yaga, who is not amused.
It's impossible to describe the plot. But all the elements were fascinating, and the entire book just pulled me along with its brilliant weirdness. It was almost too literary for me, but had enough grounding in genre to feel satisfying and well thought out. I believed in this world and everything that went along with it.
I'd give it 5 stars except for the annoying third person-present tense writing style, which I will never be a fan of.
Check out my BR's reviews:
Lee (who suggested the book)
Choko
Rusalka Sarah plus all her Crustaceans
Elena who 5-starred it
Evgeny of the Unpopular Opinion
January 6, 2014
I read Mr. Buehlman's earlier book, Those Across the River, last year. While I enjoyed it, I didn't love it. The plot and characters were interesting, but for some reason I found the whole thing a bit turgid. Still, I enjoyed it enough that when I saw a copy of The Necromancer's House on the shelf, I gave it a hard look, and ended up buying it. I'm SO glad I did. The Necromancer's House is a rollicking, frightening and moving book that grabbed me from the beginning and never slowed down. The titular character, Andrew, is a warm and fascinating character, and the supporting cast turns around Andrew in a wonderful maelstrom of humor and horror. Mr. Buehlman managed to tie together Baba Yaga, voodoo/hoodoo, Russian and American lore, and even gave readers an awe-inspiring look at what techno-magic might be like.
I highly recommend this story to fans of horror, fantasy and even mystery. I can't wait for Mr. Buehlman's next book!
I highly recommend this story to fans of horror, fantasy and even mystery. I can't wait for Mr. Buehlman's next book!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 605 reviews