Blood Magic

The Ballad Of Kirin Widowmaker #1

by Matthew Cook

Her sister was murdered, and Kirin hungers for revenge. Using the power of her "blood magic," the young necromancer creates grotesque and inhumanly strong creatures by calling men's souls back into their dead bodies. These "sweetlings," as she calls them, are utterly devoted to her, and Kirin cherishes them as if they were her own children. But while fighting a bloody war against a relentless enemy, she meets Lia Cho, a beautiful and gentle woman who can call the power of storms... and soon, Kirin learns that there is more to life than pain and vengeance.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Matthew Cook is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he specialized in printmaking, photography and ceramics.

Matt's first Kirin novel, Blood Magic, was released in September 2007 from Juno Books. The sequel, Nights of Sin, was released in August of 2008. Both Blood Magic and Nights of Sin have been nominated for the 2009 Gaylactic Spectrum Award.

Matt lives and works in Columbus, Ohio, where he shares his home with the love of his life, Amy, Grayson, his wild-haired son, a talking African Gray parrot, Zoe (the Scardiest Cat In The World), three Mini Coopers, numerous computers and countless books.

Reviews

[Karissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in the Kirin Windomaker series. This was planned as a trilogy and the second book in the series Nights of Sin was released in 2008, but I have yet to see any information on the last book in the series. This was a good book, overall I enjoyed it although it is pretty dark in tone.

Kirin is a necromancer and regularly uses her magic to raise the dead as her "sweetlings" which are grotesque but powerful creatures that defend her. She is a scout in the army and is helping defend the human population against the powerful and deadly Mor, a race of non-humans hell-bent on destroying humanity. This book is a solid fantasy setting, in a dark and war-ravaged world.

Kirin is a character with a serious set of issues. Her motherly love for the monsters she calls back from the dead is a bit disturbing at times, as is her sexual lust when she is bathed in her enemies blood. Overall though she is a complicated and conflicted character that you can't help but feel sorry for at times. Kirin is neither good nor evil but walks a grey line somewhere between the two.

The chapters alternate between the current time where Kirin is helping the fight against the Mor and past time, showing how Kirin became to be who she now is and how she learned her dark art.

There is a lot of blood and a lot of war in this book. Overall it was well done and engaging. I enjoyed learning about Kirin's history and about how she got to be the conflicted necromancer that she ends up as. Cook's writing style is very readable, if a bit dark and serious for me at times. This is not an uplifting book, it is dark and full of human misery.

The only ray of light comes in the form of Lia, a lightening mage who ends up accompanying Kirin in her fight against the Mor. The book ends at a decent point, but not much is resolved showing that this definitely continues on into another book.

I enjoyed the book and characters enough the I am interested in reading Nights of Sin. This is an intriguing, if dismal, world and you can't help but want to know more about these wretched characters and find out why the Mor are after them. If you like fantasy with a kind of urban fantasy flare to it this book should appeal to you. I enjoyed the way Cook dealt with necromancy and the questions behind whether or not it is good or evil.

[Krissy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jeeeeeze. This had so much potential, too bad it was painfully written through the male gaze. The MC had so much power and really strong figure. She quickly became the WORST MC I've read in a long time. Suddenly she's too good and righteous to use her Magick because she's pregnant? And only because she thought couldn't get pregnant? So then was just stripped of all her cool powers and then avoided doing it etc etc. The whole story kinda just went downhill from there. I liked it increasingly less as I got further. 2 stars because the baby death scene was a very good description. Horror might be this guy's calling

[Aalen Sweida · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely awesome!

[Suzanne craib · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first of two books that i read involving the character of Kirin. The way the layout of the book jumps from present to past and so on i found refreshing, it lets you get to know the character from why she is the way she is in the present then from in the past and gives you a good look into her life before.

Kirin is a twin, a necromancer and a fierce warrior, i love the way the author portrays such a strong female warrior persona for the main character, she can be vulnerable at times and this shows more in her past which does give the character depth and makes her more believable but she does become incredibly strong and goes through a lot of heart ache along the way.



Kirins main ability is blood magic which she uses on corpses to reanimate them again into things she calls her sweetlings, this magic is dark and does have consequences for almost everyone around her but on some occasions it saves her life.

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend to people that like the zombies/necromancy genre, as for me though it portrayed this ability in a different way then normaly is percieved in your stereotypical zombie book, for kirins love for her sweetlings really brings them to life again and makes you feel for something that you would normaly be repulsed by.

[Raye · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is different from others I've read. Very refreshing in my mind. He writes his story with the first chapter is what is going in the present, the second chapter is what happened in the past. Thats when you meet the real Kirin. (which is not the heroine of the story) She kinda started life living in the shadow of her twin,and letting her pretty much telling her what to do until tragedy strikes. And "Kirin" puts her hard won knowledge to the test in revenge which the results sends her on her journey.
Loyalty is a rel big theme in this book,as well as enduring what people think of you when your different.You can't help but feel for her as it seems shes always getting the short stick in life until she meets Lia, a elemental girl who can control lightning. As you read Lia develops a loyalty that leads me to think she feels more than pity or adoration towards Kirin. So to me it seems like the two will share a lot in the second book which i'm about to read. I would suggest reading this book for Matthew Cook knows what depth of character means and knows how to write about it giving Kirin her inner struggles that she deals with as she continues her adventures.....stayed tuned. :)

[chucklesthescot · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kirin is the army archer,protecting the troops as they do their duty,pusued by evil,deadly Mor, creatures intent on destroying everything they hold dear. She can do dark blood magic to conjure her own demons from the bodies of the dead to use against her enemies. But she is also haunted by her own past and she must find a way to deal with her anger and grief.

It was tough to even write a review of this one as I read so little of it. There was nothing wrong with the actual book but when I started reading it I realised that it was more to the fantasy side of things, the genre I'm not really too keen on. So my dislike for the book was purely because of my own reading tastes and not the book itself.

[Nicole Bunge · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not often I pick up a book based on the strength of the cover art. But this was a free excerpt chapter I picked up at Wiscon a few years back. Liked the idea (female necromancer - which - SURPRISE - is not a paranormal romance book!) so I put it on my paperbackswap wishlist, and eventually it showed up on my doorstep.

So far I really like it. Typical "throw you into the action, then tell biography in flashbacks" but it's unique. I enjoy the slightly historical-English dialect, and the monsters/enemies aren't typical.
The world building is solid without being overwhelmingly verbose or political.

[Shara · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I'm on a bit of a JUNO books kick. Next up was Matthew Cook's Blood Magic, which by the backcover blurb didn't sound interesting to me at all, but a good friend of mine, whose tastes I trust, recommended it highly so I gave it a shot. It's a darn impressive debut, with a strong female protag who works blood magic and can raise the dead once more to fight, but who is sympathetic in her need to help people, even when those people are afraid of her and the magic she performs. A short fast read and I'm looking forward to the sequel.[return][return]For the full review, which does contain spoilers, please click here: http://calico-reaction.livejournal.co...

[Corinne · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I read the synopsis I simply needed to order it, because it sounded that promising, but the story is simply unbalanced. The inner thoughts of Kirin, the main protagonist, and her changing view on her self-made zombies aren't comprehensible at all! I simply didn't understood her reasoning and felt that there was no real explanation behind her point of view from the beginning.

[Brian Godsey, now on thestorygraph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't usually read fantasy---or, well, not in 20 years---but I enjoyed myself while reading this one. It was surprisingly vivid in its descriptions, usually without falling into the typical fantasy pitfalls such as overwrought emphasis on special abilities and gratuitous creation of superfluous beasts. I'll put the second one on my to-read list!

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a different kind of necromantic novel that I am used to, feels a bit darker than others. It was good, but the way the story kept going from past to present with every chapter slowed the book down and lost its focus.

[krin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good fantasy featuring Kirin, a young woman with powers she doesn't always understand. I liked how she gradually learned about the cost of her actions and I look forward to reading the sequel, Nights of Sin.

[Rhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our main character is a zombie making necromancer with a conscious. Moments of drama and action fill this book with great characters and settings. Epic battles, dodgy villagers and a pretty faced best friend who can call on the power of lightning. Seriously, just read it :)

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't usually read fantasy but this seemed more like a novel set in medieval times taking place around a war/battle. Enjoyed it more than I thought

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very dark, not for everyone, but the writing is pretty good.

[Lady Entropy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Surpreendentemente interessante, apesar de um pouco médio, a história de uma Necromante. A história está bem escrita com bom pacing, e fez-me virar as páginas vorazmente.

[Matt Keevil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very dark, not for everyone.. Interesting writing style, Worth a read if your inbetween books.