Last Necromancer by CJ Archer

BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS:
Print: COPYRIGHT: Copyright © 11/7/2017; PUBLISHER: C. J. Archer; ISBN 978-0648214601; PAGES 268; Unabridged (Amazon PAPERBACK [It appears that, if it was ever available as hardbound, that format is now out of print.])

Digital: COPYRIGHT: 8/11/2015; PUBLISHER: Not listed (Amazon?); ASIN B00ZMVECQA; FILE SIZE: 4175 KB; Unabridged (Amazon Kindle—It looks like Digital was it’s first format.)

*Audio: COPYRIGHT: 27-Oct-2016; ISBN: 9781987178753; PUBLISHER: C. J. Archer: DURATION: 09:05:09; PARTS: 9; File Size: 260304 KB; Unabridged (Overdrive LAPL MP3)

Feature Film or tv: Not that I’m aware of.

SERIES: The Ministry of Curiosities (Book 1)

CHARACTERS: (Not comprehensive)
Charlie (Charlotte) Holloway
Fitzroy
Seth
Gus
George
Cook

SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
How I picked it: I saw it in print at the Newport Beach Friends of the Library bookstore, and couldn’t recall if I’d read anything by the author. It looked like something I might like so I sought it out in Overdrive.

What’s it about? An 18-year-old girl, Charlotte, poses as a 13 year old boy, Charlie, to be safer on the streets that she is forced to live on, after having been thrown out by her father when she unwittingly brought her deceased Mom back to animate her corpse after her last dyeing breath. She’d not known she had the power to do that. She wasn’t sure she could do it again, but, while incarcerated for stealing an apple, in a desperate move to avoid being beaten by several male cell mates, after the death of one who’d tried to defend her, she gave it a try and succeeded. The success of this second attempt results in frightening not only Charlie’s attackers, but the constabulary enough for Charlie to execute an escape, after which, as with her mother, and with his agreement, she commands the Spirit with a statement of Release from his corpse. Not long after her escape, however, she is abducted . . . and the story builds from there.

What I thought: First and foremost, I did enjoy the plot and the characters. Less important was that I felt that Charlie’s refusals to cooperate were a bit too drawn out—to the point, almost, of tedium. Then, I was personally not comfortable with blatant repeated coming-of-age type musings/longings on Charlie’s part. I suppose, based on the covers of most of this author’s novels, that’s an element she makes a point of including though, so, I guess I can live with it.
An aside is that after the story ends, there is an excerpt that seems like a mistake. It is the beginning of the story we just heard, when usually an author will play an excerpt of the next book in the series.

AUTHOR:
C. J. Archer
From Amazon:
“C.J. Archer is the USA Today bestselling author of historical fantasy and historical mystery novels including the GLASS AND STEELE series, the CLEOPATRA FOX MYSTERIES, the MINISTRY OF CURIOSITIES and THE EMILY CHAMBERS SPIRIT MEDIUM TRILOGY.
C.J. has loved history and books for as long as she can remember and feels fortunate that she found a way to combine the two. She has at various times worked as a librarian, IT support person and technical writer but in her heart has always been a fiction writer. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband, 2 children and Coco the black and white cat.”

NARRATOR:
Shiromi Arserio
From IMDb:
“Shiromi Arserio is a British award winning audiobook narrator and voice actor, who specialises in accent work. She has a degree in Theatre from Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance with 20 years of experience performing. Her voice can be heard in projects such as Nancy Drew: The Shattered Medallion, and the audiobooks for Alien: into Charybdis and The Saga of Tanya the Evil.”

GENRE:
Fiction; Fantasy; Romance; Historical Fiction

SUBJECTS:
Necromancy; Street urchins; Social classes; Frankenstein

LOCATIONS:
London, England (Clerkenwell, Highgate)

TIME FRAME:
1889

DEDICATION:
"To Samantha and Declan, for a million reasons."

EXCERPT from Chapter 1To:
"The other prisoners eyed me as if I were a peice of tender meat. I was someone new to distract them from their boredom, and small enough that I couldn't stip one--let alonge four--from doing what they wanted. It was only a matter of who would be the first to *enjoy* me.
"He's mine." The prisoner's tongue darted through his tangled beard and licked what I supposed were lips, hidden beneath all that wiry black hair. "Come her, boy."
I shuffled away from him but instead of the brick wall of the cell, I smacked into a soft body. "Looks like he wants *me*, Dobby. Don't ye, lad?" Large hands clamped around my arms, and thick fingers dug into my flesh through my jacket and shirt. The man spun me around and I gaped up at the brute grinning toothlessly at me. My heart rose and dove, rose and dove, and cold sweat trickled down my spine. He was massive. He wore no jacket or wasitcoat, only a shirt stained with blook, sweat and grime. The top buttons had popped open, most likely from the strain of containing his enormous chest, and a thatch of gray hair sprouted through the gap and crept up to his neck rolls. Hot, foul breath assaulted my nostrils."

RATING:
4 stars

STARTED READING – FINISHED READING
3-18-2023 to 3-19-2023 ( )

Victorian London, Charlie has been living on the streets for the last five years, moving from one gang to another, hiding one big secret (well, two really) Charlie is in fact Charlotte Holloway.

When a theft goes wrong and she ends up in prison, the death of a man brings about her escape from rape. Being a necromancer (secret nr 2!) she raises his spirit and walks out.
Now two dangerous parties are looking for her but it's Fitzroy who manages to capture her, thinking she is a thirteen year old boy and able to lead them to Charlotte.

Will she be able to escape before they figure out she is in fact the one they are looking for?

My take on the book:

To be very honest, I was quite surprised with this one :)

World building was good. The author described Victorian London really well, slums, sewers, ... As a reader it felt effortless to imagine the scenes.

Character building was good. As this is only the first of 10 books (if I'm correct) it stands to reason there will be a whole lot more delving into the psyche of our characters. But for a first book, it was enough. We got to know Charlie quite well while Fitzroy remains a delicious mystery.

The book was well written and there were next to no errors. There is also no sex (if that is important to you).

The pacing and flow were decent. Some parts felt a tad too long and had me urging them on but I feel this was mostly due to setting things up for our cast not only for this book but for the following ones. While it was something that did bother me a bit I can understand the reasoning behind it. That being said I do hope the pacing is better in the next book. ( )

It started off strong and the concept is great. I just didn't really connect with the characters. I might check out the second book in the series at some point to give it another go. ( )

Very well done! Charlie (Charlotte) is a necromancer, one who can animate the dead. For several years she has been living as a street urchin in London's seedier neighborhoods disguised as a boy because her vicar father has thrown her out of the house as the "devil's spawn." But others are aware of her gift and are seeking to claim it - some of them are seeking to use it for good, others for evil. Charlie must unravel the truth of who is who while at the same time discovering that much of her past has been a lie. Can she unravel her true identity and maintain her own autonomy among those who wish to use her gifts? The plot is interesting but it is the characters that really draw you into the story. Archer has created compellig characters that populate a great story to create a really good read. This is the first book in a series and I am looking forward to the rest! ( )

Decent story, writing and characterization is inconsistent. ( )