This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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A cat, free from the restraints of flesh, muscle, and organ, stretched on the edge of the wagon, as if that would do anything for its skeletal body. Then it jumped down next to Mina and plodded over to the woman, who had returned to her chair by the fire. A partially- knitted scarf coiled in her lap as she continued to work on it. The skeletal cat found a comfortable piece of the woman’s dress, curled up at her feet, and licked its non- existent crotch with a non- existent tongue.

WHAT'S NECROMANCER CALLED GAM GAM ABOUT?
Twelve-year-old Mina is being pursued by armed men—armed men who had just killed her father. She has a special kind of magic, and those in power want to use her because of it.

She runs across a kindly grandmotherly type who introduces herself as Gam Gam. Gam Gam, it turns out, is a necromancer with a soft spot for endangered little girls. (probably endangered women, and males of all ages, too). She takes her Mina in and promises her safety. Gam Gam is a necromancer and can back up that promise (not definitively, but more than most people can).

They tell each other their stories—Mina tells her why she's on the run, and Gam Gam tells her that she became a necromancer after the death of her grandchildren so she could resurrect them.

But first, Gam Gam decides that she needs to do something to keep Mina safe.

THE TYPES OF MAGIC

The bundle of bones at the top of the stove raised its feline skull and looked at Mina, then disregarded her and returned to a nap. Why did skeletal cats need so many naps?

Great question. But that's not what I want to talk about here.

We see two types of magic portrayed with our two protagonists—with others floating out there in this world for us to encounter in future installments, I assume.

Necromancy is rarely something I'm interested in reading about unless the necromancer is about to be thwarted. I know there are exceptions (including here), but it's hard to think about magic involving reanimating the dead as a good thing. But Holcombe not only makes that specialty seem interesting but gives the reader a necromancer you can root for.

I really liked the way one of the characters describes Gam Gam's magic to Mina. It grounded the practice, for starters—you could understand it. It's also idiosyncratic enough to fit Gam Gam to a T. From that point on, I could see that explanation at work—even when the text doesn't refer to it.

Now Mina's magic is a kind I've never encountered before—maybe a few things like it (particularly in SF rather than fantasy)—but it took almost no time at all for Holcombe to convey the potential—both for a character in fiction, as well as for an evil empire to exploit. In the hands of someone with little experience—for example, a 12-year-old—it could be dangerous. Okay, it could be dangerous in the hands of anyone, but people with experience would control and target the damage they inflict, a child would just inflict damage.

Having a novel (or novella, in this case) with a great magic system is a good start—but it's how you convey the use of magic to the reader that's the make/break point for me. And Holcombe nails this part. Mina's as well as Gam Gam's. This is a big selling point for me.

THE UNEXPECTED CONTENT

Tears escaped her and raced down her cheeks. Was it possible to ever run out of tears? She couldn’t possibly have many more before she would start shriveling up.

Okay, you've got this friendly and caring Grandmother-type character. You've got a lost little girl who needs comfort. There's a cute (in a certain way) cat. And using knitted goods as a bribe/reward/gift for the undead. Really, this sounds like it's full of warm fuzzies and maybe a little bit of fun along with the adventure that a Fantasy should bring. Rightly or wrongly, I expected something with a similar tone to A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking.

And it's there. However...

You're dealing with a twelve-year-old girl whose devoted father was murdered in his own home trying to protect her. She's on the run from armed men who are out to use her for their own purposes. You're also dealing with an elderly woman who mastered an entire type of magic at her advanced age fueled by grief in a gambit to cheat death. There's nothing warm and fuzzy there.

These two characters are suffering—they need each other to get through what they're dealing with. There's healing (and the promise of more to come). But healing, comfort, and all that comes at the end. The cliché "the only way out is through" comes to mind here—most of this book (and likely future books) is in the "through."

This is a bigger selling point for me.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT A NECROMANCER CALLED GAM GAM?

When [the zombie] chose socks, Gam Gam instructed it to lift a foot, then tugged the sock into place.

"Is this necessary, Gam Gam? Can they even feel the cold?" Mina asked.

“Of course it’s necessary, sweetie,” Gam Gam said as she pulled the second sock onto the zombie’s other foot. “Just because they’re undead doesn’t mean they have to be neglected.”

I was charmed instantly by this book, and that only grew throughout. Particularly once I cottened on to the fact that it wasn't going to be a cozy kind of read—despite the scarves and sweaters. Once I saw what Holcombe was up to, I really got into things.

I don't want to spoil anything but don't get attached to any character. Just sayin.' (okay, it's called Book One of Chronicles of Gam Gam, so it's probably safe to get attached to one. Although, given the loose correlation between death and characters doing things in this book...)

Holcombe has created a great little world for his characters to dwell in, and pairing Mina and Gam Gam together is a big one. He knows how to show the emotions of the moment—and to get the readers to buy into it. Even better, his depictions of the way magic works here are really well executed.

Even his choice of novella-length was smart. This isn't a story that would work well with another 2-300 pages to tell it. Nor should it be the first part of a novel—this tight story is one that needs to be by itself.

I see that there's a short story in this world that takes place sometime before this novel. I'll be jumping on that soon while I begin the wait for Book Two.

This is a short read that packs the punch of a longer one, and I encourage you to give it a shot. ( )