Dead Things
Ratings22
Average rating3.7
In Dead Things by Stephen Blackmoore, the lead protagonist Eric is truly a dark son-of-a-bitch.
If Dead Things is anything to go on, I would have to guess the whole series has a noir urban fantasy vibe reminiscent of Felix Castor or John Constantine. There will be obvious comparisons to Harry Dresden from The Dresden Files, but Eric is cold and ruthless, whereas Dresden is snarky. Either way, Dead Things was a gritty urban fantasy done well.
We start the story by being introduced to Eric after he is called home. His sister has been murdered, and Eric is home visiting old haunts. He is also looking for information, and the only way he can get it is by talking to the dead. Through ritual and blood, Eric speaks to the deceased. They are a swarming mass of life-sucking souls held at bay by Eric's will and attitude alone. This story does not make the paranormal world look charming. There are no hugable and misunderstood souls here. Dead Things' creatures want to tear you limb from limb and feast on the bloody bits that are left.
“Magic's like Fight Club that way. You don't talk about it. Can't have the regular folk knowing this shit's real. We might have to share.”
With the bits and pieces of information that Eric gets from the ghosts and the old friends and new enemies he meets up with along the way, Eric begins to pick apart why his sister got killed.
There is a ton of positives about this story. Firstly, Eric doesn't have a swagger. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good quip and a well-placed swagger, but it has gotten formulaic across urban fantasy. It seems like every new series I read is a clone of Harry Dresden. Not every series needs to be cheeky. Secondly, how necromancy is described hits home how dangerous and otherworldly it can be. This kind of power shouldn't be taken lightly and isn't in Dead Things. And while this is a fantasy novel, it does add a gritty realness to the story. I think fans who like their fantasy with a side of grimdark will appreciate this series.
“There's a difference. Like I'm complex, you're complicated.”
Eric is a violent person; he has no qualms about throwing down with humans or with the undead. There is a lot of violence and action scenes in the story, and they are done well. Blackmoore writes with a gritty scalpel, and he does not mince words.
Dead Things is a solid start to what looks like a dark and entertaining series for my grimdark-loving heart. I plowed through this book and can't wait to get to the second book in the series, Broken Souls.
A dark, gritty, urban noir fantasy. Lots of magic related violence either inflicted by, or inflicted upon, the hero Eric Carter. Pretty well written, apart from the repeated use of the phrase “ass over teakettle” which really irritated me for some reason. That aside, I enjoyed the book.
Something about the book just doesn't work for me. It's short and shouldn't take an effort, but somehow it doesn't read smoothly enough.
The supporting characters are uninteresting and even though Eric is fine, right now I don't feel like forcing myself to go on with it. Maybe later. Maybe in a different mood, I mean it's not bad by any chance just... I don't know.
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UPDATE: I read it. I tried the book for a second time and now I finished the whole thing.
Eric Carter is a necromancer and pretty emo if you're asking me. After 15 years away from his home in LA he returns because of the brutal murder of his sister, Lucy, his only remaining family. He needs to find out who from his past could have done such a thing, while meeting some old friends who all feel he had abandoned them.
Look at that cover and tell me it doesn't remind you of a certain edition of the Dresden Files series. Even the premise is similar, urban fantasy with this angsty, angry young man who feels he doesn't have any roots. Even the fact supernatural powers are interested in him is Dresden-like.
What makes this not Dresden-like is the fact Eric lacks so much of the charm of Harry. This is not a funny book. He has no lightness about him, not much sarcastic, wiseass flair. Which is fine, he is a darker character from the get go, but I am just warning everyone; this isn't going to be a haha fun times. If anything, Eric is a lot more unashamed about just killing people. He goes in, does his thing, messes with the dead and it's the end of it.
In that regard, I have no idea how we can raise the stakes here. How will this get more serious? Not sure how much that will work when it's already borderline depressing in here.
In a way, I feel having big, emotionally significant deaths in the first book is a bit of a mistake when it's so short and will be part of a longer series, anyway. I don't care about Eric that much so far. That's just a fact, he is fine, but he isn't a character we spent years following. A lot of the impact of book deaths comes from us having a soft spot for either the victim or the surviving other (or both), but in this case Lucy was never a real character and Eric is just... I don't know yet?
In that sense a lot of the drama feels wasted.
Now don't get me wrong, this wasn't a bad book. It's adequate. I wind the urban fantasy genre to be very easily readable, like this one, so in that sense it's successful. It's competent. But it went in too fast, which took a lot out of its impact. I want to read more of this series, but I can't promise I am 100% on board.
Dead Things by Stephen Blackmoore is a fun dark urban fantasy novel that provides an excellent beginning to a series. Eric Carter is a necromancer on the run, but when tragedy brings him home he becomes embroiled in a complicated plot of magic, mystery, and more. Filled with wit and sarcasm and a healthy dose of the macabre, this book will be a delight to fans of urban fantasy, dark fantasy, and even horror. It reminded me a bit Kevin Hearne's The Iron Druid Chronicles. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️