Necrobane by Daniel M. Ford – Review

Published: April 23, 2024

Publisher: Tor Books

Series: The Warden #2

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 294 (Kindle)

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
Aelis de Lenti, Lone Pine’s newly assigned Warden, is in deep trouble. She has just opened the crypts of Mahlgren, releasing an army of the undead into the unprotected backwoods of Ystain.

To protect her village, she must unearth a source of immense Necromantic power at the heart of Mahlgren. The journey will wind through waves of undead, untamed wilderness, and curses far older than anything Aelis has ever encountered. But as strong as Aelis is, this is one quest she cannot face alone.

Along with the brilliant mercenary she’s fallen for, her half-orc friend, and a dwarven merchant, Aelis must race the clock to unravel mysteries, slay dread creatures, and stop what she has set in motion before the flames of a bloody war are re-ignited.

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I’ve been eagerly awaiting this second installment in The Warden series because the first book was such an overwhelming favorite of mine when it was first released. I loved everything about it from the main character, Aelis, to the setting, to the adventurous plot. Much to my delight, Necrobane was almost just as great a read as The Warden!

We’re dumped right back into the story where we left off, with Aelis having just returned in much haste to Lone Pine from her frightening excursion into the wilderness. Aelis must tell the people that her mucking about (at the instruction of her superiors) has unleashed an unknown number of undead into Old Ystain and they might come into Lone Pine. She immediately sets off again, despite her badly injured ankle, with Tun, Maurenia, and the dwarf who’s name I can’t remember to stop this threat. There’s a great deal of walking, so if that’s something that really drags a story down, you probably already gave up in the first book. 

I love Aelis’ brash confidence in her own abilities, which are not insignificant, and how she’s balanced out by Tun. Tun was definitely one of the highlights of the first book and continues to be an excellent character, though I feel that his character doesn’t get fleshed out too much more this time around. Maurenia, as Aelis’ love interest and kick ass inventor does get more page time and more depth this time around, which I greatly appreciated. The dwarf… well, I can’t even remember his name, so that’s enough about that.

While this story starts and ends strongly, one particular section really dragged along. As the group are traveling toward Mahlgren, where they hope to locate a control mechanism for the unleashed undead, they stop in a valley where they have to make a deal with some sort of… forest spirit? Anyway, the whole sequence reminded me of the Tom Bombadil section in the Fellowship of the Ring and I HATED it. It felt so tedious, though it was ultimately very important!

Overall, Necrobane was a great second book and I’m pleased to see that there’s already a title for the third book (The Advocate), though no release date yet. I’m a little peeved by the cover art change because I really loved the style of the art on The Warden and felt that it fit the overall vibe and the new, light, almost anime style of the new art doesn’t fit it quite as well. I think this is a great series for someone looking for the D&D vibe in their fantasy books.