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Rate: 8/10

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SPFBO Status: Cut

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Medium: Kindle

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Overview (No Spoilers):

Uhl delivers an entertaining tale in Necropolis that keeps the reader actively engaged, especially in the action-packed, suspenseful final sequence of events. Each character has a well-developed, distinctive voice, and a story that sparks an emotional connection with the reader. Of the main characters, only Conyr achieves significant depth with his detailed, fleshed out backstory. Although Dru’s past is relegated mostly to the shadows for a specific, magically-induced reason, he would have benefited most from the added layers of depth. Similarly, Jesra was also an intriguing pawn whose complex past is alluded to but never fully unveiled. 

Uhl nails the pacing as the suspense ebbs and flows throughout Necropolis, culminating in the last, seemingly hopeless battle. While I recognize the following criticism as a bias due to my personal preferences, I found that the reliance on convenient coincidences was used one too many times. The narrative in Necropolis repeatedly emphasizes how confusing and winding the streets of Eretria are within this massive, sprawling city; and yet, despite the maze-like quality of the city and the crowds, when villains and protagonists run randomly in search of one another, surprise, surprise, they somehow manage to stumble into exactly who they are looking for. The Ikati credit this to a higher power influencing the characters’ interactions, but in a city this congested and winding, it seemed far too convenient from the reader’s perspective. Overall, Uhl’s Necropolis proves to be an intriguing fantasy tale that continually builds, adding layer upon layer of detail, till the reader is eager to find out how the mess our favorite characters find themselves in will resolve. 

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Additional Insight (Spoilers Abound):

• Are Shira and Vesarian still alive? What would they have said to Conyr if he had confronted them?
• What were the charges against Gilas that forced him to stay in jail? He seemed to have just as many connections as Zelos. 
• What were the sorcerers in Zelos’ employment up to once it was known that someone from Cyran was going to unlock the Old Ones? 
• I wanted more history and legends behind the Old Ones. Sure, they promised destruction against Eretria, but what were they like in their heyday? 
• Although the Rythria were defeated in the Necropolis, wouldn’t they still be after Dru, Val, and Conyr since they’re still marked?
• Are the Old Ones still there even though their tomb was destroyed?
• Will Conyr find the peace he seeks in his new village?
• If Gilas is so powerful, wouldn’t the Order he left still want to keep tabs on him?
• What kind of beast was Echo? He was a great addition to the storyline, but it seems contradictory that Dru’s dad was so loyal that he would give up his own life and sacrifice his son for this mission, while still putting a pawn in place to protect him. Wouldn’t the Old Ones have killed Dru anyway?
• How does Jesra know how to heal? 
• What will happen to the band of Ikati we’ve come to know? Will Sekeska be successful in taking over as the leader of his tribe? What powers are behind him seeing Jesra in a dream? If Zelos is in jail, how will he break or command the bond?
• Why does the path to the Necropolis just so happen to be in Gilas’ home?

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Vocabulary Builder: 

corpulent: having a large bulky body

apoplectic: extremely enraged

rostrum: a stage for public speaking

torpor: a state of mental and motor inactivity with partial or total insensibility

Licentious: lacking legal or moral restraints

Epistle: a composition in the form of a letter

Liniment: a liquid or semiliquid preparation that is applied to the skin as an anodyne or a counterirritant

Akimbo: set in a bent position

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