Book Summary:

Once upon a time (not all that long ago, really), Aelis de Lenti thought she was being insulted or shunned when assigned to be the Warden of Lone Pine. Now, she cherishes her role in the village and would do anything to protect them.

Even if that means walking out into the dark and facing a monster before it can reach them. In her quest for answers, Aelis may have kicked off something much bigger than herself, and it’ll take everything she has to stop it before a war begins anew.

My Review:

Necrobane is the second novel in Daniel M. Ford’s Warden series, and I have SO been looking forward to seeing what happens next. The last book left us on a bit of a cliffhanger, leaving me all sorts of anxious and worried.

The events that follow are exactly what I was hoping for. It resolved everything from the last book while finding new and different ways to up the ante. In other words, it’s a perfect fantasy sequel.

I am sad that Necrobane is shorter than its predecessor. I feel like a few areas could have been explored further (like the whole conclusion). Maybe that’s just me because I want to learn everything about this world.

There are two major twists in this book. The first comes about halfway through, and it’s heavy. Good, but heavy. The second comes at the end and will certainly set the tone for the next novel, which I’m already looking forward to.

Highlights:
Necromancers & Trials
Adventure Fantasy
Part of a Series
LGBTQ+

I received a copy of Necrobane by Daniel Ford free from ##NetGalley. This is the second book of the series The Warden. Aelis still doesn't trust her friends enough and has opened crypts where the dead will walk. She ends up taking her girlfriend Maurenia, Tun-the half Orc, and Timmuk-the dwarf to stop them and find the key. She battles them but again because of her impulsiveness, her girlfriend is found bound to land like Circe and Calypso. She must know find a way to free her, and kill Darius. By the end of the boom, she had adjusted to Lone Pines but it ends on another cliffhanger as she must go defend a teacher. I didn't like it as well as the Warden but I think it was because it seemed like the characters were stuck in their trust and it didn't flow as well. I will still continue the series. I also didn't like this cover as well as I did the first cover.

A fun sequel to an already great story. Ford has created a world with an interesting and complex magic system. Ford also does a wonderful job of humanizing his characters. They run into normal issues within this fantastical world. Their approach to dealing with these issues feel more true to how any normal person would deal with them. I was so happy to receive this as the last book ended on such a cliffhanger. I am happy it will be a continuing series and look forward to future installments.

Necrobane is 2nd in a fantasy series starring kick-ass Necromancer/Enchanter/Abjurer Aelis de Lenti.

In the first episode, she was assigned as Warden for remote Lone Pine village. She resides in a tower nearby.

Now the entire region is threatened by an army of undead that her actions have unleashed.

Aelis and friends stop them but at a high cost.

I didn't realize at first that this was the second in a series, and the beginning of the story had me hooked, so I decided to take a pause and read the first book, "The Warden." I was in for a fun ride, and grateful to have two books in Aelis's world! Now I'm eagerly awaiting the third.

The story follows Aelis, Warden of Lone Pine, as she works to undo a danger brought about by her own actions. She has always been brash and independent. Can she learn to rely on her friends, while also considering them in her planning?

I love the world this story is set in, with its rich tapestry of characters and lands. I can't wait to explore it more.

This was a stellar follow up to The Warden - and I think I liked it even more than the first book. Aelis remains a compelling female lead and is joined for most of the book by my favorite side characters from the first book. Ford does a great job writing complex and fun side characters, the lack of which is something that has been grating on me in some of the other books I've read lately. If you love snarky, clever characters off to save the world, you should definitely give this series a try. I think, much like her partymates, I would follow Aelis anywhere. I'm so excited for book 3 - I've already pre-ordered The Advocate!!

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars because I have not read book 1 yet but I will read book 1 and come back here to update this review and give you guys all my thoughts about it.

I was looking forward to Necrobane, the follow-up book to The Warden, not the least of which is that The Warden ended on a bit of a cliff-hanger. Surprisingly, what I remembered as a life-or-death moment was speedily dealt with–not an issue of immediate danger, but of long-term safety. Aelis’ mission becomes eradicating the potential skeleton hordes for both safety and political reasons.

The world is a sword-and-sorcery medieval world that will feel familiar to role-players. To date, we’ve met a dwarf, a half-orc, a half-elf, and learned that there is an uneasy peace with the orcs. Magic is fairly uncommon, with certain trained wizards becoming justicars, those that maintain legal order in the rural areas. Unlike many authors, Ford does a nice job of bringing the local village to life, both in character and in the type of labor it takes to survive.

I found characterization a mixed experience. Told in third-person, it primarily reflects Aelis’ viewpoint. She has an academic outlook, and while she notices the people around her, she doesn’t always credit them with capability. Integrating into the village continues to be a challenge. I felt unsure if this was due to inconsistent characterization or growth process. She can be challenging, so reader enjoyment may vary based on the extent one prefers to identify with main characters.

Unusually for the genre, Aelis has a significant romantic interest and this installment has her furthering her relationship with a half-elven woman, Maurenia. While the S&S fantasy tends to a love-em-and-leave-em philosophy, the relationship humanizes Aelis, as well as serving for a narrative foil for explanatory dialogue. I was ambivalent about it; while it didn’t feel forced, it did occasionally feel intrusive, often distracting from the plotting.

Like The Warden, I enjoyed the writing. I continued to find the plotting mildly unpredictable, perhaps because Ford doesn’t telegraph every plot point and the pacing is unusual. I found that rather than a typical ‘find-the-McGuffin’ fantasy plot, it tended to feel like a family vacation with young children instead of a straight-forward quest. Things that seem very important in one chapter (Aelis’ ankle, Maurenia) become shoved aside until much later, only to become a crisis again. Maybe that’s life, but honestly, it left me unsure of how much to believe what Aelis (or the author) had said. In the last section of the book, we literally have a prolonged recovery section that, while realistic, felt more like an extended epilogue and transition to the next book. While I appreciate the nod to the mundane life (see above), there’s a reason most books skip over the day-to-day.

What I really wanted was more necromancy, or necrobane activity, as the case may be. Aside from two major works, magic felt rare. Still, it kept me reasonably interested and I would consider it re-readable, which is remarkable for a fantasy these days. Consider it a recommendation with caveats.



Many thanks to Netgalley and Tor/Forge for an advanced e-copy of the book. All opinions my own, as always.

Necrobane picks up right where The Warden left off, so if you're considering reading it, make sure you've read The Warden first.

Much of this book is spent away from the town where Aelis is employed as the Warden, instead taking readers into the lands beyond, where bound spirits play complicated games and more of the undead lurk, stirred up by Aelis' battle with a not-as-dead-as-everyone-hoped necromancer. Aelis is confronted with a lot of consequences and takes responsibility for all of them, even the ones I wouldn't say she's actually responsible for, because she feels it's her duty as a Warden. Being such a slave to duty, she is forced to disappoint some of the people who care about her, and then deal with those consequences too. All of which is to say, this book is pretty rough on Aelis, but she toughs it out.

I enjoy this series, and the way Aelis (and the series) treats magic as just another job one can have an aptitude for. Something basically measurable and knowable. Her approach to using magic is a large part of why I keep reading (it certainly isn't for the interpersonal relations, which seem a little forced to me). That, and Tun, who is intriguing, and about whom I would like to learn more, thanks.

As second books in a series go, this one is a pretty strong sequel, and if you enjoyed The Warden odds are good you'll like this one, too. I did, anyway. But definitely read the first book first.

Imgur link goes to photo scheduled for May 18th
Blog post goes live May 17th
Will be discussed in May Reads Pt 1

TL;DR: This was almost as good as the first book. One tiny complaint, but otherwise such a fun adventure. Far less cozy than book too as well.
Source: NetGalley and I purchased this! So thank you to Tor and past me!

Plot: Aelis has to fix the big ‘whoopsie’ she had at the end of book one. She goes on an adventure and fights lots of undead, including a tooth monster!
Characters: We get a lot more focus on Aelis’s traveling partners in this, so I actually loved that and the dynamic between them. That was a great portion of the book.
Setting: We’re in the wilds for most of this. While not detailed it was well drawn enough to get us where we needed and to help us understand where we were.
Magic: A lot more of the fun D&D-esque magic from before, we also hear a lot about the rules of necromancy and the difference between what Aelis does and true necromancy!

**Thoughts**:

Necrobane is the follow up to The Warden from last year. I loved The Warden, it was a great mix of a cozy fantasy with some decent stakes and for me the feelings you get from a good D&D inspired setting and magic system. Necrobane is much the same, with far less cozy and much more adventure, which was a good thing! With no spoilers I can say Aelis makes a big ‘whoopsie’ at the end of book one and consequently has to travel back to Lone Pine, gather a group and head out to stop said ‘Whoopsie’ from overwhelming the town and causing a Problem (with a capital P).

This is an adventure story, a quest story if you would. We see her traveling with Tun and two others (including Reina, her lovely half-elf lover) to a ruined keep to obtain a much-needed magical item. Daniel M. Ford does a great job in this of building those characters around and with Aelis. I really enjoyed a lot of the interactions, the ways in which trust was building or lacking, and by the ending of the book the outcome from most of it. Additionally we see a lot of Aelis doing more magic. It shines in both combat in some historical information, along with Aelis’s use of a very powerful magical artifact!

My only complaint on this and it’s did really bother me, was at about 60% there was a very understandable mistake made with a drop of blood. Very light on spoilers here - but while healing someone Aelis dropped a single tiny drop of blood on the ground. Keep in mind this individual had some deep bite marks that required minor surgery and burns on their hands. Frankly I’m impressed only one drop fell! And yet when the magical consequences of that single drop of blood come to be, she’s called things like negligent or messy. And she took it! She let those words affect her and she agreed! Listen. I’ve been in a lot of blood. I’ve had a lot of injuries. It gets places! It was so unrealistic and frustrating to me to thing a field surgery and with wound treatment wouldn’t/shouldn’t shed blood that I was wrenched out of the story and struggled to come back.

I did ultimately sink back in and loved the remainder of the book. The contrivance of the blood definitely caused me to knock a star from my rating but overall it was a fun, fantastic new entrance in the series. I can’t wait for The Advocate, which we get a great hook for. I will definitely be continuing further in this series.

4 DROPS OF BLOOD THAT SHOULD HAVE REALISTICALLY FALLEN ON THE GROUND… out of 5

This series is getting a huge cover update and I love it! This is the sequel to The Warden series. a fantasy series that has our characters dealing with magic, small towns, relationships, bureaucracy and of course a dash of evil. There's mythology and history that the world draws a lot from as we follow Aelis who is kind of this spoiled overly confident character as she protects this small back water village. If you enjoyed the first one, this one expands on it in a really fun way.

Daniel M. Ford continues the fun tale of Aelis de Lenti, appointed The Warden (paper) of the village of Lone Pine, a place without a warden for years. The people of the village accept her now, even when she unlocks a magical crypt and unleashed walking skeletons. The stop them in her role as Necrobane (hard from TOR) must travel to a lost citadel where a control rod might be found. That, unfortunately, leads to more problems. This is a highly recommended fun series that I can't read without smiling. I can’t wait for her next adventure

Necrobane is, I think, a book that would have benefitted from me reading it much sooner after The Warden than I was ultimately able to. I realise I say this a lot of the time, but I think it’s more true in this case than most. Not least because, having had that year-plus long break, I remembered very little of the first book.

The story picks up almost immediately after the last chapter of that book, so, in a way, it’s not too much of a problem if you forget because you’re chucked straight back into the swing of things. You pick it back up as you read (although there were definitely some things that I just had to shrug and go along with).

There are two things that really stood out to me in this one as issues — and probably, if I’m honest, at least one was something I thought about the first book, but was hoping would get remedied in the second. Alas, it did not, so here I am. Let’s take that one first though.

The worldbuilding is, to put it bluntly, flimsy. It seems to me to rely a lot on shared concepts of fantasy worlds within the readers, the familiarity of them, instead of building a complete world in itself. Sure, to an extent, a lot of fantasy books do this, but this was a case where I could feel it. This was not to its detriment in book one — it let you pick up the world pretty quickly. But in book two I wanted more (and surely, was not helped by reading The Fellowship of the Ring at the same time because boy, does Tolkien know how to worldbuild). More is what I didn’t get, except to introduce new characters and magical concepts without any grounding in the worldbuilding. However, YMMV on this one: I know I lean on the in-depth worldbuilding side of things, but for others the lack of it will be a draw.

My second point lies, oddly enough, in how clever the main character is. Now, this is not to say I don’t want clever characters: of course I do! A plot resting on sheer stupidity is, unless amusing, guaranteed to irritate me no end. But there’s clever and then there’s this. The issue here is that Aelis is almost too clever. She can solve every problem, usually within a few pages, and a lot of the time she just doesn’t slip up. It’s like a scaling issue: she’s too powerful (read: intelligent) for the world she’s in and the problems she faces. As such, none of the stakes in this book feel that high. I’m sure they’re meant to be, but it just feels like an oddly low stakes high fantasy book (while clearly having stakes which are not meant to be low). Take, for example, the ease with which the big bad is killed at the end (assuming he’s genuinely been killed this time, of course). It happens within a few pages and all the build up to it (aka the entire rest of the book) feels a little pointless. Except to introduce the magical equivalent of modern Doctor Who’s sonic screwdriver which resolves every issue that Aelis can’t on her own. (I’m sure there’s a word for this, not deus ex machina, though I suppose that sort of works, but anyway…) As such, it’s all a bit like …oh well, okay, there goes that obstacle.

As I said, though, this is probably a book I’d have enjoyed more if I’d read it straight after the first one. Maybe then, I’d have managed to overlook all of this.

Daniel M. Ford blew me away last year when I got to read The Warden. At the time, I had said that I was hoping that I would get to spend more time in Aelis’s world soon, and guess what? Necrobane is here.

This book picks up immediately where The Warden left off, so heads up. Here there be spoilers.

Aelis is a necromancer and a noble scion. She’s a child raised in wealth in a large city, trained in magic and combat. In short, she is the antithesis of most of the people that she is, as a Warden, charged to protect. In her efforts to defend the village of Lone Pine, she accidentally activated an unknown number of animated dead of Mahlgren, necromancy-fueled remnants of the last war. While she was able to defeat the handful of skeletons that arose within the chamber she was exploring, she learned that there are far more similar crypts scattered throughout the realm. Now that they’re active, they’re likely to be heading in the direction of her new home. Just as the villagers were beginning to trust the outsider, now she’s got to warn them about an impending invasion of restless dead that are technically only emerging because of her actions.

Rather than leave the people of Lone Pine to fend for themselves, Aelis quickly hatches a plan to seek out a control mechanism that could potentially deactivate the entire enemy force. She narrows down the likely location to a stronghold of a fallen empire and gathers her allies. She may be a skilled and talented Necrobane, able to defeat animated dead with her own magic, but this struggle isn’t a solo venture. Up first, of course, is Maurenia. The half-elf is a skilled soldier and engineer, and her status as Aelis’s lover doesn’t hurt her chances to be invited along. Next is Timmuk, a dwarf merchant and a coworker of Maurenia’s on their last excursion across the frontier of Ystain. Last but not least is Tun, a half-orc woodsman who assisted Aelis on her previous adventure. Tun’s skill as a tracker is invaluable in their journey through the wilderness. Together, they hope to cut off any animated dead before they’re able to even approach Lone Pine. Ideally, they’ll put them down before any tensions between the humans and orcs along the frontier can be strained and reignite a war. Plus, maybe they’ll find some treasure along the way! As long, that is, as the control mechanism actually exists…

Ford’s writing and world-building remain top-notch throughout Necrobane, and it makes a spectacular continuation to the story established in The Warden. The stakes are higher now, and Aelis’s skills are going to be pushed to their limit if the party has any chance of succeeding. I am still wildly in love with this series, and will continue to recommend it for any fantasy fan who enjoys D&D and books like Gideon the Ninth and Legends & Lattes. I know at this point that we’re expecting a 3rd book in Aelis’s adventures in the near future, and I am ready for it.

My utmost thanks (once again) to Netgalley and Tor Publishing for access to an eARC of this book in exchange for a fair review. Today is publication day, so go grab yourself a copy.

This review originally appeared here: https://swordsoftheancients.com/2024/04/23/necrobane-a-review/

I think this is a series for readers who enjoy tabletop rpgs. But it’s original, it’s good and the main character is interesting. For me it’s a five star book. I can’t wait to see what happens in book three, For someone who just wants a straight forward adventure fantasy four stars perhaps. For someone who’s a bit pickier and wants substance and meaning in their fantasy probably not your book…. It’s a solid adventure story and a fun page turner and not too deep. But a great deal of fun. 200 books would be a slow year for me and these two have still been in my top 20 or so each of these last two years because they put a smile on my face and Aelis has been the best fish out of water.

We pick up right after the last book with Aelis. She accidentally let something out while cleaning up another mess, and now has to get back to Low Pine and make sure its residents are prepared for what could be coming. She, her friend Tun, and a couple of others will see if they can stop what's coming before it gets to her new home.
This story gives me cozy fantasy vibes, I love how Aelis is determined to care for the people of Low Pine even though she would prefer to be elsewhere. I love her close friendship with Tun, and how despite her wanting to stay a bit apart from the townsfolk she can't help but get involved in their lives and grow closer to them.
I love the adventure they all go on, it was just action-packed and suspenseful enough to keep me entertained, and not want to put it down until I reached the last page.

I have a lot of fun reading this series and can't wait to see whats going to happen in book 3!

Picking up where the first book left off, we are set on another with Aelis and her companions. Aelis is tasked with finding more magic to protect her village and along for the journey includes the mercenary she's fallen for, her half-orc friend, and a dwarven merchant. It's a good second book but I did end up preferring the first book. Aelis felt a bit more juvenile in this one, compared to the last one. Overall it is a good fantasy series.

This is book two of The Warden series, and it picks up immediately after the end of book one. The story and characters came back to me right away as the reader is reminded of what happened in the first book without infodumps. Aelis is a necromancer, a healer, and a warden. An army of the animated dead are loose somewhere in the countryside and she and her friends leave the village she’s protecting to hunt them down and stop them before they can wreak havoc.

The plot moves along at a good pace with action balanced with calmer scenes. Aelis is a good character- she has flaws and messes up but keeps going. I enjoyed this, and I’m looking forward to the next book. It comes out April 23. Thank you to Tor Books and Netgalley for the eARC.

Necrobane continues the story of Aelis de Lenti, the new Warden of the village of Lone Pine. It picks up pretty much right where the first book ended.
This is one of two books that I have been waiting for in 2024.
I was not disappointed. This book had just as much going for it as the first book.
Aelis, while a new Warden, is very skilled at what she does. Even when it is to her own detriment.
I love the town of Lone Pine and its residents. Especially (and I still don’t know why) the goat that seems to be the bane of her existence.
If I have any complaints about this book, it’s that a couple of parts in it seemed to go a little longer than they needed to. Not that I was bored, necessarily. I just felt it was time to move on to the next happening.
Can’t wait to see what book 3 brings!

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.