Necrology by Meg Ripley is an eerie bit of feminist fantasy. Ripley builds out a beautiful bit of atmosphere with lyrical descriptions laid against a child’s raw pragmatism. Where my concerns lay are in the fact that the world building was as misty as the tone being set. When I’m in it it’s tangible and encompassing, but any attempt at a firmer grasp disproves this theory. I’m having a difficult time formulating my opinion on this book as a whole as my thoughts are quite contradictory.

I found there were short bursts that I found gripping and general moods were interesting but my enjoyment seems to be quite shallow. When asked about this book I found that I didn’t have much to really describe outside of the fact that women have magic and the men are evil. While heavy handed exposition is never good, the lack thereof isn’t much better. Spooky children named after animals and a woman with antlers pulls you in, but if Rabbit was named Rachel would this story have traction? I think Meg Ripley is a master at creating a vibe and that’s not a skill to be taking lightly. Necrology most definitely has an audience out there waiting to revel in it, I’m just still not sure if I plan on joining the party.

Could be a historical fantasy for all witchy friends out there. A raw and visceral story, you could see it a fantasy or see it as a political stance on women’ and how they are seen and treated in society

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

This was interesting, I thought the structure started out interesting but dragged a little bit in the middle. I'm going to give it another shot later on when I haven't been reading similar titles.

This was an interesting take on the Salem witch trials. Well written and I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in anything witchy and historical you will not be disappointed Thank you for my advanced kindle copy

I had high hopes for this book’s premise, but unfortunately, it fell completely flat for me. The first few chapters were incredibly difficult to follow, leaving me confused and disengaged right from the start. Although things became clearer as the book progressed, many elements still felt unexplained, like a jumble of random details thrown together with no context. It honestly felt like "word vomit" at times, and the overall story was just bizarre.

I found myself bored throughout the entire reading experience, which is evident in the fact that it took me a whole month to get through it. The narrative was bleak and heavy, with a constant sense of doom and gloom. While I understand it’s a story of female oppression, I think it's hard for many readers to enjoy a book where the characters endure unrelenting suffering.

A lot of the book’s potentially interesting moments happened without any real cause or explanation, and while the ending leaves room for a sequel, I won't be picking it up. The story introduces intriguing scenes and ideas, but they’re quickly dismissed, leaving you puzzled as the dull characters continue discussing mundane topics.

And one last thing—using animal abuse to signal that a character is evil feels like lazy shock value. It doesn’t add anything to the story and should be avoided.

Necrology by Meg Ripley is a dark, feminist fantasy that pulls you into a chilling, alternate history post-Salem witch trials. Ripley weaves a tale brimming with magic, female power, and unsettling political tension, as the Dirty—women with magic—are forced to suppress their abilities to survive. The story follows the orphan Rabbit, who unknowingly curses a man to death, igniting a series of events that threatens to unearth the deep-seated fear and hatred men have for women’s magic.

✅ What I Loved:

Unique magic system: The concept of "Dirty" women and their suppressed magic is deeply intriguing. I loved the idea of magic being something feared, controlled, and politicised, especially with the haunting premise that women’s power could destabilise an entire society. The system felt well thought out without being overly complicated.

Feminist themes: Ripley masterfully explores themes of female empowerment and rebellion against a patriarchal society. It was empowering and cathartic to see the women of this world reclaiming their power, even in the face of extreme oppression. The social commentary on misogyny felt timely and relevant, making the story hit harder.

Reluctant allyships and found family: The bond between Rabbit and the other orphans—Mouse, Rook, and Snake—was a highlight. Their distinct personalities brought warmth to the grim setting, and their shared struggles created a strong sense of found family that I found heartwarming. The dynamic between Rabbit and Rook, in particular, had me invested.

Atmosphere and prose: Ripley’s writing is absolutely magical. The eerie, oppressive atmosphere of the world, where the presence of the Salem witch trials lingers over everything, was captured with vivid, almost cinematic imagery. Her prose was sharp, sometimes unnervingly so, making the tension and fear in the story palpable.

🔄 What was just okay:

Slow burn: The pacing dragged a bit in the beginning. It took a while for the story to truly take off, and some early scenes felt more like world-building exposition than advancing the plot. However, once the main conflict unfolded, I was hooked.

Underdeveloped world: While I loved the central setting and premise, I wished there had been more detail about the wider world. There were glimpses of fascinating places and politics, but they weren’t as fleshed out as I would have liked. Hopefully, this will be explored further in the next installment.

Thanks to NetGalley and Creature Publishing for the ARC of 'Necrology'

A feminist fantasy horror - this was such an excellent book! I don’t think I’ve ever read an alternate history of post-Salem witch trials and this was soooo interesting. Overall, this is such a dark, bewitching tale of feminism and strong female characters in the face of men who are scared of a woman’s power and strength.

""It's amazing what the spirit can cope with to preserve the body. My spirit is a mighty oak that just won't fall."

In a fantastical aftermath of the Salem witch trials, magical women known as the Dirty have signed a contract swearing off their innate magic in exchange for freedom from violence by non-magical Freemen. Two hundred years later, in a Catskills orphanage, headmistress Whitetail has sprouted antlers - proof of a violated contract. When her wealthy benefactor visits, proposing marriage, her appearance sparks abuse. Rushing to her teacher's defense, eight-year-old Rabbit curses the Beard dead, and Whitetail's arrested on trumped-up charges.

As Whitetail awaits her trial and execution, Rabbit is groomed as the Freemen's star witness and learns of the terrifying reality to which they aspire. With her magic at stake and a loose tooth in her mouth, Rabbit has little left to lose. And a revolution to gain."

The real question, how much magic can she wield with that tooth?

From the description of this book, I very much wanted to like it. But I very much could not get into it. There are a lot of questions raised from the plot of this book that just never get addressed. From the magic system to the state of the union (literally the state of the united states) a lot feels glossed over.

Necrology presents a fascinating premise, blending the aftermath of the Salem witch trials with the horror of a world where women with magic, navigate oppression and survival. The concept of a society where magical women are forced to suppress their powers for freedom and safety is one I'm generally interested in, and Ripley's vision offers plenty of potential for exploring themes of autonomy, repression, and revolution.

However, despite the strong foundation, Necrology unfortunately falls short in execution. The characters, though central to the emotional drive of the story, felt distant and difficult to connect with, which made the reading of this a gargantuan uphill task. Rather than drawing me into its world, the book felt endless and lacking in the vividness needed to maintain engagement. This detachment was such that I found myself avoiding the book.

That said, the final 20% did show some improvement, with a more engaging pace and the promise of what the book could have been throughout. It's clear that the concept is rich, and Ripley's prose has flashes of beauty, but overall, the story didn’t deliver the connection or excitement I was hoping for.

I really wanted to love this book; I did. Maybe it is the wrong time in my life. Maybe if I come back to it at another time, I will really love this. Unfortunately, this was a miss for me. I was so bored the entire time, and not at ALL invested in the characters. I just didn't care. To take a book about witchcraft and men who misuse power and strong feminist undertones and bore me is a REAL feat, and yet somehow, this one did it.

This book was so interestingly cool and weird and terrifying in equal measure. Part historical fiction part scifi part horror, Necrology is a fusion of genre-bendingly epic proportions.

feminist fantasy? sign me up. In this story we follow a group of children who are part of an ostriziced group due to their believes. we explore themes of assimilation, society roles, intersectionality, rebelling against the status quo and found family. The magic system was different but easy to understand. While we do see the politics play out, the rest of this world is underdeveloped. Rabbit doesn’t read as a child, which can be good if in the next book we see her as an adult. A slow burn on the lighter side with witchy vibes.

I thoroughly enjoyed Necrology. It is Meg Ripley’s debut novel, but you wouldn’t know it by reading it. She has crafted a thoroughly immersive and well thought out fantastical version of our world with some alternate history at play. Necrology was a load of fun to read, which I don’t often find to be the case in any story that even touches upon witch trials – that’s truly nasty stuff.

I did really appreciate the way the story hinges on women’s’ power and their connections to earth. I want to be able to dig my toes into the dirt and access some of the power flowing through it. I want that so bad, I can’t even tell you.

I found Whitetail to be a powerful and commanding character – although I do wish that we had gotten a bit more of the story of her, but I understand that this isn’t her story so much as it is Rabbit’s. But maybe Meg Ripley can file that away for later? Give the world the Ballad of Whitetail?

As for Rabbit, I felt that she was exactly right. She was just the correct amount of stubborn, willful, loving, arrogant, and anxious for a child of her age and circumstances. She was a highly believable and wholly captivating.

Necrology manages to explore themes of feminism, misogyny – internalized and externalized, fear and corruption. It plumbs the untold depths to which weak, frightened men will go to assuage their baseless fears. But it also plumbs the depths that women who have internalized these misogynist trappings will go to assuage their own fears of being “othered” like the less compliant members of their gender.
Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

I really enjoyed Necrology. It is a beautifully written and, I think, important piece of writing that has the potential to impart a lot of important ideas. Oppression, repression, reclamation, vengeance, the importance of caring for the Earth and caring for other people, sacrifice, and power, just to name a few.

I would recommend this for anyone who is very into atmosphere, slow-burns, and quirky/unusual narration styles. Unfortunately, those attributes aren't my person preference and I wasn't really able to get into this book in the way I'd hoped. That being said, I could see the style definitely appealing to a certain niche.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the advance copy to read and review.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an E-ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book. It features the exact niche type of horror / fantasy that I enjoy and I was really into it. I also loved the amount of social commentary in this book and will be thinking about this for a long time. I personally did love the setting and worldbuilding aspect. It was a tad confusing at times but I know that was probably due to Rabbit's point of view. I will happily read more by this author. I recommend this!

Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC of Necrology!!

I don't want my DNF to deter other readers - if you're into New England Gothic, historical fiction, or anything witchy you'll most likely enjoy it - it's what drew me in!! The only thing I couldn't get past was the child narrator. It's not even that the narration was poor - it was very good!!! It's just a personal thing that it wasn't for me. I will still highly recommend it to other readers!

The beginning of this book is a conglomeration of incomprehensible prose. Things were happening but I was simply unable to untangle the mess of random words and phrases to really understand it. There isn't a clear sense of the religion of Dirt, or a strong understanding of why children are allowed to play a game that can result in making mud. While the narrative eventually became clearer, it remained a slog to get through. Overall disappointing considering the interesting premise.

This novel definitely carries the distinct tone of a debut, marked by a quirky and unusual style that appealed to my taste. The characters' names (like Whitetail and Rabbit) set the stage for the book's offbeat atmosphere. Most of the narrative unfolds from the perspective of Rabbit, an eight-year-old, giving readers a broader understanding of the world than she has. This narrative approach intensifies the unsettling elements of the story. The novel’s exploration of sexism and women's rights in the aftermath of the Salem Witch Trials was particularly engaging. However, this is primarily a mood-driven book rather than one driven by plot or pacing. If you're into immersive atmospheres and eerie vibes, you’ll likely enjoy it as I did. But for those seeking a fast-paced, plot-heavy read, this one might not hit the mark.

The vibes are exactly what I wanted from this. The story was compulsively readable. I can't wait to see what else this author comes out with.