“Necromancer”, by Jonathan Green

244 pages, Games Workshop, ISBN-13: 978-1844161584

I’m not as big a fan of Warhammer Fantasy as I am of Warhammer 40K, and I’m not sure why…anyhoo, Necromancer by Jonathan Green is a standalone adventure and not part of some enormous corpus of literature like, say, the neverending Gotrek and Felix adventures. This tale follows the sad life of timid medical student Deiter Heydrich, the son of an uncaring father who is a Priest of Morr (the Imperial God of the Death, Dreams and Dreamers) in the village of Hagenholz (which means “hang wood” in German) who leaves to pursue a medical career in the Apothecary’s Guild in Bogenhafen (which means “bow harbor” in German). After the death of his Mother, he vows to learn the arts of medicine and to help prevent death and grieving in the world; however, certain events unfold that will slowly turn the young apprentice to the darker arts. Instead of the more typical action driven story, Necromancer is a character study that provides a fascinating look at how an ordinary young man raised in the Empire becomes corrupted by darkness. The entire novel is told from the point of view of the main character and covers only a brief period of his life (how he became a Necromancer, but really nothing about him after that point). Every step on his path of damnation is made with logical and seemingly good (or at least understandable) reasons, and the rationalizations he makes along the way make him a tragic and flawed, but entirely human character. If you are looking for an action packed Warhammer novel, this book is not for you; if you want a chance to get some insight into the bad guys of the Warhammer world, this book is an excellent choice.