She Dreams in Blood

So this is a love story. Kind of.

Sorry, yes this is a love story, but paved in blood, gore, violence and general evil. It is impressive how sympathetic Michael Fletcher has managed to make our MC, Khraen. He wants to be a better man, but he will do absolutely anything for his love, including manipulation, control and genocidal destruction of various peoples.

This is an intriguing continuation from the first book. Whereas Black Stone Heart was essentially a white room mystery with Khraen trying to find out who he is, this more the descent into madness trying to avoid becoming who he was. Khraen is very aware of what he is doing, aware of the monster he was. He becomes it anyway. Yet all the way you as a reader are hoping for his better side to win out. The twists and turns along the way are impressive.

This is dark stuff yet somehow it is super compelling. The nightmarish imagery gets progressively more depraved, but the actions and scenarios always feel necessary, it never feels gratuitous despite it being at the extreme end of the spectrum. Necromancy was never going to be a fluffy subject and the use of it here is expertly done in its weird and horrific necromantic creations, along with the psychological elements of control and lack of agency engendered by it.

This series is awesome.

Read it.