Review: A Necromancer called Gam Gam by Adam Holcombe

Blurb:

A grandmotherly necromancer seeking resolution for her past with the help of her loyal entourage: an undead cat and a spectral knight.

A girl on the run from the Eternal Empire for the mysterious power she possesses.

When a chance encounter pulls them together, Gam Gam will do what it takes to protect Mina from the rogue sergeant hounding her–including raising the dead. As long as they're dressed for the occasion.

Review:

I first heard of this book on Twitter. And then, after first hearing it, I filed it away for later, kicking the can down the road so to speak. Until the last weekend of April, during a bowling competition, I sat down during a rest period and, for lack of a better word, devoured it. That being said, “A Necromancer called Gam Gam” is only 110 pages, so finishing it quickly is rather expected. What wasn’t expected however, was the direction the story took. I just thought it would be a grandma with a random kid running across the countryside, fleeing the rogue sergeant from the eternal empire using necromancy.

If I had to give a sales pitch for this short novel, I’d say: “Necromancers are always seen as evil. But what if there was a nice one? Introducing Gam Gam, a kindly grandma knitting for the dead.”, with the “click to know more” thrown in for enticement. But once again, that only scratches the surface of what “A Necromancer called Gam Gam” pulls off in its 110 pages.

First of all, we have the characters. Gam Gam and the girl on the run. The girl on the run isn’t mentioned on the blurb that much, so I’ll be focusing most of this section to Gam Gam, who we already get to know from the blurb - kind of. There’s more though. She’s not a necromancer looking to call forth an army of undead, and instead of abusing the dead, she treats them kindly. Gam Gam is practically everything we do not expect from a necromancer. And for all intents and purposes, more please. Then there’s the girl on the run because the rogue sergeant wants to force her to use her powers for him. She’s a scared kid. Not much more to say there.

Then, there’s the plot. There’s a clear cut line between good and evil, but with everything associated with those two pols being flipped. The good guys have necromancy and some other magic and the bad guys, typical magic affinities. It’s also very straightforward. Running away from the problem and then facing that problem by running straight for it. Very straightforward, no issues understanding the plot of “A Necromancer called Gam Gam”. But despite that, there are still some unexpected twists and turns. For me, it worked. Kept me reading each page until the very end. 

After that, it’s only natural for me to mention world building. There’s no map, and there doesn’t have to be one. It’s all verbally described for us to create our own versions of it in our minds. That works in this case. Then, as for lore and all that, we only get a bit and it’s only personal, but that helps build up expectations for later books. 

Finally, the magic system. Or more specifically the order of magic. There’s a mage order that issues out symbols for their mages, and that shows what they classify as, in terms of magic and their ability to wield that magic. Doesn’t necessarily mean that you’d have to have one, as it’s shown through the book, and it’s more a visual symbol than anything else. But it's nice to have one. That’s not all, with there being magics that oppose each other and magics that synergize together. It’s not a new concept, but for the world it’s set in, it fits.

Aside from that, the only real gripe is that some parts felt rushed. Which is sort of expected with a novella, but still, a few more pages to make Gam Gam’s and the girl's budding friendship seem more realistic than just immediately dealing with the issue with barely any information whatsoever. Sure, there’s a ghost who can get that info quickly. But it’s still rather sudden.

Overall though, if you want a novella that puts a twist on the classical idea of evil necromancers, and a very hilarious story about facing your demons, this is it. Very fun to read through, it felt refreshing to read. 

As always, if you’ve made it to the end of this review, thank you for reading it. I hope I’ve helped nudge you towards your next read. If not, feel free to keep exploring the SFF Insiders catalogue of reviews for books that range from classical fantasy to high tech adventures.

Wherever you are reading this, have a good morning, good afternoon, good evening, and good night!