Read Time: 2 Minutes
Two Necromancers, a Bureaucrat, and an Army of Golems, by L. G. Estrella, is the “publisher’s pack” of the first two books in the Unconventional Heroes series. I feel it is aimed at a younger audience than the bracket I fall into, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying it!
These were a fun, easy to listen to pair of humorous fantasy books that follow the adventures of Grand Necromance Timothy Walter Bolton (Timmy), his cute-as-a-button ten-year-old apprentice Katie, a pyromaniacal elf as they try to earn themselves pardons for their years of misdeeds and become citizens in good standing once again.
Timmy isn’t like other necromancers. He’s nice, mostly, for a start. He doesn’t go around making his own corpses for his zombie-making needs; he’d much rather support the economy by purchasing them from reputable dealers. He keeps the creatures of the void at bay, preventing their devouring of the planet, and generally goes against all the stereotypes one may hold for necromancers.
Light-hearted humour throughout as Timmy and the unconventional heroes work to prove they are worthy of the pardon. The stories tick along nicely, if occasionally a tiny bit repetitively, as the plot unfolds. While mostly suitable for the whole family, a few choice words may not be suitable for the younger ones.
The narrator, Fred Berman, did a great job with all the characters. I found him a little reminiscent of Bob Odenkirk, to the point where I began picturing Saul Goodman (Breaking Bad) as Timmy. The rest of the voices were well done, and easy to tell one character from another.
Two books for the price of one, plus a few bonus short stories in there as well between books one and two. Great value, easy-to-enjoy humorous fantasy.