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The Necromancer's House

By: Christopher Buehlman
Narrated by: Todd Haberkorn
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Publisher's summary

"You think you got away with something, don't you? But your time has run out. We know where you are. And we are coming." The man on the screen says this in Russian. "Who are you?" The man smiles, but it's not a pleasant smile. The image freezes. The celluloid burns exactly where his mouth is, burns in the nearly flat U of his smile. His eyes burn, too. The man fades, leaving the burning smiley face smoldering on the screen. "Oh Christ," Andrew says. The television catches fire.

Andrew Ranulf Blankenship is a handsome, stylish nonconformist with wry wit, a classic Mustang, and a massive library. He is also a recovering alcoholic and a practicing warlock, able to speak with the dead through film. His house is a maze of sorcerous booby traps and escape tunnels, as yours might be if you were sitting on a treasury of Russian magic stolen from the Soviet Union thirty years ago. Andrew has long known that magic was a brutal game requiring blood sacrifice and a willingness to confront death, but his many years of peace and comfort have left him soft, more concerned with maintaining false youth than with seeing to his own defense. Now a monster straight from the pages of Russian folklore is coming for him, and frost and death are coming with her.

©2013 Christopher Buehlman (P)2013 Tantor
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Critic reviews

"The logic of the plot is eclipsed by the eruption of characters who evoke Dickensian whimsy and range from the merely unusual to the bizarrely imaginative. Within this magical universe, rivalries, revenge, and self-seeking contend with the willingness to sacrifice." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about The Necromancer's House

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Scary!

I enjoyed the story and reader. My only complaint is Chapter titles would have made it easier to follow.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Well-written book marred by an irritating reader

"The Necromancer's House" isn't Christopher Buehlman's best book ("The Blacktongue Thief" holds that honor), but it's still a solid, well-plotted story with interesting characters and a fascinating take on the existence of magic and a community of mages in the modern world. If you enjoy Niel Gaiman or Joe Abercrombie, you should find this book to be right up your street...

IF you can get past Todd Haberkorn's narration. I don't know if Mr. Haberkorn has dyslexia, or simply needs to take a vocabulary class, but I have never in my life listened to an audiobook that left me shouting corrections at my headphones.

"but the dezinens of Oswego..." ""Did you mean 'DENIZENS?'"
"they piled her with drinks..." "I actually think they 'PLIED' her with drinks, don't you?!?"
"not knowing the lyrics was no impeedment to singing along..." "Did you mean 'IMPEDIMENT," TODD? F-ing IMPEDIMENT???"

Etc., etc., etc. Probably every 10 minutes or so there's a mispronounced, misread or wholly invented word (that isn't in the text; I own the book) that changes the meaning of the sentence and pulls you out of the story completely. Haberkorn's characterizations are good, but damn he needs a remedial reading course.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Gerta performance but disjointed story.

I loved the description of this book and was excited when I started it but the story was too disjointed and hard to keep track of what was going on. It did not flow smoothly. Todd Haberkorn's voicing was the only thing that kept me listening. As always he did a amazing performance. If I had been reading the book in stead of listening, I probably would have put it down. The story was good just had no real flow and was choppy.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Maybe I’m missing something…

Well. I REALLY enjoyed ‘Between Two Fires’… then I really enjoyed‘Black Tounged Thief’
But this one confused me.
There’s a lot of borrowed material.
Not just from Russian Lore but Japanese animation.
It’s so weird to me how these references even entered this novel having read the two aforementioned novels first.
There was still a familiar originality but the parts that seemed stolen from pop culture were disappointing.
Like I mentioned in the title, I may be missing something.
I’m experimenting with this author and am otherwise extremely impressed with his work. This one just sent me for a loop.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fast paced found family weirdo goodness

This is the kind of book that is best read with absolutely zero context beforehand. It’s asking you to go in blind at breakneck speed and put the pieces together yourself, who is imho a fantastic metaphor for some of the themes in this book, especially that of radical acceptance. And as someone who’s been in recovery for over a decade, this is the first book I’ve read that has not only woven the themes of recovery into not only into a characters arc, but has married it to the incredible magic system that Buehlman creates here. This is my second Buehlman book (the first being the incomparable Between Two Fires—GO READ IT) and I honestly have to say I love love love the way this dude writes!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Baba Yaga brought to life in modern day America...

This book has cast a spell over me... I've never before listened to a book over and over again like I have this one. I love the characters and the narration is the best! The story is like none other, it almost makes me believe there is a folklore character by the name of Baba Yaga.

This book is at the top of my list of favorites-- favorite line: "here is the devil" If you only listen to it once, you might not get all the very clever nuances. Great story with a satisfying ending... I just wish this was a series.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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I loved it!!

It's really weird and you have to pay attention to the flashbacks so you won't get lost! I really loved the different accents and voices of the characters! The saddest part is that it's over! Would be great if there were a sequel, I've just fallen in love with Andrew!!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

loved the world it was set in

loved the world it was set in. did not love the characters as much as do with this authors other books. would definitely be interested in another book in this setting.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Wizards Behaving Badly

It is The Craft for grown-ups, if The Craft was steeped heavily is Slavic folklore and the edge lord teens were, instead, edge lord adults.

For people new to the author, Buehlman's self assured style is fast, fun, and exciting. There is a pretty clever use of metaphor in the subtext of the novel as well. The mix of the beautiful and the crude, self-absorbed users acting selflessly, and victims forgiving their victimizers, makes a tale as gruesome and violent as this one, feel hopeful.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

He was not yet there

1. why would you say a character is gay if all their sex is hetero?
2. the protagonist is selfish and unwise
3. rambling
BUT I love Buehlman and am glad I've read his more current books, which are excellent
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY: While the narrator was great, he mispronounced 'Buehlman' huh????

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