BLURB:
A primeval fiend is loose in the ancient metropolis of Malkandrah,
intent on burning it to a wasteland. The city's leaders stand idly by and the
sorcerers that once protected the people are long gone.
Maldren, a young necromancer, is the only person brave enough to
stand against the creature. Instead of help from the Masters of his Guild, he
is given a new apprentice. Why now, and why a girl? As they unravel the clues
to defeating the fiend, they discover a secret society holding the future of
the city in its grip. After betrayals and attempts on his life, Maldren has
reason to suspect everyone he thought a friend, even the girl.
His last hope lies in an alliance with a depraved and murderous
ghost, but how can he trust it? Its sinister past is intertwined in the lives
of everyone he holds dear.
Can only evil defeat evil?
Creating the
setting/world for Necromancer:
A book about necromancers has to feel dark, right? When
creating my world, I concentrated on three major areas: Magic, creatures and
the location.
Magic: I didn't
want lengthy rituals with paraphernalia, chanting and hours of preparation.
This is ostensibly an action book. I decided early on that even though my spells are taught and
practised, they can be cast with a single thought and gesture. What I call
"shoot-from-the-hip" magic. Since I insist on world consistency, I ruled
that every necromancer or sorcerer has a pool of power within him, and there is
a limited amount of it beore having to rest. This nicely prevented my magic
from becoming all-powerful. The natural ability for magic is severely limited,
so magic-users are rare in my world.
I
gave each spell an interesting sounding name, my favourite being "Walk the
Bones", and I mapped out what each spell looked like and its color.
Certain spells are effective against certain creatures, so there was a purpose to
each. Necromancers should concentrate on the dead, after all, so I created a
rationale why necromancy cannot be used against the living. Actually it can,
but there are nasty repurcussions, and this is central to the subplot involving
the murderous wraith, Caradan.
Creatures: I
needed lots of ikky monsters and undead, but I wanted them to be unusual. First
off, I had to determine the planes of existence. Some undead can live in the
physical world, such as ghouls and wights and other creatures that have risen
from the grave. The Gray is a monochrome shadow of the real world, home to
various non-corporeal spirits and ghosts. The Deep is a monstrous plane of
infernal and very nasty creatures, like the fire elemental and demons. Necromancer has a solid mix of creature
types, and this is what the Guild of Necromancers does - protects the living
from all these monsters living among them.
And
some of them are nasty indeed! My favourite is the grak, an example of what
happens when a necromancer meddles with other-worldy creatures. The Lochtar is
another sinister example of how man can summon spirits to do his bidding - if
he is very careful! I hope both of these make the reader shudder.
Location: I
wanted my backdrop to ooze with a sinister, horror-filled mood. The city is
huge, full of labyrinthine, gloomy alleys and narrow streets where the
buildings appear to loom and lean inward. If you lived here you would hurry
home before sundown and lock your door. The first chapter shows what nastiness
awaits if you open your door after dark! Then there is the undercity: Miles and
miles of underground sewers, tunnels, crypts and catacombs, with stairs
descending into the bowels of the Earth. Smugglers utilize the sewers and
underground rivers to move goods and people around, and these are not the
people to take home to mother!
High
above the sprawl of the city lurks the moors, often draped in a spooky fog that
rolls in from the ocean. Here, my necromancer hero must venture into a
long-forgotten burial mound, and its occupant is not at all friendly.
Other Details:
Those three items are just the start. I also designed the geopolitical scene.
The city is the capital of one of many kingdoms, and just to be different, I
decided that there was no King at present but a Crown Prince, whose coronation
forms a pivotal scene in the book. A High Council forms an advisory board for
the Prince, comprised of influential aristocrats and leaders of the prominent guilds
in the city. Religion is represented by a pantheon of pagan Gods with prominent
temples in the richer areas of the city. I never create a setting without
purpose, so the High Council, the temples, all of these things are important to
the plot of Necromancer, not just
window dressing.
All
that remained were the details that provide flavour: the food, the drink,
clothing, modes of transport, names of inns and so on. I'm guilty of describing
food a lot in my books, so don't get too hungry reading them!
To
me, the setting is another character in the book. Worldbuilding is such a fun
part of writing fantasy. I want readers to come away feeling that they have actually
lived a while in my world, and that the places become familiar and interesting
enough that they want to visit again. That's my goal. Only the reader can say
if I have succeeded.
Thank you for featuring me on your blog today. :)
EXCERPT:
Sinister
She glanced at me then the ground below, but only
clung tighter. A man appeared at the window, his teeth bared. Four scratches on
his cheek oozed red. White drool speckled his trimmed beard. He clawed at her.
She scrunched her eyes shut and wailed.
With a crack, the casement tore free, and she
plummeted into my arms. We tumbled to the ground and the smoke surrounded us
like a pack of wild animals.
I rolled to my feet, helped her up, and dragged her
down the street, holding my breath as long as I could. She coughed and choked,
resisting my pull. Murder flared in her eyes. I slapped her.
“Trust me. Hold your breath and stay with me.” I
yanked her forward.
I shouldn’t have spoken. Smoke surged down my
throat and I gagged.
Rage ignited inside me. I wanted to tear out her
rabid eyes. My arm squeezed hers until she cried out, and I knew that I could
break it with a twist, could snap her entire frail body. My gaze fixed on her
pale, sweat-soaked throat. It invited me to choke the life from her, watch her
struggle and finally go limp. My pulse quickened. Anger flooded my veins. Then
my hands were around her throat, squeezing, crushing. She coughed and drooled
thick, white saliva. Her blue eyes locked with mine but she put up no
resistance. A smile twitched on her lips as my thumbs dug deeper. Ah, the sweet
moment of superiority. How would it feel to kill? Delicious. It washed the
tight pain from my head.
Something flickered deep within me. This was wrong.
AUTHOR Bio and
Links:
Graeme Ing engineers original fantasy
worlds, both YA and adult, but hang around, and you’ll likely read tales of
romance, sci-fi, paranormal, cyberpunk, steampunk or any blend of the above.
Born in England in 1965, Graeme moved
to San Diego, California in 1996 and lives there still. His career as a
software engineer and development manager spans 30 years, mostly in the
computer games industry. He is also an armchair mountaineer, astronomer,
mapmaker, pilot and general geek. He and his wife, Tamara, share their house
with more cats than he can count.
Website: http://www.graemeing.com/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/GraemeIngAuthor
Twitter: @GraemeIng https://twitter.com/GraemeIng
Buy Links
Apple iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/necromancer/id909909878
Graeme will be awarding a $20 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $20 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn host. the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
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