The Halls of the Dead is a book that consistently surprised me. I went into it knowing nothing and I had the best time! Talk about a queer historical fiction with necromancy!! All of the things I love! Keep reading this book review of The Halls of the Dead for my full thoughts.
Summary
London, December 1849
Irene Shallcross Haley has dedicated her life to necromancy, a forbidden, reviled art that is passed along through sentient grimoires bound in human skin. With her undead husband St. John—a marriage of kindred spirits and platonic convenience—she has been protecting the knowledge of generations of witches that came before her. Like any magic, it has come at a cost: her reputation, her relationship with her sister, and her soul. But when Irene’s love, Agnes, is hanged for witchcraft, Irene refuses to let Agnes be one more thing that is taken from her.
A true resurrection has not been achieved in two thousand years, but Irene is determined. With the help of St. John, Irene bangs on the doors of the Halls of the Dead, demanding the third part of their triumverate back…or did she? Because the Agnes that awakens comes with both a hunger for raw flesh and a malignant ghost tied to her soul.
Necromancy is the art of saying no—no, I won’t let you go; no, I won’t let you be destroyed—and Irene’s work is not yet done. She must find a way to bring Agnes back to her true self, she must navigate her feelings for her resurrected lover as well as St. John, and she must do all of this without catching the attention of Sir Silas Underhill, the man who sentenced Agnes to death.
Death is not the end of love. But Irene may realize it can actually be the beginning.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
I love a story about necromancy. Talk about catnip to a cat! The Halls of the Dead merges necromancy and historical fiction. So while there’s a fair bit of magic and necromancy, it’s about their persecution, about the magic used against them, and their quest to just live their lives and worship. The Halls of the Dead features three narrators and I enjoyed getting to know each of them. To see their secrets from each other, their budding feelings, and all the things we hide even from the ones we love the most. The Halls of the Dead explores the idea of sacrifice for power, for ourselves, and to protect the ones we love.
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The Halls of the Dead was a world building smorgasbord for me and I liked how grounded the characters felt amongst the necromancy magic. Charlie Albers, Ella Lynch & James Meunier were fabulous pairings and I love when a multiple POV novel has multiple narrators! I loved how The Halls of the Dead felt like these characters just trying to carve out a slice of happiness of survival for themselves. While it’s about necromancy, it’s also deeply romantic, of seeing people in a new light, and realizing we can be emotionally vulnerable and open. Find The Halls of the Dead on Goodreads, Storygraph, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.