Nekropolis

Tim Waggoner

Angry Robot 2009

Reviewer: Jeremy Kong

“I was suiting in Scullys nursing a beer that I couldn’t taste and would have to throw up later”

Matt Richter is a private eye who is also a zombie. He and his partner were accidentally sucked into the Netherworld and he is doing his best to fit in. He also has to pay for his anti-necrosis spells to stop him rotting away. He handles cases like rescuing souls from demons. In this book he is asked to investigate the theft of an Orb whose powers can be turned against the Creator of the Netherworld. If its powers are misused the entire Netherworld may disintegrate into chaos as the various city leaders fight each other, then disappear.

In typical private eye tradition he is approached by a damsel in distress to take on the case of the missing Orb. She was supposed to be guarding the Orb when it was stolen. Can Matt survive the power struggles, the monsters and the soul stealers who like to eat dead flesh and regard Matt as a walking buffet?

We meet a range of interesting characters like the Librarian. In return for his services the Librarian will reach inside Matt and take out a page of his life. There is the monstrous cabdriver whose cab eats customers it doesn’t like. The bar owner has a genetically engineered creature that has a number of interesting modifications like fast regrowing flesh so he can cater for his odder customers’ tastes.

The book is written in a dry humorous style that perfectly takes off the old Phillip Marlowe-type detective stories. Underneath, though, the film noir influence shows through.

I liked the story for its twists and differences. The unfamiliar Netherworld with its completely different values sets off the well-drawn characters. Waggoner gives us new characters at every turn and the story never bogs down.

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This review will appear in Volume 3 No.2 of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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