The Necromancer's Grimoire

The Elysium Texts #2

by Annmarie Banks

At the dawn of the Renaissance, a young woman finds herself on the path to great power... but can she control it or will it destroy her? Nadira has earned her place in the company of adventurers traveling to Istanbul to uncover something the Templar Knights lost 200 years before. She brings with her the knowledge and skills she acquired from reading The Hermetica of Elysium and learns that she is the key the Templars need to unlock their past. Lord Montrose is impatient with their mission. He is eager to turn his attention to seeking out and punishing his brother's murderers who sail the Mediterranean hunting heretical manuscripts. While another member of their group, the pious Friar William, is in the throes of doubt as his faith is challenged by what he has seen of Nadira's growing powers and the mystical elixirs of the alchemists. For what they want is for Nadira to read and master the powers of the book of Satan's realm, The Necromancer's Grimoire.

Genres: Fantasy, Historical, Dark Fantasy, Historical Fiction

346 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 5, 2013

About the author

Annmarie Banks spent the first twenty years of her professional life as a bookseller specializing in out-of-print and antiquarian books. She currently resides in the state of Arizona.

Since then she has studied many books about the history of the quest for knowledge. Early Western scientists were alchemists and philosophers who were forced to learn about the secrets of Nature by hiding in locked rooms poring over encrypted documents. Their struggle was so fascinating to her that she wrote the book she had always hoped to find on the shelves of the bookstore, but never did.

Reviews

[RoloPoloBookBlog · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Necromancer’s Grimoire by Annmarie Banks
(The Elysium Texts #2)
My Rating: 5/5 stars
Source: Knox Publishing

Annmarie Banks wastes no time in The Necromancer’s Grimoire, the second installment of The Elysium Texts series. Grimoire begins just two days after the end of book one, The Hermetica of Elysium and is so smoothly connected to the first installment that I was able to fall right into the read and become immediately absorbed.

Nadira, Lord Montrose, and crew just can’t seem to find a moment of peace and while they are all together once again, they now find themselves indebted to the Knights Templar. Nadira’s reputation has spread and the Knights believe it is she and she alone who can help them recover a precious artifact lost to the order more than 200 years ago. While Lord Montrose is not pleased with the indebtedness he knows he must go along with the arrangement if he wants to continue to protect and be with Nadira. For her part, Nadira has come to understand her gift is something someone somewhere will always want and her life will likely always be one of service if not servitude. And thus, the journey to Istanbul begins.

Initially the relationship between Nadira and her men and the Knights is one of caution and wariness as each side seems to always be holding a little back from the other. As their circumstances change, sometimes for the better and other times for the worse, each side learns they must trust one another if they are to complete their respective missions and survive. Completing their respective missions is hindered at almost every turn by the Necromancer, a man who holds great sway in Istanbul thanks to his mastery of the Grimoire. The Necromancer is an evil and greedy man who is willing to do whatever is necessary, no matter how heinous, in order to maintain his power and position. As Nadira’s power continues to grow she understands she must not only take the Grimoire from the Necromancer but defeat him if she and her men are ever to be safe again. Obviously, such an undertaking will be dangerous at best and deadly at worst and there will be collateral damage.

Here’s what I love about this book:

*the plot: it is both complicated and intricate while still being completely accessible. Banks manages to pull every aspect of the plot, both major and minor, into one complete entity that is thoroughly engaging and interesting.

*the pacing: this is a long read yet Banks has ensured even in the quiet moments the reader is fully engaged. In fact, it is during the quiet moments that the reader (and Nadira) gains the greatest information including loads of backstory on the various characters (YAY!!), precisely what the Grimoire is and how it can be used, and what Nadira must do to defeat the Necromancer.

*Nadira’s men: there is not a man in the group I dislike and am, in fact, very fond of each and every one of them. There is her Lord (and husband!) Montrose, the enormous redhead (who finds a girlfriend!), the inquisitive and troubled friar turned apprentice, and the mute giant. Nadira cherishes each man and never fails to use her power to come to their aid. Most intriguing is how each of the men comes to trust Nadira even to the point of ignoring their instincts. For example, when the men’s instincts are pushing them toward action, they heed Nadira’s advice to remain still. This trust and mutual respect between Nadira and her men is one of my favorite parts of this read and allows the reader to become more fully attached to each character.

*Nadira: As Shakespeare once wrote “Though she be but little, she is fierce!” That would pretty much cover it where Nadira is concerned. She is immensely powerful and constantly growing in strength (the stopover in Eleusis! WOW!!) but remains pure in terms of her love, her power, and her knowledge. She strives to know everything so she can make the most educated and well-informed decisions possible. Though she endeavors to only use her gifts for good, Nadira is often forced into actions she despises in order to protect those she loves and holds dear. Make no mistake, Nadira always protects those she calls her own and it is one of her finest qualities.

The Bottom Line: In all honesty, I have no complaints about this read other than the fact it ended and the third book is not yet available. Banks hasn’t just written a story, she has created, crafted, and molded a world full of knowledge, faith and religion, mysticism and magic. Also occupying this world are beautiful characters whose journey you willingly take with them despite the fear and the danger. The world and the characters are real and for lovers of the medieval period and fantasy, this read is absolutely a must-read for you!

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second in the Elysium Texts Series. I'm not exactly sure how many texts there will be but if they are all like the first two I can keep reading them 'til I die. I will write that I don't think that The Necromancer's Grimoire would stand alone. I think a reader would be lost without having read The Hermetica of Elysium. It had been quite a while since I had read it but the story line was with me enough so that I wasn't questioning actions and back stories.

In this installment Nadira, Montrose, Alisdair, Gareth and the White Knights are traveling after having beaten back the French who want Nadira and the Hermetica for their own evil reasons. They need to get to Constantinople but along the way they are "met" by emissaries of the Sultan. Nadira tells her escorts that this needs to happen and for them to put down their weapons. So begins the almost non-stop fantasy/adventure that is this second book. It is far more fantastical than The Hermetica of Elysium as Nadira learns more about the power she has and will acquire. She fights her strongest foe in the Necromancer; he takes what he wants even if he hasn't earned the right.

I am generally not a reader or fan of the fantasy genre. I like my books based in fact. I read the first book in the series not fully understanding the turn it would take into this realm. That being written - I loved the first book and the second book, was if anything even more exciting. The Necromancer's Grimoire exists far more in the world of the writer's imagination that in any fact based world and it's a very vivid and well described imagination. It takes a small effort to remember the strings of the mythology but it IS worth it. Underlying all of the traveling between worlds is a strong story about faith, the strength love can provide and the power that fear can wield in your life.

I found myself tapping my ereader to keep the pages turning. Nadira is a fully rounded character who continues to learn and grow. Those around her may not be as fully developed but the series isn't finished yet. And not every character is vital to the tale. I will wait somewhat impatiently for the next installment. Nadira the Reader is taking me on a journey that is fascinating, enlightening and I very much want to continue with her.

[Waheed Rabbani · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1495, a woman and nine men are riding on a road near Rome. The group includes five Templar Knights. The knights had helped evade a party of French soldiers who sought the woman, Nadira. She sits astride behind an English baron, Montrose. He had rescued her, much earlier, from a life as a Moor slave girl in Barcelona, and wishes to marry her. She is a linguist and also possesses magical and supernatural powers acquired reading the Hermetica: Egyptian-Greek wisdom texts. The group will board a vessel in Naples for Istanbul. Although Montrose and the Templars journey together, they have separate agendas and demands of Nadira. The Templars wish to exploit Nadira’s abilities in recovering their lost treasure. In Istanbul, they plan to reacquire a Grimoire – stolen from their Order about 200 years ago – whose power is being used by the sultan’s necromancer, Farshad, to raise the dead. Thus, they want Nadira to “use its spells to harrow hell” and bring back one of their deceased colleagues who knows where the treasure is stashed. Montrose is traveling in search of and to punish his dead brother’s murderer. He wants Nadira to accompany him to Istanbul. However, the Turks also desire Nadira, and the Templars have other secret objectives (to preclude more Christian-Muslim bloodshed).

Although this is book two of a series, Annemarie Banks has weaved the backstory seamlessly to enable a standalone reading. The novel is an exotic blend of historical fiction, romance and fantasy. It is full of surprises. Nadira’s use of her energies and her clashes with Farshad will thrill lovers of fantasy. While the romance is presented delicately, it binds the story. The ending paves the way to the next book, wherein Nadira will attempt to replicate Goddess Isis’s action. Highly recommended.

This review first appeared in the print magazine, Historical Novel Review Issue 64 (May 2013)

[Sarah Neau · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second book in the Elysium series by Annemarie Banks. The story of Nadira the Reader and her retinue of male companions continues. She begins to understand more about the powers she has gained from reading the Hermetica. Nadira has three quests - tell Montrose where his brother's killer can be found, find the priestess who can tell her more about her new powers, and steal the Necromancer's Grimoire from a powerful magus, who serves as adviser to the sultan of Istanbul. The magus is aware of her coming and tries to use her lack of skill with her new powers to prevent her from obtaining the Grimoire as well as destroy her by attacking her companions.

I found the story to be choppy at times because Banks moves the action of the story forward quickly from one event to the next without giving you a good sense of the passage of time between events. It was often confusing to realize that what I thought happened across a two-three day period actually occurred across either two- three weeks or even months.

Despite the quickly moving plot, Banks tells a compelling story about realizing that withholding knowledge can be more harmful than helpful, in trying to do good you can often do great harm if you force the situation and that it is sometimes hard to see what is already in front of you.

[Hafiza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suffers from middle book syndrome.
Not clear where this story is headed.
Did not like what happened to Montrose!
Will be reading next book.