Terminal City: Book One in the Terminal City Saga

by Trevor Melanson

Mason Cross never wanted to be anything like his father, a famous professor who, it turns out, was also a necromancer. But death changes people.

Now Mason is following in his dead dad’s footsteps, down a dark, solitary path between two competing lives: one as a student at Terminal City’s top university, the other as a necromancer.

But will he find the answers he’s looking for? Or will he find only death, caught in a hidden war between necromancers and a religious inquisition?

As the gravity of both worlds bears down on him, Mason will need to discover not just new power—but what a human life is really worth.

Genres: Fantasy, Canada

256 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 4, 2016

About the author

About the Author:

Trevor Melanson is the author of Trial of the Alchemist and The Terminal City Saga. A former journalist, he currently runs communications at a clean energy think tank.

Reviews

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received this through LibraryThing for an honest review.

This book was really a fun read for me. I wish it went even further with the back story of necromancy though. There were some editing problems but not enough to effect the book on a whole. Loved the ending too which for me is rare.

[Melanie Kiser · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book ... a different type of supernatural entity that may or may not be evil.

[Caroline Ingvaldsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A likeable young necromancer fights against, and sometimes with, the forces of evil in the first in a new urban fantasy series set in an alternate Vancouver.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This paranormal novel is about Mason Cross, resident of Terminal City and student at the local university. His father, John Cross, was a well-respected professor at the university until his death several months previously.

A mutual friend, Lester Wright, tells Mason that John was a Necromancer, someone interested in magic and communicating with the dead. Lester is also a Necromancer. Mason is shown Dad's library of old books on necromancy, and learns that he is also a Necromancer. Mason has no interest in raising the dead, or anything like that, he just wants to know more about it. That does not matter to the Inquisitors.

For the past several hundred years, an all-out war has been going on between Necromancers and Inquisitors, religious fanatics who think that the only good Necromancer is a dead one. Lester is killed by them, and so is Mason. He finds himself in the spirit realm, where the spirit of his father helps convince the being in charge to give Mason another chance. Mason is returned to Terminal City with a task; kill a "bad" Necromancer named Rowland, and send him back to the spirit realm.

Rowland has been alive for over 300 years, and has perfected the ability to kill with a mere thought. He also knows that Mason is coming for him. Meantime, Rowland has made it known to all the Inquisitors in North America that he is making his final stand at the top of a Terminal City skyscraper that is still under construction (come and get me). Mason is also there. Who is still alive when the battle ends; Rowland, Mason or any of the Inquisitors?

This is an excellent piece of writing. It is just weird enough, without being too weird, or too much like a horror story. The body count gets pretty high by the end, but it is very easy to read. I look forward to a sequel.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat offbeat urban fantasy mixed in with a coming of age story. Main character may become too bad ass in later novels, but since it doesn't end in a cliffhanger you can skip these.

[Edwin Downward · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story kept raising enough questions to keep me reading to the end but never quite pulled me in.

[Ariane Fleischmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the littlest nutshell:
Read it. It’s great.

In a normal-sized nutshell:
It’s dark, but there are light moments.
It’s fantasy, but it’s familiar, in a ‘hey this could be a thing right under our noses’ sort of way (but totally not conspiratorial)
It’s cleverly written with those ‘aha!’ moments and has a dash of philosophical questions that’ll make you think a little. But it’s easy-to-read, and you’ll uncover layers as you turn the pages—like 7-layer dip, not onions.

And the longer, rambling nutshell that’s on steroids:
When I read a book (and I read a lot of books) I want to be more than entertained. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good diversion in the form of words on a page (or screen, if that’s your style), but I also want to think a little, learn a little, and walk away from it with the feeling that the book filled a gap in my brain bookshelf.

Terminal City delivers. Every character had me hooked. They challenged me to think beyond popular preconceptions of protagonist/antagonist paradigms, to what shapes a person’s character and their approach to their unique situations. Mason is far from perfect. He has to adjust his reasoning and beliefs throughout his journey. Rowland is sympathetic and complex. As his character unfolded, I couldn’t help but empathize with his convictions (sort of).

While the premise of the book is dark—it’s a tale of necromancy and the battle that ensues between necromancers and inquisitors, after all—the tale is balanced by a believable romance. The language of, and sparing light-hearted moments between Asha and Mason (as well as the book’s other characters’ personal relationships for that matter) show the vulnerability of love.

Looking forward to seeing what concepts and themes unfold in book two.

[Brenda Mcallister · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mason Cross at 20 is just beginning his life. His Dad is dead and his Mom depends on him for companionship. Finally he's moving out, starting college, hoping for a normal life. Lester shows up, a friend of his dads, with plans to move in with Mason and train him as a necromancer. "Whoa"says Mason "You're nuts!Out!" Lester " Your father talked to the dead, among other things. You have magic and I'm here to train you. See this ball of light, you can do more. Just practice." Mason reads the magic book and practices. (my brief summary)
Inquisitors believe all necromancers are evil. They kill all they find, usually burning them alive when possible. They kill Lester then they kill Mason. The Spirit Realm returns him to life stronger than before after he agrees to kill Rowland who is the oldest and strongest necromancer. Also possibly insane. He sets out to track down Rowland only to find this is the person who helped him and who now has set himself up as bait to gather the Inquisitors together and kill them all.
Lots of mayhem, excellent descriptive passages and good character development.
A little choppy at the start but a good, quick read.
Thanks to the author and Edge/Hades Publishing, together with LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program for the book.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

For centuries the inquisitors have tried to kill every Necromancer because it is gods will to stop their so called evil from spreading. The Necromancers many of whom are innocents just trying to learn more of their craft and practice their beliefs have been just trying to hide and stay alive. Now that is over Rowland is done hiding and after three centuries he is taking the final fight to the Inquisitors. He and his mentor were murdered by the Inquisitors and the spirit realm took pity on him and returned him to the living world now stronger then any other Necromancer and nearly invincible he hunts the Inquisitors and nothing will stop him not even the many innocents who get in his way. Mason Cross and his mentor have just been murdered by an Inquisitor, when Mason gets to the sprit realm he finds his father who tells him that it was Inquisitors who murdered him too but the spirit realm regrets sending Rowland back and if Mason will promise to kill Rowland and return him to them, they will return Mason to living world. Can Mason a novice Necromancer stop Rowland and end the war, will he even want to stop him?

[Dgilmour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Take the traditional fantasy coming of age novel, add in a heavy dollop of philosophy, hardboil the protagonist and you have Terminal City -- the career launching first book in Trevor Melanson’s Terminal City Saga.

Mason Cross is heading off to university for the first time, when the untimely death of Mason’s father places him into the middle of a secret war between the necromancer’s and the inquisitors. But following his father’s necromantic legacy soon gets complicated as he’s hunted by the faithful inquisitors and mentored in the art of magic powered by the dead by the heartless revenant Rowland. As bodies start piling up Mason discovers who he is and how he can live with the ideals he has set for himself in an ever complicating world.

Terminal City has a solid magic systems and action packed second half that manages to balance exploring compelling broken characters and philosophical themes. I enjoyed this novel a lot and would heartily recommend it.

[Linda Nickerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting read from start to finish. Highly imaginative romp into the dark side with complex characters. I found myself liking the bad ones as much as the good ones; indeed the lines between 'good' and 'bad' were often blurred. Action packed, and never a dull moment; the author paints incredible pictures of an alternative Vancouver (Terminal City) as well as other layers of the necromancer's reality, and the flow back and forth between the two. I can hardly wait for the next two books of this trilogy, and highly recommend this book; you will not be able to put it down. This would make an incredible movie. It would be visually stunning; Mason is such a believable character, very multi-dimensional, a reluctant hero! Amazing entrance into the published literary world for this fresh, new author!!

[Anne V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mason Cross is embarking on a new life in more ways than just going to college. When he moves in to the house he inherited from his dead father and an odd stranger comes calling, he discovers that death is just another beginning.

Once introduced to the world of unseen things, Mason is delivered as a complex hard-edged young man who takes joining the ranks of his father’s powerful friends, the Necromancers, in an epic battle against the Inquisitors in stride.

This is a fast-paced, well-written entertaining book and a good way to pass time. The plot never lags, and it is pleasantly easy to stay immersed in the darkish underworld of the book. I am looking forward to the next in the series!

I received a review copy from the publisher through Librarything in exchange for an honest review. This review and more at annevolmering.com.