Sunday, February 14, 2010

The Narcomancer

Novelette by N.K. Jemisin
Originally published in the now-defunct Helix.
Audio version from PodCastle, read by Rajan Khanna.

A couple of dream magic priests go out to save a village from bandits and resolve the fight between two widows. Set to the tune of "Sexual Healing".

The opening scene seemed irrelevant, and my overall impression if this story was that it was too long. The old should-have-been-a-short-story syndrome. The central plot wasn't that interesting and the resolution felt too easy. The romantic plot achieved the awkwardness it was looking for, but wasn't as warm and fuzzy/bittersweet as intended, it fell rather flat for me.

Although I wasn't impressed with the story itself, I was very interested in the world and the priesthood and their unique brand of magic in particular. I would like to see more stories set in this world, but maybe with a little better story to them. 2.5 out of 5 priests would prefer these powers over that lame "turn undead" crap.

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