Title:

Necrobane

Author:

Daniel M. Ford

Category:

Science Fiction / Fantasy

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

March 19, 2026

ecrobane is the second book in the Warden series featuring the sorcress Aelis de Lenti. The first book, The Warden saw new graduate Aelis assigned to become the Warden in the hinterlands at a lonely frontier town called Lone Pine. Why would such an excellent young wizard be assigned to such a desolate place? In the first book, The Warden Aelis battled an evil sorcerer, but at the end of that novel, she inadvertently activated hordes of animated skeletons. At the start of Necrobane, Aelis is gathering her resources to go out and meet this looming threat.

It has been almost three years since I read The Warden; I did not remember the characters or any details of the plot. So it took me a few chapters to regain the thread of the story. Aelis takes three main allies with her to find the magical relic that controls the animated skeletons so that she can destroy it. Maurenia is a half-elf mercenary that Aelis is romantically attracted to. The feelings are mutual. Maurenia is a tough and practical fighter, it seems she has a history of sea battles and warfare. Tun is a gigantic half-orc woodsman - skilled in forestry, keen with his senses, and an expert in wilderness survival. Tun is also a were-bear, but only Aelis knows his secret. Timmuck Dobrusz is a dwarf. Like all dwarves, he is an expert with forging weapons and using them, and of course he is keen on gems and gold. With these three companions, Aelis sets out into the wintry woods of Old Ystain to look for the magical artifact.

Crossing through a snowy valley, the small team is assaulted by a pack animated dog skeletons. Aelis employs her magical arts, and her compatriots display their prowess with their weapons, but one of the skeleton dogs manages to sink its teeth into Maurenia's shoulder before the pack is destroyed. They need shelter to tend to Maurenia's wound, and stumble into an isolated structure where a very strange man named Rhunival lives.

Aelis's magical talents alert her that Rhunival is no mere woodsman; he might not even be human. Rhunival is powerful and cunning. He seems to know an incredible amount about Aelis's plans. He offers magical aid to Aelis if she will retrieve one small object from the magical vault in the ruins of Mahlhewn Keep. Aelis reluctantly agrees, and soon Aelis and her three friends resume their northward trudge through the deep snow, following Rhunival's instructions.

There is a lot of magic in this book. Not only is Aelis a trained Necromancer, but she is also an Abjurer and Enchanter. (She is not, however, and Illusionist or Conjurer, the other two branches of sorcery in this world). This magical background gives her a plethora of spells, which proves to be essential given the dangerous challenges in their path.

Ford has created his magical world and drawn an interesting plot and populated it with likeable, believable characters (Aelis might be a little bit unbelievable given all her magical abilities, but the bad guys appear to be equally powerful). I enjoyed how the story unfolded.

Book one in this series ended with Aelis's accidental activation of the animated skeletons. Book two similarly ends with a new challenge for Aelis. Fortunately, I see that book three, The Advocate is already published, so I won't have to wait three years to find out what happens next.