Synopsis
Bounty Hunter. Necromancer. Outcast.
She goes on the hunt when the law doesn’t want to get its hands dirty.
Born and bred in the harsh northern winters, Hunter collects bounties on thieves and murderers for a handful of coin, dragging Rip, her animated corpse, behind her. Trust wears thin in the wild Territories, and the law doesn’t always land on the side of justice. Or the side of a necromancer.
Shadowed by the influence of a wealthy Shadesilver baron, Hunter takes on one last job. But instead of an easy payday, Hunter finds something she never expected, something that will tear open old wounds and set her on a path to find justice… for someone else.
Review
I **adored** the short story of the same name in The Advent of Winter anthology, so had to grab the full novel when I realised it was available!
Tori Tecken has an incredibly strong author voice, and I’m certain I could read pretty much anything she writes and have an amazing time with it.
In this, we follow Hunter, a bounty hunter and a necromancer, as she ekes out a living in the fantasy equivalent of the Wild West. There are Shades to deal with (need to know more about them!!), outlaws who want her blood, and plenty of fine folk who don’t take too kindly to someone who’s touched the Dark After staying in their midst. She’s accompanied at all times by Rip, a reanimated corpse of someone she killed seven years prior, and a horse that doesn’t seem to like her very much.
She has a mark to complete, there are men who are far too big for their boots causing all sorts of trouble, and Hunter is quickly saddled with a young lad who seems to hold powerful magic of his own. Quite who is running from who is muddled as they come to rely on one another and their different ways of thinking.
Although Hunter is clearly a loner, there are strong elements of found family here – she travels from town to town (or is chased out of them), but has allies and comrades that she can go to for safety. It’s evident she has a rich and complex backstory with many of them, though most of it is shrouded in mystery and only alluded to. It’s thematically deep, talking about and skirting around grief and loss, life and death, and Hunter learns from young Johnny as much as he does from her.
This reads like a deliberately paced slice of life story, which was absolutely fine, though I’d hoped we’d learn more about the incredible world building that we’re introduced to: shades, magic (and shadesilver), what is going on with Rip, and Hunter’s past.
It was a quick read and an enjoyable one. Despite not being overly familiar with Westerns, the setting and writing were so richly detailed that I was deeply immersed in every page.
Fantastically written and a lot of fun! Highly recommend 😀
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