The Enterprise of Death
Jill McDole reviews The Enterprise of Death, a middle age tale of necromancy and more.
Author: Jesse Bullington
Publisher: Orbit Books
Price: £7.99
Availability: Out Now
A young Moorish woman named Omorose and her slaves, Awa and Halim, are kidnapped by a nefarious necromancer and forced to live in his fortress. They suffer under his tutelage and are tormented by the reanimated bones who serve their master. Eventually, as the madman planned, only one is left standing-Awa. As she learns the secrets of necromancy, she brings her beautiful mistress back to life (or does she) and begins an affair.
After her instructor curses her and leaves the earthly realm for a period of time, Awa makes her way into the world, only to be captured by military men. One of the men, artist Niklaus Manuel, who is tasked to bring her to a regional witch-hunter feels sorry for her and she ends up free. Awa searches for the necromancer’s book before her life is ended by the curse. Complicated issues abound-her mistress, truly reanimated and wearing an enchanted ring to once again appear beautiful, wins the heart of a new witch-hunter and vows revenge. Awa teams up with Manuel and his friend, a gun-toting lesbian named Monique. Immoral religious and military men abound. A mad doctor with an interest in the occult and necromancy, but not much in the suffering of his patients, is thrown into the mix. Awa begins a romance with a prostitute. Eventually, she is captured again, and a final showdown with her former mistress, now nemesis, is imminent.
Author Bullington creates a dark and engagingly creative fantasy set in the Middle Ages. Gore, necromancy, sex, humour, and the corruptness of religion during the time of the Spanish Inquisition are all explored within the novel’s pages. I found The Enterprise of Death to be a bit tedious in a few parts, but overall it is generally well-plotted and entertaining. This definitely is not a book for kids, but quite a bit of naughty and dark fun for the rest of us.
8/10
