Finn Fancy Necromancy: The Familia Arcana, Book 1 (Finn Fancy, #1)

by Randy Henderson

Finn Gramaraye was framed for the crime of dark necromancy at the age of 15, and exiled to the Other Realm for twenty five years. But now that he's free, someone--probably the same someone--is trying to get him sent back. Finn has only a few days to discover who is so desperate to keep him out of the mortal world, and find evidence to prove it to the Arcane Enforcers. They are going to be very hard to convince, since he's already been convicted of trying to kill someone with dark magic. But Finn has his family: His brother Mort who is running the family necrotorium business now, his brother Pete who believes he's a werewolf, though he is not, and his sister Samantha who is, unfortunately, allergic to magic. And he's got Zeke, a fellow exile and former enforcer, who doesn't really believe in Finn's innocence but is willing to follow along in hopes of getting his old job back.

• ISBN10: 0765385651
• ISBN13: 9780765385659
• Publish Date: 5 January 2016 (first published 1 January 2015)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Tor Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

A different kind of urban fantasy for me, but I liked it.   Finn was framed for dark magic when he was 15 and exiled to the Fae world, where they fed off his memories for 25 years.  When he's finally released, an attack during the 'exchange' (a changing was using his body during his sentence) left him with his body back but without the usual memory transfer, leaving him with no idea what's happened in the world for the last 25 years.   This allows the story to occasionally wallow in cheesy 80's references, and his fellow exile Zeke to look like what sounds like a Nordic Mr. T.  If you're a child of the 80's or a fan of pop culture, it definitely makes the story chuckle-worthy.     The plot revolves around Finn trying to clear his name and figure out who didn't want him released from exile.  The answer was both transparently obvious from the start and a surprise; I missed enough clues along the way that I didn't see the twist coming.    I must be getting old, because I found myself skimming a lot of the action scenes, but I did thoroughly enjoy the book.  It's funny and well written and I cared about what was going to happen to the characters.   It's the start of a series, and I'll happily read book #2, but I'm not champing at the bit to rush out to buy it.  I'll come across it eventually and snap it up when I do.