| Abhorsen | Garth Nix | Necromancy | Abhorsen is the third book in the Old Kingdom series. It is all about a good necromancer and her struggle against evil necromancers. Many kinds of unique undead are featured. It's a young adult novel, but I enjoyed it anyway. |
| Awaken Online | Travis Bagwell | Necromancy | Copied from YouTube comment left by Cheostian: If you're looking for a story where the "main hero" happens to be a necromancer, you should read "Awaken Online" series by Travis Bagwell. I think the first book is free as a digital on amazon. You should be very pleasantly surprised.
https://www.goodreads.com/series/196901-awaken-online |
| Children's Book of Necromancy | Debrin Case | Necromancy for the kids | A Children's Book of Necromancy will allow anyone to do an astounding miracle with very little effort. Proving that you can do anything, you can even raise the dead.
https://www.amazon.com/Childrens-Book-Necromancy-Debrin-Case/dp/0578046067 |
| Frankenstein | Mary Shelley | Necromancy | One of the first pieces of literature involving a kind of necromancy. It's necromancy of the scientific kind, not the magical kind. |
| Gideon the Ninth | Tamsyn Muir | Necromancy World | Haven't read it myself yet but only heard good things about it.
Below is the official desciption text:
The Emperor needs necromancers.
The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.
Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead nonsense.
Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as arcane revenants. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy.
Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service.
Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will be become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.
Of course, some things are better left dead.
THE LOCKED TOMB TRILOGY
BOOK 1: Gideon the Ninth
BOOK 2: Harrow the Ninth
BOOK 3: Alecto the Ninth |
| Herbert West - Reanimator | H. P. Lovecraft | Necromancy | A pair of scientists perfect a formula to reanimate the dead. They inject it into corpses and not all goes according to plan. A fantastic read, as are all of Lovecraft's stories. |
| Histaff (Skeleton in Space, Book 1) | Andries Louws | A Skeleton in a Sci-Fi World | A goofy story about a dimwitted Skeleton who get teleported to a Space Station. Here is the description from Audible: "Lots of broken bones, a dim-witted RPG system, and a dash of magic; Skeleton in Space.
Douglas is a simple summoned skeleton, formed from an old battlefield when some ancient fossil of a necromancer raised him for a nefarious purpose.
His memories are a bit foggy, but who cares about remembering when there is walking to be done! Or stabbing cows! Douglas loves life, the simple joy of doing repetitive tasks - like battering down a large tower door - is all that's needed to keep his clacking bones satisfied.
But just after he completed his most recent task, the wizard he was fighting took out a weird crystal…and now there are stars everywhere. Will the floating, freezing skeleton find out what happened? Or will that wrecked spaceship on a collision path be the last thing going through his empty skull?
Come join Douglas the magical skeleton as he tries to live a fulfilling life in a sci-fi universe!" |
| Kill the Hero | D-Dart, CarroToon | Necromancy | Kill the Hero is a webtoon
One day, the world transformed into a game.
'Dungeons' and 'monsters' emerged in the middle of cities, and 'players' who had received the gods' authority appeared.
Se-jun Lee, the guild master of the Messiah Guild that would bring salvation to the world. |
| King Henry Tapes (Foul Mouth Series) | Richard Raley | Urban Fiction | Humorous modernage series featuring different schools of magic (Geo, Pyro, Aero, Hydro, Necro and more).
A major subject brought up in most of the books by minor characters, brought up predominantly by Bonegrinder Ultra level Heinrich Welf, it is not a taboo art ( slightly shunned) like in most fantasy worlds but one of value and worth.
Though main character King Henry Prince is a Geomancer, his frienemy "Welf" is an often featured character and always makes appearences in flashback "School yard" days. |
| Libris Mortis: The Book of the Dead | Unknown | Necromancy | A good supplemental rulebook for DnD 3.5 that presents a comprehensive overview of the undead. It contains information for creating, customizing and combating undead characters and monsters, as well as tactics employed by the undead and their hunters. |
| Liches Get Stiches | F.R. Smith | Undead Shenanigans | Synopsis:
Evil stirs in the forest of Downing, spreading blight across the ancient boughs. Busy with troubles of her own, Maud the village witch just wants to be left alone. Peace and quiet should be easy enough when you're dead, right?
Wrong.
Reborn as a powerful lich, Maud is suddenly faced with the attentions of all the righteous heroes, holy clerics, and nosy neighbors of the realm. Now instead of whiling away the days in her garden with her cat and her knitting, Maud must figure out how much force is required to crush a man's spine, the proper storage solution to keep a spoiling cadaver, and how best to display the remains of the fallen for maximum scare.
Featuring people mulch, head bouquets, revenant geese, and some very deadly embroidery, undead paradise never looked so good.
Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09GNRMHVR
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| Lirael | Garth Nix | Necromancy | Lirael is the second book in the Old Kingdom series. It is all about a good necromancer and her struggle against evil necromancers. Many kinds of unique undead are featured. It's a young adult novel, but I enjoyed it anyway. |
| Nagash Immortal | Mike Lee | Necromancy | Nagash Immortal is the final book in the Rise of Nagash series. They're books about the original necromancer in the Warhammer universe. Nagash was a Nehekharan Grand Hierophant of the city of Khemri, but he scorned the gods. He was only a Grand Hierophant because the first born of Nehekharan society are given as a gift to the gods while the second born becomes king. Nagash learns some dark magic with the help of some imprisoned Druchii and then goes on to become the greatest necromancer the Warhammer world has ever seen.
I highly recommend this book and series. The Nagash books are brilliant and Nagash is so beautifully evil. The book is overflowing with descriptions of undead hordes doing battle, dark rituals, and lots more. It's one of the best necromancy books I've ever read. |
| Nagash the Sorcerer | Mike Lee | Necromancy | Nagash the Sorcerer is the first book in the Rise of Nagash series. They're books about the original necromancer in the Warhammer universe. Nagash was a Nehekharan Grand Hierophant of the city of Khemri, but he scorned the gods. He was only a Grand Hierophant because the first born of Nehekharan society are given as a gift to the gods while the second born becomes king. Nagash learns some dark magic with the help of some imprisoned Druchii and then goes on to become the greatest necromancer the Warhammer world has ever seen.
I highly recommend this book and series. The Nagash books are brilliant and Nagash is so beautifully evil. The book is overflowing with descriptions of undead hordes doing battle, dark rituals, and lots more. It's one of the best necromancy books I've ever read. |
| Nagash the Unbroken | Mike Lee | Necromancy | Nagash the Unbroken is the second book in the Rise of Nagash series. They're books about the original necromancer in the Warhammer universe. Nagash was a Nehekharan Grand Hierophant of the city of Khemri, but he scorned the gods. He was only a Grand Hierophant because the first born of Nehekharan society are given as a gift to the gods while the second born becomes king. Nagash learns some dark magic with the help of some imprisoned Druchii and then goes on to become the greatest necromancer the Warhammer world has ever seen.
I highly recommend this book and series. The Nagash books are brilliant and Nagash is so beautifully evil. The book is overflowing with descriptions of undead hordes doing battle, dark rituals, and lots more. It's one of the best necromancy books I've ever read. |
| Necromancer Awakening | Nat Russo | Necromancy | Texas archaeology student Nicolas Murray has an ironic fear of the dead. A latent power connecting him to an ancient order of Necromancers floods his mind with impossible images of battle among hive-mind predators and philosopher fishmen. When a funeral service leaves him shaken and questioning his sanity, the insidious power strands him in a land where the sky kills and earthquakes level cities. A land where the undead serve the living, and Necromancers summon warriors from ancient graves to fight in a war that spans life and afterlife.
If Nicolas masters the Three Laws of Necromancy, he can use them to get home. But as he learns to raise and purify the dead—a process that makes him relive entire lifetimes in the span of a moment—the very power that could bring him home may also prevent his return. For the supreme religious leader, the Archmage Kagan, has outlawed Necromancy, and its practitioners risk torture and execution.
As warring nations hunt Necromancers to extinction, countless dead in limbo await a purification that may never come.
Nicolas’s power could be his way home…
Or it could save a world that wants him dead. |
| Necroscope | Brian Lumley | Necromancy | Necroscope is set during the Cold War sometime and has characters from both the Soviet Union and also the West. This book features necromancy that's subtler in nature than what's usually covered on this channel but it's certainly still powerful.
One of the necromancers is a Romanian working for the USSR who is the last of his kind of necromancer. His talent is to learn secrets from the dead. He can cut up a corpse and sift through its organs, tasting or consuming parts and learning things from the corpse. How they died, what their final memories were, etc. The rituals are bloody and graphic and certainly quite disgusting, but very interesting.
The other kind of necromancer in the book so far is more of a psychic necromancer. He's a school kid who's able to host the spirits of dead people, allowing them to sort of come in and assume direct control over him but still do what he wants somehow. It's not like they're the pilot completely - he's still somehow in control, somewhere. |
| Rulers of the Dead | Josh Reynolds, David Annandale | Necromancy, Vampires, Chaos | A very nice book about Nagash and his cronies. It focuses mostly on Neferata and the human Rictus clans who are necromancers that worship Nagash. The Rictus clans and Nagash are also in battle against Nuurgle and Neferata must fight politics within her own city as well as an army of Khorne.
https://www.blacklibrary.com/all-products/rulers-of-the-dead-ebook-2019.html |
| Sabriel | Garth Nix | Necromancy | Sabriel is the first book in the Old Kingdom series. It is all about a good necromancer and her struggle against evil necromancers. Many kinds of unique undead are featured. It's a young adult novel, but I enjoyed it anyway. |
| Skeleton Soldier Couldn't Protect the Dungeon | Sosori, Wolhet, Ant Studio, Kangye Seul | Minion | Skeleton Soldier Couldn't Protect the Dungeon is a webtoon. His only purpose was to protect his master. And yet he was powerless to protect her. But fate has more in store for him as he gets another chance to protect his master once more and change his destiny.
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| Skulduggery Pleasant | Derek Landy | Necromancy | Skulduggery Pleasant is a series of novels by Derek Landy. It's a really nice series about a magic underworld, taking place mainly in Ireland. It features quite a bit of necromancy, though it's a mix of actual death magic and shadow magic, with the shadow magic being a necromancer's main weapon in actual combat (it's really damn cool though). It does feature undead minions as well, with the bad guys especially using a couple of undead hordes every now and then. Also, the title character is a wisecracking, skeletal detective. |
| Solo Leveling | Chugong, GEE So-Lyung, Redice Studio | Necromancy | Solo Leveling is a webtoon.
In this world where Hunters with various magical powers battle monsters from invading the defenseless humanity, Sung Jin-Woo was the weakest of all the Hunters, barely able to make a living.
However, a mysterious System grants him the power of the ‘Player’, setting him on a course for an incredible and oftentimes perilous Journey.
Follow Sung Jin-Woo as he embarks on an adventure to become an unparalleled existence through his “Level-Up” system - the only one in the entire world! |
| Sylver Seeker | KingKennit | Adventure Novel | After fulfilling the duty all arch necromancers are tasked with, Sylver Sezari was not expecting to ever wake up again.
But he did.
And after crawling his way back into the land of the living, he’s alive once again. In a strange land, a strange time, and with a strange floating screen in front of his new face.
Either through plan or chance, he’s alive again, and planning to enjoy himself to his heart's content.
-The story isn’t grimdark, but it’s not all sunshine and rainbows either. There will be lighthearted and positive moments, as well as some sad ones. That being said, it’s a whole lot more light than dark.
-This is a LITRPG story.
Chapters are published every 2 days at 21:00 GMT.
Author’s note:
-It can get very GORY. I’m somewhat desensitized to gore and violence. So while the story isn’t full of gore for the sake of gore, it can get a little too descriptive.
-The MC is a necromancer, so corpses and decay, and all the things that come with it, will be mentioned from time to time.
-I’m a huge fan of Egyptian, Slavic, and Greek mythology, so expect quite a bit of that. That said, so much is altered, you’ll be hard-pressed to guess how exactly it is being used.
-Despite being ‘immortal’ the MC can die. In the event he does, the story doesn’t end, simply time skips forward. Which in some cases is going to be worse than just dying.
-I love plot twists, as much as I love red herrings and Chekhov guns. Deus Ex Machina’s not so much.
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/36065/sylver-seeker |
| The Emperor's Soul | Brandon Sanderson | Some necromancy and other magic | The Emperor's Soul is another story by Brandon Sanderson. It's one of the many shorter stories within his book Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection. This time the necromancy is more traditional and also a lot more awesome.
The protagonist is a prisoner forced to do some work for her enemies, but to make sure that she does not run away, they've employed a special kind of Necromancer called a Bloodsealer. Every day he comes to her cell and draws a small amount of her blood and crafts a seal which is placed on her door. If she ever escapes, the seal will sense that she's too far away and the Bloodletter's minions will hunt her down. Fortunately for us, they do indeed hunt her down. As she runs away, she can hear them howling and coming her for. When they catch up to her a battle ensues.
The minions are described as having sharpened bones which damage the protagonist when she tries to hurt them. Some of their bones are also wooden - presumably bones damaged in past battles and replaced with wooden ones. Every one of them has a red-seal stamped on their foreheads to give them life and, I assume, also attuned to her blood, so they can track her down.
They're also described as being extremely fast and horrific to behold, so there's an element of horror to them which goes beyond a simple skeleton or zombie. They remind me a bit of the ghouls in Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, just more skeletal and with swords.
I enjoyed the way the Bloodletter and his minions were described. Too bad there's no Brandon Sanderson book which heavily features them and their faction. I'd love to read it. |
| The Return of Nagash | Josh Reynolds | Necromancy | It's about Arkhan the Black and Mannfred teaming up to resurrect Nagash. The entire story is told from the perspective of Arkhan and Mannfred with excellent writing by Josh Reynolds. The story really gives life and depth to both characters.
https://www.blacklibrary.com/all-products/return-of-nagash-ebook.html |
| The Scarlet Citadel | Robert E. Howard | Necromancy | A Conan the Barbarian short story which features the necromancer Pelias. It's a good insight into the lore of necromancy in Conan's universe and also an entertaining read. |
| The Sort of Dark Mage | Nelson Cherata | Light Fantasy | Paraphrased from a YouTube comment left by Geralt Grey-Mane: "The book doesn't focus on necromancy but the main character's mother and country praise magic schools like necromancy and the mother is known as the most powerful necromancer in the land. If I remember correctly, the main character is also pursued by a lich who wants to eat his heart."
The book serise start with the book "the sort of dark mage by nelson chereta" <3 My best find in a long time for fantasy books even tho as the MC leaves his home country for his quest it start to become more humour but the writer throws in sometimes dark humor so for me it was fun :D I strongly recommend the audiobook aswell the reader is amazing on the voices haha"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18108609-the-sort-of-dark-mage |
| The Vile Art of Necromancy | Jack McKay | Necromancy Knowledge | An encyclopedia of Necromantic knowledge told from the perspective of a fictional Necromancer known as Master Tiranus. It contains all the basics of what Necromancy is, the spells and curses associated with it, the standard minion types and even has a section dedicated to explaining the origins of fictional Necromancy, descriptions of Necromancy in various fictional settings and the real world historical Necromancy that took place in ancient times. Also has a section talking about military tactics for a Necromancer and an entire chapter talking about Lichdom and the process to become one in a fantasy setting. |
| Unclean | Richard Lee Byers | Necromancy | The first book of the haunted lands trilogy, a story about a lich called Szass Tam who causes great destabilization to Thay. Necromancy and undead are a common theme. |
| Undead | Richard Lee Byers | Necromancy | The second book of the haunted lands trilogy, a story about a lich called Szass Tam who causes great destabilization to Thay. Necromancy and undead are a common theme. |
| Unholy | Richard Lee Byers | Necromancy | The final book of the haunted lands trilogy, a story about a lich called Szass Tam who causes great destabilization to Thay. Necromancy and undead are a common theme. |
| Vampire Wars: The von Carstein Trilogy | Steven Savile | Necromancy, Vampires, Warhammer | Vampire Wars is all about the vampire clans and their fight against the Empire. Really fantastic reading.
https://www.blacklibrary.com/all-products/vampire-wars-von-carstein-trilogy-ebook.html |
| Warbreaker | Brandon Sanderson | Some Necromancy and animating inanimate objects | Warbreaker is a book by Brandon Sanderson and although necromancy isn't ever something any of the characters in the book have much to do with, it is heavily featured in the world. Most of the story takes place in a country whose entire military force is made up of the Lifeless - which are basically zombies. Although not the standard kind of moaning, limping, rotting zombies. These are more like empty vessels - flesh constructs, perhaps. They're agile and strong and retain the combat skills they had in life, although none of their sentience. They're also only controllable with a special password, but they are almost unstoppable warmachines and are greatly feared by the people within this fictional world. A few times in the book there are times where you see them in action. When not in action, they sit in warehouses doing nothing.
Brandon Sanderson is really good at making unique magic systems for his stories and the magic in Warbreaker uses Breath and Color. Every person is born with something called Breath and it can be willingly given to another person. Nothing seriously bad happens once a person loses their breath, but they're said to be less colorful and a bit more subdued, perhaps. Others can collect the Breaths and when they accumulate a certain amount, they begin to see the world differently. Colors are more vibrant and they gain some additional senses. In addition to this, the Breath allows someone to breathe life into an inanimate object. All that is required is something colorful, like a bright red shirt, and the inanimate object.
A skilled breather can create a minion out of anything really. As an example, we'll take a rope. If life were to be breathed into a rope while holding a yellow shirt, the yellow shirt would be drained of all its color and left dull and grey. The Breath would then be possessed by the rope, which could then be commanded to strangle someone to death or do whatever task is needed - provided the Breather is skilled enough. Once finished, the Breath can be reclaimed and the rope lies dormant again.
Breath is also associated with status in the country. The more breaths you have, the more important you must be.
Brandon Sanderson writes some really nice books. He's certainly one of my favorite authors. He's really good at coming up with interesting magic systems. |
| Zothique | Clark Ashton Smith | Necromancy | Zothique is a collection of short stories written by Clark Ashton Smith about a fictional future continent on the earth called Zothique which rose out of the seas after the continents of our timeline have sunken.
I haven't finished reading all of the Zothique stories, but of the ones I've read so far, all of them have featured necromancers and necromancy. The world of Zothique is certainly some kind of dark fantasy world and is pretty bleak.
Smith's writing style is of that older, more descriptive and detached style that you might expect from a Weird Tales story. If you like Howard and Lovecraft, you will probably also like Zothique.
Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, Zothique is out of print. You can buy a paperback from the 1970s for hundreds of dollars, or you can find the stories online in PDF form. |