Thursday #Review - The Accused Dead by Rhiannon Frater #Dystopian #Fantasy

Series: The Hidden Necromancer # 2
Format: Kindle, 265 pages
Release Date: May 8, 2018
Publisher: Rhiannon Frater
Source: Author
Genre: Dystopian / Fantasy

Though I’ve been exonerated through the Necromancer Trial, there are those who are convinced that I am a devil-woman who should be exiled, or worse, killed. 

I’m trapped by the Laws of the Lost Texts. I can’t simply buy a ticket to the train and leave. I have to endure the Bridal Auction and hope my newfound friend, Quade, will be able to purchase my hand in marriage. If he fails his bid, I will be married off to one of the Crats. I’d rather be declared Unclaimed and condemned to a life of servitude to the community. 

All the while, the secret necromancer lurks in the shadows threatening to upturn my life and expose my true nature. 

To finally have control over my own life, I may have to take the ultimate risk and escape over the wall into the Deadlands. 

The Accused Dead is the second installment in author Rhiannon Frater's The Hidden Necromancer series. The story picks up right where The Unblessed Dead left off. Having survived yet another test to determine whether or not she's a necromancer (thanks to the fact that her mother once saved the community from the so called Unblessed dead),

Protagonist Ilyse Nott is under the microscope by certain members of the Council of Crats who don't believe that she's innocent no matter how many tests she has to take to prove herself.

Now, things are about to get really twisted. Ilyse has turned 18, which means it's the day of her Bridal Auction. As a summary, Ilyse lives in a place called Atonement Settlement where they believe in the so called Lost Texts. Even though this series has been compared to the Handmaiden meets the Walking Dead, one could also compare the people of the story to Mormons, or even the Amish if you will. As I said, even though Ilyse has been found innocent of murder, and of being a necromancer, she's still ostracized by the community. 

There are those who have chosen to do everything they can to make her life virtually impossible, including sabotaging her Bridal Auction, and forcing her to become one of the Unclaimed, or even going as far as putting her through yet another even harsher tests to see if she caves in and admits her guilt. Ilyse's only hope lies in the hands of Quade Reed. Quade is what's called an Undertaker; an Undertaker can sense zombies and can tell when they are around but can't control them like a necromancer. 

Quade works for an organization called Chandry where they collect and train necromancers. Quade fully intends to bid on and win Ilyse's hand and marriage and get her the hell away from Atonement where she can be free of those who hate her. Surprising nobody, Ilyse's sister Carrie, and her brother Rennon are once again wonderfully supportive and attempt to ride to Ilyse's rescue when things seem their darkest. There's a hodge podge assortment of revelations, discoveries, betrayals, and surprising twists, including the introduction of a group who appear to be part of a rebellion. 

Such an interesting and twisted ending. Wow, did not see that coming at all. I am definitely eager to read the third installment in this series as I am hoping to learn more about the Chantry, the world outside one of the most oppressive communities that you will read about. I feel for Ilyse in many ways. She has such a roller coaster of emotions and things happen to her that really made me want to jump into the story and put certain characters in their place. Alas, the final scene gives me hope that things will hopefully look up soon for both Ilyse and Quade. 

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#Review - The Unblessed Dead by Rhiannon Frater #SyFy #Dystopian

Series: The Hidden Necromancer #1
Format: Kindle, 267 pages
Release Date: April 10, 2018

• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Source: Author
Genre: Young Adult / Horror / Dystopian

When I was younger, my mother saved my settlement from the Unblessed Dead that would have killed us all. It cost her everything to reveal her necromancy and sent shockwaves through our stringent religious settlement. Convicted of heresy against our sacred Lost Texts, she died soon after. 

Since then, I have worked hard to maintain my Pious Standing so that when I turn eighteen I will be selected by a suitable husband at the Bridal Auction. 

As the large clock in town square ticks down to my eighteenth birthday, the dead have been appearing in my garden. If I’m discovered, I’ll face the Necromancer Trial just as my mother, oldest sister, and I did all those years ago. This time I fear I will not survive it. 

To add to my worries, an enigmatic handsome young man has arrived in the settlement. Around him swirls a green aura only I can see. Is he here to help me? Or does he have more nefarious plans? 

My name is Ilyse Nott, and I fear I am a necromancer. If I am, my life is over.

The Unblessed Dead is the first installment in Rhiannon Frater's The Unblessed Dead series. 17-year old Ilyse Nott is the protagonist of a series that is a cross between The Walking Dead and The Handmaid's Tale. It is a series that is set way off into the distant future. So far into the future, that they are now calling the time frame Anno Apocalypse. In this world, the dead have risen, America has fallen, & women can control the dead and are called Necromancers. In this world, necromancers are burned at the stake just like witches during the Salem Witches trial. 

In the Atonement Settlement, the dead are called the Unblessed Dead. Ever since her mother saved Atonement from the Unblessed Dead, Ilyse has been under the microscope by corrupt leaders called the Council of Crats who see her as a threat to their way of life. Ilyse and her older sister Angelina were put through one of the most awful tests imaginable in order to prove that she isn't going to follow in her mother's footsteps when it comes to being a necromancer. A test that cost Ilyse her older sister who presumably jumped the wall surrounding Atonement and disappeared into the Deadlands. 

Ilyse has attempted to live a life of piety and serenity in order to do well in the Bridal Auction that all 18-year old young women are required to attend. The auction is just what you expect; eligible men, some for the second time, bidding on a group of women to be their wives. If a woman is not chosen, she becomes one of the Unclaimed. She attends a school called Atonement School of Young Ladies. She lives in a society where the Elders have shunned technology, but it is not fully banned. 

It is a society that buries their dead in a place called Perdition Sanctuary. It is a society that truly believes that one day the Three Gods will rise up the Unblessed. It is a society that lives under the so called Lost Texts. It's supposed to guide the behavior of men and women, but women are unfairly treated as though they are living in the dark ages. Only the male patriarchy can approve where a woman goes, and whether or not she can leave the home. It is a rarity that women can leave Atonement by themselves for a more progressive place in the Republic. 

It is also believed that only women can be necromancer's because they are weak and more corruptible by the devil women. WIth everyone closely watching Ilyse to see if she exhibits the same abhorrent behaviors that her mother did, one slip up, one mistake can be fatal. It doesn't help when she finds one of the dead standing in her garden. Ilyse's only real allies are her sister Carrie, Headmistress Simmons who believes that Ilyse should be able to leave an attend the Academy, and a boy named Quade who arrives in town with some idea that Ilyse is who he has been sent to find. Quade is what's called an Undertaker; an Undertaker can sense zombies and can tell when they are around but can't control them like a necromancer. Quade also works for an organization called Chandry where they collect and train necromancers. Hopefully, we will find more about the Republic, the Chandry, The Enclave, The Radiated Lands and the Deadlands in the next installment.

 I have to say that I absolutely loved & felt for Ilyse's sister Carrie. She has a rebellious spirit, and a strong resolve, but has not a bone of  jealousy in her entire body when it comes to her older sister. She stands shoulder to shoulder with her through the harshest times imaginable when Ilyse is once again thrust into the spotlight and accused of being a necromancer. I also loved their little brother Rennor who doesn't let a little thing like a disability get in his way. I am once again impressed by the author's world building and her intensive storyline that really made me grind my teeth at times. Her writing makes you want to jump into the story and throttle the villain to an inch of their lives. 

The author was kind enough to share with me the first two installments in this series. Today, I post the first installment, next week I will post the second and then patiently wait until the third installment is released. 

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