Review: 'The Book of Ile-Rien' by Martha Wells

Would you like to read about a low-key feral woman with magic, causing mayhem and facing childhood trauma? And about a rogueish captain of the Queen's Guard who wavers between loyalties? Or what about a heist team with a vendetta against an evil duke? And what if that team finds themselves embroiled in a much larger, necromantic conflict? Well, The Book of Ile-Rien has all of that, with Martha Wells' exceptional characterisation and world building to boot. Thanks to Tor Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My sincere apologies for the delay!

Pub. Date: 27/2/2024
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group; Tor Books

Collecting Martha Wells' Element of Fire and Death of the Necromancer for the first time in one place, in a new and revised edition!

Both novels included in this volume have been revised and updated. These are the author’s preferred texts.

The Element of Fire

The kingdom of Ile-Rien lies in peril, menaced by sorcerous threats and devious intrigue, when Kade, bastard sister of King Roland, appears unexpectedly at court. The illegitimate daughter of the old king and the Queen of Air and Darkness herself, Kade's true desires are cloaked in mystery.

It falls to Thomas Boniface, Captain of the Queen's Guard, to keep the kingdom from harm. But is one man's steel enough to counter all the magic of fayre?

The Death of the Necromancer

Nicholas Valiarde is a passionate, embittered nobleman and the greatest thief in all of Ile-Rien. On the gaslit streets of the city, Nicholas assumes the guise of a master criminal, stealing jewels from wealthy nobles to finance his quest for a long-pursued vengeance.

But Nicholas's murderous mission is being interrupted by a series of eerie, unexplainable, and fatal events. A dark magic opposes him, and traces of a necromantic power that hasn't been used for centuries abound. Nicholas and his compatriots find themselves battling an ancient evil.

And if they lose? Death would be preferable to the fate that awaits them....

The Book of Ile-Rien is made up of two novels, both set within the world of Ile-Rien, specifically within its capital city, Vienne. The first, The Element of Fire focuses on Kade Carrion (fay, bastard, and strong) and Thomas Boniface (stubborn, smart, and strong) amid court intrigue, politicking, and history. It begins with Thomas breaking a sorcerer out of magical imprisonment, but whereas that should be the end of the mess, it is truly only the beginning. Loyal to the Queen Mother, Thomas is at the very heart of the battle for the King's attention amidst growing tensions internally and with other nations. All these matters become more complex when the king's exiled bastard half-sister, Kade Carrion, reappears and no one is entirely sure of what she wants and why. The novel is mostly told through their POVs, although we also get others were relevant, and they are undeniably the heart of the story. I became immensely invested in their characters and their backstories, while also immensely enjoying the political intrigue, backstabbing, and planning which takes place throughout the novel. Queen Ravenna always has a plan and everyone is plotting non-stop. The Element of Fire is a riot of a read! 

The book moves into The Death of the Necromancer seamlessly and I had all my fingers and toes crossed we would meet the same characters again. In fact, Necromancer takes place roughly a hundred years or so after Fire. I was, admittedly, a little sad about it, but then Wells did the think again and introduced me to a whole set of new characters I loved. Meet Nicholas Valiarde and accomplices, amongst whom are his left and right hand, Madeline, an actress with a skill for disguises, and Reynard, a scoundrel with a heart of gold. They are currently breaking into a rich lady's house to steal her ill-gotten gold, when a ghoul appears and a whole new set of problems begins. Nicholas just wants vengeance on the Duke who caused his father's death, but now it's all hands on deck as people are disappearing and dying, ghouls roam the sewers, and a spiritualist makes the rounds in Vienne. I don't read a whole lot of heist novels, but Necromancer made me realise I would probably love them because I adored Nicholas' whole group immediately. With delightful disguises, queer representation, hijinks, explosions, bones, and grizzly murder scenes, Necromancer truly has everything I could ask for. 

 I first discovered Martha Wells, if one can say such a think about such a lauded and well-known author, in 2023, when I read City of Bones (immensely superior to the Clare novel of the same name) and then listened to the first of the Murderbot novellas last year. I loved both books and became immensely impressed by Wells' ability to craft such intensely loveable and real characters, who she places into storyworlds that feel complex and logical, with layers and history and legends and myths. I mean, who doesn't adore the Murderbot?! And in City of Bones she manages to craft a whole word, with its own apocalypse legends, lost knowledge, ancient remains, and interesting gender and sex concepts. It was giving Ursula K. LeGuin and I was both so pleased and so sad that it was a stand alone. So diving into The Book of Ile-Rien I very much hoped for the same and, blessed be, did indeed find it. Clocking in at just over 750 pages, The Book of Ile-Rien is a doorstopper, but I actually found myself wishing for more of each story. There is, as I said, a depth to Wells' storytelling that I, as an avid Fantasy and Sci-Fi fan, find enormously pleasing. I just know, while reading her books, that there is always more that could have been explored. In the case of The Book this works especially well because, together, the two stories show Ile-Rien and Vienne changing over time. While Fire feels a little more renaissance/early modern period, with swords and muskets, but also commedia del'arte and an inquisition, Necromancer has a more industrial feel to it, with gas lamps and guns, as well as trains and a more developed science. Ile-Rien is a country that develops and changes, where the people we meet in Fire become legend in Necromancer. Thankfully there are more books set in Ile-Rien, specifically the series The Fall of Ile-Rien, which I will need to get into straight away, because I miss the world already.

I give this book...

5 Universes!

I would have given both The Element of Fire and The Death of the Necromancer a five rating on their own, together I wish I could give them more. Martha Wells creates a stunning world and amazing characters. Whether you're in it for the politics and the magic, or the loveable heist team and their hijinks, Wells has it for you.