I received a copy of “Majordomo” as part of the Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Competition (SFINCS).

We follow the story from the point of view of Jack, the “majordomo” for a famous necromancer who is fabled to be extremely dangerous and extremely rich, and Jack’s main task is to keep the many adventurers who are willing the necromancer – and by extension loot his wealth – at bay. We are introduced to a parade of interesting, quirky and unusual characters that really enrich the world built by Carter and on occasion I felt as if I were reading a fairytale.

At first glance Jack is quite a snarky character who holds no illusions about the world. He is not human and there is a serious prejudice against the members of his race. However, he is clever enough to play with people’s greed and ambition to fulfil his task of keeping the necromancer home safe.

Despite the rather more humorous nature of the story, we quickly discover that there is more to this tale than meets the eye and the themes of love, friendship and family connections emerge in the story, turning it into a much richer tale than the beginning would suggest, all leading to an epic finale.