Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I could not get into this one, which is a ad because I REALLLLY wanted to. Maybe I'll try again in fall but this was a DNF for me.

I did not like this book I tried to read it and I got halfway through it before I dnf'd this book. It just wasn't for me.

I originally requested this book due to the fact that i ha repeatedly seen it on booktok. I am pretty open to reading a genre/book, im not a huge stickler for only reading certain genres or books by certain authors but i am quite disappointed by this book. I did unfortunately DNF (did not finish) this book. I need a book to capture me within the first few pages of the story in order to keep me reading/interested and this book did not accomplish that. It also made me realize that 3rd Person POVs are not books that i enjoy, i find it much harder to immerse myself into the authors created world when its a 3rd person POV. I personally would not recommend this particular book to my direct group of people as we seem to align pretty closely on the things we enjoy in books but i also would not bash the author or their book.

It was an epic fantasy story! Love the fast pacing and lots of characters in it. The world building is good, but could be expanded further. Looking forward the next book!

(3.5 but I rounded up) This book had a strong storyline with a unique concept and draws you in to its world with ease. I liked the MMC and enjoyed his witty sarcasm throughout the story. The flashbacks to his past were good snippets, but they were just that, snippets. I would’ve liked to have seen more depth with those, as they felt as if they were very surface level.

The authors writing style is brilliant and flows beautifully from page to page making this a very easy read. I will say that there is scenes of violence and gore (which I loved) but they are very detailed so just giving a forewarning to other readers.

Overall, this was a nice easy read, and I would happily recommend it to you all, especially if you’re into DnD! I just would have like to see more from Malfus’ flashbacks.

This story follows a necromancer who has been taken captive by an Inquisitor to face justice for his crimes against humanity (or the religious oligarchy). It is set up to feel like an epic journey is ahead, but the duo is caught at a fortress when gnolls attack. The majority of the book is spent within the fortress, and details life under siege and the battles that ensue.

From the start Malfus was written with a great character voice. He's funny and biting, and brings a sense of levity to a rather dark story. He reminds me a bit of Gideon from Gideon the Ninth at this point. As it progresses, he loses that levity and delves deeper into the seriousness that one would usually think accompanies a necromancer.

I loved the self immolation of the Inquisitor. The religious zeal and love of pain painted a fascinating picture of this character. His devotion runs deep. I wish that I had more time to get into his mind and learn more about his motivations.

My only issue is that I wanted more! The book is so short, and could have been a sprawling epic if it wanted to. It feels like you're dropped into a story already in motion. I felt like I had missed the first 100 pages, and I did need the background that would have provided. The story takes off with a running start, but as you continue you start to wonder what brought Malfus to that point. You flow through multiple soldier POV's which is incredibly unique and brings the reader close to the hand to hand combat, but the reader misses out on a more centralized storyline of Malfus and the Inquisitor. You lose out on the detail and background that would drive their story forward. It would work if this was an excerpt from a larger story, but when it's this short, you are left wanting for more time in the mind of Malfus and the Inquisitor.

Overall, this was a great study in siege battles and some fantastic necromantic magic. I had a blast!

The artwork inside was incredibly well done, and really added something special to my read.

Thank you NetGalley and Casey Sutton for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was so beautifully written and I loved every minute of it.
It was dark and twisted and graphic and violent but why would we expect a story about a necromancer to be any different
I’m surprise it’s a debut novel, the world building is so interesting but easy to digest, the writing is lyrical, the characters are well written !
It gave me some Gunslinger vibe (if you know you know).

I also loved the fact that we had a lot of different POVs with side characters. And I have to say… Morten is the MVP of the book

It’s a really good first book, and I’m intrigued to read more of Malfus’ story !

Also, the drawings were a nice touch and I enjoyed them a lot

Malfus is entertaining and unique. The books concept is different from anything I ever read and I could see it being popular with fans of Percy Jackson and Maze Runner.
Unfortunately, I don’t think that I am part of the intended audience for this novel. Therefore, I gave three stars, and will DNF at around 30%

e #Malfus #NetGalley
I got that book from NetGalley, thank you very much!
And a huge mountain of gratitude for Casey Sutton the honorable creator of Malfus the necromancer for his kind heart and fast approval.

The illustrations are beautiful

This is a quite unusual variation of necromancy for me, Malfus (the necromancer ) is actually a good man, or at least a man who tries to do something good, and his adversary, Inqusitor Deza is awesome character and dangerous enemy. And the book has a feeling of old spaghetti westerns for all the soldiers, their commander - coloner Gregor Peshka, the lovely First Sergeant Goren and the gnoll chieftain Ghostface

I'll be eagerly waiting for the next part, for I have a lot of questions and a fear for Malfus feature...

This was an interesting read. I love the Necromancer, I've always been fascinated by the stories. The author has a great writing style, easy to read, keeps your attention etc.

Being a debut novel, I was pleasantly surprised.

I would have liked to see more flashbacks, the war scenes are really detailed and came across as I had hoped.

Overall this was a good read.

“Malfus: Necromancer Unchained” is a heck of a good time. I’m really enjoying the rise of fantasy horror recently. Malfus is a great main character, constantly in misadventures and impossible situations and getting out in just the nick of time. The battle scenes were so good, some of the best I’ve read. I’m looking forward to Malfus and his next adventure!

Thank you to NetGalley and Casey Sutton Writes for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

So, I was perusing Netgalley last week and came across this book. The cool cover and word 'necromancer' caught my attention, but i thought 'ehh the deadline is pretty soon, better not'.
During this time my husband (not an ARC reader) was perusing Amazon for a new book and he showed me his phone and said 'I definitely want to read this one, but it isn't out yet!' And, what do you know?

It was this book.

So, I quickly applied for the ARC so that when he reads it, I can surprise him and know what he's talking about! :)

This Horror/War Fantasy was outside my usual Fantasy genre niches a bit, (usually I like a heavy dose of romance in my books) but I really enjoyed it!

Malfus has a sarcastic sense of humor and I found him easy to cheer for; especially since life & society had been hard on him thus far. The juxtaposition between Malfus and Inquisitor Deza made for a fun read and I was audibly laughing at times.
This was well-written, bingable, and filled with some awesome fight scenes. The world-building was great with more room to expand in the next books. The story line was easy to follow, which I appreciated since, again, this isn't my usual genre niche. I would definitely read more books by this author and the next books in this series.

Tysm for letting me be an ARC reader.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

The plot is quite simple. You could even say "nothing really happened!" There are no multiple story arcs, subplots, etc. But then again, you can also say that <i>Old Man and the Sea</i> is just a fishing story. While this book is nowhere near a literary classic, its forte lies in the characters. You get to see the story through every character, even the seemingly minor character like the random guard that only appears for a quick scene. Might seem unnecessary, but their unique view on what is happening surprisingly adds to the overall story of people rising up to fight against an overwhelming force.

It is no surprise to find that Sutton is a DnD DM. He succeeded in painting a vivid picture of the scene and showing what is going on inside the characters. This is an entertaining, fleshed-out beginning of a necromancer's [mis]adventure. There are still unanswered questions that hopefully we will discover in the future.

I was pleasantly surprised with how well this book flowed once I found out it was the authors debut novel. Superbly done character development and such relatable characters overall. The plot flows smoothly amd the world building is intense. You really get the feel for the dark and gritty landscape presented. I don't often read grimdark, but the description caught my eye and im.glad I gave it a go because I really enjoyed this one.

This story and author have a lot of potential- I was maybe just not the perfect reader for it. This story reads very much like a Dungeons and Dragons' DM's notes outlining a one shot session. Most of the characters, spells, and mechanics were structured around that game's structure. The story starts in an intriguing way, finding Malfus right in the action of a sticky situation. However, it lacked the momentum I was looking for in the plot and story line. I was hopeful to be given more vivid insights into the key moments in Malfus' past, but those moments were glazed over. Instead, the bulk of the story is focused on a single battle, detailing each characters specific step by step actions in detail.

There were some moments of impressive curiosity- such as a chapter that bounces through the perspectives of a variety of individuals in a way to give you a creative look at the chaos of the events- but overall the story felt like it was dragging and might have been more successful condensed into a short story. However, if you are someone who enjoys reading campaign overviews, this book would be a good fit for you!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/131835639-malfus

Very thrilling and immersive book. All of the characters are wonderfully rounded and can appreciate the plot line within.

Malfus: Necromancer Unchained was a lot of fun to read. It was written to be an adventure that was easy to follow and enjoyable all along the way, and did that really well. The artwork inside is also great!

Note: arc provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for honest review

Thank you Net Galley for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

War. Undead soldiers. Battle action. Gore, death, and a power-hungry lich. If any of these appeal to you, give this book a shot! It was fewer than 300 pages, but it felt longer with how much world-building and action was packed into it. One of my favorite aspects of this book was the world-building - it was exactly the right amount. Not so little that you are left floundering and confused, but not so much as to "info-dump" as many fantasy novels fall victim to. The writing is detailed and not overly verbose. I felt immersed in the grim, dark, and brutal world Malfus was living in.

This book was well written, but overall it was not for me. Malfus as a character is so snarky and sarcastic - you love him within the first few pages. However, I feel like more than half of the book is told from other perspectives (at times, seemingly random soldiers). Malfus often felt like a supporting character rather than the titular protagonist. I found myself disconnecting whenever the POV switched to soldiers. I wish the book had focused more on Malfus himself, and less on the play-by-play of the battle. I know this is just a personal preference, but I felt like the battle scenes (which, frankly, is a majority of the book) dragged on and did not hold my attention.

Additionally, I feel like this book could have benefitted from more detailed flashbacks into Malfus' past. I wanted more information on his relationship with Kiara and I felt the book lacking in that aspect

The artwork in the book was amazing!

EASILY ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I’VE READ ALL YEAR. This book had it all- interesting plot, action, adventure, fantasy, horror, amazing artwork, captivating characters, and more!
This story is about a necromancer named Malfus who has been captured and is now a prisoner to Inquisitor Deza. Malfus is to be tried, tortured and executed for his crimes- until they are ambushed by half-hyena marauders and are forced to seek refuge with a heavily wounded battalion already under siege by monsters. Although Deza only cares about his mission- he has no other choice but to let Malfus free to raise an army of the dead to fight along their side.
The characters have amazing banter, are believable, and are SUPER F***ING COOL. I really loved that there were a few illustrations to go along with the story- not enough that I couldn’t use my imagination, but a few that really brought the story to life. It was really great to see these characters in action. It was action packed in the 289 pages and it’s perfect. The plot makes sense and nothing drags out. Everything comes together perfectly and kept me interested from start to finish.
I seriously can’t say anything bad about this book- other than that I WANTED MORE? Not that I think the book should have been longer. I actually think it was the perfect length. A quick and incredible read. But, I would LOVE to read more about Malfus, or really any of the characters!
Full 5 stars, by FAR. My favourite ARC read probably ever. Very grateful to have had the opportunity to read this one. I will HIGHLY recommend to my book friends- and even to those that don’t read much. I think anyone could enjoy this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Casey Sutton Writes for sending this book for review consideration! All opinions are my own.

If you love D&D and love adventure, an escape from the crazy world we are currently living in. I highly recommend this beautiful book it has gotten me thru hell in my personal life. It was such a pleasure to be apart of the arc team who read this book.