Amanda Downum, The Drowning City

[ellarien]

Debut novel from one of the authors behind Shadow Unit., in which a young necromancer is sent with a couple of mercenary bodyguards to foment revolution in a colonial city. I had a bit of trouble keeping all the sides straight at first, but eventually I came to the conclusion that there weren't really any sides, just loose alliances of people with similar agendas, very few of whom are what they first seem. Even the ghosts -- mostly of slaughtered villagers -- have a political angle. The city, its people, its surroundings, and the various kinds of magic, are vividly evoked, and the magic system is different enough to be interesting but familiar enough to feel solid, and not just by-the-numbers. (The necromancy is not, on the whole, the gruesome sort.)

The novel pretty much stands alone, but I believe there's a sequel in the works, and I look forward to it.