There exists a peculiar sort of reader—perhaps you are one of them—who finds nothing quite so thrilling as a protagonist who communes with the departed. We are speaking, of course, of necromancers: those delightfully dark practitioners who blur the boundary between living and dead. And we have made it our happy business to gather the very finest tales featuring such characters.
We have searched high and low, consulted the spirits (metaphorically speaking), and emerged with this collection of extraordinary urban fantasy novels. Whether you seek noir-drenched mysteries, darkly comic capers, or epic adventures across realms where death is merely a temporary inconvenience, you shall find your next obsession here.
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
What happens when one places a sword-wielding, endlessly sardonic warrior alongside a bone-thin necromancer who despises her in a crumbling mansion filled with murder? One gets Gideon the Ninth, a novel so gloriously original that categories flee from it in bewilderment. Tamsyn Muir’s debut follows Gideon Nav and her nemesis Harrowhark Nonagesimus as they compete against other necromancer-cavalier pairs to earn immortality from an undying Emperor.
The prose crackles with dark wit, gothic atmosphere drips from every page, and the relationship between the two leads evolves in ways that shall quite devastate you. A New York Times bestseller and winner of the Locus Award, this is where we recommend all necromancer enthusiasts begin their journey.
Sabriel by Garth Nix
Garth Nix crafted something rather magnificent with Sabriel—a novel where necromancy becomes not villainy but duty. When Sabriel’s father, the Abhorsen, vanishes into Death itself, she must take up his bandolier of magical bells and venture into a realm where the departed flow ever downward through nine gates.
The Old Kingdom exists alongside a technology-driven neighbour, creating delicious tension between worlds. The magic system here is exquisitely rendered: seven bells, each with different powers over the dead, wielded by one whose sacred task is to ensure the dead remain so. Winner of the Aurealis Award, this tale has become a modern classic, praised by Philip Pullman himself as reading “like realism.”
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (Dead Beat)
Harry Dresden is Chicago’s only professional wizard, and while he practices many varieties of magic, Dead Beat—the seventh instalment—plunges him headlong into necromantic mayhem.
When a vampire threatens someone dear to him unless he retrieves the Word of Kemmler, Harry finds himself racing against six powerful necromancers, each desperate to raise an army of the dead on Halloween night. What follows is magnificent chaos culminating in what may be the most spectacular scene in urban fantasy. The wit is sharp, the stakes are high, and Jim Butcher demonstrates precisely why this series has become a cornerstone of the genre.
Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard
We present to you a rather unusual proposition: a necromancer who sold his soul, regretted it, and negotiated a wager to reclaim it. Johannes Cabal must collect one hundred souls in a single year whilst running a diabolical carnival alongside his vampire brother.
The tone here is deliciously dry, the humour pitch-black, and our antihero possesses all the warmth of a particularly unsociable mortician. Library Journal compared it to a cross between Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and Wicked, which gives you some measure of the peculiar territory Jonathan L. Howard stakes out. For those who prefer their fantasy laced with sardonic wit and Faustian bargains, this is an absolute treasure.
Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter by Laurell K. Hamilton
In an alternate St. Louis where vampires have legal rights and zombie raising is a licensed profession, Anita Blake works as an animator, vampire executioner, and supernatural consultant. Her necromantic powers allow her to raise the dead with remarkable skill, though her cases invariably lead her into far more dangerous territory.
Beginning with Guilty Pleasures, this series helped define urban fantasy as we know it, blending hardboiled detective fiction with supernatural menace. We recommend the early novels particularly—the first five instalments offer splendid crime-solving adventures where Anita’s abilities with the dead prove as useful as her quick wit and quicker trigger finger.
Eric Carter Series by Stephen Blackmoore
If one desires their necromancy served with a generous helping of noir grit, Stephen Blackmoore obliges magnificently. Necromancer Eric Carter sees ghosts, speaks to the dead, and makes his living as a supernatural problem-solver in Los Angeles.
Beginning with Dead Things, this series follows a man who cannot escape the consequences of his choices, navigating a world of vengeful gods and restless spirits. Comparisons to John Constantine are apt—Carter possesses that same world-weary cynicism and the same talent for making powerful enemies.
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride
Seattle contains nearly as many supernatural beings as coffee establishments in Lish McBride’s darkly comic debut. Sam is a college dropout working fast food when a chance encounter reveals he possesses dormant necromantic powers—and draws the attention of a far more powerful necromancer with decidedly unfriendly intentions.
The Los Angeles Times described it as “Mad magazine meets Twilight,” and we cannot improve upon that assessment. Here is urban fantasy that refuses to take itself seriously whilst still delivering genuine thrills and surprisingly affecting character work. An American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults, it proves that death magic need not be entirely grim.
Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews
Magic has returned to the world in waves, causing technology to fail and mythological creatures to walk the earth. In Atlanta, mercenary Kate Daniels navigates conflicts between the Pack (shapeshifters), and the Masters of the Dead—necromancers who pilot vampires with their minds.
Beginning with Magic Bites, this husband-and-wife writing team created something remarkable: a world where belief powers magic, ancient gods can manifest, and necromancy functions as a pillar of supernatural society. Kate herself is magnificently capable, impulsive, and concealing secrets that unravel gloriously across the series.
The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells
Before Martha Wells achieved widespread acclaim, she crafted this gem set amid gaslit streets and shadowy catacombs. Nicholas Valiarde is Ile-Rien’s greatest criminal, financing his quest for vengeance by robbing nobles. When ancient necromantic powers begin manifesting in his city, his personal crusade becomes entangled with something far more sinister.
Reviewers have called it “a cross between Sherlock Holmes and The Count of Monte Cristo,” and the comparison holds. This Nebula Award finalist offers intricate plotting, splendid banter, and a secondary-world setting that feels remarkably lived-in. For those who enjoy their fantasy with clockwork precision and atmospheric richness, here is a genuine treasure.
Necroscope by Brian Lumley
Harry Keogh possesses a gift both wondrous and terrible: he can communicate with the dead, who share their knowledge freely with him. Opposing him stands Boris Dragosani, a necromancer who tears secrets from corpses through torture.
Set against a Cold War backdrop where governments exploit psychic talents, this 1986 novel launched a seventeen-book series and earned Brian Lumley the title of Grand Master of Horror. The prose builds slowly before exploding into supernatural action, the characterisation compels utterly, and the distinction between necroscope and necromancer proves fascinating. For those seeking their death magic with espionage and vampiric menace, this is essential reading.
Looking Ahead: Innamorata by Ava Reid (March 2026)
We conclude with a glimpse of what awaits. Ava Reid, whose A Study in Drowning and Lady Macbeth earned considerable acclaim, delivers a gothic fantasy about an island where necromancy once reigned supreme.
After conquerors destroyed the noble houses, Lady Agnes—silent for seven years—must recapture the secrets of death magic and avenge her family’s fallen honour. Critics are already praising it as “symphonically lyrical, unflinchingly dark, and terrifyingly romantic.” This promises to be one of the most anticipated necromancer tales of the year.
Final Thoughts
What draws us to necromancers? Perhaps it is the refusal to accept death’s finality. Perhaps it is the moral complexity inherent in those who walk between worlds. Or perhaps we simply enjoy watching clever characters wield powers that polite society finds rather unsettling.
Whatever your reasons for seeking out these tales, we trust you shall find something magnificent among our selections. The dead, after all, have so many stories to tell—and these authors are exceptionally skilled at translating them.
