Review: The Deadbringer

The Deadbringer by E.M. Markoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Deadbringer is the first in a new series of dark fantasy novels by debut author E.M. Markoff. Markoff has created an intricate world where multiple humanoid species uneasily co-exist. The story focuses on Kira, a teenaged boy who is the last of his kind. Kira is a Deadbringer, his touch inevitably brings on rot and decay, and he can re-animate corpses. He is an orphan who is being raised by his uncle in a life of quiet seclusion, pretending to be just a regular boy, until events occur which bring him to the attention of the Sanctifiers.

At this point, the story begins to switch back and forth between several viewpoints. We follow not only Kira’s story as he escapes into the wilderness but also the story of the Sanctifiers who are hunting him. The Sanctifiers seem to be a band of zealots intent on keeping the world safe from Deadbringers. The writing is descriptive and immersive and the action moves forward at a steady pace. At times I left frustration when the focal point moved away from the different sets of characters I really wanted to know what happened to them next.

There is a lot of back story and world building that is missing. From page one the reader is immersed in a world where everyone except them knows what is going on. I often found myself wondering how or why certain things had come to be. I’m hoping that this is a calculated ploy and that the author has plans for subsequent books in the series to flesh out the individual characters.


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