“Coin was needed and that meant Gam Gam would need to take up a necromancy job. Or a real job, but she preferred the necromancy ones.”
Adam Holcombe continues the tale of everyone’s favourite necromancer granny and her wonderfully weird found family in The Wishing Stone, the deadly entertaining second instalment in The Chronicles of Gam Gam series. And this time, we’re going on a high-stakes Indiana Jones-esque quest adventure with the undead!
Although the story picks up a few months after the end of A Necromancer Called Gam Gam, I was instantly pulled right back into the messy lives of these delightful and irresistibly charming characters. We are reunited with all our beloved familiar suspects, but also get to meet some new faces who not only add a fresh and exciting dynamic to the story but whose diverse backgrounds also organically open up/enrich the world. Though, my favourite aspect of The Wishing Stone was, of course, seeing how the bond between Gam Gam and Mina has only strengthened over time, and I thought it was especially beautiful to witness just how much Mina has grown in her unique neuromancy powers under Gam Gam’s care.
And those powers really get their time to shine as they are launched into a new unexpected adventure that leads them down into dark catacombs in search for a mythical relic and come face to face with a deliciously hateable villain. The stakes quickly rise to dangerously high levels, and all the thrilling displays of both Gam Gam and Mina’s powers in this sequel had me completely entranced, filling me with equal parts awe and terror. See, while book 1 already had some dark undertones and unexpected gut punches, I feel like The Wishing Stone really takes things to the next level. The core themes of loss, memory, and family become even more hard-hitting and poignant, which is exactly why this story will linger on in my mind for a long time to come despite its shorter length.
Though, for all that this sequel is so much darker and more action-packed than its predecessor, it somehow is also still incredibly charming and funny. Holcombe imbues this entire story with an effortlessly entertaining air of humour, heart and warmth, and both the amusing inner monologue and hysterical dialogue had me cackling out loud so many times. Not to mention, we are treated to some POV snippets from Nugget, the best skeleton cat to ever have (un?)lived, which was everything I didn’t know I needed from this story.
While I personally wouldn’t have minded a few more quiet moments in The Wishing Stone, there is no denying that Holcombe hit all the right emotional beats and delivered a sequel that more than lives up to its brilliant predecessor. How these novellas can manage to get me so emotionally invested that I am left crying tears of both joy and sorrow is truly beyond me, but I love them all the more for it. So, if you are looking for a short yet unforgettable story that is as dark as it is wholesome, then please do yourself a favour and read The Chronicles of Gam Gam already!
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Wishing Stone is scheduled for release on October 7th, 2024.
