December Book Reviews: The Halls of the Dead by SM Hallow
I received a free copy from Harper Voyager via Netgalley in exchange for a fair review. Release date August 18th, 2026.
I was immediately intrigued by the queer gothic necromancy premise of this book. In The Halls of the Dead, Irene is an illegal necromancer practicing her craft with her undead husband of convenience, who has safekept necromantic secrets for hundreds of years. When Irene's lover Agnes is executed for necromancy, Irene brings her back--but Agnes is unmistakably changed by the unwise promises she made in the Halls of the Dead...
Fittingly for a book about necromancy, this is a novel that is fixated on the past. There's three point of view characters, and we get flashbacks from each of their perspectives. The sections set in the past include their youths, plus scenes from the substantial chunk of plot that happened before the opening of the book, like Irene's own trial and Agnes' execution. The heavy use of flashbacks is thematically appropriate for a book about refusing to let go of the past, but it does slow the story down significantly. However, it does help that the plot starts where most books would stop, and skips over most of the previous events. Instead of the fourth act of Irene learning to accept the tragic death of her lover by seeking revenge on the inquisitor who condemned her, we're beginning the story at that point with a Came Back Wrong narrative.
The plot is nominally set in an early Victorian version of London, where not only the reviled necromancy exists, but also transmutation and illusions. However, the story frame is very constrained, with almost all of the present-set plot occurring inside the same house. I didn't see much of the world or get a good feel for the worldbuilding. Instead, The Halls of the Dead is a book with an intensely personal focus. Hallow isn't interested in exploring the politics that empower the inquisitor or other characters in general--the book is precisely concerned with just Irene, Agnes, and St John. Although the focus is limited, it's enlivened by a prose which lusciously describes the horrors of the body. St John is animated by thousands of insects, Irene can only use her necromantic book by stabbing herself through the hand, revivified Agnes insatiably craves flesh. Flashy stuff, and plenty of blood to go around.
A vivid bit of light gothic gore. The plot and themes reminded me most of Johanna van Veen's writing and Caitlin Starling's The Starving Saint, although it's respectfully not quite as good, since both of those titles are heavy hitters. Very solid for a debut novel, though. I like authors who aren't squeamish.
