One of the best experiences of reading a book is recommending it to others, insisting that this plot or that character will really appeal, carefully giving out just enough detail to entice without giving away the pleasure found in discovery. Every so often, though, a book comes along that is so indescribable that all that can be said is “Seriously, read this book”. Jesse Bullington’s The Enterprise of Death is one of those books–nearly indescribable (though I will do my best) and certainly unique; it spans myth, fantasy, war, love, friendship, an inquisition, and, uh, necromancy combined with some extra macabre habits.

See? Difficult to describe.  What can be said, though, is that Bullington weaves an impressively vast story, full of characters that repel and fascinate in equal measure, and a plot that seamlessly melds the fighting of the Inquisition with the purpose of art, the search for salvation with brothels, and the importance of friendship with the impermanence of any sort of relationship in a world where violence and struggle are a way of life.

Awa’s life has been a tumultuous one. Shipwrecked, kidnapped, enslaved, the only constant part of her (still short) time has been her loyalty to her mistress and the terrible way her mistress has treated her. Even after being enslaved, kidnapped by bandits, rescued from bandits, and trapped by an evil wizard, Awa’s neither the bravest nor the strongest of the necromancer’s captives, but she is the one who learns and survives and plans an escape. She is also the one who explores most the magic she is exposed to:

She spent the rest of the afternoon playing with the birds she had brought back to life, the littlest of them a skeletal swallow that sported mouse bones that she had gathered from raptor pellets instead of feathers. It jumped from rock to rock and landed on her finger, its delicate skull cocked at her as she walked it to the end of the cliff.

Awa’s journey doesn’t end  with her climb back down the mountain, though, fleeing both the sorcerer and his curse, she promptly finds herself in even more trouble, as witches and the Inquisition rarely mix well.  But it is on this journey that she finds what it means to be a friend, what it means to have power, and what it means to finally find a place that feels like home.

The Enterprise of Death is not for everyone. Awa’s adventures are frequently garish and often grotesque. Her peculiar way of going about setting the world right may turn some stomachs, and Bullington is not afraid to take that extra step that really shows just how far his characters are willing to go. That said, Awa inhabits a fascinating world and the rest of the characters that surround her make for a breathless journey across war and conflict ridden landscapes. This is no-holds-barred writing, uncensored, tormented, mad and well worth a try.

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