
When seventeen-year-old William Wilde’s mother, father and brother are killed in a car accident, with William as the sole survivor, his life changes forever, but in ways he could never possibly have foreseen. The accident was, in fact, no accident; it was orchestrated by an evil zombie-like creature, known as a Necrosed. In William Wilde and the Necrosed, by Davis Ashura, William must not only cope with the death of his family, but as time goes on he becomes aware that this evil Necrosed, Kohl Obsidian, is actually after him, for something he wasn’t even aware he possessed. William, along with his friends from High School are all, your typical, quintessential nerds and along with the beautiful and mysterious Serena, who is also much more than she seems, embark on an expedition to kill the Necrosed and to introduce William to his true identity and his true heritage.
William Wilde and the Necrosed is a fantastic coming-of-age novel, with a massive dollop of fantasy and fun thrown in. With Davis Ashura setting the novel in the mid-1980’s and having the main characters as nerds, it was inevitable that many of the iconic movies, songs and heroes of the period would find their way into this story. If anything, that served to give the story more character and depth than would have otherwise been the case. The main character of William Wilde was beautifully drawn, as the sensitive, caring, yet geeky High School senior who slowly but surely discovers his true self, his strength, and his true destiny. The close and caring friendships and inter-friend banter was certainly a highlight of the story for me. Don’t lose sight of the fact, though, that this is also a fantasy, adventure story that absolutely rollicks along at a fantastic and, at times, dizzying speed. The fight scenes in the book were carefully orchestrated and choreographed. Ashura’s knowledge and clever writing certainly made these scenes a highlight of the book. An excellent read and I look forward to the second book in this series.
