Hold Me Closer, Necromancer Theme of Violence

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer features a whole lot of death, and by extension, a whole lot of violence. These acts of cruelty run the gamut from parking lot assaults to wrist-slitting to decapitation to knife attacks, and as you might expect, there's tons of blood and gore along the way. We wish we could say that it's not as bad as it sounds, but it comes with the territory of a book about dudes raising people from the dead, and is part of what makes the world of this horror novel as realistic as it is. Pro tip: Read this book on an empty stomach.

Questions About Violence

  1. What did you think of the portrayal of violence in this book? Was it more or less graphic than you expected?
  2. Do you think the book's more graphic imagery serves a purpose in the story, or is it purely sensationalistic?
  3. If you were to give this book a content rating based on the violence content, what would it be? Why?
  4. What purposes does blood serve throughout the story?

Chew on This

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

While many scenes are tough to look at, the book's world wouldn't be as vivid and realistic without its portrayal of violence.

While Michael sees violence as a necessary prospect to accomplish a purpose, Douglas sees it as a tool to be carefully used.