Welcome to Lightroot Manor
(2026)(The first book in the Neighborhood Necromancer series)
A novel by Tom Watts
A low-stakes cozy fantasy LitRPG from Tom Watts, the bestselling author of Small Town Crafter and Blades Rest.
Eighteen-year-old Benny finds himself the newest apprentice to Master Necromancer Mortimer Lightroot. In the town of Fairview, his kind are viewed with deep suspicion. This decision isn't just risky, it’s career suicide.
But Benny soon learns the truth. Necromancy isn’t evil. It’s a vital, practical trade that links the living and the dead, honors memories, and finds peace.
To prove his worth and win over a skeptical town, Benny must master the five Necromancial Grimoires:
• Knowledge Retrieval to pull secrets from long-dead objects.
• Spirit Communion to offer a sympathetic ear to lingering ghosts.
• Spirit Cleansing to remove troublesome spirits from local taverns and libraries.
• Bonecrafting to assemble loyal skeletal creatures for complex tasks.
• Resurrection to restore small animals and plants, proving that necromancy is truly the ultimate gift.
Benny needs all the help he can get, but his training is anything but normal. His master is almost always absent, leaving him under the chaotic tutelage of the overly enthusiastic Dostov brothers and Lisa, the manor’s cook.
Against town gossip and his own chaotic impulses, Benny must use his newfound powers to mend broken hearts, retrieve forgotten knowledge, and prove that the masters of death are the only people capable of truly helping the living.
Welcome to Lightroot Manor: The dead are talking, the magic is cozy, and the apprentice is determined to get the town's approval—one resurrected pigeon at a time.
A new low-stakes cozy fantasy LitRPG from Tom Watts, the bestselling author of Small Town Crafter and Blades Rest.
Genre: Fantasy
He could have had a safe career and an easy life. He chose necromancy instead.
Eighteen-year-old Benny finds himself the newest apprentice to Master Necromancer Mortimer Lightroot. In the town of Fairview, his kind are viewed with deep suspicion. This decision isn't just risky, it’s career suicide.
But Benny soon learns the truth. Necromancy isn’t evil. It’s a vital, practical trade that links the living and the dead, honors memories, and finds peace.
To prove his worth and win over a skeptical town, Benny must master the five Necromancial Grimoires:
• Knowledge Retrieval to pull secrets from long-dead objects.
• Spirit Communion to offer a sympathetic ear to lingering ghosts.
• Spirit Cleansing to remove troublesome spirits from local taverns and libraries.
• Bonecrafting to assemble loyal skeletal creatures for complex tasks.
• Resurrection to restore small animals and plants, proving that necromancy is truly the ultimate gift.
Benny needs all the help he can get, but his training is anything but normal. His master is almost always absent, leaving him under the chaotic tutelage of the overly enthusiastic Dostov brothers and Lisa, the manor’s cook.
Against town gossip and his own chaotic impulses, Benny must use his newfound powers to mend broken hearts, retrieve forgotten knowledge, and prove that the masters of death are the only people capable of truly helping the living.
Welcome to Lightroot Manor: The dead are talking, the magic is cozy, and the apprentice is determined to get the town's approval—one resurrected pigeon at a time.
A new low-stakes cozy fantasy LitRPG from Tom Watts, the bestselling author of Small Town Crafter and Blades Rest.
Genre: Fantasy