Brandon Sanderson’s Elantris has one of the main characters as some form of undead. It does some interesting things with the idea that doesn’t follow the typical tropes
I really enjoying mogworld by yhatzee. Its a dark comedy about a random zombie npc working as a minion for a necromancer, and his quest to finally fully die.
*Sylver Seeker* for one. MC is basically a demi-lich I think? The story gets gory and visceral as hell though, so read at your own discretion. Il aughed off the warning at the start with a 'I've read like a dozen necromancer stories, can't be that bad'. It is.
*Never Die Twice -- by Void Herald.* MC is a Lich. Alchemist by day, dungeon master by night. Great story. Love how deranged he is.
*Liches Get Stitches.* Been a while since I read this, don't really remember much beyond it having been fun to read.
There's this YouTube channel called The Twisted Realms that narrates dark fantasy stories that may have some like that [https://www.youtube.com/@TheTwistedRealms/featured](https://www.youtube.com/@TheTwistedRealms/featured)
A number of years ago, there was a series on the web called Xombie, where one of the characters in the post-apocalypse was a sentient zombie named Dirge that protected a little girl named Zoe from other zombies.
I can't remember reading anything like this, but when I was a kid I tried writing one with a withered old lich as one of the main characters. I don't remember exactly why I stopped, but at some point I rediscovered the thing, and was genuinely impressed with how well written it was, doubly so because I was like ten years old at the time.
I'd *love* to read something like this, though. Especially something that tries to keep the creepiness and threat of the undead protagonist instead of downplaying that while fixating on only the strengths, like immortality and such.
It's not a book and it's been years since I've seen it but the movie Warm Bodies is told from the perspective of a zombie if I'm remembering correctly.
Not a single story per se, but in Critical Role Campaign 3 (Bells Hells) there is an undead character called Laudna played by Marisha Ray. Marisha does a great job filling in her backstory and leaning into the undead aspects. It's a ton of content, but you can find highlights on Youtube if you don't mind spoiling yourself. It might be a really good source for personality, actions, behaviors, and motivations. Her introduction: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF-4cnUnSiI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF-4cnUnSiI)
If videogames count, would you consider Aragami? iirc the player is a ghost or something.
Edit: the player is, in fact, a ghost. He (?) is a vengeful spirit who was summoned to free his summoner from a generic imperial army. Not the deepest but it’s really fun.
Technically not undead, but treated as such is Elantris. One of the protagonists is considered by society to be dead, but he isnt actually "dead", his heart just doesn't beat.
I wrote one like this a few years back, basically about a monster-hunting monster that traveled around fighting various beasties. Had a human apprentice and a necromancer best friend. It was kind of a fun throwaway.
Didn't sell well, though.
The MC in my current novel is a sentient skeletal minion of a necromancer style class. It's LitRPG/gamelit and the MC's PC is on an epic questline that they set out to solve together. As they progress, they collect stolen bones, and these unlock lost memories for the MC. So they're questing and simultaneously discovering more about why there's a sentient player pet in the game as they go. A simple but effective plot device for this subgenre--the momentum is built-in.
Brandon Sanderson’s Elantris has one of the main characters as some form of undead. It does some interesting things with the idea that doesn’t follow the typical tropes
He himself said that Elantris is a zombie story. Just don’t expect The walking dead zombies tho
I really enjoying mogworld by yhatzee. Its a dark comedy about a random zombie npc working as a minion for a necromancer, and his quest to finally fully die.
*Sylver Seeker* for one. MC is basically a demi-lich I think? The story gets gory and visceral as hell though, so read at your own discretion. Il aughed off the warning at the start with a 'I've read like a dozen necromancer stories, can't be that bad'. It is. *Never Die Twice -- by Void Herald.* MC is a Lich. Alchemist by day, dungeon master by night. Great story. Love how deranged he is. *Liches Get Stitches.* Been a while since I read this, don't really remember much beyond it having been fun to read.
There's this YouTube channel called The Twisted Realms that narrates dark fantasy stories that may have some like that [https://www.youtube.com/@TheTwistedRealms/featured](https://www.youtube.com/@TheTwistedRealms/featured) A number of years ago, there was a series on the web called Xombie, where one of the characters in the post-apocalypse was a sentient zombie named Dirge that protected a little girl named Zoe from other zombies.
…You’ve heard of Anne Rice.
I can't remember reading anything like this, but when I was a kid I tried writing one with a withered old lich as one of the main characters. I don't remember exactly why I stopped, but at some point I rediscovered the thing, and was genuinely impressed with how well written it was, doubly so because I was like ten years old at the time. I'd *love* to read something like this, though. Especially something that tries to keep the creepiness and threat of the undead protagonist instead of downplaying that while fixating on only the strengths, like immortality and such.
Liches Get Stitches, Liching Hour and "Lich, Please" are a trilogy about a cottage core lich who likes quilting Also, the anime/manga Overlord
The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch is exactly what you're looking for.
It's not a book and it's been years since I've seen it but the movie Warm Bodies is told from the perspective of a zombie if I'm remembering correctly.
Yes! I wanted to suggest that too. Warm bodies is about a zombie slowly regaining consciousness. I think it would provide interesting insight for OP.
Not a single story per se, but in Critical Role Campaign 3 (Bells Hells) there is an undead character called Laudna played by Marisha Ray. Marisha does a great job filling in her backstory and leaning into the undead aspects. It's a ton of content, but you can find highlights on Youtube if you don't mind spoiling yourself. It might be a really good source for personality, actions, behaviors, and motivations. Her introduction: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF-4cnUnSiI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF-4cnUnSiI)
If videogames count, would you consider Aragami? iirc the player is a ghost or something. Edit: the player is, in fact, a ghost. He (?) is a vengeful spirit who was summoned to free his summoner from a generic imperial army. Not the deepest but it’s really fun.
Technically not undead, but treated as such is Elantris. One of the protagonists is considered by society to be dead, but he isnt actually "dead", his heart just doesn't beat.
I haven't read it yet, but I believe A Gallery for the Barbarian by Taylor Hartley has an undead skeleton for a protagonist.
I wrote one like this a few years back, basically about a monster-hunting monster that traveled around fighting various beasties. Had a human apprentice and a necromancer best friend. It was kind of a fun throwaway. Didn't sell well, though.
The MC in my current novel is a sentient skeletal minion of a necromancer style class. It's LitRPG/gamelit and the MC's PC is on an epic questline that they set out to solve together. As they progress, they collect stolen bones, and these unlock lost memories for the MC. So they're questing and simultaneously discovering more about why there's a sentient player pet in the game as they go. A simple but effective plot device for this subgenre--the momentum is built-in.
The MC in the New Testament of the Christian Bible is resurrected, may not be the vibe you're after. /s