Reviews

Priest of Bones by Peter McLean

Only show reviews with written explanations

malignantcactus's review against another edition

3.0

I enjoyed it quite a bit. I listened to it in nearly one sitting during my shift yesterday, certainly helped pass the time quicker.

josiah17's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

"When people have run out of food and hope and places to hide, do not be surprised if they have also run out of mercy."

Gang wars in a fantasy setting from the perspective of the boss, Tomas Piety. This is a solid book one to a series. It's certainly a setup book, and there's some monotony in the reconstruction of Piety's gang. But I enjoyed this enough and I will definitely continue the series.

The actual prose is decent overall, but the writing and structure as a whole makes this book so incredibly readable. I read it at such a quick pace while still digesting and retaining everything that was occurring. McLean also gives Tomas Piety such a distinctive narrative voice which I quite enjoyed. He's seen some stuff, and that's reflected through his view of the world and how he controls his gang. However, one downside to McLean's writing in first person, at least so far, is most of the side characters don't feel as fleshed out as they could be. Bloody Anne, Luka, and Ailsa were definitely the best written, and Jochan receives a bit of a backstory that makes you feel for him. I'm interested in Billy too, and his ability with the cunning (which is an intriguing and mysterious soft magic system). Otherwise there's not much to any of the other characters. It doesn't feel like it's awful writing, but just not as good as it could be. Although I do like the way Tomas interacts with his gang from his POV regardless of the their lack of development.

As for the world, it's grimdark alright. There's some nasty stuff Tomas encounters and discusses. There's the recent war of Abingon which Tomas and his gang are returning from, and it eternally resides in the back of Tomas's mind. It's clear how utterly horrifying the war was based on Tomas's own recounts of his friends actions and the PTSD (battle shock as its referred to) becoming visible in some of those who he served with. The gang violence itself is brutal too. Tomas doesn't hold back when taking back what's his, and he especially doesn't hold back if you cross him.

Overall, a good read. It's a very bleak and gritty book, but also extremely readable. I'm excited to check out the rest of the series because I believe it only gets better from here.

Content Warnings

ludvigmarklund's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

cutthroat_badger's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

kelseyreadingstuff's review

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

desolation73's review against another edition

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4.0

Another really enjoyable book and another series to finish . Very peaky blinderish but in a good way And I know I'll be reading more of these

vshashank666's review against another edition

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3.0

It's a 3.5 on 5. Well constructed story about a couple of former soldiers who were made men before the war. Come back with their own traumas. Well fleshed out characters. Each one has his role and motivation to do so. A lot of teasing and world building. A good solid read. Though the ending seems rushed. The next one is out.

cainacol12's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

ciraabi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

qjbrown96's review against another edition

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1.0

I truly do not understand the hype for this book. The characters weren’t any fun to me, the world building was very small scale, the cussing was entirely too ubiquitous and just badly used in general (“burn the cunting thing down”) and child rape that was very much unnecessary. The latter issue was the last straw.

The book is told in first person which I usually enjoy if you make the main character have any redeeming qualities…this guy is just awful. He went off to war and came back and found that rival gangs have taken over much of his territory so he fights to get it all back.

When I heard this was like Peaky Blinders I was ecstatic because I love that show, this is honestly pretty similar but this book just couldn’t enrapture me like the show could. Almost every single one of my friends on this app gave this 5 stars so I wouldn’t base your desire to read this based off my review but I would go into it with lower expectations.

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