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deedireads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.
TL;DR REVIEW:
The Bone Maker was a fun, creative standalone fantasy novel. I loved the characters, and I thought it did well with the “heroes: where are they now” premise.
For you if: You are looking for a quick, in-and-out foray into a new fantasy universe in between longer series.
FULL REVIEW
When I read the premise for The Bone Maker — a team of heroes, 25 years after they defeated the bad guy — and saw it was by Sarah Beth Durst, who has a zillion fantasy novels, I was on board. I’d read (and enjoyed) Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth, which is also a “heroes: where are they now” story, and I was happy to read another book with that kind of timeline.
I thought this was very well done. It’s a standalone, which is so rare in fantasy as to be refreshing. You get in, fall in love with some characters, go on an adventure, and get out. In this case, the main character is Kreya, who can animate constructs using animal bones. But in the 25 years since her husband was killed in the battle that made them heroes, she’s sequestered herself and learned the forbidden kind of bone magic that brings him back. That goal brings her back into contact with her friends — and they discover that evil may not be as vanquished as they thought.
I think the thing I loved most about this book was that even though it obviously deals with death and grief and trauma, it also managed to have lots and lots of moments that felt lighthearted and funny. The characters are lovable and entertaining, and the dialogue was often just plain fun. The worldbuilding also felt nice and satisfying despite this being a standalone (which is impressive), with just enough backstory to get us through this adventure without weighing us down too much.
If you are looking for a quick dip into fantasy between heavier reads or big series, this could be a really great choice!
TL;DR REVIEW:
The Bone Maker was a fun, creative standalone fantasy novel. I loved the characters, and I thought it did well with the “heroes: where are they now” premise.
For you if: You are looking for a quick, in-and-out foray into a new fantasy universe in between longer series.
FULL REVIEW
When I read the premise for The Bone Maker — a team of heroes, 25 years after they defeated the bad guy — and saw it was by Sarah Beth Durst, who has a zillion fantasy novels, I was on board. I’d read (and enjoyed) Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth, which is also a “heroes: where are they now” story, and I was happy to read another book with that kind of timeline.
I thought this was very well done. It’s a standalone, which is so rare in fantasy as to be refreshing. You get in, fall in love with some characters, go on an adventure, and get out. In this case, the main character is Kreya, who can animate constructs using animal bones. But in the 25 years since her husband was killed in the battle that made them heroes, she’s sequestered herself and learned the forbidden kind of bone magic that brings him back. That goal brings her back into contact with her friends — and they discover that evil may not be as vanquished as they thought.
I think the thing I loved most about this book was that even though it obviously deals with death and grief and trauma, it also managed to have lots and lots of moments that felt lighthearted and funny. The characters are lovable and entertaining, and the dialogue was often just plain fun. The worldbuilding also felt nice and satisfying despite this being a standalone (which is impressive), with just enough backstory to get us through this adventure without weighing us down too much.
If you are looking for a quick dip into fantasy between heavier reads or big series, this could be a really great choice!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Violence, and Blood
vivaldi's review against another edition
adventurous
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
2.5
Sarah Beth Durst's The Bone Maker is a standalone fantasy which explores the notion of second chances and what comes next after a hero's journey. Traditionally, we often come across fantasy stories which has a definitive "the end" after the grand climax and the concept of forgiveness remains underrepresented within the genre, so seeing these in the premise piqued my interest.
In this dark and haunting standalone, the concept is definitely the standout. In addition to the five heroes reuniting (which paves way for the novel to explore the hurt, forgiveness, and reconciliation), I thought the bone making magic system is pretty interesting - on how that comes with a great cost. I also think there are potentials for the different classed tiers in the city.
On the flipside, I think the overall execution of the premise & the concepts are rather mixed. Conceptually, this book is dragged down by its incomplete worldbuilding. While there are some details provided about the city and its tiers, there aren't enough context given resulting in a feeling of vagueness & incoherence. Even in character-driven novels, I would expect the worldbuilding to at least reflect a character's emotional headspace. There's a sense of disconnect between the characters and the world they live in here. Normally when I read fantasy books over several days, I can tell the quality of worldbuilding based on how easily I re-engage with the story. in the case of The Bone Maker I felt increasingly disorientated when I picked back up reading the book - red flag that the worldbuilding is lacking.
I also have mixed reception with the characters. While I liked the moral ambiguity and the overall character focus in the book, I found that the character development was quite uneven amongst the five heroes. For example I could easily grasp Kreya's emotional headspace but I barely had the chance to really connect with Marso as a character. I also think the 25 years separating the current and past timeline felt a tad under-justified due to the limited scope given the length of the novel. It's one of the cases where an author is trying to do a bit too much in a book and the end result appears stretched thin, which is a shame given the promising potentials given in the premise.
Due to the major shorcomings I've mentioned above, The Bone Maker felt quite underwhelming to me. While I think the magic system and the redemption concept was interesting, I personally couldn't recommend the book because I found execution of the story to fall way short of what the premise promised.
N.B. This book contains following triggering content: corpse, gore, death, and loss of loved ones
(2.5 stars out of 5)
In this dark and haunting standalone, the concept is definitely the standout. In addition to the five heroes reuniting (which paves way for the novel to explore the hurt, forgiveness, and reconciliation), I thought the bone making magic system is pretty interesting - on how that comes with a great cost. I also think there are potentials for the different classed tiers in the city.
On the flipside, I think the overall execution of the premise & the concepts are rather mixed. Conceptually, this book is dragged down by its incomplete worldbuilding. While there are some details provided about the city and its tiers, there aren't enough context given resulting in a feeling of vagueness & incoherence. Even in character-driven novels, I would expect the worldbuilding to at least reflect a character's emotional headspace. There's a sense of disconnect between the characters and the world they live in here. Normally when I read fantasy books over several days, I can tell the quality of worldbuilding based on how easily I re-engage with the story. in the case of The Bone Maker I felt increasingly disorientated when I picked back up reading the book - red flag that the worldbuilding is lacking.
I also have mixed reception with the characters. While I liked the moral ambiguity and the overall character focus in the book, I found that the character development was quite uneven amongst the five heroes. For example I could easily grasp Kreya's emotional headspace but I barely had the chance to really connect with Marso as a character. I also think the 25 years separating the current and past timeline felt a tad under-justified due to the limited scope given the length of the novel. It's one of the cases where an author is trying to do a bit too much in a book and the end result appears stretched thin, which is a shame given the promising potentials given in the premise.
Due to the major shorcomings I've mentioned above, The Bone Maker felt quite underwhelming to me. While I think the magic system and the redemption concept was interesting, I personally couldn't recommend the book because I found execution of the story to fall way short of what the premise promised.
N.B. This book contains following triggering content: corpse, gore, death, and loss of loved ones
(2.5 stars out of 5)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, and Violence
nightwing's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Bone Maker follows Kreya, the protagonist who can craft and wield bone magic. Not only that, she became a legendary hero 25 years ago at a great and treacherous battle that came with a terrible cost. Now, she has to get her team back together to stop a rising evil...
Really loved the bone magic in this, it felt unique and awesome, though it made me hunger for more detail. The worldbuilding was lacking, it was more focused on the plot rather than the background.
The characters were OK, but I really didn't like Amurra, a wife of one of the characters. I thought she fell into the damsel in distress & generic worrywart wife trope. They're not *bad* tropes per se, but it was offputting to me when everyone else felt different.
Zera is a drama queen (annoying sometimes), Marso was sweet, Jentt had no personality beyond "thief", Kreya x Jentt had no chemistry (lack of conversations between them, alone), and Stran was my favorite. I kept picturing him as Dwayne Johnson, ha. Kreya, the protagonist, was actually my least favorite. I actually preferred her in the beginning when she was all alone and treating her creations like friends, but when she's with her human friends, she gets pretty bossy and dull.
The action scenes were perfectly written, I legit have no complaint there! It just felt like there wasn't enough action scenes and too many 'slow' scenes that dragged on. Lots of dialogue but not always meaningful didn't help with the pacing either. I do love how the characters worked well together and felt like a team, I think there just needed to be some extra scenes to help flesh each character out. Stran and Marso were perfectly fine though.
I hope there's a prequel book written and the characters get a chance to flesh out more, it'd be even cooler if the book was about their time learning about bone magic! We could see them develop their teamwork in the process. Still, an entertaining read despite my 948592 complaints, whoops.
The Bone Maker follows Kreya, the protagonist who can craft and wield bone magic. Not only that, she became a legendary hero 25 years ago at a great and treacherous battle that came with a terrible cost. Now, she has to get her team back together to stop a rising evil...
Really loved the bone magic in this, it felt unique and awesome, though it made me hunger for more detail. The worldbuilding was lacking, it was more focused on the plot rather than the background.
The characters were OK, but I really didn't like Amurra, a wife of one of the characters. I thought she fell into the damsel in distress & generic worrywart wife trope. They're not *bad* tropes per se, but it was offputting to me when everyone else felt different.
Zera is a drama queen (annoying sometimes), Marso was sweet, Jentt had no personality beyond "thief", Kreya x Jentt had no chemistry (lack of conversations between them, alone), and Stran was my favorite. I kept picturing him as Dwayne Johnson, ha. Kreya, the protagonist, was actually my least favorite. I actually preferred her in the beginning when she was all alone and treating her creations like friends, but when she's with her human friends, she gets pretty bossy and dull.
The action scenes were perfectly written, I legit have no complaint there! It just felt like there wasn't enough action scenes and too many 'slow' scenes that dragged on. Lots of dialogue but not always meaningful didn't help with the pacing either. I do love how the characters worked well together and felt like a team, I think there just needed to be some extra scenes to help flesh each character out. Stran and Marso were perfectly fine though.
I hope there's a prequel book written and the characters get a chance to flesh out more, it'd be even cooler if the book was about their time learning about bone magic! We could see them develop their teamwork in the process. Still, an entertaining read despite my 948592 complaints, whoops.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
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