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thecanary's review against another edition
5.0
Dragon Bones opens with a plot concept that startled me with its familiarity. Ward is the oldest son of the Lord of Hurog, forced to pretend to be the family idiot to weather his father's abuse and paranoia. (A decision very similar to that of Ilya, from Mercedes Lackey's 1997 retelling of the Russian fairy-tale in Firebird.) But here, the story catches its stride and the sense of familiarity fades.
When Ward's father dies, the young man inherits the castle, the cursed and dying fields outside, a mysterious ghost only he can see, and the tenuous right to rule. But as far as anyone knows, Ward's an addled fool and the secret in the caves beneath Hurog Keep is worth killing for.
Written in third person, the story follows Ward and a select few other characters through exile, war, court intrigues, and betrayals. Joe Manganiello's reading of the audiobook version brought out the book's humor and wit, and the solid pacing had me listening enthusiastically right up to the very unexpected conclusion.
If you're looking for a character-driven fantasy with an element of who's-pulling-strings (the fantasy equivalent of a whodunnit), I wholeheartedly recommend Dragon Bones.
Read the first part of my rundown of Patricia Briggs various series here.
When Ward's father dies, the young man inherits the castle, the cursed and dying fields outside, a mysterious ghost only he can see, and the tenuous right to rule. But as far as anyone knows, Ward's an addled fool and the secret in the caves beneath Hurog Keep is worth killing for.
Written in third person, the story follows Ward and a select few other characters through exile, war, court intrigues, and betrayals. Joe Manganiello's reading of the audiobook version brought out the book's humor and wit, and the solid pacing had me listening enthusiastically right up to the very unexpected conclusion.
If you're looking for a character-driven fantasy with an element of who's-pulling-strings (the fantasy equivalent of a whodunnit), I wholeheartedly recommend Dragon Bones.
Read the first part of my rundown of Patricia Briggs various series here.
dashichka's review against another edition
3.0
This book had a lot of potential. It drew me in right at the get go, but slowly it lost me in pointless subplots and scenes that had nothing to do with the story at large. Overall still a good book, but not as excellent as it could have been.
tutorb's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
bilaurence's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
heregrim's review against another edition
2.0
I quick interesting read. I enjoyed the story and there was nothing specific that I would point to keeping this from being a great book, but ultimately I found the book ok, but nothing more.
ambientmagic's review against another edition
3.0
DNF at page 177. The premise is sound, but the pacing felt a bit stilted. There was a lot of talking about doing things without any action to move the plot along. Not for me.
dapper's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a good, relaxing, and easy read. Definitely enjoyed it.
sans's review against another edition
3.0
Not a victim of the page 50 rule, but not a smashing success either. I was interested in the story but I wasn't caught up in it. I found myself putting the book down every few pages to do something else. I'm also left with an "Is it gay or is it just my wishful thinking?" feeling from the ending. I guess I could just read the sequel to find out but that's not in the spirit of my random reads experiment and, honestly, I'd like to read something different now.
saemiligr's review against another edition
5.0
As always Patricia Briggs just sucks me right into the story and makes me care about characters and have FEELINGS. I consumed this in a day, despite gasping and throwing the book across the room at some point. This has turned into one of my favorite books of all time and cannot wait to finish the second one.