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ctara2123's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal death, War, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Violence, Murder, and Blood
lovelymisanthrope's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
4.0
I heard about this book on YouTube, and the premise piqued my interest.
"The Bone Maker" mainly follows Kreya, a woman who once led a group to victory over a corrupt bone maker, Eklor. Since then, she has lived in isolation with one goal: resurrect her husband who was killed during battle. In order to bring him back, she must use human bones and sacrifice time from her own life, but she would rather live a short life together than live a long life without him. Manipulating human bones like this is illegal in Vos, but Kreya will not stop until her husband is once again by her side. Unfortunately, she discovers that they may not have fully defeated Eklor after all, and she might not be the only one who knows how to do magic of this caliber.
I was very pleased with how much I enjoyed this story. The magic system was complex and interesting to learn about, but it was not so complicated that it did not make sense to me.
I really enjoyed all of the relationships in this story. Obviously seeing how much Kreya loved her husband was humbling, and to witness just how much she was willing to sacrifice for him was beautiful. She gave up so much of her life just to steal moments with him. I also loved seeing Kreya learn to listen to the rest of her friends. She might not ask them to sacrifice their lives for her, but she has to learn to accept the help and honor their request if they are offering. Friendships are equally as important as a romantic love, and I really appreciated seeing this illustrated in an adult fantasy book.
I really appreciated that this is a standalone story. I think I got everything from these characters and this world that I wanted, and the ending was satisfying enough that I am not salivating for a continuation. If the book were any longer, I think it would feel unnecessary, but if it were shorter, I do not think we would have gotten the full story.
My one critique of this book is that I did not feel like it read as an adult book. The characters were older, and a little more mature, but the story itself felt more juvenile and oftentimes predictable. This did not hinder my personal enjoyment of the book, but it may be a turn off for a different reader.
I am curious to see what Sarah Beth Durst writes next!
"The Bone Maker" mainly follows Kreya, a woman who once led a group to victory over a corrupt bone maker, Eklor. Since then, she has lived in isolation with one goal: resurrect her husband who was killed during battle. In order to bring him back, she must use human bones and sacrifice time from her own life, but she would rather live a short life together than live a long life without him. Manipulating human bones like this is illegal in Vos, but Kreya will not stop until her husband is once again by her side. Unfortunately, she discovers that they may not have fully defeated Eklor after all, and she might not be the only one who knows how to do magic of this caliber.
I was very pleased with how much I enjoyed this story. The magic system was complex and interesting to learn about, but it was not so complicated that it did not make sense to me.
I really enjoyed all of the relationships in this story. Obviously seeing how much Kreya loved her husband was humbling, and to witness just how much she was willing to sacrifice for him was beautiful. She gave up so much of her life just to steal moments with him. I also loved seeing Kreya learn to listen to the rest of her friends. She might not ask them to sacrifice their lives for her, but she has to learn to accept the help and honor their request if they are offering. Friendships are equally as important as a romantic love, and I really appreciated seeing this illustrated in an adult fantasy book.
I really appreciated that this is a standalone story. I think I got everything from these characters and this world that I wanted, and the ending was satisfying enough that I am not salivating for a continuation. If the book were any longer, I think it would feel unnecessary, but if it were shorter, I do not think we would have gotten the full story.
My one critique of this book is that I did not feel like it read as an adult book. The characters were older, and a little more mature, but the story itself felt more juvenile and oftentimes predictable. This did not hinder my personal enjoyment of the book, but it may be a turn off for a different reader.
I am curious to see what Sarah Beth Durst writes next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Grief, Death, War, Blood, and Child death
wardenred's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
“I’m not him.”
“But you’ve crossed the same line he did. You’ve become the very horror we all fought against. The very horror that Jentt died to defeat.”
“For very different reasons.”
There's a specific type of stories I can never get enough of: the ones that happen after The End. The big battle has been won, the ultimate villain lies defeated, the victory celebrations are over, but life still goes on, and I'm always interested in *those* fictional lives. What happens to the veteran heroes? What do they do with their baggage? Give me more books about that!
Anyway, *The Bone Maker* sounded like it was written for me. I did enjoy it a great deal. I did, however, feel like it was... two separate books slapped together? The first half had a big *Kings of the Wyld* vibe: getting the band back together for one last impossible mission/unfinished job, that kind of thing. I got really invested in it, and then the second half switched quite abruptly to more, "When we were young, we just stabbed bad things until they bled, but now the villain's armor is made of political corruption and we've gotta delve into politics" with a dash of "Maybe we should all just let the past go... or should we?" and a heavily present theme of second chances and who deserves them. I kind of liked both stories, for different reasons. What I didn't like was how separate they felt.
My opinion on the characters is similarly halved. I really loved all the women in the cast: Kreya's struggle to stay on the line that separates her from the villain she's been pitted against since teenagehood, Zera's combination of flamboyance and loyal courage, Amurra's kindness and quiet courage. But all the males were like... "tortured prophet who's somewhat out of his mind," "valiant warrior turned family man," "resurrected husband/plot device who sometimes remembers he used to be a dashing youth." That's it, those are their personalities. I mean, in a way it's kind of refreshing to see the male characters get the short end of the sticks when it comes to unequal development between genders, but these guys are characters, too, and it's kind of hard to root for cardboard cutouts.
Oh, and one thing that confused me to no end: why did everyone act like the war against Eglor was a thing of the past, something shrouded in history, when plenty of people who witnessed it, fought in it, and lost loved ones to it still live? It was only 25 years ago. I was born more than 40 years after World War II ended, and I still grew up in the shadow of it. My grandfathers were war vets, my grandmothers survived the Nazi occupation. Victory Day was always a day of celebration and grief in my household, and the households of my friends of the same age. We grew up to our grandparents' tales of their experiences. For our parents, the shadow of the war had been even thicker: they'd been born in cities that still bore scars from the war, raised by people for whom the trauma was still fresh. 25 years is nothing when it comes to these things. So that made it kind of hard to get fully invested in the story, when the numbers just... didn't compute.
What I did unequivocally enjoy was the magic system with its three branches and the heavy prices baked in. I would have loved for the story to dig even more into the amulet-making Zera did—I love supportive casting, it needs more love. But I do see how the focus needed to be kept on the more plot-relevant spells and divination, and it was just all so interesting.
I did, as usual, enjoy Sarah Beth Durst's writing and dialogue, and as a whole, the book was more of a good experience. Just... a flawed one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: War, Gore, and Violence
magis1105's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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? No
4.0
This is a standalone fantasy- so that in itself is a point in its favor. I have been looking for more standalone books.
It is a story of the aftermath of the war, the battles were fought, and the heroes had their losses but the world has moved on. The stories of 25 years ago, some people see it as distant memories, others as more like stories to sing about, write plays, art, history.
But we have the famous 4- each went on their separate ways to cope with what happened. And then they realize there's more to come. The heroes band together again and start a new journey, they aren't as young and fit as they were 25 years prior but they try again.
It touches certain aspects like PTSD, deaths, desecration of bodies- erm the base of the magical system is using bones and possibly life force from beings.
We do have some predictable plot points, not that they necessarily take away from the enjoyment, the characters are annoying for a good portion because of course we need them to realize this one thing until a specific point.
It was a pretty good story. Highly recommend
It is a story of the aftermath of the war, the battles were fought, and the heroes had their losses but the world has moved on. The stories of 25 years ago, some people see it as distant memories, others as more like stories to sing about, write plays, art, history.
But we have the famous 4- each went on their separate ways to cope with what happened. And then they realize there's more to come. The heroes band together again and start a new journey, they aren't as young and fit as they were 25 years prior but they try again.
It touches certain aspects like PTSD, deaths, desecration of bodies- erm the base of the magical system is using bones and possibly life force from beings.
We do have some predictable plot points, not that they necessarily take away from the enjoyment, the characters are annoying for a good portion because of course we need them to realize this one thing until a specific point.
It was a pretty good story. Highly recommend
Content Warnings
Moderate: War
caseythereader's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thanks to Harper Voyager for the free copy of this book.
- THE BONE MAKER is a rare standalone fantasy book, and it was wonderful to get lost in this world knowing I wasn't committing to a huge series.
- Kreya and her crew are a tender found family, and I loved watching them all find each other again after years of separate pain. I also loved that they were older characters, and that this book took place after the initial war: after most books end.
- On top of all the great character work, it's also a gripping adventure filled with twists and turns. I couldn't put it down.
- THE BONE MAKER is a rare standalone fantasy book, and it was wonderful to get lost in this world knowing I wasn't committing to a huge series.
- Kreya and her crew are a tender found family, and I loved watching them all find each other again after years of separate pain. I also loved that they were older characters, and that this book took place after the initial war: after most books end.
- On top of all the great character work, it's also a gripping adventure filled with twists and turns. I couldn't put it down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Medical content, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, Animal death, Blood, Child death, and Gore
Minor: Pregnancy and Sexual content
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