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adam_mcphee 's review for:
The Bone Ships
by R.J. Barker
Really enjoyed this.
It's a great premise, well executed. Half Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey–Maturin series, half an exploration of a fantastic, alien ecology.
We follow through the eyes of Joron Twiner, who starts the novel as the Tide Child's 'Shipwife' (captain). Overmatched and afraid of his crew and the unable to wield authority, he quickly loses a duel to 'Lucky' Meas, who takes his place as shipwife but keeps him on as Deckkeeper (second-in-command). Meas builds up his confidence and he makes a quick journey from cowardice to command. Meas's overwhelming competence is a bit much at times, able to overcome any obstacle, though occasionally we get hints that she is only human after all.
The nature of the bone ships (ships made from dragon skeletons, natch) is such that the narrative borrows from the best of Age of Discovery narratives without ever getting bogged down in, say, advancing the interests of empire, Melvillesque whaling stories, or the tired cliches of piracy, but able to draw easily from those elements that still appeal to us. At times the lore is a bit overwhelming (what's all this about Bern and Berncast?) but as long as the characters are at sea it's a straightforward adventure that, like the best sort of nautical military stories (or space operas, come to think of it) involves creating elaborate games based on the possible maneuvers available to the ships involved, and all the permutations and surprises you can wring out of this. Aside from a few obvious analogies on the ship (spine = mast, wing = sail), it's almost never a 1:1 replacement between the fantasy ecology and the age of sail terms, so it ends up being a really well thought out alien world.
The highlight of the novel for me was the guillame, human-sized birds who seem to have lost all their feathers as the price for gaining humanlike intelligence and the magickal ability to summon the wind from windspires.
Can't wait to read more.
It's a great premise, well executed. Half Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey–Maturin series, half an exploration of a fantastic, alien ecology.
We follow through the eyes of Joron Twiner, who starts the novel as the Tide Child's 'Shipwife' (captain). Overmatched and afraid of his crew and the unable to wield authority, he quickly loses a duel to 'Lucky' Meas, who takes his place as shipwife but keeps him on as Deckkeeper (second-in-command). Meas builds up his confidence and he makes a quick journey from cowardice to command. Meas's overwhelming competence is a bit much at times, able to overcome any obstacle, though occasionally we get hints that she is only human after all.
The nature of the bone ships (ships made from dragon skeletons, natch) is such that the narrative borrows from the best of Age of Discovery narratives without ever getting bogged down in, say, advancing the interests of empire, Melvillesque whaling stories, or the tired cliches of piracy, but able to draw easily from those elements that still appeal to us. At times the lore is a bit overwhelming (what's all this about Bern and Berncast?) but as long as the characters are at sea it's a straightforward adventure that, like the best sort of nautical military stories (or space operas, come to think of it) involves creating elaborate games based on the possible maneuvers available to the ships involved, and all the permutations and surprises you can wring out of this. Aside from a few obvious analogies on the ship (spine = mast, wing = sail), it's almost never a 1:1 replacement between the fantasy ecology and the age of sail terms, so it ends up being a really well thought out alien world.
The highlight of the novel for me was the guillame, human-sized birds who seem to have lost all their feathers as the price for gaining humanlike intelligence and the magickal ability to summon the wind from windspires.
Can't wait to read more.