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A review by maryrobinette
The Bones of the Old Ones by Howard Andrew Jones
4.0
For full disclosure, I blurbed this book and I did that because I really enjoy how swashbuckling these are. They are like Sherlock Holmes crossed with the Arabian Nights. Asim is Watson to Dabir's Holmes, but with magic. And swords! I like the the way the characters trust each other and that solving problems requires each of their strengths.
Strangely, one of the things that I also appreciate is that Asim is sexist, but thinks that he's not. It's true of a lot of people who want to be allies today. The books, however, are not at all sexist in their depictions of women. It's a fine and delicate line to walk, depicting realistic attitudes of the time without falling trap to repeating the mistakes of the past. The female characters are strong, but each has different forms of strength. I particularly liked Najya in The Bones of the Old Ones because she made Asim confront some of his own prejudices and surmount them. As I said, it's a tricky line to walk and I think Howard did that beautifully.
Plus, did I mention the epic battles? And magic!
Strangely, one of the things that I also appreciate is that Asim is sexist, but thinks that he's not. It's true of a lot of people who want to be allies today. The books, however, are not at all sexist in their depictions of women. It's a fine and delicate line to walk, depicting realistic attitudes of the time without falling trap to repeating the mistakes of the past. The female characters are strong, but each has different forms of strength. I particularly liked Najya in The Bones of the Old Ones because she made Asim confront some of his own prejudices and surmount them. As I said, it's a tricky line to walk and I think Howard did that beautifully.
Plus, did I mention the epic battles? And magic!