A review by shelleyrae
The Map of Bones by Francesca Haig

3.0

The Map of Bones picks up from where Francesca Haig's debut novel, [b:The Fire Sermon|18109771|The Fire Sermon (The Fire Sermon, #1)|Francesca Haig|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1435759323s/18109771.jpg|25433352], left off. Cass, Piper and Zoe are on the run following the deadly confrontation at the Silo between the Confessor and Kip, with the knowledge of the Alpha Council's horrifying plan for the Omega's.

Despite the dramatic ending of The Fire Sermon, the narrative in The Map of Bones is slow to start. We're almost a quarter of the way into the book before Haig introduces a new element to the story that finally prompts the characters to take action. From there the pace begins to pick up as Cass and her allies recognise the need to actively stand against the Council and pursue a new possibility for salvation despite the odds that are stacked again them.

I wasn't really a fan of Cass in the first novel and I found her to be no less frustrating here. Drowning in guilt and struggling with her visions, her thoughts are often repetitive and circular. Piper and Zoe serve as good companions but I found neither character to be particularly compelling.

What I did admire was Haig's descriptive writing and continued world building. She provides further detail about the cataclysmic events that destroyed the world and the twinning phenomenon.

Though I found The Map of Bones to be a somewhat dreary read, the story ends on a hopeful note and I am curious to learn how the trilogy will resolve in book three.