“Durst consistently defies expectations.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
From award-winning author Sarah Beth Durst, a standalone epic fantasy set in a brand-new world of towering mountains and sparkling cities, in which a band of aging warriors have a second chance to defeat dark magic and avenge a haunting loss.
Twenty-five years ago, five heroes risked their lives to defeat the bone … years ago, five heroes risked their lives to defeat the bone maker Eklor—a corrupt magician who created an inhuman army using animal bones. But victory came at a tragic price. Only four of the heroes survived.
Since then, Kreya, the group’s leader, has exiled herself to a remote tower and devoted herself to one purpose: resurrecting her dead husband. But such a task requires both a cache of human bones and a sacrifice—for each day he lives, she will live one less.
She’d rather live one year with her husband than a hundred without him, but using human bones for magic is illegal in Vos. The dead are burned—as are any bone workers who violate the law. Yet Kreya knows where she can find the bones she needs: the battlefield where her husband and countless others lost their lives.
But defying the laws of the land exposes a terrible possibility. Maybe the dead don’t rest in peace after all.
Five warriors—one broken, one gone soft, one pursuing a simple life, one stuck in the past, and one who should be dead. Their story should have been finished. But evil doesn’t stop just because someone once said, “the end.”
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I was really hyped up for this book, the thought behind it seemed pretty epic and I settled in to what I hoped would be a five star book, I did not get that. The book isn’t bad, the story is actually pretty interesting even if it was a little slow, which was disappointed as the beginning felt very fast paced. I think my disappointment stemmed from the fact that the main character Kreya just did not connect with me. The book did change POVs once in a while and I really wished they had focused on the other characters more rather than Kreya as I found them way more interesting.
Overall, the book was okay and may be for someone who would like a slower fantasy.
This was an enjoyable read – not outstanding, but very enjoyable, nonetheless. Fun characters and good storyline.
Delightful! Absolutely delightful. The banter-dialog, the premise, the rules of the world, of the bones… I loved it all. Spectacular narration by Soneela Nankani on the Audio as well.
The best part of all? The ragdoll constructions!
True brilliance! You know, it actually felt steampunk, with the constructs but… ‘bone’ punk? Osteo-punk?
If you love Fantasy, read this book! As with my alter ego, Kim Falconer, it’s a top pick of 2021 thus far.
“Maybe there were no perfect choices for anyone to make, hero or villain.”
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect coming into this one. Bone magic is something that is intriguing in general to me. It’s on that edge of it can either be really cool, or creepy af, but Sarah really pulled it off with the way she incorporated it into the world-building and the entire magic system in general. The line at the top is one that really stuck with me though and I felt a lot of people could relate to it as life is really just one giant grey area in general.
I really loved how we got to see what happened to the heroes after the fact. This novel wasn’t just the heroes saving the day and they ride off into the sunset. It was all about what happened after, and how it affected them. We got to see glimpses into the past, which really helped fill in the gaps and round out the story, which isn’t always done in a way that makes sense. Durst unfolded Kreya’s story in such a way that you weren’t left with a pile of shredded paper wondering how the hell that all made up a single cohesive piece prior to opening… instead you’ve got a perfect, if not slightly worn, blueprint of the world of Vos.
I also really enjoyed that Kreya wasn’t some young maiden out to see the world for the first time. She was battle-worn and older, but that being said, some of the characters weren’t as rounded out as I would have liked like in Sarah’s previous books. I also would have really loved to see a map of Vos to help with the locations of everything, as well as a bit more of the backstory for how the world was before the big bad was vanquished. Instead of a prequel, this one seemed more like a legacy novel of a series that hasn’t been written yet, but the world is one that I’d definitely be interested in seeing more of in the future from Durst.
We all love stories about heroes and their amazing and dangerous adventures. They way they triumph over evil. The Bone Maker explores what has happened to a group of those heroes 25 years after they saved the world. How they’ve changed and moved on with their lives. And how they haven’t.
Lots of interesting characters and an intriguing storyline make this a book worth reading.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor.
The Bone Maker is an adult fantasy about five former heroes who are called back into duty when evil rises again…25 years later.
The Bone Maker opens with Kreya who has left her friends and fellow soldiers behind and is living in isolation with the body of her husband who was killed in battle. With her unique skills she can bring him back to life for hours or years depending on access to human bones and she happens to know where she can find a lot of bones…the battlefield where he fell 25 years prior. But returning there will require a lot of help and Kreya will need to reach out to the old team. But what they discover on the field is not only the bones she requires but proof that an old enemy is rising again and they are forced to fight.
The Bone Maker has both wit and snappy dialogue paired with excellent world and magic building. Durst shows a canny ability to lead the reader through a world we are unfamiliar with without an amateurish info dump nor leaving us fumbling in the dark. She also explores the themes of friendship, marriage, forgiveness and what we are willing to sacrifice for the people and land that we love.
I highly recommend The Bone Maker for readers of all ages. The visuals of how they use bones in their world can be dark sometimes but the beauty of the relationships and humor in their interactions puts this one miles above many fantasy novels in the same category.
5 solid stars
My copy of The Bone Maker by Sarah Beth Durst was provided by NetGalley and the publisher for review purposes
Five warriors—one broken, one gone soft, one pursuing a simple life, one stuck in the past, and one who should be dead. Their story should have been finished. But evil doesn’t stop just because someone once said, “the end.”
The low-key premise reminded me of Roshani Chokshi’s Gilded Wolves—obviously I was intrigued by this fantasy novel because of that alone and overall, this novel wasn’t as impressive as I thought it would be.
Generally speaking, it was not terrible. Nor great. In layman’s terms—meh…?
There was great potential there and I am a little surprised the author decided not to expand this to a series considering how each character brought something unique and fresh to the table, and of course, the short description below that initially won me over when picking up what I originally considered a gem:
“You’ve all heard the legends. There were five of us, tasked by the guild master to eliminate the threat posed by the rogue bone maker Eklor.” She held up one finger. “Kreya, our bone maker, a rising star in the guild, chosen for possessing a power that could rival Eklor’s— if she lived long enough to hone it.” A second finger. “Zera . . . that’s me, my loves.” Her audience cooed appreciatively, and Kreya rolled her eyes. “Bone wizard. Unknown until then, but soon to be unrivaled.” Third. “Marso, a bone reader, with a unique gift of seeing the truth of the past, present, and future that far exceeded the skills of other bone readers.” Four. “Stran, a warrior with experience in using bone talismans to enhance his already prodigious strength.” And five. “Jentt, a reformed thief, who specialized in using talismans of speed and stealth to win his battles.”
“The legend says that the guild master tasked five, but he did not. He tasked only one. Kreya. She chose the rest of us. All that befell us is her fault. All the glory, and all the pain.”
That sounded good on paper, right? But the author, in my opinion, didn’t deliver. I felt like I was just going through the motions when reading this and truthfully, I was a bit bored by the halfway point despite finally meeting the rest of the original crew besides Kreya, Zera, and recently resurrected Jentt, who are each dealing with their own struggles/new lives after their disbandment and war.
More so, what made this a somewhat taxing read was the main character, Kreya. I honestly didn’t care for her. And more times than not, my primary focus was on Zera, Marso, Stran and less frequently Jentt. I understand her husband died but for her to just abandon her crew/”best friends” after his sudden death (that she caused btw) and to then—after 25 years—go out to seek them for help/guidance in bringing back her dead husband and to save the world (again). Yeah no. I wasn’t feeling that. I would have gladly told her to fuck off.
Altogether, what I disliked—Kreya, slow-going storyline, lack of perspective of the other characters minus MC, did I mention Kreya?, lack of world-building, the abrupt ending (WTF was that?!) that could’ve been more fleshed out, and despite it being an adult fantasy (40’s + 50’s aged team), the strong YA vibes I got was not my cup of tea.
One of the few positives of this book that I really enjoyed was the concept of bone making, bone reading, magic, special use of talisman, etc. The magic system really intrigued me and it was something I haven’t seen in other adult *cough*YA with older characters*cough* fantasy books I have read thus far. I hope to see more of this in the future.