adancewithbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
3.0
Thank you to Tor Publishing Group and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in anyway.
City of Bones is a standalone fantasy that Martha Wells first published in 1995. In september the revised and updated version was released with Tor. Martha Wells has quite the list of books that she has written before Murderbot. And I did love her more recent Witch King. However this one didn't quite live up to what I have priorly read of her. Its not a bad book. But it was not memorable.
Khat is hired by warders (magic users) to find a relic in one of the arcane engines that the last ancients left behind. When this expedition goes wrong, he is pulled into a much bigger plot that might take everyone a step back into history.
When a fantasy has a rich history and ancients to be discovered about, that always excites me. And I do think that was one of the better things about this book. The pull, the mystery of that. However this book has quite a slow build and doesn't leave much room at the end for the pay off. Of the actual discovery of ancients. It was: here is one. Now its gone. That was absolutely not enough. I could have dealt with that had this been a series and if we would have had to chance to dive in deeper. But this is a standalone.
Slow builds in fantasy is not unusual. Things have to be set up. Unfortunately I did not care enough about the characters. Khat should have been interesting for who he was and his background, but it didn't move me. I cared even less about the warder. They just were not compelling to me. Not memorable.
Adding on to that, the plot had little surprises. It trudged on in the slow build up where my mind kept yelling; can't you see?
Having said that, I did find the history and the magic/science surrounding the relics and the ancient engines really interesting. It is not a bad book. But because of the above mentioned, just not very memorable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Death, and Violence
racmros's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
indigoriverboat's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
5.0
daniella's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
leatherboundgremlin's review against another edition
5.0
rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Note: I received an ARC in exchange for this review.
After reading The Witch King, I was expecting another wild adventure with high fantasy worldbuilding, and this did not disappoint!
City of Bones was originally released in 1995, but recently was re-released with updated text. What I read was a classic quest story with phenomenal storytelling and characters.
The story follows Khat, a backwoods antique dealer hailing from a superhuman race who finds himself in the Waste - a fearsome desert wasteland in the ruins of an old city of the Ancients - at the request of a band of magicians. On his journey, he unveils political turmoil and conspiracies that put the entire civilization in peril.
Wells’ ability to develop such wonderful characters that you empathize with is beyond belief in the best way possible. Like in The Witch King, the protagonists are multi-dimensional and empathetic, making for an excellent fantasy read.
The plot itself keeps you invested throughout, and the worldbuilding is interesting and captivating. Its introduction to the reader is a lot more eased into than The Witch King, so I would definitely recommend for anyone wanting a great high fantasy read that isn’t too overwhelming - its perfect for all readers!
Note: I received an ARC in exchange for this review.
After reading The Witch King, I was expecting another wild adventure with high fantasy worldbuilding, and this did not disappoint!
City of Bones was originally released in 1995, but recently was re-released with updated text. What I read was a classic quest story with phenomenal storytelling and characters.
The story follows Khat, a backwoods antique dealer hailing from a superhuman race who finds himself in the Waste - a fearsome desert wasteland in the ruins of an old city of the Ancients - at the request of a band of magicians. On his journey, he unveils political turmoil and conspiracies that put the entire civilization in peril.
Wells’ ability to develop such wonderful characters that you empathize with is beyond belief in the best way possible. Like in The Witch King, the protagonists are multi-dimensional and empathetic, making for an excellent fantasy read.
The plot itself keeps you invested throughout, and the worldbuilding is interesting and captivating. Its introduction to the reader is a lot more eased into than The Witch King, so I would definitely recommend for anyone wanting a great high fantasy read that isn’t too overwhelming - its perfect for all readers!
micheala's review against another edition
4.5
I'm a sucker for good worldbuilding, and City of Bones did a fantastic job creating an engaging post-apocotolyptic world. And normally, post-apocotolyptic stories aren't really my thing, but I suspect this one worked for me as it's post another fantastical world.
I found the both the society and the ecology to be well explained, giving the reader enough to understand the plot, while also still hinting at all the information that Wells is still holding onto.
The plot starts out more low stakes, but quickly ramps up. It did end up with a satisfactory conclusion, but because I loved the world so much, I did really wish that this had a sequel.
I listened to this on audio, and the narrator did a fantastic job. He was clear, and consistent with the voices that he gave all the characters.
For a book originally published in 1995 I think it holds up well and is worth a read if you enjoy high fantasy.
I found the both the society and the ecology to be well explained, giving the reader enough to understand the plot, while also still hinting at all the information that Wells is still holding onto.
The plot starts out more low stakes, but quickly ramps up. It did end up with a satisfactory conclusion, but because I loved the world so much, I did really wish that this had a sequel.
I listened to this on audio, and the narrator did a fantastic job. He was clear, and consistent with the voices that he gave all the characters.
For a book originally published in 1995 I think it holds up well and is worth a read if you enjoy high fantasy.
utopiastateofmind's review against another edition
3.5
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
City of Bones is an updated and revised version of an earlier release from Martha Wells. I'm a big fan of Wells's Murderbot series so I was intrigued to be able to re-visit an earlier release. I love the idea of a revised version, to change things that have always bugged us, to improve, to use more skills we've learned as a writer. My favorite element of City of Bones was the world. You can tell from the cover that this world is one of detail and richness. From the beginning, even from the first few sentences, I was fascinated by this world of artifacts, ancient relics, and divided society. It's one of the things I associate with Wells: these unique world building concepts.
City of Bones is an updated and revised version of an earlier release from Martha Wells. I'm a big fan of Wells's Murderbot series so I was intrigued to be able to re-visit an earlier release. I love the idea of a revised version, to change things that have always bugged us, to improve, to use more skills we've learned as a writer. My favorite element of City of Bones was the world. You can tell from the cover that this world is one of detail and richness. From the beginning, even from the first few sentences, I was fascinated by this world of artifacts, ancient relics, and divided society. It's one of the things I associate with Wells: these unique world building concepts.
bailey_the_bookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I wanted to like this way more than I did. The world is interesting, the characters seem cool, and the plot could have been a lot of fun, but it just…drags. It’s so slow, all the way through. The characters don’t seem to develop meaningfully and their interactions and reactions seem more or less random a lot of the time. Also the book description bears only the faintest resemblance to the actual plot, which always bugs me.
I will say it’s cool to read a really early work like this and see how much an author has grown—the Murderbot books are among my all-time favorites.
I will say it’s cool to read a really early work like this and see how much an author has grown—the Murderbot books are among my all-time favorites.
sophiarose1816's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Earlier this year, I ventured to pick up my first fantasy read by the author after being introduced to her work through her sci-fi, Murderbot Diaries series. Next, I spotted City of Bones and was well-primed to enjoy another fantasy world and the author’s wry writing style.
I was unaware until after I grabbed it that City of Bones is a re-release re-write and the book was actually among one of her first book’s ever written. I’m not sure what the older edition of City of Bones read like, but I was no ends of impressed once again with a clever worldbuilding, characters, and twisting intrigue of an exciting plot. This didn’t feel like an early effort, but was a solid fantasy set in a post-apocalyptic world.
The star of the book, Khat, is a humanoid called a Krisman, a desert people, but not human. The kris were created by the Ancient mages with some extras that allow them to thrive in the Wastes outside the human cities. I had a Murderbot moment when I realized that this very created set up left his situation precarious with the humans who saw him as disposable, drawing a sarcastic humor out of him, and was the driving factor to work with the mysterious Warder when hired. Khat and his human partner, Sagai are artifact dealers and take on work outside the protection of the city. I loved Khat from the get go and wanted to see him get untangled from the trouble he’s in do to debt and staying out of the eye of certain humans.
While the world is all magic, desert fantasy, ancient artifacts that lead to the Warder and others scrambling to get their hands on certain pieces for a mysterious purpose, this was heist-style adventure, too. It took a bit to get going with a ponderous pace at first, but I was ready for that and eagerly awaited when things really got rolling showing twists and surprises plenty. By the end, and this was a longer piece, I was disappointed to see it end. Sadly, yes, it’s a standalone, but one can hope for more in this world. I would say this is a good gateway for sci-fi lovers to get into fantasy since the world is post-apoc and the adventures are treasure hunt-style making it have a wider audience appeal.
seaclauss's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75