lomili's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
lovelymisanthrope's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.0
I heard about this book on YouTube, and the premise piqued my interest.
"The Bone Maker" mainly follows Kreya, a woman who once led a group to victory over a corrupt bone maker, Eklor. Since then, she has lived in isolation with one goal: resurrect her husband who was killed during battle. In order to bring him back, she must use human bones and sacrifice time from her own life, but she would rather live a short life together than live a long life without him. Manipulating human bones like this is illegal in Vos, but Kreya will not stop until her husband is once again by her side. Unfortunately, she discovers that they may not have fully defeated Eklor after all, and she might not be the only one who knows how to do magic of this caliber.
I was very pleased with how much I enjoyed this story. The magic system was complex and interesting to learn about, but it was not so complicated that it did not make sense to me.
I really enjoyed all of the relationships in this story. Obviously seeing how much Kreya loved her husband was humbling, and to witness just how much she was willing to sacrifice for him was beautiful. She gave up so much of her life just to steal moments with him. I also loved seeing Kreya learn to listen to the rest of her friends. She might not ask them to sacrifice their lives for her, but she has to learn to accept the help and honor their request if they are offering. Friendships are equally as important as a romantic love, and I really appreciated seeing this illustrated in an adult fantasy book.
I really appreciated that this is a standalone story. I think I got everything from these characters and this world that I wanted, and the ending was satisfying enough that I am not salivating for a continuation. If the book were any longer, I think it would feel unnecessary, but if it were shorter, I do not think we would have gotten the full story.
My one critique of this book is that I did not feel like it read as an adult book. The characters were older, and a little more mature, but the story itself felt more juvenile and oftentimes predictable. This did not hinder my personal enjoyment of the book, but it may be a turn off for a different reader.
I am curious to see what Sarah Beth Durst writes next!
"The Bone Maker" mainly follows Kreya, a woman who once led a group to victory over a corrupt bone maker, Eklor. Since then, she has lived in isolation with one goal: resurrect her husband who was killed during battle. In order to bring him back, she must use human bones and sacrifice time from her own life, but she would rather live a short life together than live a long life without him. Manipulating human bones like this is illegal in Vos, but Kreya will not stop until her husband is once again by her side. Unfortunately, she discovers that they may not have fully defeated Eklor after all, and she might not be the only one who knows how to do magic of this caliber.
I was very pleased with how much I enjoyed this story. The magic system was complex and interesting to learn about, but it was not so complicated that it did not make sense to me.
I really enjoyed all of the relationships in this story. Obviously seeing how much Kreya loved her husband was humbling, and to witness just how much she was willing to sacrifice for him was beautiful. She gave up so much of her life just to steal moments with him. I also loved seeing Kreya learn to listen to the rest of her friends. She might not ask them to sacrifice their lives for her, but she has to learn to accept the help and honor their request if they are offering. Friendships are equally as important as a romantic love, and I really appreciated seeing this illustrated in an adult fantasy book.
I really appreciated that this is a standalone story. I think I got everything from these characters and this world that I wanted, and the ending was satisfying enough that I am not salivating for a continuation. If the book were any longer, I think it would feel unnecessary, but if it were shorter, I do not think we would have gotten the full story.
My one critique of this book is that I did not feel like it read as an adult book. The characters were older, and a little more mature, but the story itself felt more juvenile and oftentimes predictable. This did not hinder my personal enjoyment of the book, but it may be a turn off for a different reader.
I am curious to see what Sarah Beth Durst writes next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Grief, Death, War, Blood, and Child death
bookishkathrine's review
3.0
Post-war stories about heroes struggling with the aftermath are interesting to me, like Veronica Roth's "Chosen Ones." "The Bone Maker" is an enjoyable fantasy read, but I was somewhat disappointed.
I felt like there was a lot of potential; the bone magic is fascinating, and the sacrificing of life for the revival of others makes for some intriguing angst. The world and the characters, however, were thinly sketched. I liked the friendship between Kreya and Zera, and the relationship between Stran and Amurra, but I would have liked to have seen some more background or chemistry between Kreya and Jentt. Kreya comes off cold, and it is hard to connect with her, especially since a lot of the past is unelucidated. Elkor is sort of an abstract villain; the context around him comes in much later, and in the end, he is surprisingly easy to take down.
The beginning is slow, although there's plenty of action. Sometimes, I wished there were more opportunities to color in the dynamic between the heroes.
I felt like there was a lot of potential; the bone magic is fascinating, and the sacrificing of life for the revival of others makes for some intriguing angst. The world and the characters, however, were thinly sketched. I liked the friendship between Kreya and Zera, and the relationship between Stran and Amurra, but I would have liked to have seen some more background or chemistry between Kreya and Jentt. Kreya comes off cold, and it is hard to connect with her, especially since a lot of the past is unelucidated. Elkor is sort of an abstract villain; the context around him comes in much later, and in the end, he is surprisingly easy to take down.
The beginning is slow, although there's plenty of action. Sometimes, I wished there were more opportunities to color in the dynamic between the heroes.
catbooking's review
2.0
Things I loved: the first 20% of the book. Zera. The doll constructs. The doll constructs were pretty much the only reason I kept reading the last 20% of the book.
As whole the book is very shallow, you would think with 500 pages there would be plenty of room for character development and world building, but you would be wrong. Most of those pages are taken up by repeating the same thing over and over. “If we don't succeed this bad thing will happen. The thing that is very bad. It is bad. We need to succeed. We all know that if we don't succeed the bad thing will happen.” It was so bad that it reminded me of the “The poison. The poison for Kuzco, the poison chosen especially to kill Kuzco, Kuzco's poison. That poison?” line. I am not an idiot like your characters, I can keep things in my mind and think more than one step ahead.
This brings me to character development, or lack thereof. Pretty much everyone in the world is a certifiable idiot. Which I guess is not indicative of a bad book, but is pretty much an unforgivable sin in my mind. It is really hard to keep supporting the heroes when they just keep doing the same stupid thing that hadn't worked the first time. Or plan for things not working. Or plan for people to be a bit smarter than a wet paper bag. But I digress. Character development! Nothing ever goes past the 'he is a thief and fast' or 'he is big and strong' or 'he sees the future and screams' or 'she is smart and brooding'. There are no arcs. No one learns anything. Well, they learn but not like through experience more like through holding hands and telling each other that they learned something.
I started out being super excited about the book, and ended up wondering if this was someone's D&D campaign put on paper. Such an exciting world, with interesting magic and creepy rag-dolls and all wasted on a plot that only works if everyone is a middle-schooler.
As whole the book is very shallow, you would think with 500 pages there would be plenty of room for character development and world building, but you would be wrong. Most of those pages are taken up by repeating the same thing over and over. “If we don't succeed this bad thing will happen. The thing that is very bad. It is bad. We need to succeed. We all know that if we don't succeed the bad thing will happen.” It was so bad that it reminded me of the “The poison. The poison for Kuzco, the poison chosen especially to kill Kuzco, Kuzco's poison. That poison?” line. I am not an idiot like your characters, I can keep things in my mind and think more than one step ahead.
This brings me to character development, or lack thereof. Pretty much everyone in the world is a certifiable idiot. Which I guess is not indicative of a bad book, but is pretty much an unforgivable sin in my mind. It is really hard to keep supporting the heroes when they just keep doing the same stupid thing that hadn't worked the first time. Or plan for things not working. Or plan for people to be a bit smarter than a wet paper bag. But I digress. Character development! Nothing ever goes past the 'he is a thief and fast' or 'he is big and strong' or 'he sees the future and screams' or 'she is smart and brooding'. There are no arcs. No one learns anything. Well, they learn but not like through experience more like through holding hands and telling each other that they learned something.
I started out being super excited about the book, and ended up wondering if this was someone's D&D campaign put on paper. Such an exciting world, with interesting magic and creepy rag-dolls and all wasted on a plot that only works if everyone is a middle-schooler.
sugarsnaps's review
adventurous
dark
reflective
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? Yes
4.5
alt_air's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
katleap's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
I received an e-ARC copy of The Bone Maker from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Kreya has been living in her tower alone since her band of heroes defeated the evil bone wizard Eklor and Jennt, her husband, was killed in the process. Using illegal magic, Kreya might just have found a way to bring Jennt back from the dead but she will need help from an old comrade, Zera, has done very well for herself after the war. Her skills are in demand, she is wealthy and she is a little bit bored. When Kreya shows up after 25 years to ask for help, Zera reluctantly agrees. Together the old friends discover that maybe Eklor is not as dead as he's suppose to be and that being him a second time will require even more than the first.
This book was awesome. I love the complicated relationship between Zera and Kreya. Is your best friend still your best friend if you abandoned them and haven't talked to them in 25 years? Also the banter is fabulous. This was such a good what happens after the battle is over book. Love it.
I received an e-ARC copy of The Bone Maker from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Kreya has been living in her tower alone since her band of heroes defeated the evil bone wizard Eklor and Jennt, her husband, was killed in the process. Using illegal magic, Kreya might just have found a way to bring Jennt back from the dead but she will need help from an old comrade, Zera, has done very well for herself after the war. Her skills are in demand, she is wealthy and she is a little bit bored. When Kreya shows up after 25 years to ask for help, Zera reluctantly agrees. Together the old friends discover that maybe Eklor is not as dead as he's suppose to be and that being him a second time will require even more than the first.
This book was awesome. I love the complicated relationship between Zera and Kreya. Is your best friend still your best friend if you abandoned them and haven't talked to them in 25 years? Also the banter is fabulous. This was such a good what happens after the battle is over book. Love it.