'The Bone Ships' – R.J. Barker (Orbit)


Some of my all time favourite books have been the ones that I've picked up on a whim; whether for the intriguing title (like 'The Briar King'), eye catching cover art ('The Anvil of Ice'), compelling blurb (ok, I find all blurbs compelling...) or a mixture of the three. 'The Bone Ships' was very much a mixture of all three things coming together in a perfect storm of 'you must read this book now..' Sometimes you have to just go with your gut, and obey the subliminal urgings of a book cover, so that's exactly what I did. And I'm so glad that I did.

TWO NATIONS AT WAR. A PRIZE BEYOND COMPARE.
For generations, the Hundred Isles have built their ships from the bones of ancient dragons to fight an endless war.
The dragons disappeared, but the battles for supremacy persisted.
Now the first dragon in centuries has been spotted in far-off waters, and both sides see a chance to shift the balance of power in their favour. Because whoever catches it will win not only glory, but the war.
I live for finding those books where you start reading and the next thing you know, you're an hour over your lunch break and your boss is giving you that look again. There is nothing quite like losing yourself in a good book and my good news for you, today, is that 'The Bone Ships' is one of those books. Bus journey? Didn't notice it, I was too busy reading. My flat was like an ice box? Ok, I did notice that but I really didn't want to have to do anything about that because, you guessed it, I was far too busy reading.

The world of 'The Bone Ships' is beautifully drawn for the reader; while a little too much attention is paid to describing this world (for me anyway, I prefer more of a balance between world building and actual plot)it remains a world that serves as a solid foundation for the plot. In a brutal world such as this, you can really believe that the characters will go to the lengths they do to make things better and this was one of a number of reasons that I kept reading. Like I said, I prefer to 'fill in the gaps' myself so the longer descriptive passages ended up doing what they could to throw me out of my reading groove. It's such a small quibble though that I kind of feel bad saying it. If you're anything like me, just bear it in mind. The bottom line though is that I can't wait to read Book 2 just so I can get out on those waves again, and explore some of the weirder islands, so that's a win for the worldbuilding then. It's not just the worldbuilding either; Barker writes some incredibly dynamic set pieces where all of a sudden, everything will just kick off. It just shows the control Barker has over the book that he dictates the flow in such a way that you just can't help but keep reading. I'm not particularly well read in naval fiction but I'd be very surprised if there were any sea battles out there that are more intense and bloody than what Barker has written. Including a dragon does help.

I briefly mentioned the characters and the book is full of memorable characters that I can't help but want to know more about (when is the next book coming out?) Everyone has a journey to make, over the course of the book, and sometimes it's not just about the boat ride. Joron gets the most page time and I loved the way that his potential being fulfilled just happened so organically; he is not the same person at the end of the book and you'd be hard pressed to see just exactly where it is that he changes. Character growth done very well.
What I also got a lot out of was watching Barker turn a disparate crew into family (of sorts) by the end of the book. It's like a smaller version of what Meas is working to achieve and it's not just the crew who are left feeling hopeful at the end. And they can fight as well, strengthening the idea of family (as well as providing readers like me a little gore, always welcome).

If you haven't read 'The Bone Ships' then, the first thing I'll do is look very disappointed and then I'll follow that up with a call to rectify that as soon as possible. Seriously if you haven't read it, do something about it and thank me afterwards. I'll be here, waiting for book 2.

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