The Bone Ships
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4.7 • 10 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
"Excellent. One of the most interesting and original fantasy worlds I've seen in years." —Adrian Tchaikovsky, Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author
A brilliantly imagined saga of honor, glory, and warfare, The Bone Ships is the epic launch of a new series from British Fantasy Award winner, RJ Barker.
*British Fantasy Award for Best Fantasy Novel, winner
Two nations at war. One 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 favor. Because whoever catches it will win not only glory but the war.
Praise for The Bone Ships:
"Brilliant." —Robin Hobb
"A vividly realized high-seas epic that pulls you deep into its world and keeps you tangled there until the very last word." —Evan Winter, author of The Rage of Dragons
The Tide Child Trilogy
The Bone Ships
Call of the Bone Ships
The Bone Ship's Wake
For more from RJ Barker, check out:
The Wounded Kingdom
Age of Assassins
Blood of Assassins
King of Assassins
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Unusual attention to detail makes a water-covered world come to life in Barker's first Tide Child fantasy epic. A ridge of mountains separates sprinklings of small islands, and the only material strong enough to make oceangoing ships is sea dragon bone. However, dragons are long extinct and the old ships increasingly ramshackle, so a bitter and destructive conflict between the Hundred Isles and the Gaunt Islands may at last sputter out. The sighting of a dragon sends conspirators after the beast, some hoping to harvest its bones and others intending to kill it before its carcass can be used to renew the war. One of the seekers is Meas Gilbryn, a disgraced aristocrat turned pacifist. At the novel's opening, she seizes control of the Tide Child, a ship crewed by men and women who have been condemned to death, by slapping down its pathetically failed captain, Joron Twiner. Much of the rest of the novel feels like one of Patrick O'Brian's richly detailed sagas of seamanship as Meas rebuilds her ship and its crew, including restoring Joron's self-respect, while pursuing the dragon. Though characterization is declared more than demonstrated, this is a very promising beginning for a proposed trilogy.
