Book Review: The Bone Maker

Fantasy books are a place for us to get away from real world issues and stresses; an escape to a whimsical place of adventure and mystery. However, many good fantasy works keep a lot of these problems and issues intact and show how they affect people in worlds much different then ours. The Bone Maker, by Sarah Beth Durst, is one such novel, and it creates a compelling story due to this fact.

The Bone Maker is a story of loss, grief, and a fight to save the world. Its full of its joyous and witty moments, but pairs those with sections that make us cherish our loved ones and question what we would do if we were in the position of those in the novel. 

The basic premise of the novel focuses on a world of magic and technology that uses bones as the source of power. Twenty five years ago, a corrupt bone magician created a monstrous army of bone creatures that ravaged the lands, until five heroes stepped up and put a stop to his rampage. In the present,  the leader of the fabled heroes, Kreya, lives in isolation after the groups victory. Their victory wasn’t without loss all those years ago, and Kreya has secretly been using forbidden bone magic to bring her dead husband back to live for short moments, sacrificing years of her life to do so. However, troubles arise and she must set out on one more adventure; an adventure that will require the help of the other members of her group, who she hasn’t seen for years. How will her old friends react to her sudden reappearance in their lives, and what have they all been doing in these years?

I have always loved magic systems that relate to the use of the dead and similarly dark things, as it poses the question: Can such magic be seen as worth it if it uses such macabre ingredients? The magic and overall world in the novel is one I found myself liking more then I expected. There are three types of bone magic. There are those, such as Kreya, who use bones to power machines and create pseudo-living constructs. Secondly, some carve charms and runes from the bones of various animals, all of which provide the user with a wide range of boons, such as a brief increase of speed, strength, etc. Finally there are those who read visions provided by the bones, giving glimpses of the past, present, and future.

The only downside of such a potentially interesting world is the fact that I felt I did not get as involved into it as I would have liked. A closer look at the inner mechanics at all the magic systems would have made the story seem more natural and accessible. The same goes for the guilds and factions within the novel, as they are discussed briefly, but would have benefitted from more screen-time. It’s understandable that The Bone Maker is a standalone novel and it cannot be expected to explain everything all in one book. There were some scenes I felt could have been shortened in order to fully flesh out the various pieces of the world.

One last minor nitpick with the magic system was the fact I thought the bone-reading was a very under-used aspect. Obviously, the main bone-reading character was given an excuse on why he could not use his powers, but what about the others? A glimpse into the truth would have solved so many of the character’s issues, so why not visit another local bone-reader? I assume there must be some limitation (maybe I missed some crucial point), but the bones gave answers when it was convenient, so I was left scratching my head when they didn’t use the tool given to them more. The main characters are all famous heroes, I’m sure they could have at least convinced one bone seer to help them out.

I found myself really liking most of the characters, even if some took some time to warm up to me, such as Zera. In a weird way, I found this book to be a lot like Stephen King’s IT, mostly in regards to the fact that both stories focus on a group of friends who defeat an overwhelming evil, only to have to reunite once more decades later. The cast is made up of characters who have either forgotten, moved on, or have been stuck in their past actions. 

The main cast of The Bone Maker were interesting as we got to see how various characters adapted to the stress of becoming famous while also dealing with the PTSD of the loss of so many lives. Kreya’s obsession with bringing her husband, Jennt, showed how crippling the loss of a loved one is, and how it pushes people past limits they didn’t think they would ever cross. I was not expecting such a deep and dreary moral dilemma to be present in this book, but I am glad it was as it added and incredible depth both to the characters and the events in general. 

Likewise, the motives and mindset of the villain, Eklor, were made justified but also horrifying. I LOVE villains who break all moral and ethical rules with little regard, as it shows how twisted they are and make the reader wonder what pushed them to such extremes. I initially thought he was simply a one-dimensional necromancer trope of a villain, but luckily he slowly broke out of this mold. Once again, however, I wished for a bit more development on him.

I’m going to move on from the content of the book to talk about the cover of the book (see above image). It’s very simple and matches the title perfectly, which I thought was great! I love the dark colour scheme, with the black and brown-ish orange tones; Halloween colours work perfectly for such a bone-filled story!

           The Bone Maker Overall Score

Overall, Durst creates a world with a dark past, interesting magic, and characters who all share a struggle that they face with different tools. The Bone Maker is an attention-catching standalone fantasy adventure that creates a interesting set of components that shine, despite being kept in the dark either due to word-limitations or simply being overlooked. It tackles a lot of real world issues, emotions, and leaves us with the age old question of “How far would we go for love, and would we be prepared to justify our choices?”