Ratings41
Average rating3.9
It's been a couple of days since I read The Bone Ships and I have to say that it has taken me a couple of days to digest it really.
This is my first introduction to RJ Barker and I have got to say that I am pretty impressed. It???s not that I expected the book to be anything but brilliant. However, I didn't know what to expect really and The Bone Ships really surprised me.
The story takes place on The Tide Child, a black ship of The Hundred Isles.
At the beginning of the book, we are introduced to the main protagonist, Joron Twiner, the hapless ship wife (Captain) of The Tide Child. As he is on land, he is challenged to a duel by Lucky Meas Gilbryn and thus we are introduced to the world of The Tide Child, the blackships and the fleet of The Hundred Isles and the adventure they are about to embark on protecting a great Arakeesian, the last of the legendary sea dragons that populate the oceans of The Hundred Isles.
This is an incredibly imagined and strange world that Barker has set his story in and is quite different to the ones that readers are used to. In the first part of the book, Barker gives us some major worldbuilding, describing the Hundred Isles and its culture. The world is populated with all manner of strange things, the plants, the animals and the people.
This is a harsh and menacing world and there is no place for weakness and any form of feebleness quickly perishes. However, not only is the world harsh and unforgiving, its people are of a similar nature. One of the aspects of the people that live in the Hundred Isles is that there is a high level of congenital deformity and those who are able to give birth to undeformed infants are highly prized in this culture. In addition to people of the Hundred Isles, there are the Gaunt Islanders, and we learn that the people of the Hundred Isles have been engaged in a never-ending war with them for hundreds of years.
Not all of the people in this land though are people, or more accurately humanoid. There are the Gullaime. A race of bird like people who are prized for their magical ability to control the wind. The Gullaime are treated as slaves and are blinded at birth for their ???own protection??? and are treated as outcasts on the ships of the fleet, only used for their supernatural feats of managing the winds.
Now I have to say that I loved Barker's world, and I found it very redolent of 1970???s British SciFi / fantasy movement, in that he has used some of that experimental energy from the movement to create a world that is unforgiving and menacing, and at once quite original. As I said it is a harsh environment in every sense of the word and every aspect of it has an opaque menacing quality to it. And on top of that, it has a sense of dankness about it, and Barker constantly describes the dirt, grime and stink of it.
I really found the characters of the book to be utterly absorbing. From the first page to the end of the book, the characters are front and centre of this story. The story???s main protagonist, Joron Twiner is introduced from the very first line and this is who we follow throughout the whole of the book, we get his thoughts, his insecurities and join him on his journey from an inadequate hapless individual who has been thrust into a situation not of his making to someone who grows in his confidence and abilities. I can???t say that when I met Joron Twiner at the beginning of the story that I actually liked him. He is a man that has been sent to the Tide Child to join the crew of a Black Ship, which is essentially a place where people are sent to die. And we get the impression that Joron is indeed a man who has joined the living dead. He is an inadequate commander and when he loses his duel with Lucky Meas and she forcibly takes over the ship, we learn that not only is he hopeless, but he is the conspirator of his own inadequacies and has let the crew of the Tide Child basically govern themselves. However, as the story moves on, Joron begins to grow. Instead of killing him in the duel, which is what usually happens in this world, Meas makes him second in command and moves against tradition. We don???t know why, and neither does Joron, and whilst at the beginning of the book he hates this interloper who has taken his crown from him. He soon learns to respect and admire Meas and her harsh methods. Not only does she turn the crew from a bunch of worthless, hopeless set of miscreants, but she also turns Joron into a respected officer by giving him trust and in her own way encouragement.
Meas is an interesting character. She is a hard woman on the outside (and inside at times) but she is fair and trusting. We never really get to see her whole motivations for the decisions that she makes, but you get the impression that she is fighting for a new way, a fairer way that is inclusive of everyone.
But this book is not just made up of Joron Twiner and Lucky Meas Gilbryn, there is also the crew of the Tide Child. At first, they are a nameless and characterless bunch (and I think that they are done this way purposefully due to the fact Joron Twiner at the beginning of the book never bothered to learn their names). As we move through the tale, the crew starts to take on a more colourful character. We get to learn individuals and their names as Joron begins to learn them and they become an integral part of the story.
And we cannot forget the Gullaime, the strange bird like creatures that perform the magic of controlling the wind. At first, the Gullaime refuses to interact and when Meas fails to get the thing to do as she bids, she tasks Joron to befriend the creature. Although he hates it, he does as she commands and an unlikely friendship develops between Joron and Gullaime.
The other thing that impressed me was Barker???s ability to write bone crushing action scenes, particularly the naval battles. The action scenes are written so smoothly that at times I forgot I was reading words on the page and I could see every battle in my head.
I found R. J. Barker???s book to be utterly charming in its own way. Yes, it is set in a very different fantasy world, but it is not inaccessible, although there is a steep learning curve involved. For me, I found the book to be about journeys, not just the journey of the boat, but the journey of Twiner and the crew as they all move from being unwanted and unloved to having a sense of pride and purpose. Whilst the book is filled with hard edges, there are lots of moments of tenderness peppered throughout.
Barkers ability to write engaging prose is something of a wonder. He writes so self-assuredly that he transported me from my normal comfy chair in the living room, and onto the deck of the Tide Child where I could practically feel the salty sea spray hitting my face and the brine encrusted winds coursing through my hair.
I did not know that a fantasy naval adventure was missing from my life, but apparently it was. The Bone Ships is the first novel in a new trilogy from RJ Barker and it is a very promising start. The story follows an officer on a ‘ship of the dead' where people who are condemned try to gain reentry into society by crewing a rundown ship on a hopeless mission.
In this world, it seems that the vegetation does not provide sufficient strength for building large boats, so instead they are built from the bones of great sea dragons (Arkeesians), hence the title of the book. An interesting concept, which gives rise to the central story of the book - tracking such an Arkeesian through the archipelago where the story is set.
Being a nautical fantasy, it gives Barker room to explore new types of fantastical creature and stay well away from the well established tropes. His strange Guillames - gull like humanoids who are able to control the wind, and the the many weird and wonderful sea creatures evoke a wonderfully fresh fantasy.
My one issue with the book was one of pacing, as the start was somewhat slow, but once the book got going it was truly gripping. I am intrigued to see where this world goes!
This is a 3.5* rating, the 4th is because I'm curious about the sequel. And that's despite the fact I wonder if the editor slept while reading it...
I loved: the pirate/fantasy setting, the bone ships built on the bones of slayed sea dragons, Lucky Meas (what a brazen, badass Shipwife???captain???she is), the fact that Lucky Meas is experienced through the protagonist narrative and totally steals the show, the weird fantastical creatures of this world... The guillaume especially.
I loved the plot.
But as mentioned, some editor must have not paid much attention. As an example: too many cases of “the the” or “and and” or some other tiny word repeated unnecessarily... The pacing was too slow the first half of the book. Also something about lack of structure when this new world was presented to us.
It felt very flawed in some places. It's important to say, that despite of it, I genuinely enjoyed this book. Like a rough diamond.
What a wonderful adventure! This was my first experience with R.J. Barker's work and I came away quite impressed with his skill as a storyteller. He drops us into the fully-formed world of the Hundred Isles, a sea-dominated region that's peppered with small islands. Two warring territories, each equipped with extremely valuable ships made from ancient dragon bones, are stuck in constant and endless conflict. When the first dragon in generations is sighted, the race is on to be the first to track it down.
Barker's prose is rich but rough and perfectly suited for a seafaring tale. You can taste the ocean spray and feel the sway of the ships as they traverse the angry seas. The world is filled with unique flora and fauna, but the setting still feels familiar and accessible.
The book also features really satisfying character work, most notably through the main characters Joron and Lucky Meas and the cultivation of their relationship with each other and with the rest of their crew. The connection that is forged between Joron and the Gullaime, the ship's enigmatic, bird-like “windtalker,” is particularly touching. I hope we see more of the Gullaime in future books because the page (and I) lit up whenever it would appear.
Generally, I like to finish books quickly so I can move on to the next thing in my stack, but it was really gratifying to spend extra time with such a well-crafted novel. Even the artwork on the chapter headings is meticulously crafted and beautiful.
All in all, this is a superb start to an exciting new series. The worldbuilding, the prose, the character development, and the story beats are all top-notch. I'm already anxiously anticipating book two. In the meantime, I'm going to jump back and give Barker's Wounded Kingdom trilogy a try to see if that is also to my liking.
4.5 out of 5 stars
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
See this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.
I really liked the beginning but as I kept reading I found it harder and harder to focus on it. My attention kept wondering, and when I would stop I immediately got the feeling that I was forgetting what I just read. Maybe I'll try it when I'm more in the mood for this type of a story.
Really really enjoyed this, sea dragons, humanoid bird creatures who control the winds and ships built from dragon bone! What more could you want!
I'm sorry, but this book is not it. I was so excited about finally reading it, but it just doesn't work. 15% in and I'm both bored and annoyed.
Look. Nowadays every fantasy writer and reader seems to be obsessed with worldbuilding and making it as over the top as possible. Of course some worldbuilding is necessary. But adding ridiculous words every two sentences is not good worldbuilding. It is especially useless and stupid if you are inventing new words to name something normal just to fake that your world is so rich.
Example. In this thing every single fucking position people can have on a ship is given a new stupid name. A damn doctor is called a hangshand! WHY? What does it add? Nothing. A hat is called a hat, but a doctor needs some uwu fancy new name for no reason. We are less than a hundred pages in, we don't know much about the characters or what's going on or why. But we get told the fancy fantasy names of the days of the week, which again, adds nothing.
Coming up with a new name for a palm tree is not good fantasy writing. Work on the things that are necessary for the story to glide, to capture people, instead of reinventing the wheel to seem deep.
Everyone loves this, so my rant is nothing, but hey. Another thing.
Why is everyone going along with this shit? There is a ship, full of criminals who got condemned to serving here. The protagonist is the captain (called some other ridiculous bullshit, not captain, we are DEEP FANTASY NOW). Everyone hates him and they have exactly zero respect for him. But they just go with it because? Then some woman shows up and is like “YARR, I am the new captain here”. Why don't they fucking beat the shit out of her and leave it at that? Everyone is like super dangerous badass evil, but some chick can order them around because she... is confident?
Let me see ya try that with your local biker gang. See how it goes.
Another thing that is ridiculous that one more book tries to make us believe that it's totes mcgoats natural and indeed logical to pretend that women can be like 50% of some fighting force and biological and physical gender differences ain't shit.
Yes, some women can keep up with men. Very few. They are the exception. 99% of us can't. There is no shame in it and it's not helping anyone to pretend that I could ABSOLUTELY outlift and outfight and out... physical-labour men.
Something about the prose is also really odd. Often times the sentences are just written in this odd style where I don't even understand what they are trying to get to. Combined with the needless mumbo-jumbo lingo and me rolling my eyes at the ‘roided up Wonderwomen, I just felt like I was probably having a stroke.
All in all, this did not work. Most of you will probably love it. That's nice. I refuse to waste my life on it.
Ooooh, this should be a five star for enjoyment and is in reality a 4.75 star.
There are few books that make me get emotional and yell at them. I cannot wait for the second one!
Better review to come!
I loved this book!
The best ships have been built with the bones of dragons. These ships have been used to fight an endless war. The ships outlived the dragons until now. There has been a dragon sighting. Both sides want to get their hands on it. Some to use for ships, some to finally stop the war.
This is one of those books that stayed with me even when I wasn't reading it. That tells me it is well worth 5 stars.
The story is fantastic. The characters are great and grow on you page after page. And I loved the gullaime!
This is my first time reading anything by this author and now I'm a big fan.
I was obviously meant to read and love this book because I won a copy here on Goodreads and was approved by Net Galley.
I had a rocky start with this book. It took me a while to warm up to it because I felt like the way the way the world was revealed to the readers wasn't as elegant or masterful as others I've read but once I became familiar with the worlds vocabulary, culture, and lore, it became immediately much more enjoyable. The characters were great, the world (after everything clicked for me) was so unique and different from the other fantasy worlds I've visited.
I also realize now that I'm a sucker for nautical fantasy. I love ships, and pirates, and dragons which is why this along with Robin Hobb's Ships of Magic and the Red Ships under Red Skies installment of the Lock Lamora series will be my go-tos for rereads.
Really excited to read the next one!
This book is just beautiful the feelings it evoked were just soo amazing and the development of the characters was one worth it
I'm an absolute sucker for stories on ships. It's why I loved the second Locke Lamora book better than the first one. Unfortunately most of those stories leave me a bit wanting in the character department, as that setting is very ideal for some good dynamics, especially when it comes to loyalty and honor. The Bone Ships delivers in that regard.
To be honest, I wasn't always 100% sure of what was going on in the story (I'm still not sure why The Tide Child had to be the first to get to that particular destination?), but the characters more than made up for it. There's quite a few characters here, yet I have a feel for most of them, and I immediately know who's who and what type of person they are. Which is honestly weird, because most of the focus is on Joron and Meas, and yet you already get quite a good sense of the other characters with so little.
I found the character dynamics very believable. It's not weird that the crew's sense of loyalty for Meas grows throughout the story. It's not too sudden, and just right. Hell, I‘d follow Meas to hell and back. Joron himself also has some real good growth, and has some interesting relationships of his own as well.
Very much a “part one” though. The story that is set up here isn't resolved, but there is a clear sense of where it can go from here. And that has a lot of potential!
The worldbuilding,,, immaculate,,, Sometimes a little confusing but maybe that's just me. Absolutely stunning can't wait to read the rest
This is great-- good prose and a fully-realized world. Not 100% up my personal alley (not really a boat/pirate gal) but I respect the hell out of this.
I did find that it felt incomplete in the way of a "first book that's already intended to be part of a trilogy". I like it better when the first book feels complete and a sequel expands on it. I also had a hard time with the characters, a lot of them blurred together for me. But still, the world here is so great that my takeaway is "wow". It's not all the time you read a fantasy that feels this distinct.
I also like the small, thoughtful touches towards gender equality, sexuality, etc.- both logical for the world and also, I'm just glad to not be reading my 15,000th generically sexist fantasy universe.