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58th out of 702 books
—
809 voters
Bone Dance
by
Emma Bull (Goodreads Author)
Sparrow’s my name. Trader. Deal-maker. Hustler, some call me. I work the Night Fair circuit, buying and selling pre-nuke videos from the world before. I know how to get a high price, especially on Big Bang collectibles. But the hottest ticket of all is information on the Horsemen—the mind-control weapons that tilted the balance in the war between the Americas. That’s the p...more
Paperback, 278 pages
Published
May 1st 1991
by Ace
(first published January 1st 1991)
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The post-apocalyptic urban fantasy in which body-snatchers called Horsemen may be on the loose, and a small-time wanderer named Sparrow may have an epic job to do, but no one can quite explain what it is.
I enjoyed this, but it has some flaws. Chiefly, as with many books involving voodoo, there's a deus ex machina problem. I like the stakes to be high but human; things lose urgency for me if the main players are gods. Also, the gods are apparently the only ones who really know what's going on; Sp...more
I enjoyed this, but it has some flaws. Chiefly, as with many books involving voodoo, there's a deus ex machina problem. I like the stakes to be high but human; things lose urgency for me if the main players are gods. Also, the gods are apparently the only ones who really know what's going on; Sp...more
Weirdly forgettable post apocalyptic story of body-hopping genetically engineered super soldiers and a battle with the old gods. A coming-into-self story narrated by an intersex person (or possibly a sex-neutral person, this was not clear to me). I'm trying to remember if I've ever seen it on any of those LGBT scifi interest booklists that float around, because I feel like I haven't and that maybe everyone else forgets this book, too. I've never been as impressed with Emma Bull as a lot of peopl...more
2 likes · like · see review
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This was an interesting story, with a great setting, an unusual narrator, and a plot that meandered through various twists and turns. I often was not exactly sure where the story was going, which led to unforeseen surprises but also a bit of a detachment from the proceedings. The setting and themes of the Bull’s novel were the most interesting to me. The postapocalyptic City (Minneapolis after a nuclear war) was still a recognizable location while being very different from today and populated by...more
After three chapters, I was going to stop reading, because I had /no idea what was going on./ But I stuck with it, and am glad, because it got much more interesting and somewhat more coherent.
I like the way Bull deals with gender-- or doesn't deal with, I guess-- but in general I didn't feel particularly connected to any of these people, or their relationships, and the dialog was often bizarre to the point of being irritating. The crapsack world dystopia is becoming less cool to me in my old age...more
I like the way Bull deals with gender-- or doesn't deal with, I guess-- but in general I didn't feel particularly connected to any of these people, or their relationships, and the dialog was often bizarre to the point of being irritating. The crapsack world dystopia is becoming less cool to me in my old age...more
It's by Emma Bull, so of course I love it. It's definitely a fantasy, but a fantasy in which technology can be a positive force. I think the way Sparrow's first person narration is used to conceal certain things is really fascinating, and I wish I'd been slightly less spoiled. I have a bad habit of holding back information about my narrators when writing first-person, but this is an example of how to do it well. Ultimately, I can't really say why I like this book so much, but I do. The author is...more
A taut post apocalyptic science fiction novel where Sparrow, the hero, is a special kind of being, who has to combat the Horseman, modern day weapons, who have come to Sparrow's world.
Has some nasty bits, but by and large, is another example of Bull's ability to tell a tale.
Nominated for Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Award.
Has some nasty bits, but by and large, is another example of Bull's ability to tell a tale.
Nominated for Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Award.
This was a bit of a slow starter. It's my least favourite story telling mode, first person, past tense, which on occasion was grating, but it got a better flow (or I got used to it) in the second half of the book. It's an older UF dystopia, and it shows. Lot's of 80ies tech in this one. I'm thinking the "A fantasy for technophiles" tag line should probably be dropped.
If all the aging issues can be overlooked, it's sort of a Bildungsroman, with the protagonist coming to terms with what it means...more
If all the aging issues can be overlooked, it's sort of a Bildungsroman, with the protagonist coming to terms with what it means...more
I could tell it was a wonderful book, but it was my first urban fantasy and I was reading only a few pages at a time, so I mostly didn't know what was going on. But the writing style and the creativity of scenes, characters, settings... I was impressed. I definitely need to re-read it.
A neo-noir post-cyberpunk faux-apocalyptic urban fantasy. The first two kind of go hand in hand but the latter two... let's just say that I, as a sucker for post-apocalyptic nonsense and a... whatever the opposite of a sucker is for urban fantasy, find myself pretty indifferent to this book.
Why "faux-apocalyptic?" We are reminded over and over again that this takes place about 50 years after "the Bang" destroyed civilization in the Western hemisphere, and yet everything seems to play out exactly...more
Why "faux-apocalyptic?" We are reminded over and over again that this takes place about 50 years after "the Bang" destroyed civilization in the Western hemisphere, and yet everything seems to play out exactly...more
1 like · like · see review
To have muscle memory or to have race memory or any other skill that seems to be one with ones soul. This is the book to read that makes clear not all balances are even and not all reasons for being are better than others. I think this is better than the new impending movie "surrogates" without even seeing it because this is special to one person and allows many life threads to weave into a complex tale. Life is not lead by a ouiji board, yet our lives are guided outside ourselves and highly ope...more
Emma Bull's other great book (after "War for the Oaks") also set in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul... but this is a far different city with a far different protagonist. Set in a post-apocalyptic future, we are introduced to the city through the experiences of Sparrow, a loner and audiophile with surprisingly many connections despite a predilection for insulting friends and driving them away.
I really can't go into more detail about the plot without revealing some of the wonderful twists...more
I really can't go into more detail about the plot without revealing some of the wonderful twists...more
2 likes · like · see review
This is another re-read, not a first-time read, so I feel qualified to review it. I picked this up because of my recent re-watch of Blade Runner. After all, BONE DANCE is one of the most influential cyberpunkyfantasy novels in my life.
Read if you like: Uncertain protagonists who lie to themselves constantly about their own motivations. Complex heroes and villains. Redemption stories. Endings that are happy for the world and complicatedly troubled for the characters.
Avoid if: You like the answers...more
Read if you like: Uncertain protagonists who lie to themselves constantly about their own motivations. Complex heroes and villains. Redemption stories. Endings that are happy for the world and complicatedly troubled for the characters.
Avoid if: You like the answers...more
If my AP English teacher from high school read one of the inarticulate reviews that I write today, she would be appalled. Where I could once say something coherent about what was going on in a book, I now tend to just say 'loved it!' or 'not all that good.' My main yardstick for a book is whether it sucks me in. If I open it on Saturday morning, and finish it before falling asleep that Saturday, than it definitely is a very good book. That pull is likely to be a combination of plot and character...more
Apr 25, 2012
Chris Branch
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction
It was clear almost from the beginning that there was something unusual about this book's protagonist/narrator, and getting to an explanation (more or less) of Sparrow's nature was the most interesting and well-constructed part of this book - after that, however, I was less interested in the story. Much of the second half seemed a bit disjointed to me, with brief episodes of horrific violence interspersed with lazy periods of waiting and recovery. The involvement of the loa never quite fit for m...more
A strong science ficiton/fantasy story set in a post-apocalyptic world. Hard to write any sort of review without giving away key plot points, since author Emma Bull springs a ldoot of surprises on the reader. She does a good job of world building and her main character is a fully realized creation. While the story is full of incident, the narrative drive is not stong. The author compensates with a lot of (pleasant) interaction between secondary characters.
Sparrow lives in a dystopian unnamed city (that is Minneapolis, natch)after The Bang. She is a procurer of hard to find videos and music and repairs electronics and is multilingual. She also keeps secrets from her friends and herself. One of the biggest is that there are Horsemen, people who capable of taking over another’s body and who are responsible for the Bang. Meanwhile, indigenous and not so gods and goddesses also want in on Sparrow and the Horseman’s actions.
“…Just as the cards in a ta...more
“…Just as the cards in a ta...more
It was just ok for me. This book never grabbed me like war for the oaks did (which i had just finished, also by Emma Bull) and it took me a while to get into it. I still enjoyed her writing style as well as the story, setting and some of the characters but thought it was dragging at times as well as a bit confusing at times, especially in the beginning. I enjoyed it well enough, but I doubt I will be rereading it with so many books on my to-read list
Sep 12, 2011
Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides
marked it as decided-not-to-read
Shelves:
science-fiction,
fantasy-fiction
I just read a much less serious story involving voudoun themes, so that is probably part of why I bounced off this one. Seemed too claustrophobic, with not enough setting exploration/explanation. I might try it again some other time, though. I have heard good things about it, and Emma Bull has written some stuff that I really enjoyed.
Just started last night and am a few chapters in. Language and cadence is a little odd which adds to the feel of the world but I am finding it distracting. I'm hopeful I'll get over it though.
I'm putting the book down but will perhaps pick it up again at a later date. The writing is good and I don't mean to suggest that the book isn't a good one. It's just not grabbing me right now.
I'm putting the book down but will perhaps pick it up again at a later date. The writing is good and I don't mean to suggest that the book isn't a good one. It's just not grabbing me right now.
Aug 02, 2011
Jennie
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
sci-fi-fantasy,
urban-fantasy
I really liked this book at first, and had a hard time putting it down. My interest didn't exactly wane, but I was a little disappointed in the direction the story took, and when the characters finally got around to having a goal, all I could think was "really? That's it?"
I didn't like that the book had no real sense of place, other than "North America somewhere". Sometimes I thought it was in Minnesota (all the covered sidewalks), and other times I thought it was New Orleans (all the voodoo).
O...more
I didn't like that the book had no real sense of place, other than "North America somewhere". Sometimes I thought it was in Minnesota (all the covered sidewalks), and other times I thought it was New Orleans (all the voodoo).
O...more
The beginning was slow and meandering, difficult to follow along with in places (the narrator was having confusing blackouts which didn't make for a clear narrative), but it picked up. Oh, did it ever. I read the last 200 pages in one sitting, unable to get up and leave the cafe without finishing. Such a good book, in the end.
You really don't know where this one is going until it gets there. It's set in a semi-magical world after nuclear holocaust. Reminds me a bit of a Sean Stewart landscape. Great characters, though a little difficult to keep track of it at times. (Admittedly, for a fairly good reason) I will definitely read again.
Dark and violent, reminiscent of William Gibson - it's good, but I spent an awful lot of time feeling as though I just wasn't getting it. I suppose that's a hard line for an author to walk - introducing a new world, plunging you directly into the universe without a map, and letting it unfold for you, without making it so difficult that you can't follow.
I love Emma Bull and wish she wrote with more frequency. This was a revisit to an old friend and it doesn't disappoint. Good plot with interesting twists, though it gets a bit muddled toward the middle. Definitely still worth the read.
I've only recently discovered Emma Bull and her work, but I'm quickly making up for lost time. This book was hard to come by, especially in hardback format, but it was well worth the hunt.
While not as strong as War For The Oaks or Finder in terms of immediately grabbing your attention, Bull keeps the focus on intricate characters and relationships and before I knew it, I was half-way through the book without realizing it.
I've included one of the Amazon.com editorial reviews in the book descript...more
While not as strong as War For The Oaks or Finder in terms of immediately grabbing your attention, Bull keeps the focus on intricate characters and relationships and before I knew it, I was half-way through the book without realizing it.
I've included one of the Amazon.com editorial reviews in the book descript...more
I first encountered this book back in the nineties. It is a post apocalyptic science fantasy with a lot of interesting ideas and some great adventure. Bone Dance was reprinted last year into trade paperback format along with War for the Oaks (another favorite of mine).
It fits into both the science fiction and urban fantasy genres, and has a theme and concept that can be defined as “hoodoo punk.”
Read this review on Rena's Hub of Random on WordPress.
Read this review on Rena's Hub of Random on WordPress.
I love this book. Wonderfully dark vision of the future with characters you care about and feel for. This one goes in the "Wish I could write like this" catagory
I'm not entirely sure what I thought of this. It's the first of Bull's books I haven't loved, and it's also the first that was science fiction, though I don't think the two are related. I suppose it's that, while I wouldn't say it's more idea-centric or less character-centric than the others, I was more intellectually engaged than emotionally engaged and both are necessary if I'm going to love a book. Still, I liked it, and it had fun gender and identity issues, if they weren't explored as much...more
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Emma Bull is a science fiction and fantasy author whose best-known novel is War for the Oaks, one of the pioneering works of urban fantasy. She has participated in Terri Windling's Borderland shared universe, which is the setting of her 1994 novel Finder. She sang in the rock-funk band Cats Laughing, and both sang and played guitar in the folk duo The Flash Girls while living in Minneapolis, Minne...more
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“We're all born nameless, aren't we? And the name we end up with has only peripherally to do with our family tree.”
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“Nacemos solos en nuestra cabeza; vivimos solos allí; morimos solos. Los secretos, pues, a la tumba. Por un momento sentí deseos desesperados de no estar a solas...”
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