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The Necromancer Chronicles #2
The Bone Palace
Death is no stranger in the city of Erisén -- but some deaths attract more attention than others.
When a prostitute dies carrying a royal signet, Isyllt Iskaldur, necromancer and agent of the Crown, is called to investigate. Her search leads to desecrated tombs below the palace, and the lightless vaults of the vampiric vrykoloi deep beneath the city. But worse things than vampires are plotting in Erisén. . .
As a sorcerous plague sweeps the city and demons stalk the streets, Isyllt must decide who she's prepared to betray, before the city built on bones falls into blood and fire.
When a prostitute dies carrying a royal signet, Isyllt Iskaldur, necromancer and agent of the Crown, is called to investigate. Her search leads to desecrated tombs below the palace, and the lightless vaults of the vampiric vrykoloi deep beneath the city. But worse things than vampires are plotting in Erisén. . .
As a sorcerous plague sweeps the city and demons stalk the streets, Isyllt must decide who she's prepared to betray, before the city built on bones falls into blood and fire.
469 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
36 people are currently reading
1447 people want to read
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August 19, 2021
wow. so i just read mike's "i'm not even finished with the book yet but already i have lots of thoughts" review, and i realize i am out of my depth here. when did the bodice rippers club become so intellectual? i thought we were just reading books to make fun of *koff* i mean reading books we would not ordinarily read in order to determine their appeal factors for others.
but then we began a slow shift into the fantasy genre and now everyone's getting all smart. i did not sign up for intellectual discussions!! i signed up for giggling about "throbbing members"
hmmm...
maybe i was always the only one giggling while everyone else was contributing intellectual gems.
story of my life.
eh! mentioned in the group that she thought this wouldn't be a very good book for infrequent fantasy readers, but from where i am sitting, i have to disagree. after reading her review, she feels like she would have enjoyed this way back when, in the throes of her fantasy reading, but because she has read too much (and better) in the genre, this one left her flat. as someone who is pretty much brand-new to the genre, i don't have any background, the tropes aren't worn out to me; this is all new ground. and so i probably liked it more than people who have read extensively in the genre and may be picking up on stuff that may be derivative. if i read fantasy more exclusively, i many have found less to like.
because, yeah - i thought this was fun. i liked the names and the casual attitude towards magic and the outfits - if these characters were on project runway, i think it would be a great season. necromancer v. demon v. transgendered consort. oh, tim gunn would have his hands full.
but i am starting to enjoy my tentative dips into fantasy (and i know i have to dip into eh's box of generosity ♥) i like not knowing the rules because then i don't have any expectations. i never feel like "aha! i saw that coming!!" because fantasy can do whatever it wants, it can just casually toss in some vampires and body switching and what can you do?? you just keep reading because it's fantasy and anything goes! i mean, obviously it has to remain true to the built world, but magic is a pretty convenient deus ex machina for wrapping shit up.
but this doesn't feel lazy. she really managed to create a dense world here. there are a lot of details. i got confused a bit, which may have been because i didn't read the first book in the series, or it may be because i frequently get confused in crazy world-building scenarios with the magic and the different races and the unfamiliar politics. i'm not even solid on the history of the british monarchy, don't expect me to keep fake kings and queens in my head...
but it kept me engaged as a reader. of all the members of this bodice rippers group, i think i am the most tolerant of the books we have read. i haven't hated any of them, even when they weren't to my taste. some have been silly, some frivolous, some could have used some editing/sensitivity training, but they have been nice escapes from my otherwise intensely intellectual reading regimen. (insert implied snort here) this one is probably the best written of all the ones we have read, although i enjoyed world house more, for all its puppy-sloppiness.
ugh.
i'm sure elizabeth and ceridwen et al. will write more incisive reviews of this when they read it. if i were you, i would wait for those.
come to my blog!
but then we began a slow shift into the fantasy genre and now everyone's getting all smart. i did not sign up for intellectual discussions!! i signed up for giggling about "throbbing members"
hmmm...
maybe i was always the only one giggling while everyone else was contributing intellectual gems.
story of my life.
eh! mentioned in the group that she thought this wouldn't be a very good book for infrequent fantasy readers, but from where i am sitting, i have to disagree. after reading her review, she feels like she would have enjoyed this way back when, in the throes of her fantasy reading, but because she has read too much (and better) in the genre, this one left her flat. as someone who is pretty much brand-new to the genre, i don't have any background, the tropes aren't worn out to me; this is all new ground. and so i probably liked it more than people who have read extensively in the genre and may be picking up on stuff that may be derivative. if i read fantasy more exclusively, i many have found less to like.
because, yeah - i thought this was fun. i liked the names and the casual attitude towards magic and the outfits - if these characters were on project runway, i think it would be a great season. necromancer v. demon v. transgendered consort. oh, tim gunn would have his hands full.
but i am starting to enjoy my tentative dips into fantasy (and i know i have to dip into eh's box of generosity ♥) i like not knowing the rules because then i don't have any expectations. i never feel like "aha! i saw that coming!!" because fantasy can do whatever it wants, it can just casually toss in some vampires and body switching and what can you do?? you just keep reading because it's fantasy and anything goes! i mean, obviously it has to remain true to the built world, but magic is a pretty convenient deus ex machina for wrapping shit up.
but this doesn't feel lazy. she really managed to create a dense world here. there are a lot of details. i got confused a bit, which may have been because i didn't read the first book in the series, or it may be because i frequently get confused in crazy world-building scenarios with the magic and the different races and the unfamiliar politics. i'm not even solid on the history of the british monarchy, don't expect me to keep fake kings and queens in my head...
but it kept me engaged as a reader. of all the members of this bodice rippers group, i think i am the most tolerant of the books we have read. i haven't hated any of them, even when they weren't to my taste. some have been silly, some frivolous, some could have used some editing/sensitivity training, but they have been nice escapes from my otherwise intensely intellectual reading regimen. (insert implied snort here) this one is probably the best written of all the ones we have read, although i enjoyed world house more, for all its puppy-sloppiness.
ugh.
i'm sure elizabeth and ceridwen et al. will write more incisive reviews of this when they read it. if i were you, i would wait for those.
come to my blog! 
October 16, 2012
Downum's second book in her Necromancer series is okay. not bad. enjoyable. her virtues remain intact: determinedly gender-blind (mainly through the placing of women in traditionally male professions); pleasingly fluid and drama-free use of varying sexual orientations; a fascinating set of pyschic & entropic powers for our protagonist; and especially the continued use of almost-ambiguous villains with nearly-sympathetic motives. unfortunately, her flaws have intensified. an overuse of adjectives describing various scents and colors does not make the prose lush but instead rather repetitious. worse, Downum continues her regrettable interest in creating a world that i imagine she considers to be exotic but is instead intensely derivative of both fiction (Kushiel's Dart, A Game of Thrones, various novels by Tanith Lee and Elizabeth Hand) and our very own reality - the latter through the bizarre decision to use actual names and traits from actual cultures. if this world is intended to be an alternate or parallel to our world, then fine. but clearly this world is not intended to be a version of our world.
come on Downum...you have really got to come up with your own original names and your own unique cultures. surely this can't be that hard for a fantasist? otherwise, when i read names like 'Cahal' and 'Alexios', i'm not going to think of your world, i'm going to think of ireland and greece. is this generic muddiness really what you are striving for? it really distances me from the world you are building.
overall, this would be an often fun, inoffensive, but forgettable 2-star adventure...except for the splendid use of a trans character as the second major perspective in the novel. refreshing! ding ding ding ding, special bonus star awarded for originality and lack of condescension.
after perusing reviews of the novel, i fear there may be something of a misunderstanding when it comes to trans identity. perhaps because my work currently involves assessing the needs of the trans community, i suddenly have a vested interest in clarifying what may perhaps be mystifying to some. so i will just put this out there:
a person of trans identity is simply a person who feels that they are not the gender in which they were born. therefore, a person with a trans identity can be pre-op, post-op, have no interest in ops whatsoever, and may or may not have interest in dressing like the opposite gender (whatever that may entail). for example, if i feel i am a woman in a man's body, even if i have no interest in altering my junk or even dressing or talking 'like a woman' (again, whatever that may even entail)...then i am a trans-woman. simple as that.
come on Downum...you have really got to come up with your own original names and your own unique cultures. surely this can't be that hard for a fantasist? otherwise, when i read names like 'Cahal' and 'Alexios', i'm not going to think of your world, i'm going to think of ireland and greece. is this generic muddiness really what you are striving for? it really distances me from the world you are building.
overall, this would be an often fun, inoffensive, but forgettable 2-star adventure...except for the splendid use of a trans character as the second major perspective in the novel. refreshing! ding ding ding ding, special bonus star awarded for originality and lack of condescension.
after perusing reviews of the novel, i fear there may be something of a misunderstanding when it comes to trans identity. perhaps because my work currently involves assessing the needs of the trans community, i suddenly have a vested interest in clarifying what may perhaps be mystifying to some. so i will just put this out there:
a person of trans identity is simply a person who feels that they are not the gender in which they were born. therefore, a person with a trans identity can be pre-op, post-op, have no interest in ops whatsoever, and may or may not have interest in dressing like the opposite gender (whatever that may entail). for example, if i feel i am a woman in a man's body, even if i have no interest in altering my junk or even dressing or talking 'like a woman' (again, whatever that may even entail)...then i am a trans-woman. simple as that.
June 9, 2011
Rbrs #12
I would've loved this book back when I was still in my epic fantasy craze, when an eye-catching cover picture and a minimum 1.5" paperback thickness was all that was needed to earn my devotion. This series is like Melanie Rawn without the near-pornographic descriptions of clothing and appearance, or Jacqueline Carey (who provides a cover quote) without the S&M...huh, fantasy does seem to throw in lots of secks. Anyway, I might have drooled over this as much as I did for Rawn (Carey appeared about the time I was starting to want more from my reading without realizing it), all the magic-iness and intrigue. It's too late for me.
But in these comparisons to other epics, this is watered down. The characters weren't given much depth, even the main character and especially the bad guy (really? madness? and that's it?). The big conflict was small. The reveal, after all the shadowing, wasn't all that shocking. And what's with all the smells?
I did like that many of the strong characters are women, good and evil, like in the first book. A transexual (maybe? physically born a male but identifies as female?) has a major role. Odd, that the book describes her as being unusual and shunned but then showing a society that accepts her completely as she is. The book seemed to make an effort to cover all variations on relationships besides the male-female one. All of them, across genders and, um, spiritual states. Again, the main character's necromantic talent seems ho-hum.
I guess my biggest disappointment is...myself. I remember loving books like this. I recall long summer days of reading and barely eating or drinking or even moving, caught up in something that my not be written perfectly but still able to transport my little imagination. I know I would've enjoyed this and the reason I still dive into books like this with expectations is that I have these memories. When did I change? Why can't I recalibrate?
--------------------
All right, Rbrs-ers, we've lost our way. Although there are romantic elements, this isn't romance at all. I pinpoint Joel's membership as the source of our troubles, throwing all these fantasy books into the mix (I could go back and see who actually suggested it before throwing out an accusation, but that would require fairness and, and, justice or something...plus I think I could beat up Joel :o). I'm not campaigning for smut! Stand down, Elizabeth and Ceridwen, do NOT send me smut, thank you. Not that I want to risk another Skye O'Malley level of yucky, but I'm just saying my bodice is intact.
I would've loved this book back when I was still in my epic fantasy craze, when an eye-catching cover picture and a minimum 1.5" paperback thickness was all that was needed to earn my devotion. This series is like Melanie Rawn without the near-pornographic descriptions of clothing and appearance, or Jacqueline Carey (who provides a cover quote) without the S&M...huh, fantasy does seem to throw in lots of secks. Anyway, I might have drooled over this as much as I did for Rawn (Carey appeared about the time I was starting to want more from my reading without realizing it), all the magic-iness and intrigue. It's too late for me.
But in these comparisons to other epics, this is watered down. The characters weren't given much depth, even the main character and especially the bad guy (really? madness? and that's it?). The big conflict was small. The reveal, after all the shadowing, wasn't all that shocking. And what's with all the smells?
I did like that many of the strong characters are women, good and evil, like in the first book. A transexual (maybe? physically born a male but identifies as female?) has a major role. Odd, that the book describes her as being unusual and shunned but then showing a society that accepts her completely as she is. The book seemed to make an effort to cover all variations on relationships besides the male-female one. All of them, across genders and, um, spiritual states. Again, the main character's necromantic talent seems ho-hum.
I guess my biggest disappointment is...myself. I remember loving books like this. I recall long summer days of reading and barely eating or drinking or even moving, caught up in something that my not be written perfectly but still able to transport my little imagination. I know I would've enjoyed this and the reason I still dive into books like this with expectations is that I have these memories. When did I change? Why can't I recalibrate?
--------------------
All right, Rbrs-ers, we've lost our way. Although there are romantic elements, this isn't romance at all. I pinpoint Joel's membership as the source of our troubles, throwing all these fantasy books into the mix (I could go back and see who actually suggested it before throwing out an accusation, but that would require fairness and, and, justice or something...plus I think I could beat up Joel :o). I'm not campaigning for smut! Stand down, Elizabeth and Ceridwen, do NOT send me smut, thank you. Not that I want to risk another Skye O'Malley level of yucky, but I'm just saying my bodice is intact.
July 2, 2011
So I've read this book and I should review it especially since it's for a book club and all of that. I was thinking that I could just have my picture taken reading the book someplace and go the Promoted to Wife? route, but that would be super lame, and would start me down the road of half witty cookie-cutter formulaic reviews (and that "Better than the Mets", wasn't even my idea, the whole concept for that review was Karen's doing, all I did was type the words on the screen, and pretend to read the book at a Mets game (oh no! You mean you weren't really reading a romance novel at a sports game?)). Then I thought I could find some snazzy pictures that would be related to the book, but all I could think of to GIS was sexy necromancer, and I'm slightly scarred by what I saw. Seriously, some of you people out their with your anime and computer generated art work need to find some other fucking hobbies. I'm saying this as a 'friend', I've seen what becomes of 50 year old men who are a little too obsessed with fairies at work, and it's not pretty. You do not want to become like this person so it's best to leave this weird fantasy porn alone, it's not going to end well for you.
I enjoyed this book. I didn't love it, but it also didn't do too much to really annoy me. I think that the lack of depth to my fantasy knowledge allowed me to be more accepting of the book than readers of the genre might be. I was a little weirded out that just about every character seems to have had sex with every other character at some point in their collective back stories, and the weirded out feeling grew since I've finished the book and I now sort of see the novel was a piece of Buffy fan-fiction. Maybe it just shows the shallow end of the fantasy pool that I am acquainted with, but a lot that happens in this book all seems like it was modified from one of the not so great seasons of Buffy. I could just have so little to compare a novel like this to, that I'm just grasping at straws. I don't know. I could write a review here where I pin point the spots where I see over lap between the seminal television series and seminally drenched story in this book (bad, bad pun, I'm not even sure if it works as a pun, did I mention that my brain has stopped working lately? Really it has! It's not like my vocabulary was ever anything to rant and rave about, but lately it's shut down to the absolute minimum needed to get by. At the rate my communication skills are deteriorating I'm estimating that by the middle of August I will write my first review in all phonetic grunts and noises).
To sum up. It's very wrong and most likely will turn you into the middle aged creep obsessed with fairies if you are one of those people who gets their rocks off by looking at the type of stuff that my google image search for 'sexy necromancer' produced. The book has too much polymorphous fucking in it's backstory, and this led me to think that the book was what I imagine some fan fiction for Buffy to be like, but then on slightly deeper consideration, I decided the whole book is really just a mash up of Buffy, but I'm not going to stand too proudly by that idea because really I just might be making the obvious statement that all fantasy is filled with the same archetypes, and I just don't have the familiarity with them see them. But I like that in my view of things everything was created originally by Joss Whedon and anything I find similar to him must have been either done in tribute or be outright theft.
That was going to be my review, and then I realized I forgot something important. Magic! There is magic in this book, and I think magic is kind of neat but ultimately a stupid plot device. I think that all books that have magic in it should be required to state in a preamble (none of this afterword shit, this has to be right up front) exactly what magic can and can't do in the fantasy world the reader is about to enter, give a non-Stephen Hawkings layman overview of the physics involved, and explain things like 'regeneration' time for casting spells, what it takes out of a person to cast spells, what other worlds are like that are touched upon by casting spells and any other possible rules that will be needed to understand the dynamics of of the magic being involved. And then the writer has to stick to those rules. No cheating on plot by getting to tweak what magic can do when it suits you! This is a lot of work for a writer to do (writing a preamble that I would deem sufficient for the writer to be allowed to place magic in a book), but it's for the writers own good and will force them not to fart their way through the climax of a novel (or movie) by pulling some kind of nonsensical magic out of their asses when they have written themselves into a corner with no hope for escape (this does not apply to Joss Whedon, he is allowed to have any number of magical items that will just happen to show up when needed, no one else gets this exemption though).
Did that last piece of nonsense have to do with this book? Yes, yes it did. .
I enjoyed this book. I didn't love it, but it also didn't do too much to really annoy me. I think that the lack of depth to my fantasy knowledge allowed me to be more accepting of the book than readers of the genre might be. I was a little weirded out that just about every character seems to have had sex with every other character at some point in their collective back stories, and the weirded out feeling grew since I've finished the book and I now sort of see the novel was a piece of Buffy fan-fiction. Maybe it just shows the shallow end of the fantasy pool that I am acquainted with, but a lot that happens in this book all seems like it was modified from one of the not so great seasons of Buffy. I could just have so little to compare a novel like this to, that I'm just grasping at straws. I don't know. I could write a review here where I pin point the spots where I see over lap between the seminal television series and seminally drenched story in this book (bad, bad pun, I'm not even sure if it works as a pun, did I mention that my brain has stopped working lately? Really it has! It's not like my vocabulary was ever anything to rant and rave about, but lately it's shut down to the absolute minimum needed to get by. At the rate my communication skills are deteriorating I'm estimating that by the middle of August I will write my first review in all phonetic grunts and noises).
To sum up. It's very wrong and most likely will turn you into the middle aged creep obsessed with fairies if you are one of those people who gets their rocks off by looking at the type of stuff that my google image search for 'sexy necromancer' produced. The book has too much polymorphous fucking in it's backstory, and this led me to think that the book was what I imagine some fan fiction for Buffy to be like, but then on slightly deeper consideration, I decided the whole book is really just a mash up of Buffy, but I'm not going to stand too proudly by that idea because really I just might be making the obvious statement that all fantasy is filled with the same archetypes, and I just don't have the familiarity with them see them. But I like that in my view of things everything was created originally by Joss Whedon and anything I find similar to him must have been either done in tribute or be outright theft.
That was going to be my review, and then I realized I forgot something important. Magic! There is magic in this book, and I think magic is kind of neat but ultimately a stupid plot device. I think that all books that have magic in it should be required to state in a preamble (none of this afterword shit, this has to be right up front) exactly what magic can and can't do in the fantasy world the reader is about to enter, give a non-Stephen Hawkings layman overview of the physics involved, and explain things like 'regeneration' time for casting spells, what it takes out of a person to cast spells, what other worlds are like that are touched upon by casting spells and any other possible rules that will be needed to understand the dynamics of of the magic being involved. And then the writer has to stick to those rules. No cheating on plot by getting to tweak what magic can do when it suits you! This is a lot of work for a writer to do (writing a preamble that I would deem sufficient for the writer to be allowed to place magic in a book), but it's for the writers own good and will force them not to fart their way through the climax of a novel (or movie) by pulling some kind of nonsensical magic out of their asses when they have written themselves into a corner with no hope for escape (this does not apply to Joss Whedon, he is allowed to have any number of magical items that will just happen to show up when needed, no one else gets this exemption though).
Did that last piece of nonsense have to do with this book? Yes, yes it did. .
September 13, 2016
Plague and necromancers and transvestites and murder and magic and vampires and sex and bars and war and affairs and intrigue.
How can this be so boring?
I'm at page 96. Now she's adding a conspiracy! With demons! And a swish dude! Maybe now it will get more interesting!
Oh. No. It didn't get more interesting. I give up.
How can this be so boring?
I'm at page 96. Now she's adding a conspiracy! With demons! And a swish dude! Maybe now it will get more interesting!
Oh. No. It didn't get more interesting. I give up.
January 18, 2015
Fantasy Review Barn
The Empire Strikes Back. Toy Story 2. Road Warrior. No doubt most would recognize this pattern. Sometimes the second outing is just better than the first. That doesn’t mean there was something wrong with the original, it just got outclassed. This is something I rarely find in books though; the ‘middle book syndrome’ of lackluster filler is much more common in fantasy genre trilogies. Not this time though, The Bone Palace is the second book of The Necromancer Chronicles and is one of the best middle books I have ever read.
Better? It doesn’t really have to act as a middle book. How many times has someone told you about this great series they love but, oh ya, you gotta get though the first two books before it actually gets good? Despite being book two a new reader to the series could start with The Bone Palace and need no primer beyond the backstory provided within the current volume. As someone that enjoyed but wasn’t terribly enthusiastic about The Drowning City I would recommend this approach; one could always go backwards if they found themselves enjoying The Bone Palace as much as I did (kinda of a Machete Order kind of thing).
This is a book of escalating events, starting with a simple investigation of an unfortunate soul and growing into a fight for everything. The story follows two characters though their increasingly intertwined paths. Isyllt is the familiar face, the necromancer who stared in the first book is back in her home city. It is she who investigates why a royal signet is found on the body of a murdered woman. Her investigation will lead her through secrets of the whole city; both poor and powerful are caught in events to come. I enjoyed every page of her investigation, I really did. It is a woman named Savedra who is the star though. Concubine to the prince, she defies every expectation and trope. She is strong, uses her high born influence, and is as smart as they come. She is sympathetic and immediately likeable; her relationship with the princess of whom the tropes would dictate she despise turns into a beautiful portion of the story.
Transition into a quick note on vampires, then on to more important things. I get it, we are all a bit tired of vampires. Everyone has a unique version of them. But ignore your issues, pretend they haven’t overstayed their welcome because they truly are something else in this tale. Fringe dwellers forced to follow a treaty that keeps them from walking the streets openly, these are something different. (Ironically the closest vampires I can think of are those in Blade 2, another movie better than the first). They also sit nicely in the background of the story; important but never becoming the central focus. There is a minor dues ex machine moment that comes about because of their presence but it actually feels right in context.
Lately there has been a lot of talk about what should and shouldn’t be in a book, specifically relating to diversity of cast. The word that makes me grind my teeth is ‘quota,’ as if there is a spreadsheet of character types being forced on authors in order to make everyone happy. The Bone Palace is just another example that proves a story can have people, ALL the people, and be even better for it. It would pass any quota checklist put in front of it, and it feels completely natural to the world. No preaching, nothing feels forced (not that I have ever seen diversity that felt forced, but you know…), The Necromancer Chronicles is just set in a world with a different vibe. It is wonderful.
Specifically worth mentioning is the third gender, transgender individuals such as Savedra. That Savedra’s gender is not a secret despite her high profile makes this a different kind of tale. Later in the book we see another third gendered person who wasn’t born into such respected circumstances and his path is laid out a bit different by society. Whether the representation works is something I am hardly qualified to comment on. I was interested enough to look around and came up with a few very different viewpoints. But as a reader who wants to see something different (and hopes for a day where something like this is commonplace enough not to mention) I found it very effective.
With all that said I want to get back to what I loved about this book. Yes, I am impressed with the author’s willingness to build a society so different than the fantasy norm (if there is such a norm, perhaps fantasy stereotype would have been a better phrase). But more than that I loved the characters, enjoyed the story, and was riveted by the plot turns. Highly recommended.
5 Stars.
The Empire Strikes Back. Toy Story 2. Road Warrior. No doubt most would recognize this pattern. Sometimes the second outing is just better than the first. That doesn’t mean there was something wrong with the original, it just got outclassed. This is something I rarely find in books though; the ‘middle book syndrome’ of lackluster filler is much more common in fantasy genre trilogies. Not this time though, The Bone Palace is the second book of The Necromancer Chronicles and is one of the best middle books I have ever read.
Better? It doesn’t really have to act as a middle book. How many times has someone told you about this great series they love but, oh ya, you gotta get though the first two books before it actually gets good? Despite being book two a new reader to the series could start with The Bone Palace and need no primer beyond the backstory provided within the current volume. As someone that enjoyed but wasn’t terribly enthusiastic about The Drowning City I would recommend this approach; one could always go backwards if they found themselves enjoying The Bone Palace as much as I did (kinda of a Machete Order kind of thing).
This is a book of escalating events, starting with a simple investigation of an unfortunate soul and growing into a fight for everything. The story follows two characters though their increasingly intertwined paths. Isyllt is the familiar face, the necromancer who stared in the first book is back in her home city. It is she who investigates why a royal signet is found on the body of a murdered woman. Her investigation will lead her through secrets of the whole city; both poor and powerful are caught in events to come. I enjoyed every page of her investigation, I really did. It is a woman named Savedra who is the star though. Concubine to the prince, she defies every expectation and trope. She is strong, uses her high born influence, and is as smart as they come. She is sympathetic and immediately likeable; her relationship with the princess of whom the tropes would dictate she despise turns into a beautiful portion of the story.
Transition into a quick note on vampires, then on to more important things. I get it, we are all a bit tired of vampires. Everyone has a unique version of them. But ignore your issues, pretend they haven’t overstayed their welcome because they truly are something else in this tale. Fringe dwellers forced to follow a treaty that keeps them from walking the streets openly, these are something different. (Ironically the closest vampires I can think of are those in Blade 2, another movie better than the first). They also sit nicely in the background of the story; important but never becoming the central focus. There is a minor dues ex machine moment that comes about because of their presence but it actually feels right in context.
Lately there has been a lot of talk about what should and shouldn’t be in a book, specifically relating to diversity of cast. The word that makes me grind my teeth is ‘quota,’ as if there is a spreadsheet of character types being forced on authors in order to make everyone happy. The Bone Palace is just another example that proves a story can have people, ALL the people, and be even better for it. It would pass any quota checklist put in front of it, and it feels completely natural to the world. No preaching, nothing feels forced (not that I have ever seen diversity that felt forced, but you know…), The Necromancer Chronicles is just set in a world with a different vibe. It is wonderful.
Specifically worth mentioning is the third gender, transgender individuals such as Savedra. That Savedra’s gender is not a secret despite her high profile makes this a different kind of tale. Later in the book we see another third gendered person who wasn’t born into such respected circumstances and his path is laid out a bit different by society. Whether the representation works is something I am hardly qualified to comment on. I was interested enough to look around and came up with a few very different viewpoints. But as a reader who wants to see something different (and hopes for a day where something like this is commonplace enough not to mention) I found it very effective.
With all that said I want to get back to what I loved about this book. Yes, I am impressed with the author’s willingness to build a society so different than the fantasy norm (if there is such a norm, perhaps fantasy stereotype would have been a better phrase). But more than that I loved the characters, enjoyed the story, and was riveted by the plot turns. Highly recommended.
5 Stars.
April 15, 2014
This book has, I think, carved out a little piece of my soul.
This is partly because it caused me to have an epiphany that, even if it isn't particularly novel, was still needed. But it's mostly because of the characters.
They aren't Romantic heroes -- they take tumbles down passageways, and they get taken out by ignominous bumps on the head, and afterward they hurt for days or weeks, and that affects their moods and their abilities. Their lives are messy, and Isyllt admits "[I] had never set great store on honor -- it was transitory and subjective, and often directly opposed to practicality." But they live in a deeply Romantic world, where breaking an oath can literally cripple you, and the shadows are definitely filled with monsters. And so they love and they hate, they comfort and they hurt, they live and they die in epic fashion, every event a confluence of secret histories and dark magic and tangled politics.
They are exactly the sort of cast that should be the norm in fantasy, but is sadly rare: spanning three (human) races and a wider range of cultures, at least three generations, all social classes, quite a few sexual orientations (hetero-, homo-, and bisexual, plus polyamorous), the able-bodied and those with various disabilities, and three genders (male, female, and hijra, which includes androgynes, FTM, and MTF transgenders). Even the non-human race we see a decent amount of (the vampires) reflects this diversity. And while I'm sure that having more women than men as named characters was deliberate and pointed, for the most part this diversity is simply a reflection of how any city (including fantasy cities like Erisín) looks. It gives Downum's city a wonderfully organic feel, because it's clear that every person the viewpoint characters see has a history, a life outside the needs of the narrative.
And in this novel that wonderful, diverse, non-Romantic cast starts out investigating a couple of mysteries and ends up neck-deep in nefarious machinations against the kingdom -- a plot I always enjoy. The politics are delightfully twisty, and Downum makes it clear that the politics are always personal. There are no characters acting purely out of a lust for power or sheer evilness; all are doing what they think is right, based on the trauma in their past and their conflicting desires. It's not a perfect novel -- some readers will likely want more info about how the magic works, and I found some of the descriptions repetitive -- but right at the moment it feels like a great novel, one I will treasure.
This is partly because it caused me to have an epiphany that, even if it isn't particularly novel, was still needed. But it's mostly because of the characters.
They aren't Romantic heroes -- they take tumbles down passageways, and they get taken out by ignominous bumps on the head, and afterward they hurt for days or weeks, and that affects their moods and their abilities. Their lives are messy, and Isyllt admits "[I] had never set great store on honor -- it was transitory and subjective, and often directly opposed to practicality." But they live in a deeply Romantic world, where breaking an oath can literally cripple you, and the shadows are definitely filled with monsters. And so they love and they hate, they comfort and they hurt, they live and they die in epic fashion, every event a confluence of secret histories and dark magic and tangled politics.
They are exactly the sort of cast that should be the norm in fantasy, but is sadly rare: spanning three (human) races and a wider range of cultures, at least three generations, all social classes, quite a few sexual orientations (hetero-, homo-, and bisexual, plus polyamorous), the able-bodied and those with various disabilities, and three genders (male, female, and hijra, which includes androgynes, FTM, and MTF transgenders). Even the non-human race we see a decent amount of (the vampires) reflects this diversity. And while I'm sure that having more women than men as named characters was deliberate and pointed, for the most part this diversity is simply a reflection of how any city (including fantasy cities like Erisín) looks. It gives Downum's city a wonderfully organic feel, because it's clear that every person the viewpoint characters see has a history, a life outside the needs of the narrative.
And in this novel that wonderful, diverse, non-Romantic cast starts out investigating a couple of mysteries and ends up neck-deep in nefarious machinations against the kingdom -- a plot I always enjoy. The politics are delightfully twisty, and Downum makes it clear that the politics are always personal. There are no characters acting purely out of a lust for power or sheer evilness; all are doing what they think is right, based on the trauma in their past and their conflicting desires. It's not a perfect novel -- some readers will likely want more info about how the magic works, and I found some of the descriptions repetitive -- but right at the moment it feels like a great novel, one I will treasure.
July 18, 2011
After a little over a fortnight, I have made it half way through The Bone Palace, which means it's time to stop. There were potentially great things in here (like the transgendered Savedra) that never rose above the mundane; Amanda Downum's writing was passable but too repetitive in her descriptions for my taste; and I couldn't even bring myself to engage in the book discussion for which I was reading because I didn't want my boredom to become a bitter strain in the discussion (turns out that I'm not the only one, thanks Joel and C for nudging me into tossing the book aside). And all I really can share with you about my reading experience are the Top Ten Things That I Did to Avoid Reading This Book:
#10. Masturbate (Erika was on nights and then she was sick. What can I say?)
#9. Obsess over Arsenal's lack of transfers.
#8. Start a new blog.
#7. Listen to RoseAnna on my iPod while washing the never ending pile of dishes.
#6. Rush out to the eighth Harry Potter movie.
#5. Play a lot of cards with my kids.
#4. Sing the Love Boat Theme Song as I danced with Scoutie.
#3. Teach Bronte and Milos how to bat.
#2. Watch the Women's World Cup
#1. Read Battle for the Planet of the Apes
Exciting, no?
#10. Masturbate (Erika was on nights and then she was sick. What can I say?)
#9. Obsess over Arsenal's lack of transfers.
#8. Start a new blog.
#7. Listen to RoseAnna on my iPod while washing the never ending pile of dishes.
#6. Rush out to the eighth Harry Potter movie.
#5. Play a lot of cards with my kids.
#4. Sing the Love Boat Theme Song as I danced with Scoutie.
#3. Teach Bronte and Milos how to bat.
#2. Watch the Women's World Cup
#1. Read Battle for the Planet of the Apes
Exciting, no?
July 5, 2011
I didn't finish this book. I just want to point that out up top.
Prior to this year, I hadn't read a great deal of fantasy, and I think I am still getting my feet wet to some degree. Practically every series I read about has passionate defenders that insist it does things differently/subverts cliché/breaks new ground/provides a fresh take on old tropes. And suddenly, my to-read shelves are bulging.
But then I read the books, and they feel old hat, despite intriguing elements. In the case of The Bone Palace, the novel idea of a transgendered assassin is quickly undone by some vampiric villains (snore). The dirty city setting is sketchily drawn and rather uninspiring (but it appears the sewers rival those of Paris, if the first 200 pages are any indication).
I don't really think this is a bad book -- I even liked some of what I read -- but it didn't engage me at all. Starting a new fantasy series obviously always involves some heavy lifting, and this one didn't give me the motivation to struggle through. Ah well.
And I can't even blame the fact that I read it for a book club, since I was the one who nominated. Write a blog post telling me your fantasy or sci-fi book involves some interesting gender/queer theory, and I will probably read it. Give it awesome cover art, I might even buy it!
Apparently, though, I can't promise I will finish it.
Prior to this year, I hadn't read a great deal of fantasy, and I think I am still getting my feet wet to some degree. Practically every series I read about has passionate defenders that insist it does things differently/subverts cliché/breaks new ground/provides a fresh take on old tropes. And suddenly, my to-read shelves are bulging.
But then I read the books, and they feel old hat, despite intriguing elements. In the case of The Bone Palace, the novel idea of a transgendered assassin is quickly undone by some vampiric villains (snore). The dirty city setting is sketchily drawn and rather uninspiring (but it appears the sewers rival those of Paris, if the first 200 pages are any indication).
I don't really think this is a bad book -- I even liked some of what I read -- but it didn't engage me at all. Starting a new fantasy series obviously always involves some heavy lifting, and this one didn't give me the motivation to struggle through. Ah well.
And I can't even blame the fact that I read it for a book club, since I was the one who nominated. Write a blog post telling me your fantasy or sci-fi book involves some interesting gender/queer theory, and I will probably read it. Give it awesome cover art, I might even buy it!
Apparently, though, I can't promise I will finish it.
September 10, 2017
I enjoyed The Bone Palace more than the first book, The Drowning City. I think it was mostly because I got more interested in the characters, and thus got more interested in the plot for what it did to/with them. I got hooked pretty much as soon as the reader meets Sevedra: I love the fact that she's a transgendered person holding a significant position in court (the prince's mistress), that it's obviously reasonably well accepted in her world instead of people saying she isn't really a woman, that she and the prince and the prince's wife arrange something between them -- that it isn't a cut and dried case of a prince and his unwanted wife and his beloved mistress.
What does drive me absolutely crazy is the number of reviews misgendering Sevedra. Apparently the stigma is that strong that people can't even pick up on the fact that she's referred to as female throughout the book. She's not intersexed. She's not a transvestite. She is not a man. She is transgendered; hijra is the word used for it in the book.
Ahem. I'll climb down off my soapbox now. Anyway, Isyllt really wasn't the focus for me, as you might be able to tell. I think that worked better in this book, too, than in the first: the different points of view didn't fit together with an audible clunking noise, but blurred into each other. No jarring at all.
The story itself -- politics, possessions, fascinating history (the old palace, wow, I wanted to know more about that), personal histories between people (what's with Spider and Isyllt?), genre-crossing (Isyllt basically acts as a detective)... It came together very satisfyingly, for me. Will definitely get the next book, as soon as I can. (And buy copies of this one for a couple of friends who I know will appreciate it!)
What does drive me absolutely crazy is the number of reviews misgendering Sevedra. Apparently the stigma is that strong that people can't even pick up on the fact that she's referred to as female throughout the book. She's not intersexed. She's not a transvestite. She is not a man. She is transgendered; hijra is the word used for it in the book.
Ahem. I'll climb down off my soapbox now. Anyway, Isyllt really wasn't the focus for me, as you might be able to tell. I think that worked better in this book, too, than in the first: the different points of view didn't fit together with an audible clunking noise, but blurred into each other. No jarring at all.
The story itself -- politics, possessions, fascinating history (the old palace, wow, I wanted to know more about that), personal histories between people (what's with Spider and Isyllt?), genre-crossing (Isyllt basically acts as a detective)... It came together very satisfyingly, for me. Will definitely get the next book, as soon as I can. (And buy copies of this one for a couple of friends who I know will appreciate it!)
December 29, 2010
I have mixed feeling about this one. It's well conceived and is clearly of the fantasy genre. I would have enjoyed it more in hardcover or paperback so I could have referenced the glossary more easily than I was able to on the Kindle. The glossary is very important in order to understand the world and it's political in's and out's. None the less, I was not disappointed in the craftmanship of the story, the world building, the plot twist-and-turns, and/or the ending.
The biggest problem for me was that I did not care about these characters and there are so many of them. I am reminded of Jacquline Carey's ability to load on characters and political intrigue. Regretfully, I never got a sense of what these people looked like. Ms. Downun only described their skin hues and in some case, hair type, and one or two physical attributes like tall or muscular. I had no sense of anyone's age. The main character, Isyllt, could be 30 or 50. She is a necromancer, disfigured with seven fingers left after an attempt to steal her ring. She also has a hand print burnt on her wrist along with several other permanent injuries. None of this is explained to my satisfaction as it happened before the book begins. Isyllt works for the Crown and is trying to solve the murder of a prostitute that leads back to a past tradegy that threatens the kingdom. There are a host of other characters like Prince Nikos, his mistress Savedra, and his wife Ashlin -- this was a twisted triangle. Savedra was a charcter I could get behind although I didn't care if she lived or died. She was a woman trapped in a man's body, or 3rd sex as they called it. She was the stuff of heros and the best developed character of the book. There is also Isyllt's former mentor and lover, Kiril. He is the keeper of the secret that makes up the plot of the book. I never got a real sense of him other than he made some difficult decisions that resulted in everything that happened. Isyllt loved him and that never made much sense either.
There are no detailed sex scenes but if you like food, Ms. Downun describes it quite liberally. Despite the like of steamy detail, everybody is having sex whenever they want with whomever they want. It's not YA but more like PG-13. One of the things that did annoy me to no end was the constant aches and pains the characters suffered. It was distracting. They were constantly getting injured or sick. Isllyt and Kiril in paticular. That made it hard for me to get behind them. Heros should not be that easy to break.
All in all, if you are not a hardcore fan of fantasy, you will more than likely not like this book. If you are a fan of mystery, you will like the suspense but not the world building. If you need to care about the characters, I don't think you will find that here. If you have the patience and want to read a well crafted piece of fiction with a little lite humor and loads of death, I believe you will enjoy this book. If you like magic, there is just enough to get by on, not Dresden level, but there is some. Lastly, if you are a romantic -- skip it, it ain't for you.
The biggest problem for me was that I did not care about these characters and there are so many of them. I am reminded of Jacquline Carey's ability to load on characters and political intrigue. Regretfully, I never got a sense of what these people looked like. Ms. Downun only described their skin hues and in some case, hair type, and one or two physical attributes like tall or muscular. I had no sense of anyone's age. The main character, Isyllt, could be 30 or 50. She is a necromancer, disfigured with seven fingers left after an attempt to steal her ring. She also has a hand print burnt on her wrist along with several other permanent injuries. None of this is explained to my satisfaction as it happened before the book begins. Isyllt works for the Crown and is trying to solve the murder of a prostitute that leads back to a past tradegy that threatens the kingdom. There are a host of other characters like Prince Nikos, his mistress Savedra, and his wife Ashlin -- this was a twisted triangle. Savedra was a charcter I could get behind although I didn't care if she lived or died. She was a woman trapped in a man's body, or 3rd sex as they called it. She was the stuff of heros and the best developed character of the book. There is also Isyllt's former mentor and lover, Kiril. He is the keeper of the secret that makes up the plot of the book. I never got a real sense of him other than he made some difficult decisions that resulted in everything that happened. Isyllt loved him and that never made much sense either.
There are no detailed sex scenes but if you like food, Ms. Downun describes it quite liberally. Despite the like of steamy detail, everybody is having sex whenever they want with whomever they want. It's not YA but more like PG-13. One of the things that did annoy me to no end was the constant aches and pains the characters suffered. It was distracting. They were constantly getting injured or sick. Isllyt and Kiril in paticular. That made it hard for me to get behind them. Heros should not be that easy to break.
All in all, if you are not a hardcore fan of fantasy, you will more than likely not like this book. If you are a fan of mystery, you will like the suspense but not the world building. If you need to care about the characters, I don't think you will find that here. If you have the patience and want to read a well crafted piece of fiction with a little lite humor and loads of death, I believe you will enjoy this book. If you like magic, there is just enough to get by on, not Dresden level, but there is some. Lastly, if you are a romantic -- skip it, it ain't for you.
January 2, 2018
The Bone Palace is a better book than the first one, I think; more of the characters were compelling to me, and the magic all felt like it fit together better. Isyllt's magic didn't fit, somehow, with the world of river spirits and djinn, with the desert magic and the heat. Which makes sense: she's out of her own world there.
It's hard to glimpse whether there's a larger story behind the politics and magic -- it feels like there should be; there's plenty of history and geography underlying the world. But it's hard to tell where it's going. When I last read it, the third book wasn't out, so that might solve some of my questions. But the first two books together feel odd; not quite the same story, not even quite about the same characters. Isyllt's a main character in both, but Savedra steals this one entirely.
I love the magic, love the history, love Savedra. The only thing I'm not sure about is, again, some of the cultural stuff. For instance, Savedra is trans; the story uses the term hijra, which fits badly with the Russian-sounding words floating around, the Greek names, and which might not even fit with the actual concept of hijra in our world. I can imagine people being annoyed that hijra in Downum's world are mostly prostitutes, for example.
All the same, I love Savedra -- the complex relationship between her and Nikos and Ashlin, the fact that she's a royal concubine and she navigates that world so carefully and protects her loved ones, while not feeling brave or strong. She just does what she has to do, for Nikos and Ashlin, for her family. And it works. Isyllt and Kiril? I don't hate that relationship, but it just doesn't breathe for me like Vedra's life.
Reviewed for The Bibliophibian.
It's hard to glimpse whether there's a larger story behind the politics and magic -- it feels like there should be; there's plenty of history and geography underlying the world. But it's hard to tell where it's going. When I last read it, the third book wasn't out, so that might solve some of my questions. But the first two books together feel odd; not quite the same story, not even quite about the same characters. Isyllt's a main character in both, but Savedra steals this one entirely.
I love the magic, love the history, love Savedra. The only thing I'm not sure about is, again, some of the cultural stuff. For instance, Savedra is trans; the story uses the term hijra, which fits badly with the Russian-sounding words floating around, the Greek names, and which might not even fit with the actual concept of hijra in our world. I can imagine people being annoyed that hijra in Downum's world are mostly prostitutes, for example.
All the same, I love Savedra -- the complex relationship between her and Nikos and Ashlin, the fact that she's a royal concubine and she navigates that world so carefully and protects her loved ones, while not feeling brave or strong. She just does what she has to do, for Nikos and Ashlin, for her family. And it works. Isyllt and Kiril? I don't hate that relationship, but it just doesn't breathe for me like Vedra's life.
Reviewed for The Bibliophibian.
June 28, 2021
Isyllt Iskaldur, necromancer to the Crown, investigates a series of deaths and a possible conspiracy among the vampires who live semi-lawfully underground. Meanwhile, the crown prince's mistress and his wife team up to figure out how and why the entire nation forgot about a powerful haematurge who lived decades before.
I super duper love Savedra Severos, who was born the heir to her powerful noble family that formerly held the throne. She was raised to strive to overthrow the current royals, but instead Savedra fell in love with the prince and is now his officially recognized mistress. Now she uses all that training in charm, guile, and assassination techniques to protect the prince and his (politically arranged) wife, Princess Ashlin, from harm. Savedra is hijra, which in Selafai is a third gender that includes trans and nonbinary people. (She's also not the only hijra character, which I thought was a great choice by the writer--why force one character, especially such an exceptional one as Savedra, represent an entire minority?) This bring me to one of two things about the worldbuilding I love: sexism and heterosexism aren't present in Selafain society. Gender or sex has nothing to do with who inherits titles or has what job, and sexuality is more about what you find attractive than set identities.
The other thing I enjoyed about the worldbuilding was just that it's got all these great different factions that feel well thought out and like they have historical weight to them. Even the neighborhoods in the capital city of Erisin where this is set feel like I could step into them. I'm excited to read more in this series, but actually
I super duper love Savedra Severos, who was born the heir to her powerful noble family that formerly held the throne. She was raised to strive to overthrow the current royals, but instead Savedra fell in love with the prince and is now his officially recognized mistress. Now she uses all that training in charm, guile, and assassination techniques to protect the prince and his (politically arranged) wife, Princess Ashlin, from harm. Savedra is hijra, which in Selafai is a third gender that includes trans and nonbinary people. (She's also not the only hijra character, which I thought was a great choice by the writer--why force one character, especially such an exceptional one as Savedra, represent an entire minority?) This bring me to one of two things about the worldbuilding I love: sexism and heterosexism aren't present in Selafain society. Gender or sex has nothing to do with who inherits titles or has what job, and sexuality is more about what you find attractive than set identities.
The other thing I enjoyed about the worldbuilding was just that it's got all these great different factions that feel well thought out and like they have historical weight to them. Even the neighborhoods in the capital city of Erisin where this is set feel like I could step into them. I'm excited to read more in this series, but actually
February 8, 2011
This is the second book in a series, but I was able to read it despite not having refreshed my knowledge of the first book. In the first book, The Drowning City, we meet Isyllt Iskaldur, a necromancer in service to her country's crown, while she's on foreign assignment. The Bone Palace takes place two and a half years later, when Isyllt is called in by the capital city's guard to investigate a dead prostitute... who somehow had gotten a hold of one of the dead queen's ring, which should be buried with her. Considering that the king -- away with the army -- will go apeshit when he finds out someone's been looting his wife's tomb, the guard wisely ask for help finding out what's going on and Taking Care of It.
Of course, things are never that simple, are they? There are two other narrators -- one is Isyllt's mentor/former lover, Kiril who is neck deep in trouble of his own, and the personal reason Isyllt left town for Book 1, and the other is Savedra Severos, a noble's daughter and the Crown Prince's concubine, using her mother's spy network to protect the Crown Prince and Princess from trouble.
One thing I found interesting in Downum's world is the incorporation of GLBT folks. It's casually mentioned that Kiril has had both male and female lovers. While Isyllt is having breakfast with the (female) chief of the city's guards, she jokes that if the chief wasn't taken and Isylllt liked women, she'd get involved with her just for the food. There's also an opera attended -- officially to get a look at some of the conspirators against the crown -- featuring a tragic romance between two women, where the tragedy is more that one of them is a ghost-haunted widowed sorceress. In other words, aside from things such as noble inheritance, same-sex relationships are seen as a normal part of relationships.
Trans and intersex folks are stigmatized, though. One of the novel's subplots features the hirja (sp?), the third sex which encompasses what I'd call trans, genderqueer and intersex folks. A lot of them are recognized and often face stigma, so much so that many have banded together to make their own communities... which are often forced to turn to (legal) prostitution, since they figure people might as well pay for their curiosity. Saverda is a transwoman, and was lucky enough that her family didn't kick her out, but one of her subplots is her inability to marry the prince due to the inability of her to bear his heirs. There's the recognition that not only is she facing the personal demands of being in a body of the wrong sex in a setting where makeup and good clothing is all she can do about it, but also the fact her status as the prince's lover would last only as long as the princess permits it.
I do like how Saverda and Isyllt and Kiril's personal issues interweave with the political and supernatural plot in the book. Actually, the book does a lovely job in general interweaving the history and setting into the plot, so that things like an influx of refugees, or the regular patterns of sickness, or Saverda's family and their own affairs are relevant in the mystery. It also managed a 'antagonist POV' (not telling whose) without feeling false or betraying too much of the plot, and lacking the cackling madperson.
This is definitely a keeper.
Of course, things are never that simple, are they? There are two other narrators -- one is Isyllt's mentor/former lover, Kiril who is neck deep in trouble of his own, and the personal reason Isyllt left town for Book 1, and the other is Savedra Severos, a noble's daughter and the Crown Prince's concubine, using her mother's spy network to protect the Crown Prince and Princess from trouble.
One thing I found interesting in Downum's world is the incorporation of GLBT folks. It's casually mentioned that Kiril has had both male and female lovers. While Isyllt is having breakfast with the (female) chief of the city's guards, she jokes that if the chief wasn't taken and Isylllt liked women, she'd get involved with her just for the food. There's also an opera attended -- officially to get a look at some of the conspirators against the crown -- featuring a tragic romance between two women, where the tragedy is more that one of them is a ghost-haunted widowed sorceress. In other words, aside from things such as noble inheritance, same-sex relationships are seen as a normal part of relationships.
Trans and intersex folks are stigmatized, though. One of the novel's subplots features the hirja (sp?), the third sex which encompasses what I'd call trans, genderqueer and intersex folks. A lot of them are recognized and often face stigma, so much so that many have banded together to make their own communities... which are often forced to turn to (legal) prostitution, since they figure people might as well pay for their curiosity. Saverda is a transwoman, and was lucky enough that her family didn't kick her out, but one of her subplots is her inability to marry the prince due to the inability of her to bear his heirs. There's the recognition that not only is she facing the personal demands of being in a body of the wrong sex in a setting where makeup and good clothing is all she can do about it, but also the fact her status as the prince's lover would last only as long as the princess permits it.
I do like how Saverda and Isyllt and Kiril's personal issues interweave with the political and supernatural plot in the book. Actually, the book does a lovely job in general interweaving the history and setting into the plot, so that things like an influx of refugees, or the regular patterns of sickness, or Saverda's family and their own affairs are relevant in the mystery. It also managed a 'antagonist POV' (not telling whose) without feeling false or betraying too much of the plot, and lacking the cackling madperson.
This is definitely a keeper.
January 23, 2017
Not waving, but drowning again.
The mostly unflappable Isyllt Iskaldur has returned home to resume her service as necromancer/investigator for the crown. When a courtesan is found dead with a royal ring on her person, Isyllt is called in to solve the mystery. What she finds leads both deep down under the city and far back into the past, as the royal family's secrets are laid bare and, for some, resolved...fatally.
Damn. See also, wow. Downum has done it again. Erisin is just as deadly as implied in book one, "The Drowning City," when Isyllt's capers took her away from home. The point of view shifts more often this time: chapters unfold through the eyes of Savedra, the king's mistress, and Kirill, Isyllt's mage master and former lover. Speaking of love, it seems to be at the root of almost everything, from the vampire plot to take over the city to one very upset demon's plans for personal revenge. And this series is a polyamorous LBTGQ+ person of color's paradise, with people of many orientations and skin tones loving in various combinations, with compersion rather than jealousy being the order of the day. Erisin's definitely deadly, but it's also pretty broad-minded without it being a big deal: a true fantasy world, if you will.
You don't need to have read "The Drowning City" to appreciate this, but it helps. Downum's style is ornate without being fussy, and the Swinburne quote that opens the book is a taste of the gothic aura you'll get here, especially when it comes to love and loss. Recommended for all the darklings you know, and anyone else who loves dark fantasy, especially where the series has been popular.
The mostly unflappable Isyllt Iskaldur has returned home to resume her service as necromancer/investigator for the crown. When a courtesan is found dead with a royal ring on her person, Isyllt is called in to solve the mystery. What she finds leads both deep down under the city and far back into the past, as the royal family's secrets are laid bare and, for some, resolved...fatally.
Damn. See also, wow. Downum has done it again. Erisin is just as deadly as implied in book one, "The Drowning City," when Isyllt's capers took her away from home. The point of view shifts more often this time: chapters unfold through the eyes of Savedra, the king's mistress, and Kirill, Isyllt's mage master and former lover. Speaking of love, it seems to be at the root of almost everything, from the vampire plot to take over the city to one very upset demon's plans for personal revenge. And this series is a polyamorous LBTGQ+ person of color's paradise, with people of many orientations and skin tones loving in various combinations, with compersion rather than jealousy being the order of the day. Erisin's definitely deadly, but it's also pretty broad-minded without it being a big deal: a true fantasy world, if you will.
You don't need to have read "The Drowning City" to appreciate this, but it helps. Downum's style is ornate without being fussy, and the Swinburne quote that opens the book is a taste of the gothic aura you'll get here, especially when it comes to love and loss. Recommended for all the darklings you know, and anyone else who loves dark fantasy, especially where the series has been popular.
August 27, 2015
Book 1 was meh, I would not have read more if I hadn't had book 2 (and 3). And good thing cos book 2 was nothing like book 1. Book 1 was all confusing, characters getting thrown in, not knowing who was talking while here everything fell into place.
I guess first that I should applaud that she had females in male parts, captain of the guard, royal investigator. A woman born into the body of a man and treated as a woman. Eh whatever. I know I am supposed to be all, good! But I care about the story, you can do a thousand fun things if you want but it the story is no good then no one cares. Of course here the story was good. So for those who wants the whole revolution then read this.
Ok back to the story. Issylt is investigating the death of a prostitute. We get to see vampires, more ghosts and a conspiracy. I did not care for cent for her in book 1, here I cared, and wanted her to make it.
The other big Pov is that of the androgynous X (I forget the name and is to lazy to check, Sevadra..Vedra? She is the official mistress the the prince. He would totally marry her too, but you know, she can not bear children. Her organs are all male. Anyway, she likes his wife (aye she was cool). And Vedra does some investigating of her own when lives are threaten.
Such a different book than book 1. Good characters, an interesting story. An interesting town. I look forward to book 3 all the sudden.
I guess first that I should applaud that she had females in male parts, captain of the guard, royal investigator. A woman born into the body of a man and treated as a woman. Eh whatever. I know I am supposed to be all, good! But I care about the story, you can do a thousand fun things if you want but it the story is no good then no one cares. Of course here the story was good. So for those who wants the whole revolution then read this.
Ok back to the story. Issylt is investigating the death of a prostitute. We get to see vampires, more ghosts and a conspiracy. I did not care for cent for her in book 1, here I cared, and wanted her to make it.
The other big Pov is that of the androgynous X (I forget the name and is to lazy to check, Sevadra..Vedra? She is the official mistress the the prince. He would totally marry her too, but you know, she can not bear children. Her organs are all male. Anyway, she likes his wife (aye she was cool). And Vedra does some investigating of her own when lives are threaten.
Such a different book than book 1. Good characters, an interesting story. An interesting town. I look forward to book 3 all the sudden.
January 27, 2015
A bit of a slog, even without the politically correct cheerleading. Melissa Scott is a much better example of how to do this.
I LOVED The Drowning City. A kick ass heroine who the author wasn't afraid to handle roughly. That's how you make a point. I'm not cool with didactic fiction whether it's John Ringo's global warming denial or Amanda Downum's queer cheerleading. Entertain me, don't preach at me.
The Bone Palace's points are made to make a point and it distracts from the narrative. Having peeked at the author's blog I have no doubt this was intentional.
Honestly, though, the repeated elaborate descriptions of clothes and perfume are WAY more irritating. Downum seriously needs to dial the details knob back about a quarter. Maybe she could put that energy into coming up with character motivations better than "against my better judgement" and "couldn't help myself."
The climax relies on narrative conveniences. They were set up earlier in the story, so they're not really deus ex machina. They're hardly integral to the plot, so it's still a bit of cheap craft. All in all a disappointing outing and makes me not eager to move onto Kingdoms of Dust.
I LOVED The Drowning City. A kick ass heroine who the author wasn't afraid to handle roughly. That's how you make a point. I'm not cool with didactic fiction whether it's John Ringo's global warming denial or Amanda Downum's queer cheerleading. Entertain me, don't preach at me.
The Bone Palace's points are made to make a point and it distracts from the narrative. Having peeked at the author's blog I have no doubt this was intentional.
Honestly, though, the repeated elaborate descriptions of clothes and perfume are WAY more irritating. Downum seriously needs to dial the details knob back about a quarter. Maybe she could put that energy into coming up with character motivations better than "against my better judgement" and "couldn't help myself."
The climax relies on narrative conveniences. They were set up earlier in the story, so they're not really deus ex machina. They're hardly integral to the plot, so it's still a bit of cheap craft. All in all a disappointing outing and makes me not eager to move onto Kingdoms of Dust.
October 3, 2013
Really quite good. We rejoin Isyllt Iskaldur, necromancer and government agent, a few years after the events of The Drowning City. She's back home in Erisin, which feels vaguely Byzantine, still working as an agent for the crown, although more as an investigator of unusual events rather than an instigator of armed rebellion ... Joining her this time are an entirely new cast of characters including the Crown Prince, his wife, his mistress (it's ... complicated) and some people who I believe only appeared off-stage or in brief cameos in the first book.
As mentioned, this time she's not trying to destabilize the realm -- that's other folks' job; Isyllt, in the course of her investigations, will have to try to stop them.
More interesting world-building, more well-drawn characters who occasionally make less-than-optimal choices, more magic, more skullduggery -- pretty much everything I was hoping for.
As mentioned, this time she's not trying to destabilize the realm -- that's other folks' job; Isyllt, in the course of her investigations, will have to try to stop them.
More interesting world-building, more well-drawn characters who occasionally make less-than-optimal choices, more magic, more skullduggery -- pretty much everything I was hoping for.
December 20, 2010
More than delivered on the previous book. Transgendered heroine! Highpowered steamy love triangle! Hand to hand combat in the sewers! Dangerous abandoned ruins! Doomed love! This book had it all. Some of the best secondary characters ever. Savedra was fricken awesome and I'm almost sad that the series will continue to follow Isult instead of her. It's still a bit tricky to my a necromancer a sympathetic main character but the author did a better job of it this go around. I can't wait for the next one. On my insta buy on release author list.
January 8, 2012
This novel is set about three years after the first volume, but the plot is self-contained, and enough is explained about the past to be able to read this one without having read the first one.
Plot summary from the author's site: (with some additions by me)
The city of Erisín is built on bones, named for the saint of the underworld--death is no stranger in its walls. But some deaths attract more attention than others.
When a prostitute dies carrying a royal signet, Isyllt Iskaldur, necromancer and agent of the Crown, is called to investigate. Her search leads to desecrated tombs below the palace, and the lightless vaults of the vampiric vrykoloi deep beneath the city. She and the Crown Prince must hide their investigation from the King, or risk a war between the living and the undead. (not because the king specifically hates vampires, but because he wouldn't be so thrilled to find out that they robbed the crypt of his beloved wife)
But worse things than vampires are plotting in Erisín--a long-dead sorceress is making a bid not only for renewed life, but for the throne as well, and both Isyllt's former lover and the Prince's mistress ( one of them willingly, the other rather less so) are caught in her schemes. Soon Isyllt is torn between the living and the dead, between the man she still loves and the royal family she's sworn to defend.
As a sorcerous plague sweeps the city and demons stalk the streets, the King slips closer to madness, and Isyllt must decide who she's prepared to betray, before the city built on bones falls in blood and fire.
I really liked this one. Despite having vampires and assorted sex scenes (sometimes with the former), it is very much not a romance novel but rather a supernatural murder mystery.
The vampires are refreshingly not young and sexy but spirits inhabiting dead bodies, and thus look a bit mummified. The very old ones sparkle a bit though...
Sexual liberation seems to be the big thing in Erisin. Out of all the named characters described as being in relationships (and there are many), only 4 are heterosexual. One might almost wonder how Erisin sustains its population that way. I hope I get this across right...I don't mind homosexual relationships in fiction or real life, but of the author rather specifically draws attenion to the fact that such and such's partner is of the same sex, what does she want to tell me? Emphasise that this society (and herself?) is oh so modern? I thought that was a bit superfluous.
A more interesting element of sexual liberation are the transsexuals/transgendered. They live on the margin between being venerated and shunned, and survive through a kind of temple prostitution. All sexually ambiguous youths are supposed to join this cult when they are 16, and basically live as mystified whores. A notable exception is the crown-prince's mistress Savedra who is apparently biologically male, who is spared this fate by being a scion of one of the 8 ruling noble houses of Erisin.
At least, Savedra has the full male equipment and is able to father children. And as the crown-prince, the crown-princess (upon whom said child is fathered, which isn't so bad because the crown-prince seems to be pretty much barren) and Savedra all love eachother very much, many happy threesomes can be foreseen there. :)
Apart from all the weird sex, the main themes here are love and all the tragic things that happen if it goes wrong, mainly vengeance (justified, but terrible and heartbreaking) stretched out over a couple of generations, sought by a couple of characters.
Isyllt, in true Harry Dresden style, still pushes herself extremely hard in the pursuit of her investigation, and seems to have to run off in the middle of, or just before pretty much every meal she has in this novel. I don't think she every gets a good night's sleep either. There's a bit of lampshade hanging there, when she contemplates her rather skeletal appearance in the mirror and muses that nobody expects a necromancer to look rosy and healthy anyway.
I really like the worldbuilding, of a society where magic and alchemy replace technology in pretty much every regard, and ghosts and spirits are real and can be very dangerous. Mirrors are to be kept covered as much as possible, because they are a conduit for ghosts and demons to come into the mortal world.
In the last book, I had a nitpick about the reader being dumped into a world full of strange languages, societies and creatures without a words of explanation. This is handled better in the second volume (or I got the necessary background from the first one, but it is all rather more straightforward).
in general, 8/10
Plot summary from the author's site: (with some additions by me)
The city of Erisín is built on bones, named for the saint of the underworld--death is no stranger in its walls. But some deaths attract more attention than others.
When a prostitute dies carrying a royal signet, Isyllt Iskaldur, necromancer and agent of the Crown, is called to investigate. Her search leads to desecrated tombs below the palace, and the lightless vaults of the vampiric vrykoloi deep beneath the city. She and the Crown Prince must hide their investigation from the King, or risk a war between the living and the undead. (not because the king specifically hates vampires, but because he wouldn't be so thrilled to find out that they robbed the crypt of his beloved wife)
But worse things than vampires are plotting in Erisín--a long-dead sorceress is making a bid not only for renewed life, but for the throne as well, and both Isyllt's former lover and the Prince's mistress ( one of them willingly, the other rather less so) are caught in her schemes. Soon Isyllt is torn between the living and the dead, between the man she still loves and the royal family she's sworn to defend.
As a sorcerous plague sweeps the city and demons stalk the streets, the King slips closer to madness, and Isyllt must decide who she's prepared to betray, before the city built on bones falls in blood and fire.
I really liked this one. Despite having vampires and assorted sex scenes (sometimes with the former), it is very much not a romance novel but rather a supernatural murder mystery.
The vampires are refreshingly not young and sexy but spirits inhabiting dead bodies, and thus look a bit mummified. The very old ones sparkle a bit though...
Sexual liberation seems to be the big thing in Erisin. Out of all the named characters described as being in relationships (and there are many), only 4 are heterosexual. One might almost wonder how Erisin sustains its population that way. I hope I get this across right...I don't mind homosexual relationships in fiction or real life, but of the author rather specifically draws attenion to the fact that such and such's partner is of the same sex, what does she want to tell me? Emphasise that this society (and herself?) is oh so modern? I thought that was a bit superfluous.
A more interesting element of sexual liberation are the transsexuals/transgendered. They live on the margin between being venerated and shunned, and survive through a kind of temple prostitution. All sexually ambiguous youths are supposed to join this cult when they are 16, and basically live as mystified whores. A notable exception is the crown-prince's mistress Savedra who is apparently biologically male, who is spared this fate by being a scion of one of the 8 ruling noble houses of Erisin.
At least, Savedra has the full male equipment and is able to father children. And as the crown-prince, the crown-princess (upon whom said child is fathered, which isn't so bad because the crown-prince seems to be pretty much barren) and Savedra all love eachother very much, many happy threesomes can be foreseen there. :)
Apart from all the weird sex, the main themes here are love and all the tragic things that happen if it goes wrong, mainly vengeance (justified, but terrible and heartbreaking) stretched out over a couple of generations, sought by a couple of characters.
Isyllt, in true Harry Dresden style, still pushes herself extremely hard in the pursuit of her investigation, and seems to have to run off in the middle of, or just before pretty much every meal she has in this novel. I don't think she every gets a good night's sleep either. There's a bit of lampshade hanging there, when she contemplates her rather skeletal appearance in the mirror and muses that nobody expects a necromancer to look rosy and healthy anyway.
I really like the worldbuilding, of a society where magic and alchemy replace technology in pretty much every regard, and ghosts and spirits are real and can be very dangerous. Mirrors are to be kept covered as much as possible, because they are a conduit for ghosts and demons to come into the mortal world.
In the last book, I had a nitpick about the reader being dumped into a world full of strange languages, societies and creatures without a words of explanation. This is handled better in the second volume (or I got the necessary background from the first one, but it is all rather more straightforward).
in general, 8/10
March 20, 2015
This is the second book in the series. When Borders was going through its death throes, I picked up a bunch of books on discount. This one among them, and at the time I did not realize it was not a standalone story. I ran across it on my bookshelf recently and looked up the first book, intending to purchase it and read it first. The reviews for the first book were not all that hot, but for "The Bone Palace" many stars were to be had. I decided to skip book one and jump into two. I'm glad I did.
I'm sure that someone reading the first book had a bit more knowledge about things like time and slang, but for the most part I did not have trouble stepping into Ms. Downnum's world. The book essentially has two main characters, or a main and a strong secondary, if you like.
Isyllt is a necromancer in employ of the crown as an investigator. While people find necromancers disconcerting, they're generally not power mad magic users in search of immortality via lichhood as portrayed in many books. Quite a lot of them are bureaucrats or academics.
The secondary character is Savedra, the crown prince's mistress, and protector of his wife. While Isyllt investigates crimes that have already happened, Savedra works to keep assassins from taking out the foreign born princess.
There are a few things that stood out for me on this book. One, the city and culture are well developed, and Ms. Downum makes good use of ethnic tensions to help create a volatile backdrop for the story's events. Two, the story is very heavy on female characters, from major to minor. A few weren't born female (like Savedra), but live their lives as the soul within their body dictates. All of them, however, regardless of role in the story, stand out as individuals. Third, the mystery is well crafted and the two story lines eventually merge in a logical manner, bringing the key players together to work at putting a stop to the looming conspiracy.
One negative for me was the presence of vampires in the story. Fantasy and YA are so over saturated with vampires, I considered putting the book down when I saw they were part of the plot. I'm glad I persevered, but I would have been happier if some lesser used monster had been trotted out. On a positive note, they didn't sparkle and for the most part sounded fairly repulsive (though they possess a glamour which keeps them from horrifying everyone they meet).
The story ended in a satisfactory manner, with actions resulting in real consequences, not all of them happy. It also provided a decent segue for the next book, which I shall be adding to my 'to read' list.
I'm sure that someone reading the first book had a bit more knowledge about things like time and slang, but for the most part I did not have trouble stepping into Ms. Downnum's world. The book essentially has two main characters, or a main and a strong secondary, if you like.
Isyllt is a necromancer in employ of the crown as an investigator. While people find necromancers disconcerting, they're generally not power mad magic users in search of immortality via lichhood as portrayed in many books. Quite a lot of them are bureaucrats or academics.
The secondary character is Savedra, the crown prince's mistress, and protector of his wife. While Isyllt investigates crimes that have already happened, Savedra works to keep assassins from taking out the foreign born princess.
There are a few things that stood out for me on this book. One, the city and culture are well developed, and Ms. Downum makes good use of ethnic tensions to help create a volatile backdrop for the story's events. Two, the story is very heavy on female characters, from major to minor. A few weren't born female (like Savedra), but live their lives as the soul within their body dictates. All of them, however, regardless of role in the story, stand out as individuals. Third, the mystery is well crafted and the two story lines eventually merge in a logical manner, bringing the key players together to work at putting a stop to the looming conspiracy.
One negative for me was the presence of vampires in the story. Fantasy and YA are so over saturated with vampires, I considered putting the book down when I saw they were part of the plot. I'm glad I persevered, but I would have been happier if some lesser used monster had been trotted out. On a positive note, they didn't sparkle and for the most part sounded fairly repulsive (though they possess a glamour which keeps them from horrifying everyone they meet).
The story ended in a satisfactory manner, with actions resulting in real consequences, not all of them happy. It also provided a decent segue for the next book, which I shall be adding to my 'to read' list.
June 13, 2011
Although it's the second in a series, The Bone Palace stands alone quite well. It’s a dark, political, high fantasy mystery told from two perspectives: Crown Investigator and necromancer Isyllt Iskaldur; and the crown prince’s mistress, Savedra Severos.
A prostitute has turned up dead, her throat slit. Sad, but hardly uncommon. The only thing that draws this to Isyllt’s attention is that she was found carrying a royal treasure, and the scandal needs to be resolved before word can reach the king. The investigation leads Isyllt into the deep underground to the vrykoloi, vampiric demons, and into an odd partnership with the vrykolos Spider. She knows it’s a bad idea, but bad ideas seem to be her stock in trade, lately.
Savedra, for her part, is deliriously in love with Prince Nikos, and surprisingly fond of his wife, Ashlin, even going so far as to serve as confidante and bodyguard—much to the warrior princess’ dismay. Being intimately tied to the crown as she is, while Isyllt roams the streets and tunnels of the city, Vedra investigates the twisty politics of the nobles, including those of her own family. Neither of them could anticipate the betrayals revealed when they uncover both buried history and an enraged demon out for blood.
Both books in the series (and, presumably, the forthcoming sequel, The Kingdoms of Dust) are marked by intensive world-building, political machinations, and strong female characters. This is a book for the people who get a bit tired of the testosterone of George R. R. Martin and don’t feel like the romantic bent of Kim Harrison.
For the non-copypasta'd part of the review, I want to gush lovingly about Downum's treatment of sex. Specifically, how it's just sex. It's a pleasurable activity between friends, and sometimes a drunken mistake, but there's nothing shameful about the activity. There's no visible backlack against orientation, either, with people being happily bisexual without reproach, or mildly lamenting that they aren't. (Isyllt wishing she were into women because her friend was otherwise perfect made me laugh, if only because she acknowledges that she's not even remotely her friend's type.) The relationship between Vedra, Ashlin, and Nikos fills me with angsty glee, and I wish there were more of that around. All in all, a fantastic novel. I eagerly await the next one.
A prostitute has turned up dead, her throat slit. Sad, but hardly uncommon. The only thing that draws this to Isyllt’s attention is that she was found carrying a royal treasure, and the scandal needs to be resolved before word can reach the king. The investigation leads Isyllt into the deep underground to the vrykoloi, vampiric demons, and into an odd partnership with the vrykolos Spider. She knows it’s a bad idea, but bad ideas seem to be her stock in trade, lately.
Savedra, for her part, is deliriously in love with Prince Nikos, and surprisingly fond of his wife, Ashlin, even going so far as to serve as confidante and bodyguard—much to the warrior princess’ dismay. Being intimately tied to the crown as she is, while Isyllt roams the streets and tunnels of the city, Vedra investigates the twisty politics of the nobles, including those of her own family. Neither of them could anticipate the betrayals revealed when they uncover both buried history and an enraged demon out for blood.
Both books in the series (and, presumably, the forthcoming sequel, The Kingdoms of Dust) are marked by intensive world-building, political machinations, and strong female characters. This is a book for the people who get a bit tired of the testosterone of George R. R. Martin and don’t feel like the romantic bent of Kim Harrison.
For the non-copypasta'd part of the review, I want to gush lovingly about Downum's treatment of sex. Specifically, how it's just sex. It's a pleasurable activity between friends, and sometimes a drunken mistake, but there's nothing shameful about the activity. There's no visible backlack against orientation, either, with people being happily bisexual without reproach, or mildly lamenting that they aren't. (Isyllt wishing she were into women because her friend was otherwise perfect made me laugh, if only because she acknowledges that she's not even remotely her friend's type.) The relationship between Vedra, Ashlin, and Nikos fills me with angsty glee, and I wish there were more of that around. All in all, a fantastic novel. I eagerly await the next one.
September 11, 2012
I enjoyed the first of these (The Drowning City) but didn't find it amazing. The Bone Palace, however, built on the introduction of the main character and just took off. The pace was excellent, and the writing just sang in a way the first one never quite managed for me. Ms Downum's phrasing is rich, varied and replete with sensorial detail, even if she occasionally overuses a word or two. For instance, "conflagrant" is such a stand-out word that it can probably only be supported once a book, especially if you're burning through the pages as fast as this tight-plotted and splendidly turned-out book almost demanded.
I particularly loved the "third gender" (as trans-gender people of all kinds are referred to in the world of the books) characters in this story. Savedra is an amazing, complex, sympathetic, understandable character, who is introduced and developed with deftness and sensitivity. She is also privileged, and well aware of her privilege - which makes her a nice contrast with the general perception/treatment of androgynes, a specific example of which is also introduced with deftness and sensitivity later in the book.
All of which turns the book incidentally into an excellent consideration of the element of gender in the struggle for identity (nicely supported by cisgender characters with non-real-world-traditional senses of their gender) AND a consideration of privilege. I say incidentally, because it never gets anywhere near preaching on this, but does all of it in the background of a rollicking fantasy urban adventure.
And for that, fuck it, I'm giving the book fives stars, because while it's not perfect, it's an amazing achievement, and a damn good read.
I particularly loved the "third gender" (as trans-gender people of all kinds are referred to in the world of the books) characters in this story. Savedra is an amazing, complex, sympathetic, understandable character, who is introduced and developed with deftness and sensitivity. She is also privileged, and well aware of her privilege - which makes her a nice contrast with the general perception/treatment of androgynes, a specific example of which is also introduced with deftness and sensitivity later in the book.
All of which turns the book incidentally into an excellent consideration of the element of gender in the struggle for identity (nicely supported by cisgender characters with non-real-world-traditional senses of their gender) AND a consideration of privilege. I say incidentally, because it never gets anywhere near preaching on this, but does all of it in the background of a rollicking fantasy urban adventure.
And for that, fuck it, I'm giving the book fives stars, because while it's not perfect, it's an amazing achievement, and a damn good read.
April 21, 2015
I don’t often have a sense of loss after finishing fiction—I shelve the world and move on to another. After reading this and its prequel I wandered around with the unsettling feeling that some large and well-written component of my life had disappeared.
The magic is complex and well-thought-out, the politics are dense and entertaining, and the cultures are analogous to the real world but dissimilar enough that it doesn’t feel lazy. Some surprising subcultures and customs make appearances, most notably the hijra, whom Downum portrays with care and grace.
Her sentence-level writing can be a little melodramatic, but she pays close attention to sensory experiences and has incredible skill in invoking them: the flavor of pastry, the chaos of a riot, the dankness of a vampire’s lair, the scent of a demoness’s perfume.
That, by the way, is an inside joke that I don’t want to spoil, but I’ll say that it’s possible to purchase the blend in question. I got a sample and learned that cinnamon perfume 1) smells like Red Hots and 2) will actually burn your skin. Presumably the demoness is unfamiliar with the former and immune to the latter.
I’m really looking forward to the third novel in this series, in part because it will provide an excuse to reread these two books.
The magic is complex and well-thought-out, the politics are dense and entertaining, and the cultures are analogous to the real world but dissimilar enough that it doesn’t feel lazy. Some surprising subcultures and customs make appearances, most notably the hijra, whom Downum portrays with care and grace.
Her sentence-level writing can be a little melodramatic, but she pays close attention to sensory experiences and has incredible skill in invoking them: the flavor of pastry, the chaos of a riot, the dankness of a vampire’s lair, the scent of a demoness’s perfume.
That, by the way, is an inside joke that I don’t want to spoil, but I’ll say that it’s possible to purchase the blend in question. I got a sample and learned that cinnamon perfume 1) smells like Red Hots and 2) will actually burn your skin. Presumably the demoness is unfamiliar with the former and immune to the latter.
I’m really looking forward to the third novel in this series, in part because it will provide an excuse to reread these two books.
February 4, 2011
Well, I bought and read this book in one day, so what does that tell you? :)
This book continues the adventures of Isyllt, a necromancer in service to the King. When her orange coat (similar to police) friend Khelsea finds a royal seal hidden in the clothes of a dead prostitute, she brings in Isyllt to investigate. The investigation stirs up old secrets that dovetail into current assassination attempts and plots against the crown. Downum peopled the book with fascinating secondary characters such as Savedra, the crown prince's androgyne mistress, and Isyllt's old master Kiril, who hides secrets of his own. Part murder mystery, part fantasy novel, and all adventure, I recommend The Bone Palace to anyone looking for a solid, entertaining novel.
While it is second in the series, I don't think it's necessary to have read the first to understand and enjoy this book.
This book continues the adventures of Isyllt, a necromancer in service to the King. When her orange coat (similar to police) friend Khelsea finds a royal seal hidden in the clothes of a dead prostitute, she brings in Isyllt to investigate. The investigation stirs up old secrets that dovetail into current assassination attempts and plots against the crown. Downum peopled the book with fascinating secondary characters such as Savedra, the crown prince's androgyne mistress, and Isyllt's old master Kiril, who hides secrets of his own. Part murder mystery, part fantasy novel, and all adventure, I recommend The Bone Palace to anyone looking for a solid, entertaining novel.
While it is second in the series, I don't think it's necessary to have read the first to understand and enjoy this book.
April 11, 2012
A brilliant, complex story of magic and politics and relationships. All of the characters were achingly plausible, even if the villains, and the finale was a breathless, bloody cascade of all the pieces lined up throughout the book falling together at last. Definitely one of my new favorites. (I loved The Drowning City, too, but I note that it's not necessary to have read that first, and that I found many more of the viewpoint characters sympathetic in this book.)
Also of note: all sorts of interesting women. And they're differently interesting, not just a lot of cliches; there are a lot of different ways for women to be strong and to be flawed, in this book, and they always make sense as individuals making their own choices.
Also of note: all sorts of interesting women. And they're differently interesting, not just a lot of cliches; there are a lot of different ways for women to be strong and to be flawed, in this book, and they always make sense as individuals making their own choices.
July 26, 2012
Fast paced, action packed and never a dull moment. WOW. A wonderfully dark and twisted fantasy with a twinge of romance sprinkled all through the tale. It read like a fantasy/romance/paranormal mystery. An epic tale of magic, greed, revenge, lust, hate, power, love and death. It's all here in this book, vampires, sorcerers, necromancers, demons, witches, prostitutes, murderers, kings, princes, princesses, castles, transsexuals,...and I am sure I missed something. All tastefully, characterized. It is written so well, the story grabs your soul and does not not you sleep at night. It's a long book so I lost some z's.
I have to add this author as one of my "not to miss authors"
I have to add this author as one of my "not to miss authors"
April 25, 2020
Two things to know about this book:
1 - It's a book two in a series, but you don't need to have read book one to understand it
2 - It's a far more enjoyable book than book one. This from someone who DNF'd The Drowning City
To me, book one was a morass of fantasy Empire of Vowel Sounds being at odds with Kingdom of Consonants while everything was undermined by Rebels You Wished Had No Name Because They'd Be Easier To Tell Apart From the Government Agency With A Similarly Fantasy Name, and characters who were frustratingly flat. This one is a vast improvement because, while it sticks closers to what you expect from a semi-dark high fantasy, the world building and character arcs come more naturally rather than by exposition.
I actually cared about Issylt now that she's just a moody necromancer with more casual flings than magical gee-gaws. Having the second lead character of Savedra be "the third gender" was an interesting choice, and it's a sympathetic if simplistic portrayal of someone feeling that they were born in the wrong body. None of the characters conform to stereotypical masculine/feminine roles, and there's plenty of political intrigue for them to be involved with to go with the action.
There were a few times the fantasy nationalities got muddled for me (so many begin with S, including long family names), and it is fairly standard fantasy stuff (castles, princes, vampires, demons), but it was an enjoyable mix of the familiar and the new.
It made me think a little of Graceling, only without the breathless swooning element to the romance. Can we get a cheer for relationships that aren't either scorching hormones or casual frigidity? I liked that characters could be complex and grown-up about things without going into "adult" territory. There's a fair amount of LGBT representation too (either overt or insinuated), but again nothing extra explicit.
Overall it was a satisfying fantasy mystery with a hint of tangled romance and political machinations. I actually looked forward to reading it! If like me you didn't get on with book one, this second novel might just win you over too.
1 - It's a book two in a series, but you don't need to have read book one to understand it
2 - It's a far more enjoyable book than book one. This from someone who DNF'd The Drowning City
To me, book one was a morass of fantasy Empire of Vowel Sounds being at odds with Kingdom of Consonants while everything was undermined by Rebels You Wished Had No Name Because They'd Be Easier To Tell Apart From the Government Agency With A Similarly Fantasy Name, and characters who were frustratingly flat. This one is a vast improvement because, while it sticks closers to what you expect from a semi-dark high fantasy, the world building and character arcs come more naturally rather than by exposition.
I actually cared about Issylt now that she's just a moody necromancer with more casual flings than magical gee-gaws. Having the second lead character of Savedra be "the third gender" was an interesting choice, and it's a sympathetic if simplistic portrayal of someone feeling that they were born in the wrong body. None of the characters conform to stereotypical masculine/feminine roles, and there's plenty of political intrigue for them to be involved with to go with the action.
There were a few times the fantasy nationalities got muddled for me (so many begin with S, including long family names), and it is fairly standard fantasy stuff (castles, princes, vampires, demons), but it was an enjoyable mix of the familiar and the new.
It made me think a little of Graceling, only without the breathless swooning element to the romance. Can we get a cheer for relationships that aren't either scorching hormones or casual frigidity? I liked that characters could be complex and grown-up about things without going into "adult" territory. There's a fair amount of LGBT representation too (either overt or insinuated), but again nothing extra explicit.
Overall it was a satisfying fantasy mystery with a hint of tangled romance and political machinations. I actually looked forward to reading it! If like me you didn't get on with book one, this second novel might just win you over too.
January 25, 2019
I've read the first one three times. But this one is best described as "Meh". I will be reading the third one. Downum kept my interest well enough with her story telling, but everything else bugged me. I've always enjoyed Isyllt as a character but she acted stupid at the end of this one, not quite how I figured she would.
The world building bothered me in this one. The magic system wasn't fully explained or delved into and it left me confused on more than one occasion. Too much attention was put into the transgendered people and all the women in traditional male roles while not nearly enough was put into actually building the world. The trangendered bit would not have bothered me nearly as much had it only been brought up one or two times and left at that, but Downum wouldn't drop it, reminding us about it every chance she got. Got on my nerves after a while. And the trans character Sevedra literally had no plot-driven reason to be trans. It was just shoved in there for the sake of virtue signalling. After that, add in all the women in male roles and the princess who's tougher than her prince, and you get a world that makes no sense. There aren't that many women in male roles in the modern world, let alone a world based on a time period where it would have been unseemly for even one woman to do the things these women do. Women just don't make those decisions on the same scale that men do. Now, i understand that it's a fantasy world and you can do what you want in it, but adding the modern issues into a setting that is clearly not modern strikes me a lazy world building. A creator should let the world create the issues, not their own sensibilities.
And did we need all the sex? Really, not everyone has to have someone, and we don't need to see it all the time.
All that being said, the only thing about the plot that bothered me were the vampires. Were they necessary? Take them out and the story would have played out just the same, but shorter. I felt Downum added more than was needed because it would be "cool".
Despite all this I will read the next one. The plot kept my interest well enough and I'm interested in seeing what fresh hell Isyllt lands herself into next time.
The world building bothered me in this one. The magic system wasn't fully explained or delved into and it left me confused on more than one occasion. Too much attention was put into the transgendered people and all the women in traditional male roles while not nearly enough was put into actually building the world. The trangendered bit would not have bothered me nearly as much had it only been brought up one or two times and left at that, but Downum wouldn't drop it, reminding us about it every chance she got. Got on my nerves after a while. And the trans character Sevedra literally had no plot-driven reason to be trans. It was just shoved in there for the sake of virtue signalling. After that, add in all the women in male roles and the princess who's tougher than her prince, and you get a world that makes no sense. There aren't that many women in male roles in the modern world, let alone a world based on a time period where it would have been unseemly for even one woman to do the things these women do. Women just don't make those decisions on the same scale that men do. Now, i understand that it's a fantasy world and you can do what you want in it, but adding the modern issues into a setting that is clearly not modern strikes me a lazy world building. A creator should let the world create the issues, not their own sensibilities.
And did we need all the sex? Really, not everyone has to have someone, and we don't need to see it all the time.
All that being said, the only thing about the plot that bothered me were the vampires. Were they necessary? Take them out and the story would have played out just the same, but shorter. I felt Downum added more than was needed because it would be "cool".
Despite all this I will read the next one. The plot kept my interest well enough and I'm interested in seeing what fresh hell Isyllt lands herself into next time.
August 28, 2019
First of all, the read dates for this book are terribly out, because in actual reading time it actually took me maybe two or three days to finish it. I just happened to take a three month break in the middle because I'm an idiot.
The actual book though? I really, really enjoyed it. Isyllt remains a character I'm truly fond of--partly because at times she knows she's making a bad decision or a stupid choice and she goes ahead and makes it anyway. It makes her character feel very human to me, and I enjoyed that experience. I'm not so taken with her relationship with Kiril, though that isn't because of the writing, but moreso because of the way that Kiril has treated Isyllt throughout the timespan of the books. I did, however, thoroughly enjoy other additional characters, and felt that the relationship that evolved between them, without spoilers, was very interesting and satisfyingly written.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I'll definitely be reading the next one. I hope there are at least snapshots of this book's additional characters in the next one, especially Savedra, though I'm not sure how that would work out plot wise.
The actual book though? I really, really enjoyed it. Isyllt remains a character I'm truly fond of--partly because at times she knows she's making a bad decision or a stupid choice and she goes ahead and makes it anyway. It makes her character feel very human to me, and I enjoyed that experience. I'm not so taken with her relationship with Kiril, though that isn't because of the writing, but moreso because of the way that Kiril has treated Isyllt throughout the timespan of the books. I did, however, thoroughly enjoy other additional characters, and felt that the relationship that evolved between them, without spoilers, was very interesting and satisfyingly written.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I'll definitely be reading the next one. I hope there are at least snapshots of this book's additional characters in the next one, especially Savedra, though I'm not sure how that would work out plot wise.
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