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Diving Universe #3
Boneyards
The final installment in the exciting, fast-moving, and passionate space opera.Searching for ancient technology to help her friends find answers to the mystery of their own past, Boss ventures into a place filled with evidence of an ancient space battle, one the Dignity Vessels lost.Meanwhile, the Enterran Empire keeps accidentally killing its scientists in a quest for ancient stealth tech. Boss’s most difficult friend, Squishy, has had enough. She sneaks into the Empire and destroys its primary stealth-tech research base. But an old lover thwarts her escape, and now Squishy needs Boss’s help. Boss, who is a fugitive from the Empire. Boss, who knows how to make a Dignity Vessel work. Boss, who knows that Dignity Vessels house the very technology that the Empire is searching for. Should Boss take a Dignity Vessel to rescue Squishy and risk losing everything to the Empire? Or should she continue on her mission for her other friends and let Squishy suffer her own fate? Filled with battles old and new, scientific dilemmas, and questions about the ethics of friendship, Boneyards is space opera the way it was meant to exciting, fast-moving, and filled with passion.
299 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 24, 2012
53 people are currently reading
331 people want to read
About the author
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
1,382 books724 followersKristine Kathryn Rusch is an award-winning mystery, romance, science fiction, and fantasy writer. She has written many novels under various names, including Kristine Grayson for romance, and Kris Nelscott for mystery. Her novels have made the bestseller lists –even in London– and have been published in 14 countries and 13 different languages.
Her awards range from the Ellery Queen Readers Choice Award to the John W. Campbell Award. In the past year, she has been nominated for the Hugo, the Shamus, and the Anthony Award. She is the only person in the history of the science fiction field to have won a Hugo award for editing and a Hugo award for fiction.
In addition, she's written a number of nonfiction articles over the years, with her latest being the book "A Freelancer's Survival Guide".
She has also published as:
Sandy Schofield (collaborations with husband Dean Wesley Smith)
Kristine Grayson - romances
Kathryn Wesley (collaborations with husband Dean Wesley Smith)
Kris Nelscott - mysteries
Kris Rusch - historical fiction
Kris DeLake - romances
Her awards range from the Ellery Queen Readers Choice Award to the John W. Campbell Award. In the past year, she has been nominated for the Hugo, the Shamus, and the Anthony Award. She is the only person in the history of the science fiction field to have won a Hugo award for editing and a Hugo award for fiction.
In addition, she's written a number of nonfiction articles over the years, with her latest being the book "A Freelancer's Survival Guide".
She has also published as:
Sandy Schofield (collaborations with husband Dean Wesley Smith)
Kristine Grayson - romances
Kathryn Wesley (collaborations with husband Dean Wesley Smith)
Kris Nelscott - mysteries
Kris Rusch - historical fiction
Kris DeLake - romances
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
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April 10, 2018This is one of those SF series that I never see discussed among most of the SF community I follow. I'm at a loss to understand why. Mostly-hard science combined with mysterio-tech, compelling plotlines, strong lead, and a lot of depth to the world.
That said, it took me years to get around to reading this particular volume, in part because I don't particularly like "rescue the prisoner" stories. And the thing is, this isn't primarily a rescue-the-prisoner story. This is primarily Boss and her displaced allies continue to investigate old-tech ruins. The secondary plot is Squishy and her ill-fated mission, and is more an in-depth exploration into Squishy's past and morality (with a whole heap of flashbacks).
Now, the blurb for this story is all about rescuing captured Squishy, and shares exactly the same issue that turned me off one of Elizabeth Moon's books. Boneyards is around seventy chapters long, and Squishy is captured about 45 chapters in. Why anyone writes blurbs based around events that happen 45 chapters into a book is beyond me.
Although I started out interested in Squishy's mission, I found it far less compelling than the primary plotline, and so ended up extremely impatient with anything to do with Squishy and rescuing Squishy. Interested to read on with the series, though.
That said, it took me years to get around to reading this particular volume, in part because I don't particularly like "rescue the prisoner" stories. And the thing is, this isn't primarily a rescue-the-prisoner story. This is primarily Boss and her displaced allies continue to investigate old-tech ruins. The secondary plot is Squishy and her ill-fated mission, and is more an in-depth exploration into Squishy's past and morality (with a whole heap of flashbacks).
Now, the blurb for this story is all about rescuing captured Squishy, and shares exactly the same issue that turned me off one of Elizabeth Moon's books. Boneyards is around seventy chapters long, and Squishy is captured about 45 chapters in. Why anyone writes blurbs based around events that happen 45 chapters into a book is beyond me.
Although I started out interested in Squishy's mission, I found it far less compelling than the primary plotline, and so ended up extremely impatient with anything to do with Squishy and rescuing Squishy. Interested to read on with the series, though.
August 16, 2012
Boneyards picks up five years after the conclusion of City of Ruins, but the plot doesn't suffer for it. Rusch handles the inevitable changes in the characters over such a length of time, mainly because so much of it was set up in the previous book--did anyone not realize that Boss and Coop were going to end up together? Boss's team and the crew of the Ivoire have spent the last five years searching for some remnant of the civilization Coop and his crew left behind, five thousand years in the past, and constant failure has taken its toll on everyone. Rather than continue to search for still-active planet-based stations the Ivoire might use to get home, they decide to look to the stars--to seek out ancient starbases that might still have power, and possibly learn why so much of what they've found looks like it was destroyed in war.
The primary storyline is as compelling as the last, with Coop's increasing irrationality as he faces the reality that he and his crew are never going home providing interesting conflicts with Boss. There's more exploration of the Nine Planets worlds and systems and a return to the Room of Lost Souls, and the ending is tense and, as before, has a lack of resolution that makes you eager to see what happens next.
It's the secondary plot that I found most interesting, in which Squishy (a long-time friend of Boss's who was an important part of the first book) organizes a plan, without Boss's approval or help, to destroy the Empire's "stealth tech" research. Her execution of said plan alternates with scenes from Squishy's past that explain a lot about why she got involved in stealth tech in the first place, and what happened to make her so violently opposed to it. My problem is that Squishy was such a thoroughly unpleasant character in the first book, with her irrational and unexplained refusal to help Boss investigate the stealth tech in the first Dignity Vessel, that at first it felt like an attempt at rehabilitating her character. We learn, for example, that Squishy's absolute recalcitrance was because of a loyalty oath she'd sworn to the Empire when she first started working for them on stealth tech. That makes no sense to me. Keeping to an oath when you've already abandoned your committments, fled the Empire, given up completely on the research? When your silence is going to cost *more* lives? Not convincing. It seemed from the way Squishy's story was told that I wasn't supposed to have reacted to her in Diving Into the Wreck the way I did, that she wasn't intended to be so unpleasant, but it just didn't work for me. Despite this, I really enjoyed and admired the way past and present worked together; Rusch played out the revelations from the past at exactly the right pace.
I am even more eager to see what happens next than I was with the last book, which promises not only new discoveries, but new conflicts both with the Empire (thanks to Squishy) and with new forces (thanks to Boss and Coop).
The primary storyline is as compelling as the last, with Coop's increasing irrationality as he faces the reality that he and his crew are never going home providing interesting conflicts with Boss. There's more exploration of the Nine Planets worlds and systems and a return to the Room of Lost Souls, and the ending is tense and, as before, has a lack of resolution that makes you eager to see what happens next.
It's the secondary plot that I found most interesting, in which Squishy (a long-time friend of Boss's who was an important part of the first book) organizes a plan, without Boss's approval or help, to destroy the Empire's "stealth tech" research. Her execution of said plan alternates with scenes from Squishy's past that explain a lot about why she got involved in stealth tech in the first place, and what happened to make her so violently opposed to it. My problem is that Squishy was such a thoroughly unpleasant character in the first book, with her irrational and unexplained refusal to help Boss investigate the stealth tech in the first Dignity Vessel, that at first it felt like an attempt at rehabilitating her character. We learn, for example, that Squishy's absolute recalcitrance was because of a loyalty oath she'd sworn to the Empire when she first started working for them on stealth tech. That makes no sense to me. Keeping to an oath when you've already abandoned your committments, fled the Empire, given up completely on the research? When your silence is going to cost *more* lives? Not convincing. It seemed from the way Squishy's story was told that I wasn't supposed to have reacted to her in Diving Into the Wreck the way I did, that she wasn't intended to be so unpleasant, but it just didn't work for me. Despite this, I really enjoyed and admired the way past and present worked together; Rusch played out the revelations from the past at exactly the right pace.
I am even more eager to see what happens next than I was with the last book, which promises not only new discoveries, but new conflicts both with the Empire (thanks to Squishy) and with new forces (thanks to Boss and Coop).
July 14, 2013
What is it about these books that start off slow and make me think "Oh, disappointing, this is pretty average" until it creeps towards the end and all of the pieces start sliding together and I suddenly sit up and go, "Gimme more. Please. Right now. ...Please."
Boneyards is much like the last book in format--it alternates between first person POV (Boss) and third person POV (Squishy in this book). Unlike the last book it focuses a lot on Squishy, which was a bit unfortunate because Squisy has never been one of my much beloved characters. Even in this book I just barely tolerated her, which meant that any chance we had at getting back to Boss I latched on and just didn't want to leave. Not exactly an ideal reading headspace.
Also like the last book is that there's a pretty prominent time gap between book two and book three. Several years have gone by since City of Ruins and I'm of two minds about it. This, at least, helps speed the plot forward, but there is so much that we miss as readers that I wish I'd be able to read (such as the integration of Coop and his people, the fallout from the last book, and so on).
In one plot line, Boss and Coop have basically teamed up and they're looking for more clues to Fleet's past--because the man desperately wants to meet up with the Fleet, no matter that they'd all be strangers (if they're still around). This isn't easy. This isn't any fun either, and tensions are rather high. The second plot line involves Squishy and her quest to eradicate the Empire's research of 'stealth' technology. Things don't go as planned. Heh (understatement).
The characters are as complex as ever. One of my favorite things to read in the book is Coop and Boss's ever shifting dynamic--they're both strong leaders and there are times when one is better at a task than the other. Getting the other to realize this though... it takes a lot of (careful) juggling between the two. We also learn a lot more about Squishy and her motivations as well as her past. Nothing too jaw dropping (but like I said, I barely tolerate Squishy so anything she does tends to just make me shrug).
Unfortunately, while I greatly enjoyed the ending, the middle bits were strictly average for me. The books aren't exactly furiously paced, but disinterest towards certain characters just made it drag in parts. The ending was exciting, but it was over pretty quickly. The actual actions bits were very short and some character decisions were a bit underwhelming. But I still liked it. Just not as much as the previous two books. On the other hand, the next book seems like it'll be a lot of fun, so I am looking forward to that. 3 stars.
Boneyards is much like the last book in format--it alternates between first person POV (Boss) and third person POV (Squishy in this book). Unlike the last book it focuses a lot on Squishy, which was a bit unfortunate because Squisy has never been one of my much beloved characters. Even in this book I just barely tolerated her, which meant that any chance we had at getting back to Boss I latched on and just didn't want to leave. Not exactly an ideal reading headspace.
Also like the last book is that there's a pretty prominent time gap between book two and book three. Several years have gone by since City of Ruins and I'm of two minds about it. This, at least, helps speed the plot forward, but there is so much that we miss as readers that I wish I'd be able to read (such as the integration of Coop and his people, the fallout from the last book, and so on).
In one plot line, Boss and Coop have basically teamed up and they're looking for more clues to Fleet's past--because the man desperately wants to meet up with the Fleet, no matter that they'd all be strangers (if they're still around). This isn't easy. This isn't any fun either, and tensions are rather high. The second plot line involves Squishy and her quest to eradicate the Empire's research of 'stealth' technology. Things don't go as planned. Heh (understatement).
The characters are as complex as ever. One of my favorite things to read in the book is Coop and Boss's ever shifting dynamic--they're both strong leaders and there are times when one is better at a task than the other. Getting the other to realize this though... it takes a lot of (careful) juggling between the two. We also learn a lot more about Squishy and her motivations as well as her past. Nothing too jaw dropping (but like I said, I barely tolerate Squishy so anything she does tends to just make me shrug).
Unfortunately, while I greatly enjoyed the ending, the middle bits were strictly average for me. The books aren't exactly furiously paced, but disinterest towards certain characters just made it drag in parts. The ending was exciting, but it was over pretty quickly. The actual actions bits were very short and some character decisions were a bit underwhelming. But I still liked it. Just not as much as the previous two books. On the other hand, the next book seems like it'll be a lot of fun, so I am looking forward to that. 3 stars.
August 16, 2012
Melissa's review of this is outstanding and gives all the background and summary much better than I was prepared to.
I didn't like the book as much as she did, however. While Melissa enjoyed the half about Squishy, those sections detracted from my own enjoyment. It is true that Rusch does a masterful job of melding the past and present of her storyline together into what turns out to be a cohesive narrative. To me, though, Squishy still came out ultimately as both arrogant and selfish however much she was working to stop the Empire from continuing deadly research. She seemed to be acting continually from an adolescent framework where everything is about "me" and everybody should pay attention to me because I am right. In the end, she is repeating the very mistakes that lead to the problems in the first place: refusing to take responsibility for the consequences of her actions. I'll illustrate, but this comes from deep into the story, so it's spoilery:
So yeah, I liked the book. And I particularly liked that . Squishy was enough of the story to knock this to three stars, but that's probably a personal idiosyncrasy and won't affect others as much.
I didn't like the book as much as she did, however. While Melissa enjoyed the half about Squishy, those sections detracted from my own enjoyment. It is true that Rusch does a masterful job of melding the past and present of her storyline together into what turns out to be a cohesive narrative. To me, though, Squishy still came out ultimately as both arrogant and selfish however much she was working to stop the Empire from continuing deadly research. She seemed to be acting continually from an adolescent framework where everything is about "me" and everybody should pay attention to me because I am right. In the end, she is repeating the very mistakes that lead to the problems in the first place: refusing to take responsibility for the consequences of her actions. I'll illustrate, but this comes from deep into the story, so it's spoilery:
So yeah, I liked the book. And I particularly liked that . Squishy was enough of the story to knock this to three stars, but that's probably a personal idiosyncrasy and won't affect others as much.
April 12, 2012
Boneyards by Kristine Kathryn Rusch is the sequel to Diving into the Wreck and City of Ruins, two excellent novels featuring a memorable character who specializes in exploring derelict space vessels and who simply goes by the name “Boss.” The first two novels did an excellent job combining intriguing SF world-building with interesting characters and high intensity plots, so my hopes for Boneyards were extremely high. Unfortunately, it’s by far the weakest entry in the series, and while it still holds enough interest for readers who have been following the story so far, I sincerely hope that the series will regain its energy in future volumes.
Warning: the rest of this review includes some details about the plots of the first two novels in the series, so if you haven’t read them yet, you may want to check out my reviews of those books instead.
Read the entire Boneyards review on my site Far Beyond Reality!
Warning: the rest of this review includes some details about the plots of the first two novels in the series, so if you haven’t read them yet, you may want to check out my reviews of those books instead.
Read the entire Boneyards review on my site Far Beyond Reality!
May 2, 2018
3.5 ⭐
I've been reading this series out of order, which actually works better than I expected it to although there are large story points that I've missed. I still enjoyed this one quite a bit however- so much so that I'm going to try to go back at this point and fill in some of those gaps, then finish out the series before the next installment comes out later this year. I truly adore this author and, although I usually enjoy sci-fi about as much as I enjoy cleaning the toilet, I've been a fan of hers since picking up her first book in The Retrieval Artist series years ago.
KKR has a serious gift for storytelling that speaks to nearly everyone, even those of us that don't know a Ewok from a Vulcan (those are in the same series as one another, right? 😉).
I've been reading this series out of order, which actually works better than I expected it to although there are large story points that I've missed. I still enjoyed this one quite a bit however- so much so that I'm going to try to go back at this point and fill in some of those gaps, then finish out the series before the next installment comes out later this year. I truly adore this author and, although I usually enjoy sci-fi about as much as I enjoy cleaning the toilet, I've been a fan of hers since picking up her first book in The Retrieval Artist series years ago.
KKR has a serious gift for storytelling that speaks to nearly everyone, even those of us that don't know a Ewok from a Vulcan (those are in the same series as one another, right? 😉).
April 26, 2020
Great continuation of the Diving series!
This entry into the Diving series is less about the historical artifact/archeological of the first book...which was the part that drew me into the series. However the action and science of this book pulled me along. The perspective bounces not only between a few of the main characters but also from present to flashback. While the flashbacks in particular round out one main character a bit more, at times it got confusing as to “when” the section was occurring. Maybe a location or event added to the flashback titles would help, I don’t know. It left me wanting a timeline to get everything straight. Still, I enjoyed it and am ready for the next!
This entry into the Diving series is less about the historical artifact/archeological of the first book...which was the part that drew me into the series. However the action and science of this book pulled me along. The perspective bounces not only between a few of the main characters but also from present to flashback. While the flashbacks in particular round out one main character a bit more, at times it got confusing as to “when” the section was occurring. Maybe a location or event added to the flashback titles would help, I don’t know. It left me wanting a timeline to get everything straight. Still, I enjoyed it and am ready for the next!
August 2, 2021
3.5 stars
Be prepared for a lot (and I mean, a lot) of flashbacks where we find out about Squishy's past. I'm not sure I quite enjoyed that the flashbacks were disjointed themselves and did get a bit impatient as each flashback occurred to get back to the present, but naturally, it does help with understanding Squishy's motives.
However, the present story has progressed to a very interesting situation.
Be prepared for a lot (and I mean, a lot) of flashbacks where we find out about Squishy's past. I'm not sure I quite enjoyed that the flashbacks were disjointed themselves and did get a bit impatient as each flashback occurred to get back to the present, but naturally, it does help with understanding Squishy's motives.
However, the present story has progressed to a very interesting situation.
December 11, 2018
This is book #3 in a series. I very much enjoy the series, but start with book #1 and decide for yourself. Things change and I don't see any sign that I'm going to stop the way I often do with series that I start off liking but which don't develop in different directions.
Book #1 starts off in a far, far future with the main protagonist working with huge derelict spaceships from the far past (but our far future). The empire wants to develop that technology, but she's from outside of the empire.
Book #1 starts off in a far, far future with the main protagonist working with huge derelict spaceships from the far past (but our far future). The empire wants to develop that technology, but she's from outside of the empire.
January 3, 2019
I love this series! As well as the main books, I've read all the short stories and novellas published in Asimov's Science Fiction magazine, some of which come after this one. With Boneyards, I now have a better handle on the Diving universe: the Empire, the Nine Planets, nonaligned sectors, and where Boss is coming from. I need to work on catching up with the rest of the novels.
January 20, 2022
I really love Rusch's writing. All of these characters feel like complex people with complex problems and different ways to face them. There are huge moral dilemmas and above all, consequences for the character's choices. This book is more action packed than the second one, but in the same grounded way I'm used to reading in this series. I'm reluctantly putting it on the back burner temporarily (the rest of my TBR is calling to me), but I will return to it soon.
March 4, 2022
I have just read the Diving Series back to back (the 16 books that exist thus far, including novels and novellas) and have to say that I absolutely love this series.
Boneyards adds another whole new story arc to the wider storyline and one that itself pretells of more arcs still to come. It's a story of two parts, the boneyard itself and a tale centred around Squishy and her desire to put a proper stop to the Enterran Empires "stealth tech" research.
Boneyards adds another whole new story arc to the wider storyline and one that itself pretells of more arcs still to come. It's a story of two parts, the boneyard itself and a tale centred around Squishy and her desire to put a proper stop to the Enterran Empires "stealth tech" research.
August 29, 2022
I found this to be the least enjoyable of the Diving Universe series. I found the random flashbacks to be incredibly confusing to the point I couldn’t tell what was going on in the book. It also did not help that large parts are in first person present tense which I absolutely hate. When I read a book written in that tense, I am always aware that I am reading a book and it’s more like a chore than entertainment.
February 4, 2023
Squishy and Boss
In this volume, we see the story from the perspectives of Boss and Squishy. It is enlightening to get the view of Squishy's past. Plus, we get to journey along with Coop as he searches for signs of the Fleet. There are many interesting aspects to this book, including seeing a holographic image of a lost city that has been returned to nature.
In this volume, we see the story from the perspectives of Boss and Squishy. It is enlightening to get the view of Squishy's past. Plus, we get to journey along with Coop as he searches for signs of the Fleet. There are many interesting aspects to this book, including seeing a holographic image of a lost city that has been returned to nature.
December 27, 2017
It almost feels like cheating, but I don't think people are really following me for my reviews and I know that Rusch writes amazing books so if she comes out with some new sci-fi, I'll be there to read it eventually. Great series.
November 13, 2018
42 WORD REVIEW:
Having created the ‘Diving Universe’, Rusch in this third book seems in no great hurry to advance it. Of diving—the archaeological exploration of abandoned spaceships—there is little, and of the titular boneyards still less. Even so, the story froths along.
Having created the ‘Diving Universe’, Rusch in this third book seems in no great hurry to advance it. Of diving—the archaeological exploration of abandoned spaceships—there is little, and of the titular boneyards still less. Even so, the story froths along.
May 22, 2019
good solid series, this book, the author has bern set free to tell the story she wants and put the series back on track. it kind of went by in a flash, like the first book, because there’s lots of stories to tell. but i enjoy that.
March 15, 2021
Another great Diving Universe book! Told in real time and in several flashbacks (which are not my favorite style). Stayed up all night to finish; I just had to see how it turned out. Holds the loss of a major character, but at least she gets a good death.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 7, 2021
I really enjoyed the book but I have one big complaint. The title does not go with this book. I was hoping that we would have scenes similar to the start of the series but nope. I'm hoping the next book in the series will let us see what is in the "Boneyards". 4 stars
March 20, 2026
By far my favorite volume so far in the Diving Universe series. The book was a solid four stars but the ending pushed it to five. Rusch shows she is willing to take risks to grow the series. She pushes character and plot development into new territory. Excellent book!
May 14, 2017
Readers of the Expanse series should like this series as well. This is a well-told story, but not quite as good as "Diving the Wreck."
December 13, 2017
How did I skip into the third book of the series?
June 6, 2019
Applying ancient technology to trying to find your past. great action adventure.
August 29, 2020
Rusch is a Great Writer - regardless of the genre she is currently writing in.
August 15, 2022
I liked it.
July 23, 2023
A very good third novel in this series with a lot of backstory that furthers the overall intrigue and mystery of the anacapa drive.
May 19, 2024
This book in the series was a bit less gripping because of the over frequent flashbacks, but the underlying story if still interesting and gripping and the lead into the next book intriguing.
March 21, 2017
I found the flashbacks EXTREMELY annoying and the ending sucked. There was no reason for a cetain character to die. Disappointing.
March 17, 2017
Squishy's story
March 16, 2012
Warning! Spoilers from City of Ruins are contained in the review below! You’ve been warned!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews