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A Tale of Bone and Steel #1
Legacy of Bones
An ancient evil is waiting to be reborn...
Gera worked hard at his apprenticeship, but now he's done. All he wants to do is go home to see his brother and sister. When he finally reaches their cabin, Dax, his older brother, is there, isolated and drinking as usual, but Keely can't be found.
Then the brothers receive the news.
In the middle of the day, she was taken. Testers from the Sacara Institute rode off with her.
Like a pebble cast into a still lake...
...this was the first ripple.
What were the magic users at the Institute's plans for her?
The road was long. The captors rode hard, and it would be a miracle if the brothers caught them before they reached the Institute. Even if they did, freeing their sister wouldn't be easy.
But as time ticks away to a far greater threat, Gera and Dax must strive to overcome more than just external threats if they want to save Keely.
The evil is waiting.
Legacy of Bones is the first book in the A Tale of Bone and Steel series, an epic adventure filled with unforgettable characters, gritty action, and the future of the world hanging in the balance. If you like your epic fantasy mixed with a side order of grimdark, then this series is for you.
Gera worked hard at his apprenticeship, but now he's done. All he wants to do is go home to see his brother and sister. When he finally reaches their cabin, Dax, his older brother, is there, isolated and drinking as usual, but Keely can't be found.
Then the brothers receive the news.
In the middle of the day, she was taken. Testers from the Sacara Institute rode off with her.
Like a pebble cast into a still lake...
...this was the first ripple.
What were the magic users at the Institute's plans for her?
The road was long. The captors rode hard, and it would be a miracle if the brothers caught them before they reached the Institute. Even if they did, freeing their sister wouldn't be easy.
But as time ticks away to a far greater threat, Gera and Dax must strive to overcome more than just external threats if they want to save Keely.
The evil is waiting.
Legacy of Bones is the first book in the A Tale of Bone and Steel series, an epic adventure filled with unforgettable characters, gritty action, and the future of the world hanging in the balance. If you like your epic fantasy mixed with a side order of grimdark, then this series is for you.
- GenresFantasy
366 pages, Paperback
First published February 20, 2020
232 people are currently reading
284 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 14, 2022
I'm having trouble trying to decide how to rate this. There really was nothing specifically wrong with it, but it just didn't do a darned thing for me. It's a sad state of my reading affairs when I force myself to finish a book for the simple reason that I didn't want another DNF on my record so soon after the last one. Silly, I know, but there it is.
I think the biggest issue I had with the book was the overwhelming bulk of shifting points of view. I have never liked stories with a ton of perspectives. What tends to happen, (in my case), is that I never really get a chance to learn a character properly before I'm whisked away in a different direction in order to learn about someone new. I don't care about character #97; let me follow along at most with characters #1, #2 and possibly #3 for a bit first! So because of this rapid-fire expansion of perspectives I never truly found the opportunity to care about any of them. Except for Nava the tiger-ish sidekick. I am a cat person in real life, so it's only natural for me to feel an affinity for any type of feline in a story :)
Setting that complaint aside, I just finished the book and I couldn't say what the heck was going on to save my life! Truly. There are lots of factions, a slew of good/bad characters, and some wars. Other than these three observations, I'm pretty much clueless. This is due to either an overly-complicated storyline or to my lack of involvement in it. Shoot, maybe it's both, who knows? I'm not planning to continue the series to find out.
I guess I'll rate it three stars. That sounds about right, since I consider three-star books as middle of the road average.
I think the biggest issue I had with the book was the overwhelming bulk of shifting points of view. I have never liked stories with a ton of perspectives. What tends to happen, (in my case), is that I never really get a chance to learn a character properly before I'm whisked away in a different direction in order to learn about someone new. I don't care about character #97; let me follow along at most with characters #1, #2 and possibly #3 for a bit first! So because of this rapid-fire expansion of perspectives I never truly found the opportunity to care about any of them. Except for Nava the tiger-ish sidekick. I am a cat person in real life, so it's only natural for me to feel an affinity for any type of feline in a story :)
Setting that complaint aside, I just finished the book and I couldn't say what the heck was going on to save my life! Truly. There are lots of factions, a slew of good/bad characters, and some wars. Other than these three observations, I'm pretty much clueless. This is due to either an overly-complicated storyline or to my lack of involvement in it. Shoot, maybe it's both, who knows? I'm not planning to continue the series to find out.
I guess I'll rate it three stars. That sounds about right, since I consider three-star books as middle of the road average.
April 10, 2021
3.75 stars
A good start for a promising series.
An ancient evil waiting to be reborn; two brothers on a quest to rescue their sister and a threat far greater than anyone imagined.
True to the blurb, Legacy of Bones is a tale of epic fantasy mixed with a side order of grimdark.
A fabulous premise, great magic as well as a few great characters nicely drawn in delightful shades of grey. Quite a bit of action and gore as well as a suspense that will keep you hooked up till the end. This book has it all. Complete with a badass awesome four footed companion that I wish I had for myself! :D
Gera returns home to see his brother Dax and sister Keely after his apprenticeship is done. But trouble awaits him there in the form of a brother who drowns his sorrows at the bottom of a bottle and a missing sister. As it turns out, she had been taken by Testers from the Sacara Institute because Keely has magic and the magic users from the institute have special plans for girls like her.
The brothers set off on a long and hard journey to rescue their sister and we get to see the events unfold from each of their perspectives, as well as that of their sister.
As far as the characters are concerned, I loved Keely and Dax but had a tough time connecting with Gera. That little special something that makes a character leap from the page is missing for Gera and I found him to be a little stiff and lacking.
Aaaand I might have mentioned it already but I adored the badass awesome four footed companion.
Can I have one please?!
The worldbuilding is light and could do with more fleshing out. Since this is a first in series, it stands to reason that a lot of things will be explained only in later books, but I personally found myself a little bit lost in the first few chapters and that diminished the charm of the tale. If the world had been more clearly defined at the beginning, I would have gotten my bearings a lot easier but, as it is, I had to backtrack several times to see who was where and when and doing what. And the fact that the POV shifts were confusing too, didn't help either.
One more thing that I'll grumble about is the use of modern terms in a medieval setting with a medieval prose.
Having a rider in this type of world say something like this:
"The last thing he says is to warn me about Blood Patrols in the area and I'm riding around like a school boy on a family camping trip."
Now this is something that is bound to irk me.
To be fair, there weren't many such cases and yet they were enough to make me grumble.
Despite the initial confusion, the threads are beautifully tied together and the tale slowly takes shape while the puzzle starts to be assembled. So I trust we'll get more answers in the books to come, including a whole picture of the world. For now, at the end of book 1, I find myself with a lot of questions unanswered, as well as desire to know what happens next. So I'll be definitely continuing with the series.
If you like epic fantasy that's both grim, dark and full of adventure, this would be a good choice.
A good start for a promising series.
An ancient evil waiting to be reborn; two brothers on a quest to rescue their sister and a threat far greater than anyone imagined.
True to the blurb, Legacy of Bones is a tale of epic fantasy mixed with a side order of grimdark.
A fabulous premise, great magic as well as a few great characters nicely drawn in delightful shades of grey. Quite a bit of action and gore as well as a suspense that will keep you hooked up till the end. This book has it all. Complete with a badass awesome four footed companion that I wish I had for myself! :D
Gera returns home to see his brother Dax and sister Keely after his apprenticeship is done. But trouble awaits him there in the form of a brother who drowns his sorrows at the bottom of a bottle and a missing sister. As it turns out, she had been taken by Testers from the Sacara Institute because Keely has magic and the magic users from the institute have special plans for girls like her.
The brothers set off on a long and hard journey to rescue their sister and we get to see the events unfold from each of their perspectives, as well as that of their sister.
As far as the characters are concerned, I loved Keely and Dax but had a tough time connecting with Gera. That little special something that makes a character leap from the page is missing for Gera and I found him to be a little stiff and lacking.
Aaaand I might have mentioned it already but I adored the badass awesome four footed companion.
Can I have one please?!
The worldbuilding is light and could do with more fleshing out. Since this is a first in series, it stands to reason that a lot of things will be explained only in later books, but I personally found myself a little bit lost in the first few chapters and that diminished the charm of the tale. If the world had been more clearly defined at the beginning, I would have gotten my bearings a lot easier but, as it is, I had to backtrack several times to see who was where and when and doing what. And the fact that the POV shifts were confusing too, didn't help either.
One more thing that I'll grumble about is the use of modern terms in a medieval setting with a medieval prose.
Having a rider in this type of world say something like this:
"The last thing he says is to warn me about Blood Patrols in the area and I'm riding around like a school boy on a family camping trip."
Now this is something that is bound to irk me.
To be fair, there weren't many such cases and yet they were enough to make me grumble.
Despite the initial confusion, the threads are beautifully tied together and the tale slowly takes shape while the puzzle starts to be assembled. So I trust we'll get more answers in the books to come, including a whole picture of the world. For now, at the end of book 1, I find myself with a lot of questions unanswered, as well as desire to know what happens next. So I'll be definitely continuing with the series.
If you like epic fantasy that's both grim, dark and full of adventure, this would be a good choice.
December 14, 2021
This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Legacy of Bones
Children found with the gift of magic are taken from their families and trained at the Sacara Institute. The Crimsons travel from town to town testing children. If a child even has the smallest inclination towards magic, they are bound and locked in cages to be transported to their new life. And if a family dares to intervene they are brutally beaten. When Keely, past the age of testing, shows a gift for healing magic, the family she resides with gives her up to the Crimsons. Meanwhile, her brother Gera journeys home after finishing his apprenticeship as a blacksmith, to discover his sister has been taken. Together, he and his brother Dax will hunt down the Crimsons that took their sister and discover there is much more at stake than the lives of one woman.
Legacy of Bones starts off a bit slow, taking time to build up the plot and characters. But readers will find the extra attention spent on the finer details is well spent. There are a lot of pieces at play, between backstories, politics, and hidden motivations. Together all of these elements create an entertaining story filled with sibling tension, haunted pasts, and startling revelations. This first novel lays down the foundation of a truly epic story for many books to come.
But even with the attention to detail, there were some parts of the story that didn’t quite line up. From the start, Dax is introduced as a troubled character. His backstory is built to showcase his guilt and the alcohol he uses to drown it out. He overcompensates when he is sober and makes some pretty poor decisions. He grows increasingly irate and angry as the story progresses. And up until his final defining moment I was on board for this character development. The combination of guilt and alcohol can make a person do horrible things, but his final appearances in the first novel left me confused and wondering what I may have missed. I also felt that there were a few groundbreaking moments mentioned in the later sections of the story that could have used a heavier build up even if it may have slowed the story a bit after the initial world-building.
However, Kirk Dougal created a story filled with political tension that kept pace with the main plot. Politics in a fantasy world can lead a story into lulls as armies mobilize and back door deals take away from the main focus of a story. Not in Legacy of Bones. In between the story of Gera, Dax, and Keely, there are chapters dedicated to building the antagonists of the story. Readers will witness the cruel nature of the Crimsons and the lengths they will go to achieve their ultimate goals. And while the readers may not fully realize what those goals are just yet, the situations the Crimsons create and partake in show the readers something evil is looming on the horizon.
There is so much at work in the background of this novel and so many different paths this story can take. Give this book a try if you enjoy the dark fantasy genre and novels that slowly reveal hidden histories and truths.
Children found with the gift of magic are taken from their families and trained at the Sacara Institute. The Crimsons travel from town to town testing children. If a child even has the smallest inclination towards magic, they are bound and locked in cages to be transported to their new life. And if a family dares to intervene they are brutally beaten. When Keely, past the age of testing, shows a gift for healing magic, the family she resides with gives her up to the Crimsons. Meanwhile, her brother Gera journeys home after finishing his apprenticeship as a blacksmith, to discover his sister has been taken. Together, he and his brother Dax will hunt down the Crimsons that took their sister and discover there is much more at stake than the lives of one woman.
Legacy of Bones starts off a bit slow, taking time to build up the plot and characters. But readers will find the extra attention spent on the finer details is well spent. There are a lot of pieces at play, between backstories, politics, and hidden motivations. Together all of these elements create an entertaining story filled with sibling tension, haunted pasts, and startling revelations. This first novel lays down the foundation of a truly epic story for many books to come.
But even with the attention to detail, there were some parts of the story that didn’t quite line up. From the start, Dax is introduced as a troubled character. His backstory is built to showcase his guilt and the alcohol he uses to drown it out. He overcompensates when he is sober and makes some pretty poor decisions. He grows increasingly irate and angry as the story progresses. And up until his final defining moment I was on board for this character development. The combination of guilt and alcohol can make a person do horrible things, but his final appearances in the first novel left me confused and wondering what I may have missed. I also felt that there were a few groundbreaking moments mentioned in the later sections of the story that could have used a heavier build up even if it may have slowed the story a bit after the initial world-building.
However, Kirk Dougal created a story filled with political tension that kept pace with the main plot. Politics in a fantasy world can lead a story into lulls as armies mobilize and back door deals take away from the main focus of a story. Not in Legacy of Bones. In between the story of Gera, Dax, and Keely, there are chapters dedicated to building the antagonists of the story. Readers will witness the cruel nature of the Crimsons and the lengths they will go to achieve their ultimate goals. And while the readers may not fully realize what those goals are just yet, the situations the Crimsons create and partake in show the readers something evil is looming on the horizon.
There is so much at work in the background of this novel and so many different paths this story can take. Give this book a try if you enjoy the dark fantasy genre and novels that slowly reveal hidden histories and truths.
June 3, 2020
An entertaining read, though with a few things that ground my gears a little bit. Will be posting a full review for this one later!
February 25, 2020
Kirk Dougal isn't afraid to try new things. If you're already a fan of his you know this -- he seems to explore a different genre, or twist on a genre, with each series he releases, and this one is no exception.
A Tale of Bone and Steel has a more general epic fantasy feel to it with this first book, but there's no long-winded conversations or page-long details to detract from the plot that's so often done with epics. There are several storylines at play here, but they're all on a path that will undoubtedly converge so there's not much confusion to be had.
It starts off like a lot of older fantasy stories, where you meet a character who wishes to be someone/thing greater than their current selves, and then they get thrust onto the fast track of becoming that but it's full of unforeseen challenges, risks, and dangers. It's a successful trope, and it succeeds yet again with Dougal behind the words.
The heroes (or who seem to be the heroes...*shrug...at this time) are easy to bond with and are unique from one another almost immediately, despite their familial relation.
The villains (or who seem to be the villains...*shrug...at this time) are, well, they're pretty damn villainous, to the point of locking kids in cages if they appear to have the gift of magic. They also like to wear red, so you don't notice all the blood they're spilling...
The action is great. Dougal's writing of combat is easy and effective, no needless descriptions, just getting straight to it and letting the rolling heads and spilling entrails do the talking.
The world-building is light in this first volume, but the foundation has been set for a long journey.
All in all I think this was a good start to what is sure to be a grand adventure filled with darkness and blood. If you're into epic, dark, or grimdark fantasy you might want to check this one out.
A Tale of Bone and Steel has a more general epic fantasy feel to it with this first book, but there's no long-winded conversations or page-long details to detract from the plot that's so often done with epics. There are several storylines at play here, but they're all on a path that will undoubtedly converge so there's not much confusion to be had.
It starts off like a lot of older fantasy stories, where you meet a character who wishes to be someone/thing greater than their current selves, and then they get thrust onto the fast track of becoming that but it's full of unforeseen challenges, risks, and dangers. It's a successful trope, and it succeeds yet again with Dougal behind the words.
The heroes (or who seem to be the heroes...*shrug...at this time) are easy to bond with and are unique from one another almost immediately, despite their familial relation.
The villains (or who seem to be the villains...*shrug...at this time) are, well, they're pretty damn villainous, to the point of locking kids in cages if they appear to have the gift of magic. They also like to wear red, so you don't notice all the blood they're spilling...
The action is great. Dougal's writing of combat is easy and effective, no needless descriptions, just getting straight to it and letting the rolling heads and spilling entrails do the talking.
The world-building is light in this first volume, but the foundation has been set for a long journey.
All in all I think this was a good start to what is sure to be a grand adventure filled with darkness and blood. If you're into epic, dark, or grimdark fantasy you might want to check this one out.
September 1, 2021
Decent start to a series I want to continue
After a slow building opening, the story grew in scope, intensity, and mystery. Some info dumping and some oddly managed lack of info spots are about all that mar this tale of self-discovery and family-discovery amongst a trio of siblings. Some great personal growth heroic arcs and an interesting use of magic (saca), ferocious beasts, and deadly swords.
After a slow building opening, the story grew in scope, intensity, and mystery. Some info dumping and some oddly managed lack of info spots are about all that mar this tale of self-discovery and family-discovery amongst a trio of siblings. Some great personal growth heroic arcs and an interesting use of magic (saca), ferocious beasts, and deadly swords.
added-it
April 6, 2021🎁 FREE on Amazon today (4/6/2021)! 🎁
April 16, 2020
My 1st time reading Kirk's work and I enjoyed it. Story moved well and I enjoyed the characters and the magic system. Will be starting book 2 in a few days. 👍🏼
October 27, 2021
Solid
I enjoyed this book. It is setting a nice groundwork for a larger story to be completed. In excited for the next one
I enjoyed this book. It is setting a nice groundwork for a larger story to be completed. In excited for the next one
December 15, 2021
Looking for a new indie fantasy? Look no further - make Legacy of Bones your next stop - https://www.alwroteabook.com/2021/12/...
January 26, 2022
Excellently written!
If you liked the depth behind descriptions in mistborn then this is for you. Eloquent and imaginative! I love it!!
If you liked the depth behind descriptions in mistborn then this is for you. Eloquent and imaginative! I love it!!
April 7, 2022
EnjpyatRead
Good story building, character building and world building. Interesting twist at the end of book 1, And I can't wait to read the second in the series
Good story building, character building and world building. Interesting twist at the end of book 1, And I can't wait to read the second in the series
October 13, 2022
Too many POV for my liking, and the characters themselves are not appealing enough.
May 11, 2024
Good story
Very in-depth story. Lots of things going on and Kirk does a pretty good job of weaving it all together. Good characters. Well worth reading.
Very in-depth story. Lots of things going on and Kirk does a pretty good job of weaving it all together. Good characters. Well worth reading.
January 27, 2022
Prepare yourself for a lot of buildup of a series that may not seem to have a definitive point at first, but hold on for a wonderful ride because the payoff at the end was both unexpected and launches book 2 and the rest of the series with gusto. Extremely well-written, likeable protagonists, and only a few things I didn't particularly care for that are personal preferences, not problematic writing or storytelling. I will detail the bigger pet peeve in my review for Book 2 when I finish it. The smaller one is just a lot of different POVs, some of them from the antagonists' point of view, which I usually don't like in a book. However, here it is sort of necessary to keep the reader vested during this opening buildup phase. Again, it pays off in the end.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews